"Let the little children come unto Me..."

I guess the most honored time of my life is when I can dedicate my children to the Lord. There's nothing more precious than offering your children up to the Lord to be used in whatever way He needs them. To know that you have given them to Someone who will always take care of them and lead and guide them in every aspect of their little lives is the most precious feeling in the world.

This past Sunday was Katie's dedication. I know that she is a little older than the normal age for dedication, but we had planned to have her dedication in Ohio during Christmas and it just did not work out. Then we thought we would have it done while Tom's parents were here and they decided to come during camp and we felt it would be too much with everything already really swamped. So, I finally told Tom we had to get her dedicated or she would be standing at the podium as tall as the pastor if we didn't get ourselves on the ball. So we got with our Pastor and made the arrangements for her dedication.

Sunday dawned bright and sunny and very warm. We sat way, way, way, up front (which is very unusual for us I might add) and then our family joined us during the fellowship time so they could stand up front with us. Pastor Wolf was so eloquent in the dedication. Katie was really good. She didn't cry or fuss. I was a nervous wreck and when it was my turn to sing, I grabbed the mic and stayed turned with my back to the crowd. I could feel my knees knocking and my paper was shaking, but the Lord really helped me and I was able to get through the song. It must have been ok cuz I got a lot of comments on it. After I sang, Pastor addressed us as parents and then my mother read a poem she had written.

When Pastor was finished he asked to hold Katie and prayed the prayer of dedication. Katie was so cute. She gave him a big yawn right as he was saying "Amen" and he thought that was funny. So did a lot of other people who saw her.

It was a beautiful time for us and we are so thankful to have taken the time to dedicate Katie to Jesus. Our prayer is that He will be able to mold her and make her into the Christ-like christian she should be.

Here I am singing my song. My mother is behind me, my step-dad behind her and then my step-sister Sue. Behind me is my sister Brenda and Patricia (whom you can't see) and then Tom & Katie, Darell Wayne and Chasity who are Sue's children.
We had some pictures taken after the service at the front of the church. Pictured with us is my mother Bessie. We would have loved to have Tom's family with us, but they are in Ohio. Thanks to the internet they could be with us online. Not the same but at least they could see the dedication.

I had thought about a dress for Katie but I knew it would be hard to find something in white without paying a lot of money for it. I just think that it is a waste to buy $80.00 and $90.00 dresses for babies who will outgrow it in about 2 months. So I was so thrilled to find this little dress on sale at Wal-Mart for $7.00. It is mostly white with tulips embroidered around the hem. I was so happy and thankful for such a fantastic bargain and a lovely dress. Incidentally I bought it in a 24 months so she could wear it longer. I found that really helps the budget when you can buy children's clothes just a slight bit bigger. They are able to wear them longer.

We had dinner at our house after the service. Several people came to celebrate with Katie. This is the cake that my friend Tiffany made. She took the Wilton Cake classes and makes some fantastic cakes. This one was so good. If you live in the area and need a cake just let me know. I can set you up with a good baker.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing in our special time. We were truly blessed and we hope that you will be too.

Gale