Baby V's Dedication

Thanks to those of you who have stopped by and left comments on our blog despite how busy your holiday schedules have been.  As soon as things die down for us, I'll get caught up on your blogs soon!

Today, Malu and I were happy to dedicate our little baby girl to the Lord.  Malu and I made a commitment to God, to her, and to many of our family and friends, to do everything in our power to raise her in a godly way; so that one day, she can make a decision on her own to follow God. 

About 50 of our family member and closest family friends gathered at our church to witness this momentous occasion.  This bunch included about 6 sets of her godparents (yup, that's a lot.  it's also the Filipino way!)  Those people and about 50 more gathered with us for a reception afterwards.

I tell you what, Sina was beautiful in the dress that her Grandma Ruby bought for her.  She was in the best of moods during the ceremony--not a tear was shed.  And she was quite taken by our pastor and his trusty microphone.  I thought she was going to yank it out of his hands before he could finish the closing prayer.

We chose a life verse for Sina, taken from Jeremiah 29:11-13, which states:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

We sure hope that when the time comes, that she chooses to seek Him and to follow the path He has laid out for her.

We'd like to, once again, thank all of our family and friends for all of their love and support and to Pastor Darrin, his wife and the Pikes Peak Christian Church for putting on a beautiful ceremony for us.

Here are some more favorite pictures from today:

With Malu's brother (one of Sina's godfathers), Vaea.

With Grandma Ruby and Grandpa Mati.

With Aunt Chrissy (one of her godmothers).

at the reception with Auntie Jolene.  I love this giraffe outfit Auntie Rosalynn got for her.

Sina and her Uncle Jon.

On a personal note, I'm noticing now that I didn't get a single picture of Sina with my sister or my grandma.  However, I'm sure those pictures are out there somewhere.  At one point, there were eight to ten different cameras out at the same time.  I'm waiting to be tagged on Facebook!  And I'm embarassed at how low-cut my dress was.  I really didn't realize that it was that bad, that I was showing that much skin.  It's an old dress and I pretty much grabbed it out of my closet in El Paso before our household goods were packed.  I got the dress a few years back and, well, it doesn't fit like it used to, and I didn't pack a cardigan today. I hope no one is offended.

My friend, Chrissy, is dumbfounded at how much my family does around here (i.e. all the parties we go to) because she hasn't rested one bit since she got  here.  Well, we have one more big family event tomorrow.  Then she can get her rest.  I'll tell you guys about it soon!