Fall Fun

Nine months old already!

Digging in the toy basket

Bright eyes!

Crawling out of the toy box, as it's falling over behind her...

I'm realizing how easy it is to procrastinate! Although it didn't take me close to three decades to learn that little tidbit, it sure is a difficult challenge to overcome sometimes! I read a great quote somewhere which said, "The best competition in the world is habit." So true, right? The point of this digression: I haven't updated the blog in a very, very long time. It's sad when my once-a-month goal has turned into once every two or three months! So here's an update on where the McGinnis family is, and what we've been up to:

Miss Abigail is as busy as ever, speed-crawling and getting into everything! She tried to climb into her stroller the other day, which would've been cute to take pictures of if she wasn't at risk of falling and hitting her head on the ceramic tile entryway floor...She loves eating food and drinking out of a regular cup (with my help, of course), although she doesn't like her sippy cups. I've tried three different kinds of sippy cups, but she won't have any of it. She is down to three, sometimes two, naps per day, and is sleeping through the night, from 6:30 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. It's glorious. At least, when we get her down at 6:30. The other night we enjoyed an evening at the home of some friends, and because we had to interrupt Abby's sleep cycle, she woke up every two to three hours the rest of the night.

Abby isn't interested in walking yet, nor talking either. She babbles and is perfectly content to speed-crawl instead of trying to walk. She monkey-crawls along the coffee table and other furniture, but is happy where she is.

Brian is busy preparing for interviews in less than two weeks! The career conference takes place the first weekend in November up in Austin. The first two days of the conference we'll be busy with briefings on the companies, and at that time Brian will receive a list of the companies and positions for which he'll be interviewing. Interviews take place the following Monday and Tuesday, and then we will return home. He'll have a few days to rest, and then hopefully by the end of that week he will receive several job offers and follow-up interview appointments. We pray that by Thanksgiving he'll have the opportunity to accept a job offer that's a perfect match for him. Of course, follow-up interviews could run past Thanksgiving, so needless to say, we'll be spending this Thanksgiving here at home, just the three of us!

I am doing well, just staying busy as any stay-at-home mom knows! Physically I am very excited about improving my ankle strength. I've been able to run without any pain in my anklesfor the first time in six (6) years. I consider it to be a miracle! Or just lots and lots of physical therapy...but it's working.

Last week I had my last follow-up appointment for my carpal tunnel surgery; both wrists have healed up beautifully and I'm enjoying playing in the band at church again. It's great to be able to play violin pain-free too! I have a few other appointments here and here, in addition to my physical therapy, but overall it's amazing to see how much physical, spiritual, and emotional healing God has granted me this year.

I'm also enjoying a Bible study which focuses specifically on my two primary spiritual gifts (mercy and exhortation), and am learning how to allow the Holy Spirit to really work in my life with these gifts. It is exhilarating to use the gifts He has given me, knowing He has divinely appointed the daily happenings of each of our lives. It truly changes my perspective, and my attention to daily details and events. Brian and I have enjoyed looking back over the past year and a half, looking over all that God has taught us about the good He is bringing out of the pain we've experienced through losing Soren. Now it's time for us to go out and put our lessons to work for HIS glory. Which brings me to the following question: what daily, seemingly-mundane events or meetings can you use in your life, and how can YOU be receptive to the Holy Spirit and HIS will for you in those situations? ;-)

beginning of fall 2010

Abigail's first time playing in the tide of the Atlantic Ocean.

Enjoying playing in the sand with Daddy!

Our little family!

My mom helped me make this tutu for Abigail while we were visiting in ND.

Her piano debut at 7.5 months...

Fall is officially upon us...with school in session and the temperatures dropping a bit (to a much more tolerant temperature, in my opinion!), we have been enjoying life outside again! The past few weeks have been filled with fun and travel. Some dear friends of ours invited us to spend Labor Day weekend with them at South Padre Island. We immensely enjoyed the weekend, splashing in the ocean with Abigail for the first time! The weather was great for the most part (a bit rainy, but only intermittently) and it was the best weekend we've had in a very long time!

Brian is busy preparing for his interviews with Cameron-Brooks, an amazing recruiting company that places Junior Military Officers in leadership development positions at Fortune 500 companies. It's very exciting to be waiting for God's provision, to find out where He wants us to be working in the world, for His glory. The crew at Cameron-Brooks is amazing and we are blessed that Brian has this opportunity to work with them.

