Clara's Dedication

Phil and I dedicated Clara and our parenting to the Lord on Sunday, May 22. It was a beautiful day and we took advantage of everyone being dressed nicely and did a family photo. The only other family picture we have is with me one day post-delivery and in a hospital gown. That one just isn't getting passed around much if you know what I mean. :) This one turned out pretty well - three out of four looking at the camera!

We decided to dedicate Clara along with some of our good friends and their little ones in our Sunday school class for a more personal experience. I'm so glad we did it that way - it was very special. Since Clara's grandparents couldn't make it (we'll be seeing them in about two weeks in MN) some of our close friends attended the dedication to support us. It meant more to us than I can say.

Here is Ray, the leader of our class and an Elder at the church saying some nice things about our family and Clara. He did such a nice job with the ceremony, and Clara even smiled at him at the end when he leaned in and told her how happy he was to have her there that day.

Here is Ray speaking to all of the families dedicating their children. To our right are the Harts, our good friends, and you'll see the T's on our far left (Ray is covering up CT's head). Clara was the youngest one dedicated that day and she was an angel through the whole thing.

Us and the T's. Yay for friends! Obviously the girls weren't terribly interested in having their picture taken. Oh well, they're still cute.

Afterward, we had a few friends over to have cake at our house. This cake needs some explanation. I know they do the lettering for free at the place, but I had both kids with me and thought - whatever, I can totally do the lettering myself.
Well, when I started, the tube of frosting exploded as I was writing "Clara." After that I had such a bad attitude about how it was going to look that I just kind of sped through the rest so it looks like Adam wrote it (no offense, Adam). Her verse is supposed to be 1 Samuel 1: 27-28, but the 28 didn't fit since I didn't think it through beforehand (because of the bad attitude).
The funniest part is that I wouldn't let Phil write on the cake because I was afraid he would screw it up. Yeah, good thing THAT didn't happen.

Here's the girl with her (not so aesthetically pleasing) cake. She is so fascinated with the camera, it's hard to get her to smile!
Phil and I pray that the Lord will touch her heart at a young age and she will grow to love Jesus and experience every joy He has for her.

"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give [her] to the LORD. For [her] whole life [she] will be given over to the LORD.”
1 Samuel 1: 27-28