Gracelyn's dedication

Gracelyn's baby dedication was this past Sunday morning at our church. Ryan and I presented Gracelyn (as we have each of the boys in the past) before God and our church asking Him for grace and wisdom in carrying out our responsibilities as parents of our blessings from God. We commit to raising our children in a loving Christian home, one that acknowledges God's sovereignty and pray that they one day will trust Jesus Christ as Savior for the forgiveness of sin.

Gracelyn received her very first (pink) Bible, with her name on the cover!

the 2 best pictures of our family. a very nice guy took the pictures for us and I so appreciated it. I simply wanted a picture to show that we dedicated her, I didn't expect studio-esque quality, none of the pics from the boys' dedications were. I mean we are a family of 6, 4 being kids and Ryan and I aren't much better considering our eyes are almost always closed!
But these were good and also made me laugh. Brandon, in both, is looking up in the balcony at his friend Nathan but he looks like he wants to be anywhere else but there. Britton wasn't much of a fan of being in front of our large church so he was surveying his surroundings and Blaine. in the bottom one, was checking out the other babies, crack.me.up!! He is so nosy! Our preschool director had given Brandon the rose as well as the gift bag but Blaine wanted to hold something to feel included! He is so big!

As the parents of Gracelyn, we feel the awesome responsibility of cultivating a Christ-like character and compassion within her. When we are old, we pray that we will see the Godly woman, whom God so wonderfully as a child, had given to us.
As a parent, I see the near impossible task of rearing a God-honoring child in a God-rebelling world. Therefore, today I dedicate myself unto God to accept Biblical responsibilities and instructions charged to me as a parent. I accept my accountability to disciple Gracelyn in the admonition of God not only by my words, but also by the way I live.

We know that God formed her in the womb with the nature, gifts and personality that He wanted her to have. We believe God has uniquely created Gracelyn for a special purpose unto Him.
"I pray that the Lord will touch Gracelyn's heart at an early age and lead it into salvation. I further pray that God will use me and caring believers within His church, to nurture the spiritual growth of my child. Yet, I ultimately pray, oh Father, that when Gracelyn has her own child, my child will have become an even more Godly adult and parent than me."