Bill Is A Very Good Dancer

I can't stop looking at this photo.

I set it as the desktop photo for my computer.

My Elizabeth girl.

It's 6:24p.m. as I sit here and type. It's completely dark outside. Yuck.

But let's not concentrate on that. Today was a glorious, sunny, warm, and fabulous day.

But before I tell you the story of today, I thought I'd show you a blast from the past.

Look at how cute they were!

Okay, I got that out of my system. Now I'm ready to tell you all about today.

Today was Matthew's confirmation.

Matthew and his family have been friends of ours since he and Will were in car seats.

Matthew's mom is my friend Lynn.

This is Lynn and her husband Bill. Bill is a very good dancer.

Lynn and Bill opened up their home this morning for family and friends to share Brunch before we headed off to church to participate in the confirmation.

We loaded our plates up in the kitchen with cinnamon rolls, sausage, fruit, and coffee cake. There apparently was an egg casserole but it got forgotten in the fridge until it was time to leave for church. Aren't you glad to know that? It comforts me to know that I'm not the only one who forgets things.

This is Lynn and Cara. Cara brings the party. Lynn used her to get things rolling and to get us excited about eating at the tables that were set up in the garage.

We ate. We drank. We goofed around. I took pictures despite everyone's protests.

Our families have shared a lot of life together.

These three lovelies are seniors. One belongs to Cara, one belongs to Lynn, and one belongs to me. I love that they are such good friends - just like their mothers.

The row of boys in the back pew is Matthew's small group. They meet Sunday evenings. They goof around, eat, study the Bible, and pray together. Their leader, Chris, is sitting on the end. He took the time to get all the boys together and show up for Matthew. Most of the boys go to our church and so for them, this service was a bit of a change.

When Matthew was up at the front of the church, the pastor asked for his friends and family to come forward and lay their hands on him in a pledge of commitment to help him along on his faith journey. We all went forward. We squished ourselves together in a tight-knit circle, reached out our hands to touch Matthew, and bowed our heads in prayer. A powerful and humbling moment indeed.

When we got back to our seats, I could hear Lynn sniffle behind me. I didn't turn around because I was holding back tears as well and I didn't want us to make a scene. I just stuck my hand through the back of the pew and held on to her leg. She patted my hand.

Here she is after the service with her two beautiful girls.

This is Bill after the service. He was starting to get a little jiggy. Bill is an excellent dancer.

Thank you Matthew for giving us a reason to celebrate today. Stay strong on your journey and never forget today and all the people crowded around you as you knelt at the front of the church.

We love you.