Gender Reveal Party!

On Friday, April 1st, we went to the doctor for our BIG sono!  We are so thrilled about this baby, and we did so many celebrations for Landrie and her adoption, so we decided to go all out.  We threw a little "What's it gonna BEE?" gender reveal party!  At our sono, we found out we had a healthy baby (thank you, God!!!) but asked the nurse to keep the gender a secret.  I gave her my phone, and she texted my friend Bethany "PINK" or "BLUE" and Bethany got to work!  I dropped of cupcakes and all the supplies before our appointment, and she filled them with the correct colored frosting.  SO FUN!!!!

The wreath on the front door started the theme.  I loved the black and yellow because there were no hints!!

Everyone wore pink or blue depending on what they thought the gender would be.  That morning, I explained the rules to Landrie, and she picked the blue outfit 3 times in a row!!  (Her outfit is different in the party pictures because Aunt Megan was babysitting, took her shopping and found her a blue outfit with a BEE on it!!)  We had a princess costume, grown men in pink shirts, two with blue shirts and pink undershirts (so they would be sure to win!) and one of my nieces even brought a baby doll dressed in pink.  We took pictures of each crew, and there were a LOT more blue votes than pink!

We had chocolate dipped marshmallows in bumble bee colors.

Yummy Junior Mints, springtime colored Oreos, and Butterfingers completed the yellow and black dessert table.  YUM.

I recovered Landrie's birthday party cupcake tower with coordinating scrapbook paper.  I used this blog post

 to learn how to make it.  Michaels had all kinds of cute cupcake wrappers!

After all the sweets I've craved, we had to have lots of desserts!  The cupcakes had yellow frosting and mini chocolate chips on them. 

In keeping with the color theme, we had lemonade and Sonic ice and this delicious Touchdown Dip that Noelle introduced us to. :)

Our family of 3 is growing!  Mark hadn't changed into his navy shirt yet...  He was thinking girl for months, but got swayed in the end. :)

We all bit into our cupcakes on the count of THREE.  We are so thrilled with the results!!!  There's a short video at the bottom of this post of this moment. 

WOO HOO for a baby sister for Landrie!!!  Bethany used this "cone method" to fill the cupcakes.  We had no idea how to do it, but were glad to find out it's not too hard!  

Okay, no one likes to see themselves on video, but a lot of our family couldn't make it to the party, and I wanted to share this with them.  I love the excitement of the moment!!!  Thank you, Jody, for thinking to take it for us!

I feel like I won the lottery and I keep having to go back to the lottery commission to tell them that there's been a mistake.  We only signed up for a 100 million dollar lottery, but we keep getting even more than we expected!!  

The JOY that is in our hearts is nearly overwhelming.  It's such a night and day difference from the deep sorrow that we felt during those years of waiting to be parents.  I love that our precious God was loving us the whole time, knowing what was to come.  I can just imagine Him turning to Jesus saying, "I cannot WAIT for a few years to pass. Mark and Corrie are going to hit the roof when they see our perfect plan unfold!!"  There were so many days when I felt like we were not just in the valley, but in some bunker way underground at the bottom of the lowest valley.  Today, we're at a rooftop party on top of the tallest building in the world!!!  As I type this, we have one precious baby asleep in her crib, and another wriggling in my belly.  God is so faithful!

So many of our friends are at that valley point right now, for many different reasons.  I can't wait to celebrate with you when your moment of joy comes!  We are praying for you, and can't wait to see what miracles God has in store for you!!

I got lots of ideas for my party from this family's gender reveal!

BIG NEWS!!!!!

Last fall, God gave us peace about pursuing another adoption!  We were ELATED!!!  Of course, in addition to starting on our scrapbook and updating paperwork, I started searching ETSY for big sister shirts. :)  You see, we had some extra time on our hands because our agency has a rule that you can't turn in your paperwork until your youngest is 18 months old.  Landrie's 1/2 birthday will be March 14th!  My plan was to announce our adoption plans on Feb. 1st so I could write about it all on here!  Wait a minute...it's MARCH 1st... Well, sometimes God has other plans in mind, and we've learned to roll with it!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5

So, TODAY Landrie has something to share with you!

