Aaron's dedication

Friends and family gathered on Saturday afternoon to help us dedicate Aaron. We had such a special time asking God's blessing over this little life! The service was so sweet, with many standing to offer Aaron a special bible verse, prayer, or piece of wisdom. We saw how truly blessed we are to have so many that love us so well.

One of the most meaningful parts of the afternoon were the six covenants Mike and I affirmed about the kind of family we'll be for our children:

• To received Aaron as God's gift to our family.
• To to be parents of commitment to each other. When we grow together as husband and wife, we will provide a loving, stable, and secure environment for Aaron to mature. We committed to continually strengthen our marriage relationship.
• To be parents of personal faith, recognizing that Aaron is more likely to accept Christ as Lord if we do; more likely to respect people if we do; more likely to pray, read the Bible, and attend church if we model those activities.
• To be parents of patients: to recognize that our desire to shape this gift of God, with his inherent strengths and weaknesses, is a task that requires time, prayer and God to produce in our children what He and we hope for.
• To be parents of praise. It is easy to find fault in children who surprise us by their insistence that they are unique people. We will look for ways to affirm in them the positive qualities they possess while building in them confidence to deal with the shortcomings they will discover as well.
• To be parents of play. Tomorrow will arrive sooner that we can know. Then Aaron's automatic desire to play will be replaced with and tendency to work and to worry. We will love, laugh, and play together and not wait for tomorrow.

To see all 131 photos, click here. (thanks, LeAnn, for being our official photographer!)