Child/Baby Dedication & Father’s Day

Our church does a child/baby dedication each year.  They now have it each Father’s Day, so we just barely missed it last year.  We were coming home from the hospital on Father’s Day, so no way that was happening then!  So, this year, we got a whole weekend of dedication, Father’s Day, and her first birthday party.  Oh, what fun!  :-)

The dedication day is very special to us because we do believe that God has given parents a special calling to train their children in the ways of the Lord. 

^“4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. ⁵ Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”  Deut. 6:4-9

^“6 Train ^[a] a child in the way he should go,
       and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6

So, that is basically what the dedication is. . . parents dedicating their children to the Lord and committing to teach them about God and what it means to have a personal relationship with Him.  It also involves the church. . . committing to pray and encourage the parents in this endeavor. 

When we dedicated Adley and Leighton, the church had changed the way they did their service a bit.  They allow you to provide a special scripture or prayer for them to share at the dedication.  We love that personal touch.  We were going to try to make Leighton’s a little different, but when we looked back over what we had written, we knew that we really liked that prayer and it is what we pray for each of them. 

“We pray that God will begin drawing her now and that one day she will come to the knowledge of His redemptive grace. That she will serve Him passionately wherever He leads, and as it says in Colossians 1:10-12, that she will ‘live in a manner worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully give thanks to the Father. . .’”

Afterward, we usually have lunch or cake or something to celebrate with whoever is around.  (of course!) 

So, just like with the first two girls, we look forward to watching Leighton grow to see the wonderful mercies of our Father in heaven.

Up front – Leighton just kept “talking” through a lot of it.  Actually, I think it sounded like she was singing for part of it too.

Receiving our packet from Pastor Jonathan.  They usually include a copy of the bulletin and our prayer and a certificate, etc.  It is very nice!

A look at the others dedicating that day.  I’m not sure how many were in the other service.  But, there is usually a good group each year.  Another exciting thing to note is how many adopted children were being dedicated that day.  Three out of the six were adopted children.  Praise the Lord!

Lunch at Breadeux

Yummy! 

Fun with Uncle Brett 

Jaylyn 

Some of the special Fathers who were able to join us for lunch. Back: My Dad, TJ’s Uncle Larry, TJ’s Uncle Ray, TJ’s Dad and TJ with Leighton. Front: TJ’s Grandpa Geist, Adley, TJ’s Grandpa Evans and Jaylyn

 TJ and Leighton

Leighton and Papa Geist - “I’m getting your glasses!!!” 

Check it out!

Catch Up

Here are some old items I never got to post. . .

Headed to a wedding right before Leighton was born.
I had realized at Easter I did not get a good full shot of these dresses - my first attempt at pattern sewing since junior high!

Sweet cousin Mavery was dedicated at church on Father's Day and I was sad to miss it!

On Father's Day, they also had a special Bible presentation for 5 year olds. This was Jaylyn's year and I thought I was going to be safe and be home in time to go see her get her Bible. But, then the whole c-section thing threw those plans out. While she was getting her Bible, I was waiting for them to come pick me up and take me home!

Jaylyn was very excited to get her new Bible from Pastor Jonathan. She did bring it in to the hospital to show me. :)

These are just a couple silly shots of Jaylyn entertaining herself on Grandma's "convertible" while my mom and dad were visiting and helping me with the baby.

The girls went for lots of rides!

Some of the cousins we got to spend some time with on the Fourth of July.
Makenna, Leighton, Sage, Sawyer, Mavery, Malaine, Jaylyn and Adley

Nana and Poppy had a fun little pool for the kids to play in. It even had a sprinkler on it. Adley did not like it when they made the water spray up really high. :)

Splish Splash!

They made a muddy mess of the yard and their own selves. :)

I like the water!

Smiley Mavery!

Sage the mermaid