Yup, she's going to be a BIG SISTER!!!!

We were ready and waiting to work with Inheritance (our favorite agency!) but God had other plans.  We LOVE adoption; some might even say we are a bit passionate about it! :)  I've been talking with several friends, and even some strangers about their adoption plans and couldn't wait to join in again.  Then, very early one morning, we got some COMPLETELY unexpected news.  Can you guess it??  I sure wouldn't!  Mark and I saw two little, tiny pink lines that will forever change our future.  

Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. 

Ephesians 3:20

Little Baby Long, we can't wait to meet you on September 1st!  

8 Days of ADOPTION- Oh God, is this your will?

Welcome back!  Today is the 3rd day in the 8 Days of Adoption series!  "Oh God, is this your will?"

 I'm counting down to sweet Landrie's 1st birthday!  This topic is one that I struggled with LONG before we started trying to have a baby.  God's plans  for my life are obviously the best, so of course I want to follow them.  Unfortunately, there's no "Book of Corrie" in the Bible that lays our every decision for me!  I have to pray that God will make the correct decision clear.

During the years of infertility (which seemed like decades!) we always knew that adoption was an option for us.  The question was just how far to go with science.  We did countless fertility treatments and, in January 2009, Mark and I headed back to the fertility doctor to discuss the next one.  We left the great appointment at the hospital, and it was as clear as if God had spray painted "NO" on the side of the parking garage in bright orange paint!  We knew that we were done with fertility treatments.  I checked out this book:

It is a GREAT read if you are even thinking about adopting one day.  Within days of leaving the fertility doctor's office, we felt OVERWHELMING peace about pursing adoption.  We were ECSTATIC!!  That same week, Landrie Grace was conceived.

You always hear that it can take years to adopt, so I immediately started the daunting process of finding an agency.  Our friends were in the same boat, so we had a spreadsheet that we passed back and forth!  Two agencies stood out.  We liked Inheritance the best, but they were overwhelmed with more prospective parents than ever and were making very few placements.  By my calculations, it would be 18 months before we could even be officially waiting!  Ughhh. 

 The other place promised a match in 2 months, but there were several things that made us feel uncomfortable.  After a month of debating, I couldn't just sit around any more.  I printed out the application packet of the 2 month place.  Mark got home and I told him I wanted to at least start it.  He checked the answering machine before we began.  Leslie (from Inheritance) left us a message.  They had a TON of babies placed all at once and they were ready to start the process NOW!  That 18 month wait that I had calculated vanished into thin air.  We were just days away from sending a huge down payment to the wrong agency.  Thank you God, for preventing me from messing everything up with my impatience!

We began with our Paperwork Party then started on our scrapbook.  The potential birth moms look through these to choose the couple for their parent.  We chose Jeremiah 29:11.

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Meanwhile, Misty from Inheritance sent Brianna a card and Brianna put it on her fridge.  You guessed it, the card had Jeremiah 29:11 on it.  Months later, she got our scrapbook profile and found the same scripture.  

From the time we felt peace about adopting, we knew we were having a girl.  When Leslie called just a week or two after turning in our profile (!!!) to tell us a birth mom wanted to meet us, I was so flabbergasted that I didn't even ask if the baby was a boy or girl!  In the middle of the match meeting when Brianna told us it was a girl, it was all I could do not to lose it right there!  

Just 5 1/2 weeks later, we were flying down the highway to be there for Landrie's birth!  She came 3 weeks early, and we weren't quite ready!  Brianna asked us if we had a name yet and we told her our top two.  When we said "Landrie Grace" was one option, she couldn't believe it!  "Grace" was the one name that had been on her heart.  That made our choice easy!


