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

Within four months of each other, these four little tots were added to our small group…

Anna, Jeremiah (J.J.), Samuel (Sam), and Nathan

Our small group also has a Micah and a Moriah, which brings our small group total to… four prophets, one prophetess, and one holy mountain!

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

We love you very much, Daddy Jim…

…even if you are a Longhorn…

Celebrating Christmas has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember.  Celebrating Advent, though, has only been a part of my life for the past four years.  One of the reasons that I am thankful to God for my church is the emphasis it places on preparing our hearts for Christmas during the season of Advent.

When we first moved into the Piper’s basement, almost four years ago, Noel gave me one of her Advent calendars as a Christmas gift to our family.  Each year I would hang the calendar and everyday leading up to Christmas, I would place a piece of the nativity scene in its rightful spot.

This is our first Christmas with a child, which makes little traditions like this one really fun.  Even though Sam is way too young to appreciate Advent, we still tell him the story of Christ and then place the next piece of the nativity set on the wall…

This Advent season feels so different than any other in my life.  I think becoming a mother has just changed everything for me.  This Christmas isn’t necessarily more special than any other- it is just different- but in a really meaningful way.  Every tradition means more to me now, even the story of Christ has become more precious…and I think it is because we get to share it with Sam.

So, every night we sit down and Joe reads to us Advent scriptures from the Bible, we light our Advent candles, we sing Christmas songs and then pray.  Really simple, but really important to us.  We know that Sam will not remember any of this, but that isn’t the point, there is a lot he won’t remember.  When Joe and I talk about holidays and traditions, we always come back to this…we don’t want Sam to be able to remember a time when we didn’t celebrate the coming of Christ in this way…

In addition to our Advent calendar and our Advent candles, this was our first year to get a real Christmas tree.  Joe and I always go home to Texas for Christmas so we haven’t even bothered.  But this year we have Sam, and well, that just changes things for us!  We went to the tree farm, picked out our tree, hauled it home on top of our car, and then we began to decorate.  What we didn’t realize when picking out the size of our tree was the lack of Christmas tree decorations we own.  It’s funny actually.  We were super excited.  We set up the tree…put on the lights…

an ornament here…

an ornament there…

a strand of red beads and a pine cone here…

and another ornament there…

…and then, oh wait…we are out of ornaments!  No kidding.  We were finished in about, oh say, five minutes or less!  We have the best little tree and a total of about eight ornaments.  I have seen more ornaments crammed on one of those mini Christmas trees that you put in the bathroom than we do on our big Christmas tree.  Oh well, I think I prefer it this way instead of going out and buying ornaments that don’t mean much to us.

One of my friends even offered, “You can borrow a box of our ornaments that don’t mean anything to you, instead of going out and buying ones that don’t mean anything to you!”  We are going to buy an ornament for Sam every Christmas, so that will add to our little collection…but in the meantime, pine cones it is!

Probably my favorite Christmas decoration we own sits on our little basement window.  We bought this nativity set our first Christmas here in Minneapolis…

This Christmas we will be heading down to Texas again to spend the first part with my family in Houston and then New Years with Joe’s family in Midland.  I will be packing our Advent calendar in my suit case to do in the evenings with Sam and his cousin, Colin.  We are so excited to celebrate Sam’s first Christmas with both families this year.

All of the Christmas presents are finished and already shipped to Texas. Christmas cards are on the way.  Peppermint bark is ready to be given to friends.  I still need to get Sam a few things before we celebrate our family Christmas (the three of us) this weekend.  Sam is only five months, but I don’t think I have ever been this excited in my life to buy someone something for Christmas.  I am sure he will love the box that we put his gift in!

I love hearing how others celebrate Christmas and the traditions they use in their family.  I would love to hear what you do as a family and any fun traditions that you do with young children.  Joe and I have a list of things we are waiting to do with Sam when he is a little older, but there is always room for more.  So, please do share!

We hope and pray that this Advent season is filled with a sense of joyful expectation that our King has come and will come again!

Posted in family, holidays, little rig ]]> http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/12/09/celebrating-advent-with-a-5-month-old/feed/ 5 therigneys IMG_8151 IMG_7978 IMG_7926 IMG_7942 IMG_7959 IMG_7968 IMG_7961 IMG_7963 IMG_7984 IMG_7925 http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/boiling-pot/ http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/12/08/boiling-pot/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 23:27:47 +0000 therigneys http://therigneys.wordpress.com/?p=1651 ]]>

In the past four years, I have noticed that the South tends to get teased a little bit lot up here in Minnesota, so I’ve been tempted to do a series of posts to try and redeem all things Southern in the minds of my beloved Minnesotans.  I’m not saying that I haven’t joined in the playful banter concerning the great state of Texas and its neighbors to the right, but when it comes to certain things (i.e. Food) we’ve got the North beat.  Need further convincing…

Enter Boiling Pot…one of the many reasons Joe and I love the South and love Rockport, Texas!  Over Thanksgiving (and any time we visit) we must stop by the Boiling Pot at least once.  Joe’s family has been coming to this restaurant for years and folded me into the tradition when we began dating.

