Baby Dedication

A few weeks ago we had a Baby Dedication ceremony at our church.

At our church a baby dedication ceremony is a time that Ronnie and I, as parents, dedicate our child to God.  Not in the Samuel in the Bible kind of way where we leave her at the church to be raised.  No, more in the we as parents also dedicate ourselved to teach Ellie about God's love, His plan for her and encourage her in they ways of the Lord.  Including bringing her to church but we have to bring her home when church is over.

Before the service we did manage to get a few pictures of the girls.

These girls seriously love each other!

And their daddy too!

The service is pretty short.  We are called up on stage (Ronnie isn't too fond of this part).

Our pastor says a few words about how awesome we are.  Okay, not really but he does say a few words about bringing up our kids in God's love and direction.

And Ellie gets her very own Bible. Avery still has her Bible from her Baby Dedication ceremony when she was a bitty baby. I think Avery tried to confinscate Ellie's Bible too.

But as everyone knows, it takes a village to raise your kids.  In our case, we are grateful to have the grandparents around to help us.

Both my parents and Ronnie's parents were able to come to the dedication.  This might be confusing but those are Ronnie's parents behind me and my parents behind Ronnie. 

God has blessed us with our beautiful girls and the least we can do is raise them to love Him with all their hearts.  Thanks to Him for all our blessings!

Mothers Day

This Mother's Day was seriously the best. I am blessed with these 2 precious girls and an amazing husband that out does himself to make me feel special.

What I love about Ronnie is that for any special occasion involving me, he takes Avery to a store and lets her pick out something for me.  I love that he does that and she always picks out the best stuff!  This year was no exception!

And no, Avery doesn't do drugs.  For some reason lately she's harder to get a picture of Avery smiling normally than Ellie. 

Avery even picked out the super cute butterfly bag! Avery had been asking me all morning when I was going to be ready to open my present.  She had already told me the present "was very pretty and very special".  Let's be real though, she really just wanted to open the gift. That's okay too.

Ellie was anxious to help too!

First there was this amazing card that Avery made.

Again, with any special occasion Ronnie will ask Avery what she loves about mommy and put it in the card.  This year she said:

• I love mommy because she brushes my teeth all the time.
• I love mommy because she puts me to bed sometimes.
• I love mommy because she brings me to McDonalds. (don't judge me people!)
• I love mommy because she draws pictures with me.

Ellie said:

• Bah bah bah bah aahaaah. Translated to me "I love mommy."

I also got an awesome necklace with earrings that Avery picked out. Apparently Ellie was sleeping during the trip so she had no say in the gfits. Hey, you snooze you lose. And yes, I put that necklace on right away!  Avery insisted and I was honored to do it!

And then some nail polish.  Pink and purple glittery polish.  Again, Ellie had no say in the color of the polish.

Interestingly we had some time before we had to leave for church.  Avery's fingers and toes got painted with some pink and purple glittery nail polish.  I suspect ulterior motives for the polish but like I told Ronnie- if the only reason I got that polish was to paint my girls nails, that's fine by me! I did actually end up painting my nails with the glittery pink later that day in case you were wondering.
We were then off to church where I got to tell my own mom Happy Mother's Day.  She's the one that taught me how to be a mommy.  And though I know I'm not always the best daughter, I hope that I can be the kind of mom to my girls that she is to me!

Ellie was feeling a little left out with the gift selection so she decided to give me her own Mother's Day gift .  She slept ALL night!  I got up and fed her about 5:30 AM and then she slept until 9:30 AM!  This is a miracle I tell you!

I gave her extra hugs and kisses this morning and have been trying to convince her that every day is Mother's Day.  I'll let you know how that goes!

I can't believe how God has blessed me beyond measure.  These girls make it all worth while!

This is the girl that made me a mom. When did she get so big?!

And this is the girl that made my heart big enough to love 2 kids.

God has blessed me more than I deserve.  This Mother's Day was the best yet.  I can't wait to see what the future holds with these girls!  We are sure to have great times ahead! Ronnie better get ready!

PS. I may have also gotten these for Mother's Day. Picked out by the father of my children.

PPS. Seriously.  Avery with that crown?  She wore it all morning, all during church and no telling how long in the afternoon.  That girl kills me. Surprisingly no one at church was a bit surprised to see Avery with the tiara on.  She is God's little princess so I guess it's fitting.

More adventures to come!