I could go on and on about all the ways God has reassured us that we are on the path that He as planned for us.  Now we are just trying o figure out when his perfect timing will be for us to adopt a baby brother or sister for Landrie!


See Part 1 and Part II here and here!

8 Days of ADOPTION- Don't say this!

Welcome to the 2nd post of my 8 Days of Adoption!  If you missed the 1st one, click here!

Today is "Don't Say This!"  So many of our sweet family and friends have been blessed to adopt a little one into their family, and several more are in the process right now!  I know there's a little awkwardness in knowing what to say in adoption situations, only because I too have wondered!  I have never been offended by you if you've said one of these things to me because I know your heart.  Adoption is becoming a big part of our world, so here are some ways to be a little more adoption friendly!  (Many of these are ones I've heard from others, not ones that we've experienced.)

- Mark and I are Landrie's mom and dad.  Brianna is her amazing birth mom.  You could also call her Landrie's biological mom.  If you call Brianna Landrie's "real" mom that makes it seem like we are her "fake" parents, which is not what you are trying to say, right?  :)

-"Are they brothers?"  This one is one I've heard from parents who adopt 2 kids at once or have kids that are the same race their sibling, but a different race than their parents.  Of course they are brothers!  When they were adopted, they became brothers for life, regardless of their genes.

-"Do you think you'll ever have a real child?"  Landrie is not Pinocchio.  And, to answer the question that I know you meant, we would LOVE more kids, no matter how God brings them into our family!

-"This is Landrie, Mark and Corrie's adopted daughter."  I LOVE to talk about our adoption (obviously!) so that is not the deal.  Tell anyone you want that we adopted Landrie; ask me to talk with your friend about it because I'd love to.  It's just that we don't say "biological son" because he is just your son.  It's the same with a child that is adopted.     

-"Now you're going to get pregnant!"  This could happen, but we aren't holding our breath. I never understood how someone could be okay with not being pregnant, but I get it now.  I just want babies.  I know your cousin's best friend's neighbor got pregnant one week after she turned in her paperwork, but we chose adoption because we felt it was God's best for us, not because of the magic pregnancy dust on the paperwork. :)  (On a side note, don't say "Just adopt, you'll get pregnant!" to your sweet infertile friends either!)

{I already did parenthesis, so I decided to switch to these.  I know I just said not to say this, but check out this family's adoption story...1 to 4 in one year!!}

-Don't say anything negative about the child's birth parents.  They have made an incredibly hard decision to create an adoption plan because they love their baby.  Adoptive parents (usually) love the birth family.  I know our hearts broke for Brianna the day she made that difficult decision and our hearts overflow with love for her because of the amazing decision she was able to make.  She didn't "give up" Landrie for adoption, she made a choice that was what was best for Landrie, not herself.  

-"Is he adopted?"  If you see a family with a kid or two that don't fit the mold, don't ask!  That red hair may be a recessive gene, or maybe you just spilled the beans for a 5 year old who didn't know.  If the child is a different race then, yes, he is adopted.  Or, maybe he's from a previous relationship...you never know.  Just wait and get to know your new friends.  You'll find out. :)

 

When Mark and I first started on this adoption journey, we were constantly trying to correct our language as we navigated the uncharted waters of adoption.  It's a new thing to many of us!  We love you all for embracing our sweet baby Landrie with open arms!

A few of my favorite things!

In honor of surviving my first year of motherhood (almost!), I thought I would share a few of my favorite BABY things!  When we were not pregnant for so long, we didn't buy any baby stuff at all because it was too hard.  Then, after a few weeks of waiting to adopt, we found out we were going to be parents in a mere 8 WEEKS!!  EEK!  That wasn't much time to buy all those baby things we needed!

As it turned out, it was just 5 weeks later when we rushed to the hospital and welcomed Landrie Grace into our lives and hearts!  I was literally at my baby shower when Brianna went into labor!  We certainly didn't have everything listed in the Babies R Us registry list.  Would it be possible to bring home a baby??  Yup, we did!  These are the 1st year of life things that the Long family loves the most!!

