Sam & Stella: Stella's baptism

On October 9th, 2011, we had Stella's baptism at St. John Lutheran Church in Pflugerville, TX. This is the church where Sam was baptized as well....and the church we were married in. This is also the church Justin grew up in, and where his parents were married...I could go on and on. Needless to say, it has a special place in our hearts. Since we've been married, and even since Sam's baptism, a new preacher has joined the church. Pastor Scott Mann did such an amazing job, and we were so grateful to have him be a part of our special day.

Funny, though, how these "special" days never go quite how you envision they will. For us, we knew things were taking a turn around 2am on Sunday morning. This was about the time Sam woke up screaming, and began vomiting for the next 4 hours. Oh, stomach bug, how I despise you. This was the second time Sam had gotten this terrible bug in a six week span, poor kid.

He was a mess that morning, between feeling awful and not having slept all night. So, sweet Papaw offered to stay home with Sam bug while the rest of us attended the baptism. We scurried around trying to get ready--Justin and I going on zero sleep. Oh, and I forgot to mention a cold front had blown in that night and it was pouring rain that morning--prior to that, Austin hadn't gotten rain in months. Go figure. So, Margaret, Justin, Stella and I ran to the car in the rain...when I remembered I had forgotten Stella's pacifier on the kitchen counter. Justin leaped out of the car to go get it, running so that he wouldn't get soaking wet. As luck would have it, he tripped over the water hose while running, tearing both his shirt and pants, as well as leaving him with quite a welt on his arm. It was just that kind of day.

But once we entered that church (and miraculously, we made it on time...barely!), our moods suddenly shifted. All that mattered was that we were around loved ones who were there to celebrate our baby girl's special day. And as crazy as the day had started off, the baptism really was beautiful and memorable.

Uncle (Zio) Mike and Auntie (Zia) April...who are expecting a little one in May!! :)

The sweet Berg family

After Stella was baptized, Pastor Mann called the children up to the front and included them in the service. He kept Stella with him, in his arms, during this time...and it was just so sweet how he included her in his message for the day.

A picture of us with Stella's Godparents/Sponsors, and Pastor Scott Mann.

Apparently, it was gray shirt and black slacks day...or so Justin, Vito and Jason thought :)

We were so blessed to have family and friends come in to witness Stella's baptism and celebrate her special day with us!

After church, the plan was to go back to Sam and Margaret's house for reception/lunch. Unfortunately, we had to tell most people not to come...since Sam had the stomach bug and we feared he would spread it to others. But even though we ended up being small group, we all enjoyed visiting and had a great time anyway!

This picture is just the perfect way to describe how Sam was feeling that day :(

Sam wanted to snuggle with his daddy. And in this picture you can see where Justin hurt his arm from the fall earlier that morning!

Papaw and Stella bella were having a moment :)

Papaw, Grammy and Stella

Stella's cake...we had tons left over, along with lots of delicious BBQ. And it's a good thing...because poor Margaret ended up catching Sam's stomach bug just a couple of days later. So, Sam (Papaw) was able to eat on BBQ and Italian Cream cake for a full week while Margaret was so sick.