The Mason Jar: A Big Weekend for Kathryn

Kathryn is 6 weeks old now! I just can't believe it. Although she is cleared to go out and be with the unwashed public, I am still keeping her as sheltered as possible. However, she got plenty of exposure to people this weekend. Friday night we had a Christmas party with our small group. It was so fun, especially with other babies being around and everyone just having a great time.

On Sunday we did her dedication at church and her grandparents came to visit. In our denomination, we dedicate our children to the Lord at our churches as a public display of our commitment to raise our children with the opportunity to come to faith in Christ through following Biblical commands of parenting. We chose a verse for her from 1 Samuel, verses 27-28 [emphasis mine]: For this child [we] prayed, and the Lord answered [our] prayer. Now we are giving [her] to the Lord, and [she] will belong to the Lord [her] whole life. It was special that we got to share our dedication service with the Propes family, who were dedicating their third child whom they adopted this year from India. They have meant a lot to us in our time here in Kentucky, and are such an encouragement on our adoption journey. Although we had been praying so hard about adoption, the Lord chose to bless us with a biological child. We know we are still called to adopt and await that time with eager anticipation.

On Sunday night we had a Christmas party for the college students we work with in our church. It was the first time that I had thrown a party where I just opened up bags of treats and snacks [from Trader Joe's, of course!] rather than making myself crazy trying to cook a hundred things. It turned out great and I think everyone was full for a long night of studying for exams. Kathryn's friend Grey also came to the party with his mom and dad. Grey is Kathryn's first friend. I can't wait for her to start interacting more with him. He just had his first birthday last week.