10.  Burp Cloths GALORE!  These are a must have if your baby spits up (and I hear a lot do!) 

Steal: Gerber 12 pk. of white cloth diapers at Walmart for less than $2 a cloth

Splurge: Cute personalized or embellished ones!  These are so fun for shower gifts!

$18 for this set on Etsy.  Go to this shop if that item is sold.

$4 for this one (includes monogram!!!) at this Etsy shop!

This $62 show stopper has it all! I found it here.  I need to stop.  Maybe I should have done a whole post on cute burp cloths...

9.  VIDEO baby monitor!  We can't get enough of watching Landrie on this!  Is she breathing?  Is she awake still?  A hint I never would have thought of is to get it at Walmart!  $130 instead of $180 at Babies!  This is SO worth the $$.

(Still need help convincing your husband??  My friend Laura still uses one with her 5 year old!  Mount it up by the ceiling, and you can remotely monitor a whole room.)

8.  Formula Dispenser- We call it the formula wheel and us it ALL the time!  I work in the nursery at church and have seen it all- jumbo formula cans in the bag, extra bottles to hold the powder, prefixed bottles with ice packs...just get one of these!

There are 3 sections for 3 bottles, so you can go out all day!  They are $4.99 here at Babies R Us.

7.  Little shoe SOCKS!  No matter how cute the baby shoes are, they will NOT stay on your sweet baby's feet!  Landrie wore these socks constantly during her first 7 months of life (Sept-March, so it was cold!)

These at Target are only $9.99 (online only).  I did boy ones because my list is maybe a little girl product heavy. :)  Click this link to see all the ballerina, cute stripes and mary janes.

Landrie had some like these.  Are you kidding me??  They are beyond adorable!!  They are $18 here.  They are Mud Pie, which you can find in lots of boutiques and at Charmin Charlie's (yes, the place with great jewelry has a little baby section!)  I found these online for I just found out you can find some of them for $14.99 at Target too!  Look here!  I consider these socks a steal (kind of) because we didn't buy Landrie any shoes.  I guess you could also just go in plain socks but they are hard to match and always feel off of her feet.

6. Take and Toss BPA free feeding stuff from Walmart- My friend Kimi has 3 kids all within 17 months!  If they are good enough for her, I knew I had to try them!  Sippy cups can be $10 and they get nasty and lost.  These are not 100% leak proof, but pretty close!  We only use them at the table anyways.  The bowls and spoons work perfectly, and we don't worry if they get lost!  This set is $10.47, but if you get just the containers or spoons they are $2-3.  

5.  A diaper bag you LOVE!  This is another place I think you should splurge.  Think of how much you will spend on cute clothes, hats, shoes and BOWS for your baby so she looks cute when you go out.  That diaper bag will be on your shoulder every single time!

These are Sunny Mays REVERSIBLE messenger bags.  We have the one on the top (it reverses to the pink and brown) and CONSTANTLY get compliments on it.  It holds a TON (those outside pockets can easily hold 3 bottles!), but is cloth so it works great with not as much stuff too.  Find a great bag you love with some great pockets- it doesn't need to be from a baby store!  We'll use this bag for years.

4.  SWADDLE MEs!!!  We would not have made it through the first 1/2 of Landrie's life so far without these!  No matter how hard we tried to use all of those receiving blankets to swaddle her, she would wiggle a squirm, a hand would pop out, and she'd hit herself (darn those newborn reflexes!) and wake up.  These are EASY and use velcro so they stay put!

Landrie used these her first week home...

....and loved this pink fleece one for the winter.
She was in one for every nap and bedtime until she was 5 or 6 months!

