Monday, February 6, 2012

Dedicating Harper Kate

   In mid-October, we had Harper Kate's baby dedication.  At our church, Southside Church, we call it "Baby D."  Anyway, I wasn't sure how I was going to like the way the dedication went because it was done differently than I've ever seen before, but I must say I absolutely LOVE the process & way they held the ceremony.  Instead of dedicating the babies on Sunday during church, the ceremony actually takes place on a Sunday afternoon and each family can invite their friends/family to join them.  Before the ceremony takes place, Jarod & I had to listen to a set of sermons by Andy Stanley & his children's staff @ NorthPoint Community Church.  They were all very good, and really caused Jarod & I to think about what we were doing.  We also were asked to write Harper Kate a letter that we would read at the dedication.
  Sunday afternoon came and both sets of Harper Kate's grandparents came over from Birmingham, Uncle Jack Jack came and Aunt Carrie & Uncle Nate were able to come since they were on their way back from Highlands, NC.  We met at our apartment & headed to lunch, then headed to the church to get Harper Kate dressed & ready for pictures.  It was so nice.  The church had a photographer they had to take pictures of us.  Then, we went inside & had the ceremony.  The church had a slideshow with pictures of all the babies and then we began the ceremony.  Our pastor spoke for a few minutes, then he asked all the parents to stand up & read the letter we had written to our angel.  The copy is below for all of you to read.

  "Dear Harper Kate,
  You have no idea what an incredible gift from God you are!  We dreamed of starting a family, but had no idea that God would bless us with a daughter as perfect as you.  The day you were born was one of the happiest days of our lives.  We were in awe the first time you looked at us with your beautiful eyes.  Your smile & personality have already brought us such joy, and we cannot wait to get to know you even more.  The Lord has an incredible plan for your life, and we are honored to be your parents.  You might have some hard times ahead of you, but God has you in His hands.  We pray that God will use us to give you a glimpse of His unfailing love and that not a day would go by where we do not cherish you.  We hope that you never doubt your significance, that you have a heart for the needs of others, and that you truly understand God's grace.  We are so proud to call you our daughter and look forward to our life together.
We love you more than we can express,
Mom & Dad.

We also recited something called A Parents Covenant in front of our friends and family.  I'd like to post it here as well so that we are held accountable to all of our friends & family who couldn't join us that day.
 
"As a parent, I willingly accept my child as a unique gift from God.  I understand that my parental responsibility involves leading my child into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and helping my child understand God's specific purpose for his or her life.  Therefore, I promise today that I will strive to do the following:
     to recognize that my relationship with this child is a sacred trust which requires an investment of quality time & unconditional love
     to assume the primary responsibility to teach my child the spiritual truths and values of Scripture
     to pray consistently for the physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of my child.
     to create an environment within our home which demonstrates the fruit of the Spirit of Christ.
Deuteronomy 6:5-7  "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and with all your strength.  And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." 

I really appreciate our church and how seriously they take this ceremony.  They want it to be special, important and for the parents to focus on what they are actually undertaking in parenting.  It was a wonderful reminder of just how special our children are and how much God has entrusted them to us.  I'll leave you with some pictures of this wonderful day.  Harper Kate's gown was made by my mom.  Each grandchild will wear the gown and each name of the grandchild is hand-sewn into the inside layer of the dress.  It's extremely special and we are blessed to have such a special gown.  Harper Kate also wore a necklace given to her by her great-grandmother Memaw.  It's a silver cross with some hand engraving on it.  It's extremely special to all of us.

Not the best picture of HK, but it shows the gown.  She is the most beautiful girl I've ever seen!


BEST FACE EVER!

I thinks she's wondering, "what are we doing?!?!"

Another great face...

Our little angel girl!


I think she's almost giggling in this picture

Cookie, Doc, Uncle Nate & Aunt Carrie with the princess



Poppy & Nana holding the princess

I LOVE Uncle Jack Jack!

Big, beautiful eyes!  I also love her hands clasped next to her face in this picture

My sweet friend Martha who has been a GOD-SEND since I've moved here.

sleeping beauty...you can barely see the beautiful cross necklace here.  I should have gotten a better picture of it!

3 comments:

  1. Harper Kate has the eyes of a QUEEN not a princess! She looks so blessed, happy, and peaceful with all of your loving familY! These children that we are blessed with are a gift from God. I often ask why as I know you do too, but we must really realize how BLESSED we are to be given the privelage to take care of such precious angels! God must really trust us! Oh what a glorious day!

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  2. She truly is a beauty to behold.

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  3. I would comment but I can't see through the tears as I read your letter to Miss Harper Kate......u truly have a blessing from God....she is toooo precious....

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