A Log Chapel Baptism

What a busy 10 days it has been!

A week ago we were surrounded by our wonderful family and friends for T's baptism - 2 good friends (1 old, 1 new), my entire family less a few uncles and nephews, Ryan's parents, and his aunt and uncle, Scott and Jeanine ... and our little family of 3 came together to celebrate what I came to call the Three F's ... I think it's the kindergarten teacher in me ... thinking in 3's ... initial consonant sounds the same ... either way -

Family -

Friendship -

Faith -

Those were the three topics that kept coming to mind all weekend.  We felt so loved, supported and encouraged as a new little family as we took a dive into what is sure to be the stepping stone of our family's faith ... not necessarily our Catholic faith ... but just faith.

It was so important to be to consider each element of the f / f / f individually, while also reflecting upon how critical they are to each other ... discovering what faith means to our family, my Nelson family, Ryan's Haws family ... and feeling encouraged about our parents' choices and how they will influence our family choices as well ... I am eager to see how our road is paved through as we embark on our f / f / f adventure ;-)

Here are some photos from the weekend -

One of his aunties brought him his favorite treat
for breakfast - a Nana!!

Gisela attempted to snap some pictures of Ryan near his office ;-)

Nelson Ladies

Post Baptism - Notre Dame's Log Chapel

"Hey, nice hat! I'll trade ya my giraffe for it!"
Silas + Thomas

Fabulous cake courtesy of Uptown Kitchen

Pudgey Baby - Up from a Nap

Our Happy Family

"Thanks for the icing, Mom!"

"So this is where we'll be tomorrow morning ..."

Following the baptism, we went for brunch at Uptown Kitchen ... our favorite place to pick up a great meal.  The service was fabulous, the cake was amazing, the conversation was non-stop ... everyone had a great time!  Our first guests departed following breakfast, while the rest of us took some time to relax, unwind, and for Thomas, catch a nap!

Sunday evening was very relaxed - including Thomas and Silas enjoying their first swimming pool adventures and a pizza party in the incredibly comfortable lounge of the hotel ... That night was an adventure - I had my first baby-free sleep over in the hotel just a few blocks from home!  Marge, Gisela and Sophia invited me over for a hotel sleep over ... and it was wonderful to spend the night up late talking with my sisters!  My initial reaction was, "Score! A full night's sleep!" ... but of course we were all up until nearly 1 a.m. and I was out the door by 7:30 a.m.

The rest of our company took off for Minnesota, leaving behind 1 last visitor ... Margaret stayed for a few extra days of R&R - I adore spending extra time with her.  We took it easy, relaxing after a busy weekend, running some errands, playing games with Thomas and enjoying fabulous meals together.  It was hard to wave good-bye to her when she left on Thursday morning.

So here we are. Friday night.  The house is absolutely silent.  It's been raining all day. Thomas has been a grump as his top two teeth are getting ready to pop through.  Ryan's back to work on his dissertation (is he ever not working?).  I have this odd feeling that I should be getting back to work following a long vacation ... and then I remind myself that I am always working this job of mine - Mom-On-Call!