Happy Birthday, Blog!

One year ago today, I started our family blog with two purposes in mind, 1) to announce the news of our pregnancy and 2) to keep long-distance family and friends updated on our lives with pictures and stories.  It has been so much fun sharing this past year with all of you.  We hope you have enjoyed the ride!

Here are some of our favorite monthly highlights of the past year…

December 2008: we’re having a baby!

January 2009: top 10 funny changes in my life since pregnancy

February 2009: oh BOY!

March 2009: my last day at Desiring God

April 2009: happy anniversary, ryan & melinda!

May 2009: happy mother’s day, momma!

June 2009: Baby Rigney is born!

July 2009: Sam’s first week in this world!

August 2009: Sam’s newborn pictures

September: Happy 1st Birthday, Colin!

October 2009: four years ago today…

November 2009: Happy 27th Birthday, Joe!

December 2009: Celebrating Advent with a 5 month old…

We hope you’ll join us in 2010!

The Rigney Family

Happy 80th Birthday, Daddy Jim!

Sam’s great-grandfather turns 80 years old today!

We love you very much, Daddy Jim…

…even if you are a Longhorn…

Happy 27th Birthday, Joe!

Twenty-seven years ago today, you were born into the Rigney family in the little West Texas town of Odessa. Today, I am joining with your son, parents, grandparents and brothers in Rockport, Texas to give thanks to God for you today. We love you very much.

About every four years, your birthday falls on Thanksgiving day, so I thought it would be appropriate to express my gratitude for you today- both on Thanksgiving and your 27th birthday! Sam and I are blessed beyond measure to have you as a husband and father. This post could become ridiculously long if I were to share everything about you that I am grateful for, so I will just highlight a few…

I thank the Lord that you are such a gracious husband. You are so patient and kind. You are helpful to me in a thousand ways…my faith in Jesus, being a wife, being a mother, being a friend. You teach me more about the gospel than anyone I know and I respect you for leading our family so faithfully. I love being your wife.

I am thankful to God that you are the kind of father that you are to Samuel. It is apparent that he adores you every time you walk in the door. I always thought you would be a wonderful father, but you have surpassed every one of my expectations. Of all the things I am thankful for in my life, you being Sam’s father is one of the greatest.

I am grateful that you work so hard to provide for us. You are an incredible teacher, thinker, leader and I thank God for your gifts and how you diligently use them at Bethlehem College and Seminary.  It encourages me every time I hear about how God has used you in the lives of your students and co-workers.

I’m so glad that we were able to celebrate your first birthday as a father in one of your favorite places…

I think Sam is loving Rockport as much as his daddy…

Happy Birthday, Joe!  Sam and I love you so much.

Happy 5 Month Birthday, Sam!

Sam here! I am celebrating my five month birthday today in Rockport, TX. for our Rigney family Thanksgiving!  It’s a rainy morning here, but that hasn’t stopped our celebrating!

Month five has been great!  Instead of focusing on the boring stuff like rolling over, sitting up, walking and talking…(ok, ok- so it’s not boring, I just can’t do any of that stuff yet so I don’t like to bring it up!)…instead I’m going to show you (in pictures) some of my favorite new things this month.

I have found the most amazing toys at the bottom of my legs.  My momma told me not to brag, but c’mon…not only did I discover these things on my own, but I can also grab them.  At first, my hefty stomach was getting in the way, but with perseverance and a strict “milk only” diet…victory!  This has opened up some serious possibilities, I’m even contemplating putting them in my mouth if I can shave off a few ounces.  Stay tuned.

So, at the top of my favorite things this month…the number one slot has to go to my feet!

Next on my list? Drooling.  I can drool on anyone and anything at any time during the day.  I’m pretty much a pro at this. Not trying to brag, I’m just sayin’.

Third?  Check out this new smile I’ve started using lately!  I just stick out my tongue a bit when I smile and then I squint my eyes and…Bam!  Momma and Daddy melt!  I love it!   You should see their faces when I do this.

It’s a bit mischievous, I will admit.  Every now and then, I will whimper in my crib until my parents come check on me. The second they look down at me, I simply whip out this smile and get an instant kiss!  Genius.  However, this little trick doesn’t work for long…they always put me straight back to bed.  Those two are smarter than I give them credit for!

Next?  Nakedness.  I love being naked…all the time.

