Baby boy McGinnis - 35 weeks and counting...

Abs "helping" mommy in the kitchen.

Daddy's little girl!

A very happy Abigail after playing with Daddy.

Brian and I celebrated our 5th (!!) anniversary a month early in Savannah, GA.

Baby boy at 34.5 weeks

Baby boy at 34.5 weeks

Yesterday I had my last fetal echocardiogram for baby boy #2. The great news is that everything else seems to look good and aside from his unilateral cleft lip and palate, we are hoping that he's perfectly "normal" otherwise after delivery. But that's actually a misnomer, as we've known for years now that "normal" is relative! Above are two 4-D pictures; he definitely has the broad, round "Dannewitz" head shape and cheekbones, and appears to have the "Dunn" nose. It was amazing to watch him moving around in real-time 4-D video; I think he looks a lot like Soren and Abigail! He "dropped" last Sunday, so I've been busy preparing everything (frozen meals, finishing house projects, etc.) so that I can rest these last few weeks before his arrival.

Brian has been keeping very busy with work; he spent a week in Tulsa for some additional training on another product his company sells. We're excited about our plans for the future and are enjoying the focus and lessons we're learning in this current season of life.

Abigail is doing quite well! At 16.5 months, she is soooo busy getting into everything within reach, and figuring out ways to get into things out of her reach. ;-) Although she has much to talk about, she lacks the vocabulary to do so but babbles on anyway. She has a few words that she uses regularly, like "Doggie, Daddy, Ju (juice), Mama, Ball, Tree, Du (for pacificer??!), and Sat (for "what's that?"). She's quite a climber and loves paperback books (chewing on them especially); I recently found a book soaking wet after she threw it in the bathtub when I wasn't looking (our tub needs a little work on the drain, which doesn't work properly!)...it's always an exciting adventure for us. How refreshing it is to imagine life from her perspective, being filled with wonder and awe, excitement and no fear for anything. It's inspiring just to watch her play! She is down to a single, short half-hour-to-hour nap during the day (much to this very pregnant mama's dismay) and is always awake before 7 a.m. It makes for long, tiring days for me right now, but hopefully that will improve within four or five months, after baby boy is hopefully sleeping through the night!

Leaning into His arms

As we announced in our last blog post we are expecting our third child at the end of July - in just nine short weeks. Since that last post, we learned that this baby has a cleft lip and cleft palate, and will require extra care and several surgeries throughout his early childhood. This news has been challenging for us, especially considering that our firstborn son also had genetic anomolies (Trisomy 21 and a complex congenital heart defect). It's been interesting to observe my (Kristin) initial response to this difficult news; I was initially extremely frustrated, trying to reason with myself that I think I learned so much from our firstborn's life and death, why should I have to deal with another challenging genetic anomoly in my child. I initially thought, "Haven't we dealt with enough yet? Why, God, do we have to do this all over again? Why does another one of our children have to endure being 'different'?" Honestly, the questions haven't stopped, but have rather been transformed; my questions and God's answers have morphed into me asking myself why I think my reasoning is one of justice, when His ways are higher than my ways...

Last night at Rich Erdman's church, we watched an excellent, insightful video of Pastor Francis Chan talking about how we are the clay, and cannot even concieve of God's reasoning for the things that happen in our lives. I cannot give proper credit without posting the direct link, and hope you have time to watch it (about 10 minutes). Here's the link; just go to the link and click on the line that says "Watch Video": http://www.franchischan.org/#/erasing-hell

Anyway, that video, and Rich's following sermon, both completely confirmed for me the fact that I have been quite arrogant and shallow in thinking that because I "paid my dues" in the illness and death of our firstborn son, that if I did a good enough job as a Christian, I wouldn't have to deal with anymore pain in this life. This was a great reality check for me! It helped me also realize how our American culture breeds the twisted mentality and false reasoning that good works deserve God's "blessing" - assuming that God's blessings are always for peace, health, prosperity, etc. But that is not the case! Lately I've also been thinking much about God's blessings and how they are not always what they seem. Laura Story, a successful and talented young musician, recently put out an excellent song regarding this issue, entitled "Blessings." You can learn more about her story behind the music on her website: http://laurastorymusic.com . Ms. Story's point is simply that the blessings God gives us may be contradictory to what the worldly view of blesings are.

My point in bringing all of this up is simply that I am again learning anew what a blessing it is to have a special needs child, a child that the rest of the world sees as "deformed," but one which God new before he even formed this baby in my womb -- as an incredible, undeserved blessing. There are days when I need to be reminded of this, no doubt! But no longer can I hear about birth defects and think, "Wow, that stinks - but at least it's not me." Two of our three children have, or have had, birth defects, and I am that person that most people are glad they are not! It's different, when the tables are turned, and I have to humble myself to accept the circumstances God has given us at present.

At this point I laugh and think about how my motor mouth (or fingers, in this case!) are running away...this isn't intended to be a sermon, but rather, me sharing my thoughts and revelations (for what they are worth), with you. I hope it will be a blessing to you all!

Now appearing in Altanta, GA...

Ha ha! I knew it. I am just so not good at blogging on a regular basis! So sorry.

So here's the past few months in a flash:

Abigail had her 1st birthday on the 18th of January! She's getting so big; not walking yet, but very close. Just babbling, no discernable words yet, but she uses the same babble for a few words such as "dada," "bobble" or dobble" (bottle), "ma", and"da" for dog. It's amazing to watch her learn things like how to turn the light switch on and off when I'm trying to change her diaper (which is a challenge at all anymore!), and how to push things as she walks along with them (like chairs, toys, boxes, etc.). Her head is full of 1/2" dirty-blonde peach fuzz, and we'll get some pictures posted as soon as we can.

Which brings me to the update on our living status. We are now living in Dallas, GA, staying with some dear friends until we can find and close on a house (God bless them!). Abby's birthday also happened to be the same day Brian flew from Altanta to Chicago to start his new job. He had meetings there for a couple days, and is now home (in suburb of Altanta), getting into the swing of a corporate job. He is enjoying it so far; it's definitely a different work environment than he experienced in the military, but he's excited about the changes and the future.

I (Kristin) am 14 weeks pregnant with our third child, due at the very end of July (July 27th). In Hotlanta. Oh well! At least we'll get to enjoy four seasons here, and we'll be able to take the whole family out hunting this fall. (Hopefully!!!) I was hoping that this pregnancy would be perfectly fine without any sickness, nausea, vomiting, etc. etc., but unfortuantely this one has been just as sensitive as my first and more volatile than my second which makes me think it's a boy....? We'll find out soon enough, but at least in this pregnancy I can take medication to help take a little bit of the edge off.

Again, it's taken me so long to get the blog updated. Thanks Kelly, for your encouragement to update the blog (I obviously needed it!)! If anyone needs an updated (albeit temporary) address, please email me or send a message on facebook and I'll be happy to pass it along to you. God bless!

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!