Dedication Service

This morning we dedicated Cara in the morning service, then we had her birthday party/adoption celebration following worship. Our court date won't be until the tenth, but it is so close, it made sense to celebrate them all together.

It was a very meaningful service for me. I asked only people who had been touched by adoption to participate. A young man who was legally adopted last summer by his maternal grandmother who raised him, read the scriptures. A grown woman who was adopted at birth sang, "There Are No Orphans of God," which made me cry the ugly cry, it was so beautiful. And a dear friend of the family oversaw Cara's dedication. We tried once, for the master to do our own kid's dedication, and it didn't work out too well. Rather awkward. The gentleman who helped us today, is actually who Randy is named after, and he and his wife adopted their daughter as an infant. But I think the most special thing was the testimony of a birthmother in our congregation who placed her firstborn as a teenager. I was nervous approaching her to share--it is such a sensitive and personal part of her past. But since she had been open enough to tell me that she had placed her daughter, I had just enough courage to ask, assuring her that I would completely understand if she said no. She took a day to think about it and decided to do it. She is so brave. Listening to how God worked through that whole situation was amazing and powerful. No one in the service could walk away thinking that women who make an adoption plan don't love their children; it was because of her great love that she chose to give her daughter a better life.

This is the only picture I have on my camera of the cake, though it is not very flattering of me. I was trying to get the master to come up to the table for the singing...you see my nagging, roll-of-the-eyes, look. I would do well to remember how unattractive it is! This was my first tiered cake. I have much to learn. I couldn't seem to get a smooth finish on my icing. My roses were nice, though. And it was my best tasting cake ever. I've never really liked birthday cake much, but this time I decided that if I was going to stay up all night making a cake, I wanted to enjoy it! For the chocolate layer I made a filling of crushed up oreos, cream cheese, and cool whip, and for the vanilla layer, I used raspberry preserves instead of the cookies with the cream cheese and coolwhip. YUM! I'm thinking there are about a million different flavor combinations I can try with this simple recipe. The top layer came off as her "smash cake."
Cara did not know what to think of the cake. We all crowded around her, and she kind of froze in the spot light. The master put some icing on her lips in hopes of encouraging her to dive in, but it only upset her when everyone began to shout with excitement. It wasn't until after the other kids were busy with their own pieces, that she dug a little hole with her fingers and nibbled a few cautious bites.

I love this baby girl so much.