Dedication Sunday

We had the girls dedicated on Sunday at Lurton Assembly of God where Ryan's dad pastors. His dad dedicated them, so it made it so special! My dad, mom, sister, and her two kids came in from Jonesboro and Ryan's brother, sister-in-law, nieces, & nephew, and both of his grandmothers and of course his parents, were all there to celebrate the dedication of our sweet girls! We don't attend church there anymore, but we really wanted the girls' PaPaw to do the ceremony. He did a wonderful job, it was beautiful! One of the piano players was playing "Jesus Loves Me" quietly on the keyboard...it was so sweet!

Here we are after the ceremony

(You think Lucy was tired? Poor baby was worn out from all the attention!)

Ryan's dad started by saying that the family was a divine institution ordained by God from the beginning of time and that children are the heritage of the Lord. He said that the purpose for the dedication is to have the girls committed to the Lord by me and Ryan for care, protection, and for training for His Glory. The dedication is also to publicly recognize the obligation and responsibility we have as parents to live an exemplary life and live by example so that they will know what it is to be a Christian. We should pray for them to receive Salvation when they reach the age of accountability. He also charged our family and the church family to do the same. He also spoke about our sweet Addison and how although she went on to Heaven to be with Jesus a little bit before Lily & Lucy arrived, she is still very much a part of this family. He said one day we will be able to embrace her in Heaven. To me, that is so true...she IS a part of this family and when the girls are older, I want them to know that they have a big sister in heaven watching over them right now! It was beautiful and of course Ryan and I both were crying, but then my father-in-law (whom I've known for 7 or 8 years) went on to call me Lisa! It was so funny, the whole church laughed! So, he got us to cry and laugh within seconds! He went on to correct himself though!

I LOVE this one...it's so sweet how she's looking at her daddy!
(it's Lucy by the way!)

He had my dad hold one of the girls and he held the other (as patriarchs of each family) and he said a special prayer over them.

Then he called the men of the church to come and pray for us as parents...as we "navigate these new waters"

Here is my family after the ceremony

My mom and dad with the girls...

My parents and all their grandchildren (or grandarlins as my mom says)

Here is Ryan's grandmothers on both his dad AND mom's side!

His mom's mom is on the left holding Lucy (Grandma Hampton)

His dad's mom is on the right holding Lily (Granny Taylor)

What a precious picture! My wonderful father-in-law with his sweet grandbabies!
Here is Ryan's family...well, some of them! His mom had already left to go over to their house to start lunch (they live right next to the church) and his oldest niece and his little nephew were MIA! But it's a sweet picture none-the-less!

One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was when he talked about the meaning and significance of each of the girls' names. They are both latin names and they are both derivatives of other names, which makes them unique.

Lily Reese Taylor

Derived from: Lillian
Lily means Purity and one version refers to "Light"

Reese means Ardent which has one meaning referring to "Shining"

The spiritual connotation means "Shining Light"

The supporting scripture he gave for her name is

Zachariah 2:10
" 'Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you,'declares the LORD."

Lucy Kate Taylor

Derived from: Lucille

Lucy means "Light Bringer"
Kate means "Pure"

The spiritual connotation for Lucy means "Chosen of God"

The supporting scripture he gave for her name is

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose."

I absolutely love that their names have such wonderful meanings and actually have similar meanings! We didn't think of that when we named them or put their middle names with their first names, we just picked out names we liked! But it just amazes me that together they mean "LIGHT" and "LIGHT BRINGER" My father-in-law actually said, "They're a team!" I love that!

(By the way, I just love their sweet little dresses! It was a family team effort to put it all together, from the bows, dresses, socks, shoes, and bracelets! So thanks mom & dad! I just think they look so beautiful!)

The girls were presented with sweet little bibles and dedication certificates. His dad wrote in calligraphy which I think is beautiful!

(He even put presented by: Papaw Taylor in their bibles! So sweet!)

It was a wonderful day and it just made me realize what a wonderful life I have! My babies are the world to me and I'm so thankful that I serve a God who cares and loves them more than we can even imagine! I'm so thankful that God has given us two of the most beautiful blessings! When you just stop and think about how your children are such miracles from God, it's just breathtaking.

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I WANT TO SAY A HUGE THANK YOU TO OUR FRIEND...

MICHEALA!

She took all the pictures for us on Sunday and also on Saturday for Illuminate.5!

She did a WONDERFUL job and we love her so much!!!!