I (Kristin) just got my cast off of my right hand today, two weeks post-surgery for my second carpal-tunnel release. It's great to know that I won't have to deal with carpal tunnel again. I am starting to feel better than I have in three years [quite literally]. I've started attending GriefShare, a Christian-based grief support-group, which has been interesting. I don't know for sure if it has helped me, but it has been nice to know that the thoughts and feelings I have experienced over the past year and a half have been completely normal, so it has brought me a bit of comfort.

Amazing Abigail - now there's a fun topic! Her bottom two teeth are sprouting; she has been crawling for about a month and a half now, and is walking while holding on to furniture and/or people. I didn't expect this to happen so soon, and found out this morning that she can also crawl up steps! She loves exploring, getting into everything possible, chewing on toys (especially books!), and trying to play with Gunner (our vizsla). Life is so exciting with her in it! And although I never imagined getting everything done while having a baby, I find that by God's grace I am enjoying a packed-out day which always has room for everything I want to make priority. I am so blessed to stay at home with Abigail and am loving every minute of it!

I have one prayer request: please lift our family in prayer over the next week, as Soren's two-year birthday is September 16th.

Our 7-month mover & shaker

My Godmother and aunt, Darlene, and uncle Harold graciously hosted us in Minot for a few nights. We thoroughly enjoyed relaxing, visiting, and riding horses on their beautiful ranch.

My dear friend Karlee helps Abby sit on Poquito for our family picture. :)

Cowboy Brian tames the unruly "Poquito". (Shortly after this picture she proceeded to head-but and then nip him in the bum b/c he wasn't fast enough in letting her out to the pasture).

David and Dayson join Miss Abigail and me for a picture.


It's hard to believe, but our daughter is already on the move! Crawling like crazy, pulling up to standing...we had to lower her crib the night we returned home to San Antonio after our vacation to ND because she was standing up! She taught herself how to pull up on the bookshelves on grandma and grandpa's coffee table in Bismarck, ND.


We had a nice trip to North Dakota - it was great to watch Abigail enjoy her grandma Laurie (and grandpa Dale when he wasn't busy working). I was able to enjoy hanging out with my cousin Holly for a couple days in Bismarck before heading up to Minot to pick up Brian a few days later.




While in Minot some of our dear friends held an open-house for us and we were able to visit with many of our friends in the short time we were in town. After much horseback riding, visiting with my Godparents, and hanging out with our good friends in Minot, we headed up to my family's cabin in White Earth.



The scenery has changed darastically in ND over the past year; I found it surprising to see how many hundreds of wind turbines and oil rigs have popped up on the once-naked horizon. Nonetheless, it was wonderful to be in beautiful North Dakota. I can't believe how much I love that state and want to return and raise our family there! It's amazing that communities have large yards and can just let their kids play outside in the fresh air, balmy summer temperatures...okay, I'll stop now - I'm getting a little verklempt.


I was blessed with the opportunity to be a bridesmaid in my good friend Renae VanBerkom's wedding. She was such a beautiful bride and it was a wonderful ceremony. It was so great to see her and several other friends during that weekend.


Sunday morning we drove back to Minot for church and were excited that Dave and Dana (my brother and sister-in-law) asked Brian to be Dayson's Godfather! Admittedly, it was very difficult for me to be standing in front of the entire congregation at First Presbyterian Church in Minot, listening to the pastor read some of the same exact scriptures we read at Soren's funeral, the last time we had been at the front of that church. I had a very difficult time and had an emotional breakdown during the baptism ceremony (sorry Dave and Dana - hope I didn't embarass you!). Luckily it passed and God helped me realize it as a perfect opportunity to be healing that wound, celebrating new life in Christ, where just a year and four months prior we had celebrated Soren's new life in Heaven with Christ. It was beautiful and very, very meaninful for our family. We had a great time visiting with family after the baptism and during the remaining two days in ND thereafter. (Mom - I'll get pics up as soon as we download the remaining pictures and video off our camera!)

Needless to say, we are happy to be back in our routine in San Antonio now! It's exciting to be gearing up for another move in 5-6 months. Although we have no idea where we'll be moving to, the possibilities are wonderful, and the Air Force approved Brian's request to separate early in December. So we're on track for another move before January!