3. BOWS!!  I LOVE Landrie to have bows in her hair all the time!  That means we need a small, medium and  large of every single color in the universe, including all 3 shades of pink.  Bows can be up to $13 at a boutique, and I've seen them for $8 at Once Upon a Child, which is a resale store.  YIKES!  This is not a place to spurge because they get dirty and lost easily and you need a LOT.  I'm about to reveal a big secret... SAM MOON!

This set of 12 BIG bows is only $15.50, and you can order online!  They have tiny ones, polka dot ones, or even


these adorable corkscrew ones! ($16.50 for all 7!)
If you live or ever visit Houston, Austin or DFW, then you are in luck!  The store is full of fun jewlery, luggage
and bags!  There are lots more bows and even those lace baby headbands- 3/$1!  If not, it looks like you can order online too.

2.  Mum Mums!  These are like little rice cakes for babies!  My friend told me about them and Landrie can't get enough of them!  They are easy to hold and dissolve almost instantly like Gerber Puffs.  The GREATEST part is that they are ultra convenient (see that baby with a pack in his back pocket?) because they are wrapped in a 2 pack that's easy to throw in your bag and they are big enough that it takes Landrie awhile to eat.  She loves to eat them in her car seat, and unlike Cheerios, they don't get everywhere.  I think they are a new answer to those ridiculously messy teething biscuits!
You can get them at Wal Mart or any grocery store by the baby food, right next to the Puffs!

1.  Okay, this list is in no order.  I'm just here on bedrest, adding to it as I think of things!  So, this is not my fave of all time, let's just consider all 10 as tied.  Nope, I think #9 should actually be in the #1 spot. :)

So, here's the last MUST HAVE: Bumkins plastic bibs!  We ruined a ton of adorable cloth bibs when Landrie started solids (those darn carrots!), then I tried these...


They just wipe clean!  every few meals (or after oatmeal or spaghetti!) I throw it in the washer and let it air dry.  The stains come out!  You can only get them at Babies R Us or online, but they are worth it.  I bought a cute copy cat one at Target, and it's already showing wear.  They are about $6.50 each, so a little pricey for one bib, but they will last for years!

I obviously didn't include the ones like a swing, diapers or books.  Everyone gets those!  I wanted to share some things that I was introduced to this year, or things that I had no idea I would love as much as I did!!

Now, it's your turn!  Leave a comment to share your all time baby faves!  It seems like there's always a baby in our lives, so we've all got one to shop for, right??

I loved all the additional ideas you guys had for the "Make your teacher love you" post below!  Check out the comments for more.  Here's a great one from fb too:
"As a former teacher...LOVE the last BLOG! Great ideas! Another great gift idea...Talk with the parents in your class about Christmas or Birthday present for the teacher. Have all parents donate $5 for a gift for the teacher. (You can't get much for $5) Then put the cash in a card or get a gift card to a department store. I had a room mom do this for me for Teacher Appreciation. 20 kids donated and I got a $100 dollar gift card and no coffee mugs! :) -Tiffani"

Fathers Day!!

It wasn't that long ago that I celebrated my first Mother's Day.  This weekend, Mark got his turn to celebrate! Landrie brings us SO much JOY and so many fun reasons to celebrate!!!

Landrie and her daddy at church on Father's Day.  Mark got to stand up with the other dads for the first time!  He didn't cry, but I may have gotten a bit teary-eyed. :)

Lunch at Joe T's on the patio.  YUM!

Daddy letting Landrie try her first flour tortilla.  She couldn't get enough of it!  It looks like she loves Mexican food just as much as we do.  She chowed down on fajitas, guacamole, tortillas and tomatoes!

Once again, we loved being able to finally celebrate this special day as a family of 3 this year.  Infertility is so often viewed as the wife's problem or as something that only bothers the woman in the relationship, but believe me, the husband is right in the middle of things too!  Mark was such an amazing rock through everything.  I knew he would make a good daddy one day, but I have been blown away the past 9 months as I've watched him in action with our precious baby!

