"Baby" Dedication

    Ok, I'm so far behind on my blog it's ridiculous. But last week was such a crazy week that I barely even had time to look at the computer, much less sit down and blog. So I'm going to do as many as I can to update everything. The first being our "baby" dedication. We never did one for Sophia and now we have Ansleigh, Alyssa, and Eli too; so we did more of a "kid" dedication... better late than never right? Here are the letters that we wrote to each child which have been printed out as a certificate and signed by our pastor:

Sophia,
    With this dedication, we are committing to raising you not only in the church, but in God's light; to teach you through both example and instruction. We promise to let God's commands lead our parenting, and we pray that we are able to instill the same trust and reliance in God that we have found ourselves. We pray that God will use your energetic and outgoing spirit to spread His love, and we are confident that you will grow into a beautiful woman of God. We have been so blessed to have you as our first child. You truly were a blessing directly from God, and we pray that we can return those blessings to you.

Ansleigh,
    We are making this dedication as a public commitment to raise and care for you under the guidance of the Lord and His word. We have been blessed by God to have you and Alyssa join our family, and are so excited for the opportunity to raise you two girls as children of God, growing into women of God. We pray that the Lord will use your energy and your excitement for learning to share His love with others.

Alyssa,
    This dedication is a public commitment that we will raise and care for you as God commands us to do. You and Ansleigh are such a blessing to our family, and we thank God that we have the opportunity to raise you both knowing the Lord, and lead you to become women of God. We pray that God will use your loving and nurturing spirit to show God's love to others as you grow.

Eli,
    This dedication is to commit ourselves lifelong to raising you as a man of God. We were so excited to find out that we were going to have a son, and every day brings us more joy as you grow, learning and exploring the world around you. We pray that your curious and energetic nature continues as you get older, and that you seek God's love and Christ's teachings with that same energy. We promise to raise you by God's principals, and to rely on Him for guidance, to help  you become a strong man of God. We pray that you know God's love and embrace His teachings, and that you seek to imitate Christ as you grow.


Love,
Mommy and Daddy