I'm preparing to have another carpel tunnel surgery (on my right hand, this time) next Wednesday. Then hopefully I'll be almost done with all of my medical appointments this year! For now, at least... :) I'm enjoying developing my creative interests, feathering our nest, playing violin again, and maybe some new and exciting news to write about in the near future (regarding my ventures). Until then, take care, make the most of every moment in every day, and open your eyes and enjoy the beauty of God's creation all around you!

update on Abby & new cousin Dayson

Abigail - 5.5 months old

Abigail's cousin Dayson Dale Dannewitz, born July 17, 2010 (Minot, ND)

It's hard to believe I have allowed three entire months to pass by since my last post. I know, I know - it's ridiculous. As you can probably imagine from my lack of blog postings, I am working on my self-discipline in the things in my life which should be daily but are not...this includes my Bible study/quiet time, updating and filing paperwork, working out, journaling, reading, and updating this blog on a weekly basis, to name a few...


So much has happened in the past three weeks, let alone the past three months. I'll start with the big things and pare my way down to the cute little details of Abigail's development process. Today is Monday, July 19th; Abigail turned six months old yesterday, and the day prior to that, her cousin Dayson Dale Dannewitz arrived (Minot, ND)! (picture above; I couldn't load it here).




Abby is getting so big - I would guess she's close to 16 pounds now...she's rolling over, back and forth, to get to things; rocking back and forth on her hands and knees and starting to scoot a little ways; although she can't quite sit up on her own, she can hold the position for quite a while before tipping over. She loves loves loves her "E & I Baby Bungee Jumper". It's quite a contraption, and she looks like she's about to go skydiving in the apparatus, but it's soooo cute. I.


Over the past two weeks Brian made the tremendous career decision to separate from the US Air Force when his commitment is up early next year. He is working with a headhunter company (Cameron-Brooks, Inc. - Fredericksburg, TX) which places Junior Military Officers in development positions with Fortune 500 companies. The next career conference, where he will have 8-12 interviews with companies he is being matched with. Hopefully he'll get a few job offers out of that conference, and we'll be moving sometime in the early part of 2011. However, if the Air Force won't allow him to separate until June of 2011, we'll be here in San Antonio until then.

This decision to separate was essentially confirmed on our way home to San Antonio from Pensacola, FL, where we had narrowed down our house-hunting to two wonderful homes, within 5 minutes of the beaches of Pensacola (which aren't quite so glamorous now with oil beneath the sand surface). Brian had just finished 5 weeks of Squadron Officer College in Montgomery, AL, and we drove down to Pensacola to house-hunt together and visit our friends, Alan and Kelly Rohrer. They blessed us by allowing us to stay with them during our visit, and we had a nice time hanging out together for two days! While we were there Abby enjoyed her first time swimming!

Life has definitely thrown us some curve-balls, and the further we go in life the more we realize we don't need to worry so much about planning all the details, because it's all in God's hands anyway. We were set on our decision to move to FL and would've been preparing to do so in the next 2-3 weeks, but now here we are, going 180 degrees in the opposite direction. God sure does have a good sense of humor!

We are still missing Soren, and the wheel of grief in my (Kristin's) life is at its height again right now, perhaps related to several events in the lives of friends and family close to me. Brian was in a local Christian bookstore and found a wonderful frame which seems to have been created just for us. The poem inscribed thereupon is as follows:

~the Broken Chain~

We knew little that morning that God was going to call your name.

In life we loved you dearly, in death we do the same.

It broke our hearts to lose you, you did not go alone;

for part of us went with you the day God called you home.

You left us peaceful memories, your love is still our guide;

and though we cannot see you, you are always at our side.

Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same;

but as God calls us one by one, the chain will link again.

Isn't that just beautiful!? I love it. A few other things that have happened over the past three months: Abby met her Auntie Michelle and Uncle Darrell (PA), Brian and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary, our black lab (Cody) went to live with Brian's parents (since we thought we were moving to FL), I had carpel tunnel surgery on my left wrist (not to mention several other health-related appointments, but I'm getting better now!)...

