David spent the last week in Santa Barbara, California, attending a big important computer media conference called ACM MM (please do not ask me what that stands for). That left Tricia, Sophia and Haley on our own. The two legged females were busy traveling to Wolseley, grocery shopping for the up coming week, cleaning and getting ready for all the visitors that were coming. We enjoyed our time together, and the three of us spent some good time catching up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (oh, to own an entire collection...life is good!).
Diane was the first of our guests to arrive. She came on Tuesday to help Tricia out and to spend some quality time with Sophia. She had not seen her granddaughter in two months, so there was a fair amount of catching up to do. Sophia only really threw one major fit, and that was on the way home after picking up Grandma. She was tired, it was her cranky time and to top it all off, there was this new and strange person sitting with her. I think if I were her, I would have done the same thing.
True to form, Sophia was the charmer. She spent her time with Grandma Diane hitting some new milestones. For one thing, and this makes me very happy, Sophia no longer hates tummy time. The reason for this change is the fact that she is beginning to hold her head up. Over a few days she learnt to hold it up while keeping her arms to the side, and then she discovered how much easier it was to do with her hands in front of her. From that discovery she was able to move on to reaching for and grabbing things placed in front of her. What a fun thing to watch. Now, she still cried, but mainly because it was a lot of work and somewhat frustrating, but it didn't happen immediately!
This is her surfer pose!
As a result of her new found head position, Sophia also figured out how to roll from her stomach to her back. This has happened only a few times, and not without a lot of effort. But it was so cool to watch and she seemed so proud of her self.
and over!On Friday night, the rest of the family started to arrive... Grandma Gladys and Jacquie Moon (a friend of Tricia's) arrived at 9:30 pm and the remainder of the Gerhard clan arrived at 1:00 am, after a long drive from Winnipeg. David was supposed to arrive on Friday as well, but due to some unseen circumstances, his flight got cancelled and he was stuck in Minneapolis, Minnisota. He arrived at 1:30 the next day. Saturday was spent either shopping or geocaching and nice celebration dinner was held for the baptism (to happen the next day) and for David's 32nd birthday (on November 3rd). But Sunday was definately the big day!
We were on the road to Wolseley by 7:30 am, seeing that church now started at 9 am. Sigh. That was early. I think the only one smiling was Sophia. The snow was falling and the highway was clear, so we booted it to town. All in all, it was a lovely service. Sophia was perfect, only threatening to cry at one point, but became very happy when the minister started walking around with her so that all the congregation could see her. It was so wonderful to be able to share the moment not only with the congregation of St. James, but also with our family. I am sad that my dad and brother were not able to make it, but I know they were there in spirit. I also give thanks for the amazing support of Sophia's godmother, Melisa Hosler. We made the right choice in asking her to take on this special role. We wanted to ask someone who not only was a friend of ours but also a connection with the church. She beamed throughout the whole service. After the baptism we marked the end of my official time as minister in the congregation, which was bittersweet. Then there was an opportunity to have coffee and muffins in celebration of the day.
After the muffins etc, the entire family went to the Hosler's farm for soup and sandwiches with some special people from the congregation. This was a gift. People who were especially important to us were there not only to say goodbye but also to celebrate Sophia's baptism. We had a blast! Many thanks to all the people who made that time possible.
After Lunch, the Gerhards got on the road to Winnipeg, and the rest of us picked up the remaining things we had at the manse before heading to the city. We were tired, but happy after having such a perfect and meaningful day. Thank you to both our families for making the trip out to Regina, and thanks to Jacquie for doing the same. The baptism just wouldn't haven't been the same with out you.
Some more pictures are on the way, but I need to hit the sack! It truly is amazing how a little water can bring a family together and offer a time of celebration!
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