Rilynne's Blessing and Auntie Sharri's Wedding

The weekend we had sealed Rilynne we also blessed her. Jonah, Rilynne cousin that was born 4 days before her, was blessed the same day. It was great to celebrate theses events with all our family and friends. We also celebrated Sharri and Ryan's wedding the same weekend.
The first couple of pics is of Rilynne at her blessing.



I love her little face!

Here is the bracelet that Rilynne's birth grandma gave her and the other is the same bracelet we gave her birth Mom.

Don't you just love her little face! I just want to kiss those cheeks!



Doesn't she look so sweet. She looked so cute in her blessing dress!

Here is Rilynne and her cousin Jonah on the baby blanket that Grandma Hollist made for her.

Grandma and Grandpa Rowley with Rilynne and Jonah outside of my sister's house.

Rilynne and Auntie Tamara. Tamara and her family drove all the way from OR (12 hours) to come to Rilynne's sealing and blessing. She also made Rilynne's dress. Thanks Tamara!!

Here are the Tanauva's. Aren't they all so handsome!

Tai, Mason, and Pepe (left to right)

The next day we celebrated Sharri and Ryan's wedding. Here they are coming out of the Draper Temple just after they were married. Aren't they a great looking couple?!

Here is Rilynne and me all ready to go to Sharri's wedding.

Here is Rilynne with Auntie Elaine and Uncle John at Sharri's wedding luncheon. Rilynne looks so peaceful in Elaine's arms. She has had 2 pretty early mornings and late nights and I was worried about her being grumpy but she did really, really well.

Here is sweet Rilynne at the reception in Ty's arms. Again don't you just love that little face and those kissable cheeks!!

Ty asked Clara to dance. It was really sweet. Clara is such a cute girl!

Rilynne got a bit tired and layed down for quick rest.

Thanks again for everyone that came and celebrated with us on our special weekend!!

Our Big Day!

On March 26th we were able to seal Rilynne to us in the Salt Lake City Temple. The same Temple we were married in. It was such a special day. Ty's dad is a sealer in the Ogden Temple and so he was given permission to seal us as an eternal family. We had a lot of family and friends that came and celebrated with us. The Tanuvasa's, Cassidy, and Shera Lynn made the trip from OR to be there for the sealing and blessing. Tamara Tanuvasa even made Rilynne's sealing/blessing dress. It was so nice to have our family and our Oregon family there to witness our sealing. Some of Rilynne's birth family was able to make as well. It was really special to have them there. Rilynne is so loved, she has so many people that are behind her. Most kids have 2 sets or Grandparents, aunties and uncles on 2 sides, well Rilynne is so loved she has them on 3 sides. To be able to have some of her birth family there was incrediable experience, not only to us but for Rilynne. To have her know that her birth family was there at her sealing I am sure will mean a lot to her when she is older. I wanted to express my graditude to her birth family, especially to her birth mother and grandmother. Until you go through the adoption processes you will never know how much courage and faith it takes to place a child. I look at Rilynne and I can see a lot of her birth mother in her. Her birth family will NEVER be forgotten. They will always be loved in the Hollist home. You can't love Rilynne without loving them. My heart is full of gratitude and love for her birth mother. Thank you for giving us a wonderful gift that we could not give ourselves. Thank you for giving us our sweet Rilynne.

To be able to have Rilynne in the Temple and to have her sealed to us for all time and eternity is an incrediable blessing from our father in heaven. I truly felt loved that the Lord has entursted me with one of his most beloved daughters and that he had prepared a way for us to be an enternal family. There aren't words to express the love you feel having a child sealed to you. I guess it is one of the Lord's tender mercy's to be able to have that experience.

Rilynne did so well during the sealing. I was nervous that she might start crying but she didn't. I am sure all she felt was peace but that is what we felt.



Here is Ty smiling down on Rilynne. I think it was beautiful picture with the reflection of the Temple in the background.

Here is everyone that attending the sealing standing at one of the doors at the SLC temple. We missed Mike and Anna who couldn't make it from Michigan. We miss and love you guys. It was a little cold that morning and a bit rainy so everyone was trying to hurry and smile dispite the cold. Rilynne was really hungry and so all our pictures of her she has a bottle in her mouth.

