Already missing them

How does the week seem to drag and then you blink and the weekend is over?!?

We had a pretty nice weekend. I am trying to soak up time with my precious family before I leave for my mission trip. I am such a nerd and a nostalgic one at that. This morning I was putting one of Shep's t-shirts in the laundry and I found myself hugging it to my face and catching the remaining whiffs of leftover cologne.

See?

I am ridiculous. I am already missing him before I am even gone.

I am already thinking about things that I can shove in my suitcase that smell like my children. Pictures serve a good purpose but there is just something about a scent that can take your heart away.

I remember when my grandparents passed away. I had not gotten to be there to tell them goodbye. So~ what I wanted was to be close to them any way possible. I remember climbing into their bed and just breathing into their pillow cases. My papaw always smelled like hair gel, tobacco, and soap. For a moment...it felt like I was lying on his chest.

So getting back to the weekend...

-Ava practiced diving into the deep end of a friend's pool
-Caroline practiced being baptized (we are working on her fear of going under...she did great!)
-We watched "Despicable Me" and Zeke never left my lap (cute movie)
-We learned that we have a family of Red Foxes that live in our back woods

Church was awesome on Sunday! The message series is all about being Free in Christ. This week the focus was freedom from fear. I felt like that was pretty appropriate for me considering I am trying to prepare myself for this mission trip and I feel completely ill-equipped and totally inadequate to do a good job!

Our church prayed over our group and commissioned us to go in the name of Jesus! It was humbling and surreal! I don't consider myself a missionary in any way but it made this all seem real. We have been preparing for weeks but having folks lay hands on us and commission us sealed the deal.