Celebrating Our Gift

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

We dedicated our first two sons to the Lord and had always planned to do the same when things with Joshua became final. With plans to do so and putting a date on the calendar after the adoption was final in November, some of our closest church friends decided they wanted to be a part of this celebration and shower us with the blessings of an adoption party along with our dedication service. This was such a gift to us, as we were able to hold this special event at our church and celebrate with many of the people that have prayed for us through this adoption journey. To top it all off, these women did all the decorating, prepared the desserts and gifted us with some of the most memorable "pieces" that I will cherish for years to come... and one day Joshua will also be very thankful for the blessings that this celebration gave us. 

Our dear and talented friend Sarah Grace took all of these pictures as well, another priceless gift!

Thank you to our friend David for leading us in worship and for his special gift of "Joshua 1:9" that will be a song we cherish and hold dear

Joshua's Godparents

I truly appreciate gift that this series of pictures is... it melts my heart to know that he knows who his mommy is!

My side of the family (minus Mike and Lauren)

Jeff's side of the family

The Party

So many delicious cupcakes

 

In our post about our new home, you may have seen this great painting in Joshua's room. As a gift to us, our dear friend Amanda painted this tree and inscribed Romans 8:28 at the bottom, and then had each guest at the celebration put their thumbprint as the leaves. She recorded each person's name by their print and this now holds a special place in Joshua's room, a piece of art we will admire forever. The names on this tree are those of so many that have prayed for Joshua and our family throughout this adoption process. I was even gifted with the stamp pads and marker so that I could continue to add thumbprints as friends and family that couldn't attend that day visit our home. I thought this was the most incredible idea!

 

 Logan adding his

Joshua's is in the middle, a heart cut out with his initials

This beautiful piece also adorns one of the walls in his sweet room. This "Adoption Creed" was a gift from Jeremy and Laurie and Jeremy's parents, and the words are also in the video below. I had never seen this before and the words are so true and perfect for what adoption means.

 

This video was shown that day and for those of you that couldn't make it, please enjoy. I've watched it over and over and there is no doubt that this is one very loved little boy! 

Thank you to all of our friends that helped make that day so special. I cannot give enough thanks for their tireless efforts to plan a perfect celebration with such beautiful details and an amazing amount of love. To top it all of, last week we received a scrapbook, totally filled with letters from dedication guests, pictures from our special day and notes and mementos from the service that was held... a book that Joshua will be able to look at for many years to come. I pray it will bring him peace and encouragement as he grows into the man God put him in our family to become. 

To each person that attended that evening and my family that came in from New York, we are so grateful for each of you! If you couldn't be there, we missed you and we are still so grateful for the role you play in our lives and for the prayers you have lifted on our behalf through the last 18 months. God is so good!