Here is another picture of everyone (minus Kim and Kevin who was taking the pictures) in front of the waiting area.

Here is Rilynne with her auntie Lisa. It was time for Rilynne to take a nap and that is why so looks a bit grumpy.

Here is a picture with Rilynne and some of her birth family. Good job Auntie Lisa on feeding her. What can I say, she likes to eat. Give her a bottle anytime and she is a happy girl!

Enjoying the Spring

So a few weeks ago it warmed up to about 50 degrees so we decided to take our first walk as a family. We dressed Rilynne pretty warm. Poor girl she was probably sweating! She did really good. She likes to be outside. She is such a curious girl. She loves to look around and see what's going on around her. I think she also liked all the different sounds around her.

Here is her proud Papa manning the stroller.

It's Offical!!!

So I have been slacking off on updating my blog. I'm sorry and promise to do better. So of these posts are old and I am just finally getting around to writing/posting them.

Well on March 16th we made our adoption of Rilynne official with the state. Rilynne was only 2.5 months old so it was really fast! Our attorney was so great! She rushed this for us so we could have Rilynne sealed to us on the same weekend as Ty's sister's wedding.

Our Judge was really great and made it a fun occasion. Some of my friends from Nike came to the courthouse to celebrate with us.









Here is Auntie Michelle, Auntie Ann, and Auntie Thao from Nike.



Here is Rilynne and Judge Codd. Rilynne was really good at being past around to all the different people.



Here is us with our attorney, Robin. She was so great! We just loved her.

A Little Over 2 Months Old

My baby is over 2 months old! This picture was taken the day of her 2 month doctor appointment. I can't believe how big she is! She needs to stop growing so fast. We waited for her for so long and I feel like things are going by too fast and I don't have the time to savor all the moments. Her doctor was impressed with her growth and development. She was in the 95% for all categories. Her stats are
Weight: 12.4 lbs
Height: 24 inches
Head: 15 inches

This was the doctor visit where she got all her shots. I was really nervous that she was going to freak out but she did really well. She got 3 shots but they brought in 2 nurses and gave her all the shots at the same time. She cried when she got the shots and while we got her dressed again but she was a sleep by time we left the office. The nurses said the shots can sometimes make them drowsy but that is an understatement - Rilynne slept 15 hours straight. It kind of scared me because she didn't even wake up to eat. When she did wake up she was full of smiles and was happily playing in her crib.

SRHS Basketball

This year Ty was asked to help coach the varsity basketball team at our local high school. He had a blast. He really likes to coach. After the first practice he came home with a huge smile on his face. He loved to be called "coach". After all the years he played and had to condition I think he secretly liked to tell others to run when he didn't have to. The kids really loved Ty. I had numerous parents come up to me telling me how much their kids really loved Ty and how he has really helped them not only in basketball but in life. That's Ty's talent - making friends and helping people. When you meet Ty you can't help but LOVE him. I am really proud to be his wife and all the things he has accomplished in his life.

Here is Ty and the rest of the coaching staff. He really liked working with them.

Here is Ty and Rilynne and some of his players. I think Rilynne was tired but she was a trooper. Everyone LOVED Rilynne!

Mom! Get me out of here!

This is Rilynne's first time sitting in her Bumbo seat. This is one of my FAVORITE pictures of her. She is such a funny girl. Every time I see this picture it puts a smile on my face. When I first put her in her seat she looked up at me like - "Mom are you serious. Get me out of here". I love it how her little fists are clinched like she will endure this seat for Mom but hates every minute of it. This picture was taken a few weeks ago so by now Rilynne is a bit more accustom to her seat. She actually kind of likes it now. She is such a curious little girl and the chair allows her to sit up and see everything that is going on around her.

One Happy Little Girl

Rilynne is starting to smile a lot now. If you look at her and make a funny face or move you voice up and down she'll break out in a big smile. One of my favorite parts of the day is getting Rilynne out of her crib in the morning. She'll be fussing a bit and then when she sees me her whole face lights up in a gorgeous smile and she starts to kick her legs. I LOVE it!! Rilynne is getting so big. I love watching her discover new things.