We are excited to head back to North Dakota for a visit soon - I can't wait for Abigail to meet Grandpa Dale for the first time - my parents are quite excited to see us again. I'm also looking forward for Auntie Dana, Uncle Dave, and baby Dayson to meet Abigail (and I'm super-excited to meet Dayson!), see my friends and relatives, and just have a great time relaxing and enjoying the great state of North Dakota!

Abby's first time in her bungee bouncer! (My apologies for not being able to rotate this video from its sideways state)

Abby's first time swimming!

Happy 2 month Birthday, Abigail!

Tomorrow is Abby's 2-month birthday! She is such a strong, pleasant little baby girl, we are absolutely enjoying life with her! Now I understand what everyone means when they say "it goes so quickly..." We are treasuring every moment.

Last night we officially started "sleep training." Although she has been sleeping in her crib in her own room for the past 3 weeks, last night was the first night we put her down before 7:30 p.m. It's hard to believe, but she slept for 6 hours before waking to eat again! Hopefully this pattern will continue on a regular basis!

God has blessed us with a very happy baby - in the mornings she's wide awake and busy cooing. She really only gets fussy when she's hungry, needs to be held or changed, or wants her paci. When she is upset and wants her pacifier instead of milk she uses a cry that sounds like a mad scream (although it's pretty funny to us!). She's so big - not pudgy (only a little in her legs), but rather is tall and already wearing 3-6 month clothing at 2 months of age.

Here are some pictures of her in a little Easter outfit (the bloomers say "Sweet buns") and a couple videos; one is her watching Grandma Debby eat ice cream (it's almost as if she's trying to tell us she wants some!), and a second of her cooing. Enjoy!

Precious.


Storytime: "And then what happened!??"

Enjoying time outside with Grandma and Grandpa.

Does Abigail want ice cream?

Abby cooing the morning of St. Patrick's Day

Grandparents' visits

Ready for Easter Sunday!

Checking out Grandma Laurie.

My mom and her two precious grandbabies - Soren and Abigail.

Enjoying (??) tummy time...

After dinner at the Gristmill in Gruene, TX

Precious!!

"Beginner's" tummy time...

"I'm a McCutie" -- I mean, a McGinnis.

Smiley showing off her stuff for Grandma Laurie!

Hi everyone, so sorry it's taken me so long to post an update! Grandma Laurie was here last week and we had a great time showing her around San Antonio. Brian and I had an even better time taking a few naps here and there! It was an incredible blessing to have her here with us for a week and we are so grateful that she was able to come and visit us. Brian's parents are scheduled to arrive Friday afternoon and will be here for a week and we are excited for them to meet Abigail.

Little Miss Abigail is already 5.5 weeks old - hard to believe! I imagine that she weighs well over 10# and has already had a few growth spurts - she's filling out 3-month clothing, mostly lengthwise. It looks like she might be tall like Brian. She definitely has facial features from each of her grandparents: Glenn's forehead; Debby's deeply-set eyes, lips and nose; Dale's cheekbones and cheeks; Laurie's chin. Her brown hair has fallen out on top only, and she now has what I've been referring to as "old man hair" - thick and long in back, bald on top, thinning at the sides. No worries - I'll take all necessary precautions to prevent a baby mullet.

Abigail is already starting to grab at things, athough it is hard to tell if it's accidental or intentional. One of her latest nicknames is Smiley, although it really only applies in the morning and occasionally in the middle of the night. She's cooing and becoming quite responsive - very wide-eyed and alert with great head control. I'll try to update this again before an entire month passes again!

Trailer for new novel Glaen

Hi everyone! Our recently-retired pastor just published a wonderful novel on relationships. I'm not finished with the book yet (just started it a couple of hours ago), but will be in a few hours. Anyway, my point is that it is a helpful book if you want to really examine relationships. Here's a link to the trailer on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVOgbqeX84w Enjoy!!! :-)

Little Miss Abigail had her two-week checkup today! Happy 2-week birthday, Abigail! She is officially 21" long (vs. 20.75 @ birth) and 8# 8 oz. (vs. 8# 4 oz at birth). Yay! This also means that Brian and I have successfully undergone the first two weeks without messing up too much (aside from the carpet in front of the changing table which has already born the brunt of a large mess which had some distance on it!).