Baby, I am so blessed to have such an amazing man as a husband.  I love you so much, and I've fallen in love with you all over again watching you take care of sweet Landrie Grace!!  Instead of getting me midnight milkshakes and rubbing my feet while we waited for our bundle of joy, you recopied my messy handwriting with your neat handwriting on stacks of adoption paperwork, calmed me down before a nerve-wracking birth mom meeting, and raced us to the hospital to meet our baby girl.  You helped with late night feedings, learned to pack a diaper bag like a pro and can make Landrie giggle like crazy!!  I love how she stops what she's doing and looks around the corner for you when you come home at night.  She loves you so much!  She is such a daddy's girl and can't get enough of her daddy playtime.  :)

Mark wouldn't be the man he is today without his sweet dad.  We are so blessed to each have amazing dads!  Happy Father's Day to each of you, and we can't wait to spend time with you soon!

GOTCHA DAY Party!!

The long awaited day finally arrived!  In April, we went to court and finalized Landrie's adoption.  

On that special day, Landrie officially became a LONG!!  Last weekend, we celebrated this big occasion with lots of family and friends with a GOTCHA DAY Party!!

Bethany and Dave are our good friends who adopted Isaac at the same time we adopted Landrie.  We've walked through the many ups and downs of infertility and adoption together.  God knew what he was doing when he gave us friends going through the exact same things at the same time!  We knew that we wanted to throw a BIG bash to celebrate the finalization of our babies' adoptions, and the end of a long infertility journey from broken hearts to hearts overflowing with love for our babies!  We could not have made it without the prayers, support and listening ears of all of you!!!

Bethany and I have been planning for ages, and loved every minute of it!  One of my favorite parts was their matching outfits!  Mark's sisters made and embroidered them for the little ones, and I don't think they could have been any cuter!

The outfits said "Forever a Long" and "Forever a Rinn"!

We made these photo collage posters at Sams for each baby.  We had to tie them to the brick columns at the pavilion because it was crazy windy!

So many sweet family members and friends came to celebrate!  We loved that Brianna and Brynn made the drive!  Without Brianna, there wouldn't be a party!  (or a Landrie Long!)

Landrie's great Granny loved on Landrie. 

I love this shot of great Aunt Judy!  Granny, Judy and Steve got up at 3:45am to drive up for the party!!

My parents were able to come too.  We couldn't have pulled off the party without them!  They helped with the 200 cupcakes and all the details!

Amber, Bethany and Isaac, me and Jenny- I wish I would have gotten more pictures of everyone there!

Misty works at our adoption agency.  We were so glad to see you and Judy!

Judy (also from our agency!), Landrie and Brianna

Jenny, me, Brenda and Bethany with our stairstep babies!  The babies were all born just weeks apart.  I love how the boys are checking Landrie out!!  Her daddy better not see this one!  :)

Bethany and I with our little miracles!!  Mark and I were talking after the party about what a great time we had.  We decided we should adopt baby #2 together too and do another party!  :)

After the party, we had a fajita lunch back at our house for our family.  Here's Beth and Rusty with their boys Gramm and Jaxon, Granny and Landrie and Mark.  

Mark and me with Judy and Steve and Granny and Landrie.  Thanks again for making the drive up for the party!!

Landrie and her P-Pa with their matching outfits, matching blue eyes and matching grins!

Of course, there are about 200 pictures from the weekend, so I made a collage of a few more favorites!  Landrie with her cousins, Abbie, Adelynn and Gramm.

Landrie and Isaac with Landrie's cousins, Jaxon and Anna.

This poem sums up the weekend:

The Rinns and the Longs are longtime friends

Each thought the waiting would never end

Last winter both couples chose adoption

Everyone was ecstatic about this option!

In September, Landrie joined the Long family

Just one month later, Isaac added to the Rinn family tree

These babies have brought us all so much JOY!

Let's celebrate the "GOTCHA DAYS" of this sweet girl and boy! 

We loved celebrating with you all!!!

(Check out Bethany's blog post about the party here!)