kennedy's baby dedication.

Kennedy's Baby Dedication was this morning at church. It was a very special morning for us, as we loved having our family and friends there with us to celebrate the special blessing that Kennedy is to all of our lives. As with Bennet, it was important to us to dedicate Kennedy to the Lord, and it was especially exciting for us to do so at our new church. We spent a lot of time church-hunting when we moved, and finally having a church that we feel committed to is a huge blessing for us.Our church recently provided us with the following description of a Baby Dedication, which I really feel sums up the purpose of today's festivities:

"...we encourage parents to publicly dedicate their children to God. In so doing, the parents acknowledge the child as a gift from God and vow before Him and the congregation to set a godly example for the child and a commitment to lead the child to an understanding of what it means to become a follower of Jesus."

Kennedy is definitely a gift from God, and we are so blessed to have her in our family. We had so many wonderful people there with us today - friends and family members - who I know will always support and help us as we attempt to bring both of our kids up in a Christian home. My prayer is that the marriage and parenting style we model to our children will glorify God, and that they will grow up to trust in Him and have a relationship with Him. I know Andrew and I often talk of how we would not be where we are today were it not for the Christian families who raised us. May we be as strong and influential in our own kids' walks with the Lord.

After the church service, we had a little brunch party at the house for all of our friends and family, complete with pretty "K" cupcakes in honor of Kennedy's special day. K got some sweet presents, and got to spend time with some of her favorite people - can't beat that!

I accomplished a great feat for this day - sewing Kennedy's dedication dress! It turned out really pretty, and I have sappy visions of my great granddaughter being dedicated in the same dress. I made it from a vintage Butterick pattern I found once at a thrift store. It was a lot of work, but seeing how pretty she looked in it made it all worthwhile!