On Sunday, January 15th, we dedicated all three of our girls to the Lord. Veda was never dedicated because Shane was gone for a good part of her first year of life and then my brother was diagnosed. So, there was never a definite time that I could be sure both of them could attend her dedication. So, we decided to dedicate her along with her baby sisters. It turned out to be such a beautiful dedication and we are so blessed to have the opportunity to give all of our girls to a God that can watch over and protect them even better than we can. While the dedication went off without a hitch, getting to that point was another story. I've seen so many dedications with calm parents and beautiful babies and I never realized all of the work that goes into it!!
I told Shane I felt like I was planning a wedding all over again. We had to find the PERFECT dresses. Mama and daddy took care of that just like they do everything...at the last minute! They picked out beautiful dresses, but they tore my nerves up by making me wait until the Friday before to see them! Fast forward to Saturday night and I realize...I FORGOT SHOES!! So, we make a late night trip to Wal mart. Do you think they have pretty white shoes in the middle of winter, or even frilly little socks...no!! Tights it is! Then there's a slideshow that I just absolutely have to have for the dedication. I spend almost 2 hours on it when the program shuts down. Do you think I saved my work?? Nope! At this point, I am ready to puke. So, we get the babies into bed late and then I go to work finishing the quilts that absolutely have to be done and given to the girls after the dedication. An hour later, I am finally in bed, not to sleep, but to completely start over with the slideshow. *sigh* By 1:00 a.m. I finally have the slideshow done and the dvd burned and I can FINALLY close my eyes. Yay!
But then, we wake up to the real work. Consider this the first wedding day. Feed the girls and do Veda's hair, but keep them all basically naked until right before its time to leave. White dresses equals a nightmare. And of course, 20 minutes before we have to leave, I am still not ready! I am a Serlick after all. I can start an hour early and somehow i will still be late. So, I call for reinforcements, aka Nora! I try to get dressed while Shane and Nora dress the babies, with specific instructions...no crawling, no juice, no snacks...just hold them the whole time! Amazingly, we had no stains on the dresses and both sides of the family made it to church on time. Yay! We get pictures taken, and then loralye's new cross necklace that was given to all the girls especially for this occasion gets tangled. It is passed around to 2 or 3 people to untangle before it is passed back to me. And what do I do? I end up breaking the chain! So, loralye has no necklace now...way to go mom.
All of this preparation comes down to 10 or 15 very special minutes. Like I said, the ceremony was absolutely beautiful. I finally have all three of my girls dedicated and we had a wonderful celebration with family, and friends that are just like family. I posted the strenuous slideshow below for you all to see. Hope you like it!
Christa, YOU looked like the calm, cool, collected mother you have described seeing at other dedications. :) Rest assured, no one knew what all you went through before those moments. I was on the front row, and what I saw was a beautiful family with three gorgeous little princesses who love their mommy and daddy with all their little hearts. No one cried, screamed, or puked during the dedication and it went off without a hitch to those of us watching. :) The slideshow was wonderful, and full of James...just like the girls. Every time I see a picture of him holding Veda, I wonder what his children would have looked like had he been blessed with any. I don't think there's any way that his own children could look any more like him than August and Loralye do! Yesterday was beautiful. Don't let the little things get to you...when you look back years from now, you'll remember the beautiful dresses and the sweet smiles, not the drama that enfolded the days leading up to it. <3
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