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Matthew's Baptism and Family Support    Words cannot begin to express the feelings in my heart for this sacred event in our lives.  Our oldest son, Matthew, was baptized on Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 10:30 a.m. in Katy, Texas.  It was a bit of an emotional day for me.  We all felt excited for him, but my heart felt a bit sad too, because I can't believe that he's already eight years old.  Plus, I felt a bit overwhelmed.  Because of our crazy busy week, our pile of laundry (aka Mount Doom) sat unfolded in heaps on our bedroom floor, our sticky kitchen floor remained unmopped, and the list could go on.  Also, Ryan's grandmother passed away the night before.  The bottom line is that I felt exhausted, sad for my father-in-law, and unprepared for my company.  I don't like that feeling.  But . . . you know what?  Saturday still came and people still came over--regardless of the shape or condition of my house, and my father-in-law had the opportunity to arrive in time to give his mother a blessing of release.  She left this world, surrounded by the sons who loved her and is now reunited with her eternal husband, who passed away more than 23 years ago.

Ryan came into our room, while I was getting ready, and I told him how I was feeling.  He just looked at me and said, "Ker, remember our wedding day and all the things that went wrong?  Is it the end of the world?  Take a deep breath."  And so I decided that I was going to have a great day.

We arrived at the church 30 minutes early to get the relief society room ready, as well as make sure the font was filled, and that the jumpsuit fit Matthew.  We also took a few family pictures, and then, we watched as friend after friend filed in.  I, seriously, cannot describe the gratitude I feel for so many loved ones' support.  In attendance:  Grandma Allred from Plano, Wayne & D'Lonna Nelson with their four boys (Tyler, David, Carter, & James) from Coppell, Grandma and Grandpa McLeish from Washington, The Carr family (Mardy, Melanie, & Larissa), President Allen (stake president), Mike Turner (counselor in bishopric), Amie Gillett, Kathleen Christiansen, Josh and Rachel Schulmire & their four children (Jesse, Cole, Rylee, and Sawyer) from Magnolia, Fred Niece (high councilman), Brett & Stephanie Ravenburg and their daughter (Evelyn) from Tomball, Shane Jasperson, Danny Walling and two of his girls (Shyanne & Kinley), Jody and Jenny Bustos and their son (Christian), Doug and Kelley Kelley, Mike and Titia Morgan, Spencer and Crystal Pederson and their four children, Randall and Lynn Raschke and their daughter (Emily), Mike and Cyndi Skye, and then, our family.  I seriously expected much less and feel entirely appreciative to everyone who supported our little family.  We received many calls and texts, as well as emails for Matthew.

Amie Gillett, our primary president, gave the talk on baptism, and she said some of the nicest things about our son.  Some of the stories about him, we'd never heard.  It really made him feel special.  One of our home teachers and his old primary teacher gave the talk on the Holy Ghost.  He, too, said some really kind words about Matthew.  D'Lonna, Matthew's aunt, sang "I Know That My Savior Loves Me."  That is Matthew's favorite primary song, so it was really special for him to hear her sing it.

Today, at our stake meeting, I ran into one of our friends who attended the baptism, and I had the chance to thank him for coming.  His response, "Matthew has told me on more than one occasion that he prays for me because I have cancer.  Ummm . . . if that boy has my back, I definitely have his back.  I will be at everything I can to support him and show him that I have his back."  And that's the kind of son that he is--compassionate, thoughtful, and sweet.

Oh, I'm so grateful I could be here for this, that I have a husband who is worthy of the Priesthood to have been able to perform the ordinance, for Matthew's righteous desires, and for these stepping stones.  This decision will effect Matthew's eternal life.  I'm grateful for the saving ordinance of baptism.  It allows for us to become clean and return to live with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.  And as we make mistakes, we can repent, and then, partake of the sacrament each Sunday to renew our baptismal covenants.

Last night, Ryan and I lay in bed for 30 minutes talking and reflecting on the day's events.  We both sort of just sighed and exhaled, as our joy felt full.  Oh, I have so many wonderful blessings in my life.

(Imagine the excitement with this many boys running around our house afterwards.  There were actually 9 boys, but Tyler somehow skipped out on the pic and we also had one little girl who was pretending to be a dinosaur.  ;))

Hmmmmm . . . GREAT day.  So thankful.