Dedicated

This is you at 15 months.  It was a pretty
Sunday afternoon.  We had just attended Uncle
Jamie's church service in NKY. 

Hi Sweet Girl,

Today is your day and so much has happened over the past month.  So much of it has been good, so much has been a whirlwind.

Sunday was Mother's Day.  On Sunday we also celebrated your little sister's birthday.  FIVE!  Can't believe she is a whole hand now!  It seems like just yesterday she came. Your little sis was the rainbow after the storm for our family.  Over the past five years she has brought so much joy back to our lives.  Sometimes we like to think she gives us a glimpse of what you may have been like.  We treasure that so very much.

Sunday was also a special day for another reason.  Layne and Jack were dedicated at church.  Baby dedication has always been held on Mother's Day at our church.  Even when you were here with us, it was on Mother's Day.  For some reason, we never had you dedicated.  Mommy thinks it's probably because we were always out of town visiting Grandma Trish and your Donna Ma.  After you passed away, Mommy felt guilty for not every having you dedicated.  Over time, I've come to realize that you being in heaven is sort of like the opposite of dedication.  It's more like a graduation of some sort.

You see, when God blessed Daddy and Me with the news that we would have another baby just one month after you passed away after all those years it took for us to conceive you, I knew that your presence with God in heaven must have had something to do with that answered prayer.

Nine months later, as God listened to Mommy's fears of being a childless mom on Mother's Day, God and you worked together to devise a plan far better than Mommy's scheduled c-section.

This is your sis Layne and baby
brother Jack getting dedicated in
front of the congregation at our church.

After Mommy and Daddy spent all those months and years wishing and hoping and praying for another baby, just so we could see what it was like to have two babies to love and care for on this earth, you and God were working out the timeline to make sure your baby brother came at the perfect time, when Mommy and Daddy were emotionally and physically healed as much as we could possibly be from the grief and pain of losing you.  Mommy and Daddy thank God everyday for that perfect timing.

This is our campus pastor and good family
friend, Brad, sharing about our family.

So as Mommy thinks about Layne and Jack, and of you, Mommy knows deep down they've been dedicated far longer than three days that have passed.  From you, Mommy and Daddy learned the most difficult lessons of faith and trust, peace and hope.  We learned you were always a gift from God. Everyday single day we see Jack and Layne as the blessings they were intended to be.

Tell God we said "thanks" for entrusting us with his little children.  Whether it's 16 months, five years, or a lifetime, Mommy and Daddy are so very grateful for the time we are given.

Love you, miss you Baby Girl...

You are our angel in heaven, sweet Kaden Layne, and a
reminder of where our focus should be.