Baptism Sunday

What a weekend!

It was SO GREAT to get up to Tacoma this weekend.

Peter (Oma, I need a picture of Peter baptizing our girl to put here!) baptized Nora, and in that wonderful rite of passage, came the best thing in the world besides the baptism itself: A weekend of enjoying our family...the whole reason we're here.

It's hard to put into words what it's like to finally stand at the front of a church with your babe in arms, and welcoming her into the church family.

Peter said afterwards he looked at me and saw I was about to cry, so then he looked at Brian who was about to cry, so then he tried looking at the sponsors Jeff & Judy, and "they were no help", and the whole front rows weren't exactly dry either.

He said as he looked at all of us, he realized what we'd all been through and how much loss we'd endured, and he wanted to tell me to "Get it together or I'm not going to make it through this either!" HA!

Well, I gathered myself...I found myself listening and looking at Peter as much as possible. He is such a great pastor, and I really enjoyed his sermon. So neat to see a guy who's one of his first marriages was to marry Brian and me, and here we are, 8 years later, baptizing our girl in his church.

Lots of little things happened...including a wonderful service. And afterwards, Nora met Ella, a new "friend" who's a few weeks younger than her. It was funny that the Mom (ack, can't remember her name now) came up and said she'd heard all about us and felt she knew us...as Brian had come up to Tacoma for a few weeks to train with the company before moving on to Oregon while we were both pregnant with our girls, and for those few weeks had gone to that church.

Brian had mentioned meeting her and said that during that time he was in Washington and I was still in Colorado -- he was watching this woman's pregnancy knowing we were due at about the same time and trying to imagine what I looked like since we were apart for about a month.

After church, Jill & John hosted lunch at their house in the Harbor...when Jill's son Erik saw us together he asked how to tell us apart since we look so much alike, and I said "Erik, as you can see, your Mom is browner."

Oh, if only I'd spent the end of February in Cozumel...

I'd be burned and peeled by now.

Nevermind

Nora and Opa (her grandpa on Brian's side) got lots of time to play today. Nora's M. Family looks came directly from Opa, which look so much like her Uncle David (who we lost to cancer in 2000) and her Daddy and Peter.

If you click on any of the pictures, you can see them in greater detail...but this particular one I like because it says "God Danced The Day You Were Born."

And I thought "A lot of other people did too!"

After a bit of partying, it was time for a bottle with Uncle John.

Uncle John is THE Uncle when it comes to getting Nora comfy, sleeping or smiling. He's got the touch, that's for sure.

Her cousin John had fun with her too -- he found lots of ways to get her to have fun, including this picture of her on her tummy checking herself out in the mirror.

John also had her up in the air like he was bench-pressing her, and the squeals and squeaks and laughs that came out of her were absolutely priceless!


All this socializing! It's no wonder she napped so much.

But then she'd wake up and have a little more fun...including some face time with Aunt Stephanie, aka "Red", who "no pressure" needs to give Nora a cousin, stat.

After a long day of socializing, Nora fell asleep in the car, and slept all the way to Kalama -- just past the halfway mark home! Then it was time to swing into the Burger Barn for a shake, a change, a bottle, and a little time out of the car seat before heading home.

Thank you everyone, for such a wonderful weekend.

Brian and I talked as we came home and said how great it was that everyone who COULD come without getting on a plane was THERE for us today.

We love you all so very much.

You are why we came home to the Northwest.

Thank you.