Blessings

Hey Fam,

I just had to take a minute to tell you some of the O-mazing things that have happened in our lives in the last little while. It is hard for me to even put into words what we have been blessed with.

So, almost eight months ago Lisa and I got married. We got our own little apartment and were pretending to be responsible adult like people. We were learning how to be married peoples when all of the sudden we found out that Lisa was pregnant. Although it was a little bit of a surprise that it happened so quickly, I was very excited. I was going to have my own little baby running around this crazy world. I guess it didnt really hit me until one day all of the sudden I realized...I am going to be a daddy. I am still a kid, how in the world am I supposed to raise a child. I started thinking about all the things I was going to need to teach her. As time went on, I started to get a little more comfortable with the idea.

So a few months go by and it is time to move into our house. We had been attending the ward for a few months already, but now we were going to be officially in the ward. So the day of the move comes and not a single person from the ward shows up to help us move. Luckily one of the guys from the singles ward came and he was able to call one of his friends. We didnt have a lot of stuff so I knew it would not be a big deal. I was a little surprised that nobody from the ward came, but I did not think too much of it. Due to my calling, I was rarely in the ward, so I did not really get a chance to meet anyone. I was thinking to myself, at what point am I going to get to know the ward. Well, the Lord had his own little surpise for me...and let me tell you, it was a REALLY NICE SURPISE. So when Lisa was 20 weeks along, we find out that she is going to need to be on bed rest and that the baby could be coming very soon.

This altered our lives a little bit. The first few weeks were not bad. Lisa's mom helped us with dinner a few nights and her sisters helped take care of her during the day. A few weeks later, the Relief Society asks how they can help and offers to bring us dinner. Honestly, Lisa and I were doing OK. I am no gourmet chef or anything, but we felt like we were alright. So we compromised with them and asked them to bring dinner 2 nights a week. They have been bringing us dinner every Monday and Thursday night since. And I thought to myself, it might be nice to have a little help every once in a while to have them bring us some food. I can not tell you how amazing these people have been to us. They bring us dinner, but it is so much food. We end up eating the dinner from Monday until Wednesday sometimes because it is so much and then on Thursday, someone else brings us more food. I truly have been amazed and touched at the effort that some of these people have put into these meals for us. What amazing examples of service they have been to Lisa and I. While this was all great and truly special to me, something happened this last week that truly humbled me.

This last week, the woman in our ward were pretty much my Idols. I cannot believe the charity and the service and the generosity and everything else that they have shared with us. So here is what happened. One of the ladies from the ward decided that she wanted to plan Lisa a baby shower. Well, in Lisa's current condition, she did not feel very enthusiastic about the idea of having a million people over here. Something about not being able to sit up and only being able to shower once a week did not excite her about the idea of having a million people here in the house. So this amazing lady decided to have a baby shower in Lisa's honor at someone else's house. They sent out adorable invitations to tell people about the shower and it said something along the lines of "Lisa is not quite feeling up to a shower (literally), so instead we are going to bathe her with our love. " Now as cheesy or corny as that may sound, that is the only way of describing of what these people have done for us.

They had their little shower and at it they made a little video so that even though Lisa could not be there she would be able to share in the fun. Well yesterday they came over with the video and presents. At the shower, they also made 3 huge signs that they let everyone sign and write something on. They have jokes, and inspirational quotes and different things. Well yesterday they came over and hung it on our ceiling so that when Lisa is laying on her back and side all day long, at least she will be able to look up and see all the people that care for her. What a nice little idea. The presents were absolutely amazing. I seriously cannot believe some of these people. I am so amazed by their charity and generosity. There was one lady that we do not even know that gave us this little baby bath, a little rubber ducky, and then an set of clothes for every stage of life for the babies first 2 years. I think the lady is a single mom that probably has plenty of her own concerns to think about, and yet she was willing to give us, total strangers, all of those things. Another older lady who is inactive that we also have never met before sewed the most adorable little blanket. I can only imagine how much time she spent on that and again for a total stranger. Then there is the lady who took charge of all this and planned it all. She has 6 children of her own ranging in age from 6 months to 11 years old, her kids are home schooled, and her husband is the Elder's Quorum President. Its not like she has nothing better to do with her time. Yet she planned this whole thing, made up the invitations, passed them out to all of these people and then went out shopping with all of the money that people donated and bought other things that Lisa had told her she needed. Emma, Lisa's little sister, told me that the stroller alone cost $200 something. Someone donated a crib that is in great condition. Someone else donated one of those little bouncer things that looks new. There were so many people that we dont even know that donated all of these things to us. But the most amazing thing to me about it is that we barely know these people. That is the thing that I cant get out of my head. I seriously cannot tell you what I have been feeling. These people have been such amazing examples to me. Its not about the monetary value of anything that we recieved...it is just the overwhelming feeling of love that came with them. I feel so indebted to everyone. I see them at church and I cant even begin to express how we feel for them. I truly am humbled to think about what they have done for us. This could be a very difficult and trying time, and while there have been a few (and I mean a very few) times that I have felt a little discouraged, throughout this entire time, I have felt a very calming and peaceful feeling that things are going to be fine. So to have all of these amazing things shared with us, I am truly humbled. That is not a word I use lightly, because I recognize that I am not a very humble person by nature, but I look at these people and think look at what they have done for us. I have never done anything 1/2 as nice as any of these people have done for me. I really hope I never forget this feeling. I hope I can be better at giving and serving and sharing with others. I know this is probably a pretty long blog and my words cannot really communicate what I would like to say, but I just wanted to say thank you to all of you. I know that while these people have been doing some great things here for us, we might not have even made it this far without your fasting and prayers. So thank you for your thoughts and prayers and fasts on our behalf. Lisa is 31 1/2 weeks now, who knew we would make it this far. I know many of you that are naturally generous by nature and I hope that I can be more like you because I can't explain to you what I feel from these people right now. I love you guys. And thanks again for all you guys do.

Matty