Baptism, Easter, Barbeque & Stress!!!

I woke up last Saturday with the worst stomach ache & I had been having not so nice dreams all night. It was Savanna’s Baptism day & I was a bit jittery.
We got up & My parents had taken Kaden to go golfing on the golf course right next to our house. They called & said they were cold so we jumped into the golf cart and ran out to the 5th hole to take them some jackets & hot chocolate. I got to see Kade golf & might I say I was pretty impressed with him! He is hoping to try out for the golf team at school in a few weeks for this next year.

The morning was fairly uneventful as I just spent it getting all 3 girls ready for the baptism in their dresses & doing their hair. Savanna’s dress looked absolutely beautiful on her & she seemed very happy that day.

As many of you know the past few years has been a whirlwind of being in and out of the court room with Justin’s ex wife. Due to the amount of drama it was creating I have really struggled with dealing with the whole scenerio and it has taken it’s toll on my emotional & physical state. So, a few months ago I chose to quit going to court with Justin. I love him and support him but for our marriage and my own well being I couldn’t do it anymore.

I knew Justin’s ex wife Mandy was going to be there in support of Savanna so I felt like we were going into the court room to battle it out rather than to a baptism. As we prepared to go to Savanna’s baptism I had an over active bladder & an upset stomach. I have the lovely type of stomach that when I am stressed my body doesn’t do well so I knelt down in prayer about an hour before the baptism and just prayed that the day would go smoothly, that there would be no drama & to calm my nerves.
The Baptism actually went really smoothly I was suprised at how well it turned out. I had hoped for the best but prepared myself for the worst.
I got a glimpse at the interaction of family with Justin’s ex and at times it was hard for me to keep it together I wanted to run far far away as it hurt knowing she was once part of that family. I had to keep telling myself this was Savanna’s big day & that I couldn’t let my emotions ruin it. At times I felt like I was out of place & that I was the one who didn’t belong there. I am sure any divorced/remarried person has felt this way at some point while watching their spouse interact with their ex & their children. It is such a difficult emotion to express or describe.

Justin is such a strong strong amazing person. He did a beautiful job of baptizing his daughter. I had the honor to help Savanna in the dressing room afterwards & it touched me that I had actually been a part of her process.
Her confirmation was a true prayer specifically for her. Justin asked for her to be blessed in so many ways. During that confirmation I FINALLY got the calming feeling I had been praying for earlier in the morning. I know that God loves me. I know he sees my challenges. I know he hurts when I hurt. I knew in my heart that even though we were in such a difficult position that my dear sweet husband loves me with all of his heart. He knows me so well that he tried to make it a good day for me too.
Here we are with Justin’s family before the baptism. I was really sad that I didn’t get a single picture of my family with Savanna.

After the Baptism I was so ready to get home & just CELEBRATE!!
I was surrounded by all the people that I love the most & watched as Maeli and Savanna were able to finally talk to one another about their baptisms & compare stories. It was really cute of them!
We had most of Justin’s siblings & their families, his parents, my parents & 2 of my siblings and their families there. We Barbequed hamburgers & everyone was so gracious to pitch in and bring salads & desserts! I couldn’t have done it without the support of my family!
John & Misty eating their burgers!

Jason, Mark, Geoff & Cheryl

During dinner my little nephew Chandler (my sister’s boy) kept pulling faces so I told him to pull me an “angry face” and this is what I got!! He is hilarious!

After eating all the kids ventured out to do the easter egg hunt & it was so funny to watch how each child took it on. It was cold & rainy outside but that didn’t keep us from having a good time.

Here are all the kids in my family room getting ready to run outside to see all the eggs! Like my brother in law John – recording me as I take pictures?? haha!! that was funny!

Here is my little niece Marissa (Justin’s sisters baby) during the easter egg hunt I thought she looked so stinkin cute!

Justin & Kaden after Kaden chased Justin all around the yard because he had the “golden egg” (it had money in it)

The day turned out perfect! I had so much fun having everyone come for Savanna’s big day!

Maeli & easter basket showing me all the “loot” she got!

Everyone in the back yard watching the kiddos run around!

I would have loved to have had a lot more pictures of the day but I was running around so much that I didn’t get many taken & Justin doesn’t seem to help out much on the picture taking end.. Just glad I did get a few though.

The next morning the Easter bunny had made his big appearance leaving behind treats. I normally prefer the easter bunny to come on Saturday but I didn’t even have a chance to get anything put together so Saturday Justin had to run to the store & put it all together! THANKS JUS!!!
Our easter baskets!

All in all it did turn out to be a great weekend! Saturday night after everyone left Justin & I sat outside on the front steps and took in the day & I realized that nothing was greater than that day!