Sadie's Dedication

My 1st Mother's Day was perfection in every way possible.  The day itself was much LESS about me, and much MORE about Sadie Hope being dedicated, and celebrating the miracle of her life!

We had a very large group of babies and children dedicated this year at our church - 15!!  I haven't really talked about it much on the blog, but I am now serving as the director of our Children's Ministry at our church, so I was very involved in the planning of our Baby Dedication service.  It was such a sweet, sweet service and something I had been looking forward to.  Some may not understand the difference between baby dedication/christening, or really even understand the importance of it.  For us, Baby Dedication was a HUGE deal - a day to stand before our church, friends, and family and publicly commit to raising Sadie in a way that is biblical and pleasing to Christ.  It was a day to thank Him for her life, and for the blessing and miracle that she is.  And, it was a day to be reminded that the time we have to teach her and prepare her for life as an adult is so, so short - to enjoy this season and be wise in how we use our time with our children.  What a special day in the life of our little Sadie Hope, as well as for our family!

Our parents and siblings were there to celebrate with us, and Ashley came.  Ashley was our NICU nurse that took unbelievably good care of Sadie (and us) during our stay at Children's.  I couldn't think of anything more special than for Ashley to be with us to celebrate this day!!

After church, we spent the day with our families, and had such a fun day!  When we got home, Brad and Sadie surprised me with a beautiful framed picture of Sadie and my first ever Mother's Day cards.

We gave Sadie the little necklace she's wearing in these pictures for a gift of dedication.  It's a little pearl necklace with a cross.  It's so sweet, and will always be a reminder of this special day for our girl!

I've been a mother for over 9 months now, but today it all came full circle for me.  How very, very blessed I am by this sweet girl I get to call my own.  Who lights up when she sees me, and calls me Mea-mea.  I pray daily that she will passionately love the Lord and His people, and will have a joy for Him that is infectious!

Thank you, Lord for the gift and privilege to be a Mother!