I recently bought the packages of spices that the Boiling Pot sells, so when the weather warms up, I plan on having our friends over to the backyard and cooking up some of the best Cajun food in the country…

The waitress comes to your table and lines it with sheets of white butcher paper and ties plastic bibs around your neck.  It gets pretty messy eating with your hands, but that is part of the whole experience…

Then, the waitress comes with giant silver bowls of steaming spicy food and pours it on the butcher paper right in front of you.  You know how men get “meat sweats” on Thanksgiving, etc., well, Joe and his brothers get the “boiling pot sweats” and here’s why…

Spicy shrimp, crawfish, blue crab, sausage, potatoes, corn…

If you want to try and cook some of this up yourselves, here is a recipe that I have used before…

Ingredients:

6   ears of corn
6   4-inch smoked sausage link sausage
12   red new potatoes
3 lb fresh shrimp, unpeeled
2 teaspoons of Old Bay seasoning per quart of water ( I use the actual spices that Boiling Pot sells, but Old Bay will work fine)

Directions:

Fill a large pot with enough water to cover all of the ingredients. Add the seasoning and bring to a boil. Adjust the seasoning to suit your taste. When the water boils, add the potatoes and sausage. Cook on medium heat for 20 minutes. Add corn and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Add shrimp and cook for no more than 3 minutes. Drain and serve with warm bread.

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.

Before Turkey…

During Turkey…

After Turkey…

Posted in holidays, little rig ]]> http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/25/happy-thanksgiving-from-our-little-turkey/feed/ 1 therigneys DSC00620 DSC00645 DSC00624 http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/happy-5-month-birthday-sam/ http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/happy-5-month-birthday-sam/#comments Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:34:35 +0000 therigneys http://therigneys.wordpress.com/?p=1598 ]]>

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!

Posted in happy birthday, little rig ]]> http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/24/happy-5-month-birthday-sam/feed/ 5 therigneys DSC00739 IMG_6901 IMG_6987 IMG_7571 IMG_7330 IMG_7135 IMG_7609 IMG_7374 IMG_6872 http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/the-apple-doesnt-fall-far-from-the-tree/ http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/the-apple-doesnt-fall-far-from-the-tree/#comments Mon, 23 Nov 2009 23:26:45 +0000 therigneys http://therigneys.wordpress.com/?p=1576 ]]>

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…

Posted in family, happy birthday ]]> http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/the-apple-doesnt-fall-far-from-the-tree/feed/ 2 therigneys DH000001 DH000002 DH000003 DH000004 DH000005 DH000006 DH000007 DH000008 DH000009 DH000010 DH000011 DH000012 http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/home-for-the-holidays/ http://therigneys.wordpress.com/2009/11/17/home-for-the-holidays/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:36:22 +0000 therigneys http://therigneys.wordpress.com/?p=1561 ]]>

Sam and I are in Texas right now visiting family and friends for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Joe will join us in Houston on Friday evening when the annual ETS conference wraps up in New Orleans. 

Since being in Houston, my parents have spoiled me by taking care of Sam in the mornings so I can sleep in.  I have even finished two books since arriving here on Saturday evening!  I’m not the only one getting spoiled though…Sam is getting plenty of love and attention from his Papa and Sassy, and I plan to take full advantage of the wonderful (free) babysitting that my parents provide so that I can catch up with some dear friends! 

We love coming home!  We love coming home so much that Joe and I are spending a total of five out of the next eight weeks in Texas for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years combined!

On Monday, we will make our way down to Rockport, Texas to celebrate Sam’s 1st Thanksgiving and Joe’s 27th birthday (which happens to be on Thanksgiving day this year!).  Joe grew up going to Rockport every summer with his family since Joe’s grandparents have a home there.  We are so excited about sharing this special “Rigney” tradition with Sam.  We are especially excited about introducing Sam to his great-grandparents, Daddy Jim and MaNaynie, and his Uncle Robby and Uncle Danny for the first time. 

Christmas will be even more special this year.  We will have a full house in both Houston and Midland for the holiday season.  Just thinking about this makes me so thankful for our families this Thanksgiving.  We love our lives so much in Minneapolis, but it is such a blessing to be able to come home for the holidays to two wonderfully loving and supportive families.  I am so glad that Sam will be able to celebrate both holidays with both families this year!

Pictures and posts to come of our time here in Texas!