Happy Birthday to Chris

Today is my husband's birthday and I want to write how I'm so thankful to God for him.

Just a brief bio on Christopher Charles Bayack.

He was raised in a small town in Kansas in a loving home.  He was taught to be faithful, and to follow his duty.  He also did the usual boy things like sports, Cub Scouts, hanging out with his friends, worked in wheat fields during harvest time, trying to stay out of trouble.  He came to know his Lord and Savior at a relatively young age of 17.  He then entered into the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland.   The Lord built on his "small town" foundation and continued to grow him through various church experiences and life in a service academy, then in his service to our country.

I met Chris around 1990 at a Bible Study in California.  He was out of his service and attending seminary at the time (The Master's Seminary).  I was only a Christian for about two years when we met, and I had a lot to learn in many ways.  What struck me about Chris immediately is his kindness and his communication abilities.  His humility was probably his strongest character trait.  He was (and is) an excellent listener and very patient.  He was (and is) open with others in how God was working in his life.   He also has an incredible mind.  He can remember Scripture verse references, but mostly, he could see how certain verses would apply to certain situations either in counseling or a doctrinal issue.  He loves History, so always interesting to talk to.  So, I instantly had an admiration for Chris and we were together all the time.  We thankfully didn't have a long courtship and were married June 1991 

21 years later, God has grown us both.  Chris continues to be a wonderful husband, friend, and now father.  We've been parents only for about 6 years, and I've seen his relationship really develop with Anton.  I love seeing Chris grow as a father.  

Anton has so much love and respect for Chris and can see his qualities.  A quick memory:  When we first met Anton in the orphanage, I was so nervous I was almost paralyzed I was basically worthless.  Chris to the rescue!  He surprised me and was so at ease and  made these funny noises with his mouth and Anton seemed to be entertained by that.  But after that, Anton and I were much closer since I was with him all day long as his mom and provided for all his daily needs while Chris worked.  Anton couldn't understand the sacrifices Chris was making, and he was the guy showing up late doing his best to make up for lost time.  And now their relationship is much deeper.  Chris leads in family devotions almost every night and impresses on Anton's heart the things that matter, our relationship with our Savior.  We try to do fun things together, go bike riding, make quick trips to museums or out of town.  We love to go out to eat (unfortunately).  We would love to see more of Pappa, as he works long hours.  But he  really makes the most of his time with both of us.

We are thankful to God to have Chris Bayack as the leader of our family.

update:  went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.  yummy!