Big stuff

Today is a big day in our house.

First it is Matt's birthday! Happy Birthday Babe! He's approaching 30 quicker than me, and I keep reminding him of that. Ha.

Second, Matt is getting baptized at church. For years now he's talked about being baptized at our church. He was sprinkled as a baby at his parents' church, but it just didn't mean anything to him. He really wanted to do this. So today he will make his proclamation before our church body, friends, and family. I'm so proud of him. I remember my own baptism fondly, and I'm glad that he will have this memory too.

And last of all it is only 6 days until Matt leaves on his missions trip. For those of you who are new here, Matt is going with a team from our church to Mali, West Africa. He's been preparing for this trip for over a year. He is beyond thrilled for this opportunity to serve. He will be gone for 2 weeks. I know that Zachariah and I will miss him terribly, but we are sending him with our love and prayers. This is the experience of a lifetime for Matt, and we are so happy for him.

So today we celebrate. We honor a birthday, cherish a baptism, and say goodbye for a short while to a wonderful man whom we all love dearly. My parents, sister & her husband, and Matt's parents (possibly his sister if she surprises us) are coming to church with us. This is quite a feat since our families are very involved in their own churches. The only other time Matt's parents have been to our church was for the dedication of Zachariah when he was a baby. Matt knows his mom "might" be coming, but his dad is surprising him too. I know it will mean so much to him to have them here.

After church we're all coming back here for dinner. I have things ready to put Chicken Noodle Soup and Beef Stew in the crock pots, crackers, chips, Texas Sheet Cake, and my mom is bringing a Layer Salad. (Remind me to share recipes if you're interested.) I forgot the bread, but I'm going to get my sister to stop on the way back here to get some bread to have with the soup and Matt's favorite ice cream.

Maybe later I'll have some photos to share. I'm hoping I can get one of the baptism itself. And of course I need some family pictures while they are all here.

My parents are taking Zachariah home with them when they leave later. My mom offered to do that, so Matt and I could have a little alone time before he leaves on Saturday. He has Monday off for Columbus Day, so that works out nicely. All I know is he wants Red Robin for lunch. He has a certificate for a free burger, and he will soon be eating vegetarian to prepare his body for his trip. We'll probably just go walk around a mall or something since we'll be in a bigger city. Then we'll pick up Zachariah from my parents before heading home Monday evening.

The rest of this week will be spent finishing preparing Matt for his trip. And we're trying to spend as much time together as possible. I know we'll miss him, yet I'm at peace about it all and looking forward to the fun things Zachariah and I can do while he's away.