dedication celebration

we were oh so happy to celebrate a special day for our sweet girl - the day we stood before our epikos church family and dedicated ellery. really, the dedication is more for kyle and i as parents than it is for ellery, seeing as it's our pledge to raise ellery as a daughter of God, according to the Bible. and seeing as parenting really is mostly learned through on-the-job training, it is wonderful to have the church body supporting and encouraging us!

ellery loved being in front of everyone! but mostly, she loved being next to her dear friend baechle. baechle and ellery had the same due date, and were born just about 24 hours apart. and these sweet girls had lots to talk about during the dedication! there were lots of squeals and giggles and grabbing of noses. i had never seen e so excited over another baby! it was so sweet :)

after the service, we had friends and family over to our house to continue the celebration. though i may not have gotten a lot of sleep before, i loved planning every detail for baby e. i wanted the decor to be sweet and dainty, perfect for our sweet girl on our special day. but what made it even sweeter is the wonderful community who surrounded ellery and celebrated with her that day, including momo & papa who came all the way from indiana!

the theme of kyle and i's wedding and marriage has always been "trusting His perfection" - trusting the Lord with everything, whether it's a major decision, our daily lives or how to love each other. and as we dedicated ellery, we knew that the only way we would have any success or joy as parents would be through God, and through continuing to trust His perfection with every detail of ellery's life. we wrote out a blessing for ellery, one we read to her and one we plan to read to her at all big events of her life - her first day of school, graduation, her wedding day. we put our hearts, our love, even our silliness, and oh so much time & thought into the parents we want to be specifically for ellery. and each time we look or read her blessing, which in now hanging in her nursery, we praise and thank God for granting us the awesome responsibility of raising and caring for ellery. and we are reminded of the sweet day we dedication our girl to Him.