Don’t judge me.  It’s the way God intended it…

Fifth on the list?  Dressing up in foil with my buddy J.J. and getting free burritos at Chipotle on Halloween…

Playing with Maggie (my grandparent’s puppy) was also a highlight of my month.  I got so excited that I wanted to climb on her back and pretend she was Seabiscuit, but my mom told me to “play it cool”.  Maybe one day my dreams of becoming a jockey will come true…

Something else new this month is that my winter hats keep finding their way on my head every day.  I love them!  It is getting really cold in Minnesota and these hats keep me super warm.  My doc said that my head is a tad big and that one day I will grow into it.  In the meantime, I’m thankful that my momma’s friends, Katie and Molly, made me ones big enough to fit on my “80th percentile” head!

Another one of my favorite pastimes this month has been playing on the play quilt that my momma made.  She puts toys on the blanket for me to play with, but I would rather look at all the colorful fabric instead!

This month, I also spent two weeks in Texas with both sets of grandparents, but my Momma is saving that for another post!

See you next month…when I turn half a year old!

the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…

When asked how I first thought about taking pictures of Sam with his monthly birthday signs in the background, I have to give all the credit to my mom.

Yours truly at one month…

two months…

three months…

four months…

five months…

(Sam will be 5 months tomorrow and he weighs almost twice as much as I do in this picture!)

six months…

seven months…

(don’t ask me why this month seems to be more special than the others)

eight months…

nine months…

( I just couldn’t contain my excitement about turning 9 months old)

ten months…

(check out this wallpaper)

11 months…

12 months!

No sign needed really, the “little girl candle” that we were about to light (a bit strange if you think about it?) says it all…

Happy 1st Birthday, Colin!

Today, September 24th, my son turns 3 months old and his cousin, Colin, turns ONE!  As cliche as it sounds, it really does seem like yesterday that I received a phone call from my mom announcing the birth of my nephew!  I was so sad to miss his birth, but I was assisting the Events Director at Desiring God in preparing for the upcoming Desiring God National Conference.

This past Saturday, we celebrated Colin’s 1st birthday with a party at my parents house in Houston! It was such a fun time with friends and family.  Colin is such a blessing in our lives and we were so happy that we all got to be together for this special occasion.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the special day…

beautiful birthday boy…

my brother & nephew with all of their friends…

my pregnant sister-in-law with her friends & their kiddos…

birthday boy in action…

melinda & colin

ryan & colin

present time…

here is the quilt I made Colin for his 1st birthday present…

I began making this quilt when I found out that Ryan & Melinda were having a little boy.  My hope was to give this quilt to Colin once he was born, but I got pregnant soon after that and then I blinked and had a newborn.  So, I revised my plan and gave Colin his quilt for turning ONE!

This was one of the funnest and easiest quilts I have ever made…

Happy Birthday, sweet Colin!  Your Uncle Joe, Aunt Jen, & Cousin Sam love you very, very much!

Happy Three Month Birthday, Sam!

We are celebrating Sam’s three month birthday in Houston, Texas right now…home of our beloved Houston Astros…

I think my dad has two main prayers for Sam’s life…

1) That he would follow Jesus

2) That he would be a Houston Astros fan!

By the look of things, I think one of his prayers is being answered…

This has been a wonderful month with our little guy.  Sam is growing up so fast and is all smiles these days!

I know all parents probably feel this way about their children (we are no exception), but Sam’s smile is seriously the most beautiful thing we have ever seen!  We never get tired of making him smile and giggle…

Sam smiling for his Papa during their playtime…

and this smile is for his Sassy after she bathed him…

One of the highlights of this past month was the wonderful blessing that Joe and I had in joining with our pastor and church body at Bethlehem Baptist in dedicating Samuel Jonathan to the Lord…

Pastor John dedicated Samuel to the Lord on September 12, 2009 praying this prayer of blessing over him…

“Samuel Jonathan, together with your parents who love you dearly, and this people who care about the outcome of your faith, I dedicate you to God. Surrending together with them, all worldly claims upon your life, in the hope that you will belong wholly to God forever.”

Here is the big screen video shot that the rest of the church saw…

Sam and I are in Houston, Texas for two weeks, one week down and one more to go!  This past week we had the joy of introducing Sam to more of my family and friends.  One highlight was introducing Sam to his only cousin, Colin.

Sam and Colin are exactly 9 months apart in age.  We look forward to the day when they are a little older and can play together.  Until then, playing with Sam in the car seat will have to do…

More posts to come on Sam’s first trip to Texas, meeting more friends family,  and celebrating Colin’s 1st Birthday!

Until then, Happy Three Month Birthday, Sam!

We love you-

Daddy & Momma

Happy Birthday, Papa!

Happy Birthday, Papa!

I love you SO much and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks!

Love,

Sam

happy birthday, sassy!

I love you SO much,

SAM