Dedication

This morning was Ellie's baby dedication at church. It was kind of a last minute decision to do it this Sunday but we wanted to do it while we had family in town so someone from our family could be there. Luckily our church is flexible and could accommodate our request. 
For those who maybe have never been to a baby dedication, it's basically a time where a blessing is said over the baby and parents and we make a dedication before the Church and before God that we will do our best to raise Ellie to know God. That we will set examples for her and teach her about God so that when she is able to make her own decision regarding her faith, she has a good foundation and will know the character of God. The church also makes a dedication to hold us accountable to raising her in Godly ways and while we will only be here for 2 more years, this church plays an important role since we don't have any family here. 
It was a great day with lots of friends, including some from Dan's work who came just to see Ellie dedicated! We are very blessed to have great friends here when we are so far away from home and family. Here are some pictures from the day! 

Also this weekend we went to Matteo's kraamfeest. Matteo is the son of our friends Kindra and Samuel and he was born 2.5 weeks before Ellie(although he was actually 3 weeks early!). A kraamfeest is kind of like a baby shower after the baby is born. This was the first time that both babies were awake together.