It's hard to imagine how quickly Abigail has already grown; we are enjoying every single minute - even the long, seemingly endless sleepless nights when little Abby doesn't want to sleep, nor eat, but only wants to stay wide awake, taking in the awe and wonder of her fresh new world. After losing Soren we now are joyous to experience life in abundance, to the fullest, with a much deeper appreciation than one cannot experience unless they too have also lost a child. God's provision in this season of blessing has been abundant, perfectly-placed, and perfectly-timed. Although I (Kristin) am still working through the emotional turmoil and flashbacks that happen [understandably] right now, I am so grateful that I cannot compare Abigail to Soren. She is so completely and utterly different from him in every way...except for the Dannewitz head, that is! I wonder if any of our children [knock on wood!] will have a head shaped like Brian's...(mom & dad, you must be laughing at this right now!)

It is indescribably comforting to look back on all of the times and ways in which God completely provided exactly what we've needed as we've needed it. I hope that each of you take some time for this sort of reflection, as it will undoubtedly lead you to an increased sense of peace, comfort, assurance, and satisfaction in your life.

After Bathtime

Baby mania

After the dreaded bathtime, in a layette that Daddy picked out just for Abigail!

Can we say "Daddy's little girl?"

This is one of my (Kristin's) favorites!

Here's some more video for anyone who would like to see Abby in action.

Miss Abigail Grace McGinnis entered this world on Monday, January 18, 2010, at 10:22 a.m. She weighed 8# 4oz. and was 20.75" long! What a beautiful, precious, perfect full-term baby. We are so happy to have her here! She's doing well and so are Brian and I, although it is taking a bit more effort than we imagined to adjust to getting so little sleep! We're posting a couple of videos; obviously one is of Abigail's entrance; the second is of her getting a bath at home, while she was hungry. Bad combination. I'll try to avoid that mistake in the future! Enjoy the pictures!

Abigail's first moments

Waiting on Baby...

And so, at 39 weeks and 1 day gestation, the wait for Abigail Grace's arrival continues. If she doesn't decide to attempt an entrance before this coming Sunday (and it's highly unlikely that she will, according to the lack of progression to this point), I'll head into the hospital Sunday evening to begin the induction process. We certainly hope that the induction will be successful, as there is a chance it may not work. Regardless, we are certainly looking forward to meeting our little girl next week!

The past few weeks have been very enjoyable - it was nice spending Christmas alone, just the two of us, for the first time in three and a half years of marriage. Brian made the most of his Christmas break and did several projects around the house, which I really appreciated! He built a great dog run in our backyard, installed an entire wall of shelving in the garage, and installed a pantry rack on the backside of our pantry door for me. He's also been dutifuly continuing his self-study and improvement (something I really admire about him, and which really inspires me!), and continues to faithfully learn Spanish with the Rosetta Stone program.

I (Kristin), on the other hand, have been rather, well, slow and lethargic, hormonal, tired, uncomfortable, and just not myself. I cannot wait to be finished with this pregnancy. All of the aches and pains of the last trimester have come to a head, and I am now simply looking at the light at the end of the tunnel to keep myself going! ;-) It's probably not as bad as it seems, but I doubt that anyone could convince me otherwise at this point. I've done everything, and I mean everything (save drinking castor oil, which I will not do), to try and bring on labor. Not even an hour of walking every day is helping!!! Thus I defer to the opening paragraph.

The other "excitement" in our lives over the past two weeks has been that provided by our vizsla, Gunner. He tore a 1" gash into his left ear just about two weeks ago (how it happened we have no idea) and we ended up making a late-night trip to the pet emergency room in one of the towns north of us. After 4 hours and a couple hundred dollars later (only a couple hundred, since we didn't have them stitch it for 500 dollars), we returned home with a sad dog who looked quite embarassed of his appearance. Brian and I laughed so hard on the way home (b/c of how Gunner looked in the back of the truck) that we had to pull over - I think we were both crying, and I was laughing so hard I made myself sick (or maybe that was just all-day-morning sickness?)! Priceless. I'll put a picture in this post of what he looked like then. Now his bandages are gone but he still has to wear the hood and remain contained in his kennel for the majority of the day so he doesn't split his ear open again (by shaking his ears/head). I feel like I could be a vet tech by the time this is over (although I wouldn't want to be!!).


More news next week after Abby's birth. Have a great week everyone!