Our JOYFUL gift from God - reflections of ONE year...

It's hard to believe a year ago Sunday that Grace Elizabeth Cullen entered the world at 4:06 am...At times it feels like she's been a part of our life forever, but then on the other hand it seems like yesterday that I held her in my weak arms for the first time...If Blake and I could use one word to describe the gift God blessed us with each day it would be JOY. I know most parents would say their children bring them joy, but with Gracie the characteristic of JOY is a complete picture of who she is on a daily basis. We can be at the grocery store, restaurant or any public place and people will always say the same thing about her - "what a great smile", "that's the happiest baby I've ever seen", "is she always this happy?" - I bet over the past year we've heard these phrases hundreds of times and we feel so blessed everytime to say YES, she is such a happy baby! Don't get me wrong she will have a fussy day or moment here or there, but for the most part she's just a happy little girl that brightens so many peoples days.

On Sunday (her first birthday) we dedicated her to the Lord at church and it was a precious time. For one our church does individual baby dedications which makes it extra special, but our pastor does a great job of personalizing it for each family. First of all, he had the whole congregation (about 300 people) sing her happy birthday - gracie was a little overwhelmed at first - as she was taking it all in - but by the end she was her happy go lucky self! Due to her character of joy, we picked out the verse I Thessalonians 5:16-18 as a life verse for her.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Our prayer for Gracie would be for her to always have the Joy of the Lord fill her up and no matter what life obstacles come her way we pray that she will always look to the Lord through prayer for His joy, strength and direction in her life. We hope this joy will be a testimony to others. We love you sweet Gracie and feel honored God chose us as your parents and we look forward to celebrating you each year!

(The pictures and video below shows her dedication at Woodridge Church in Medina, MN with Pastor Paul Johnson.)

VIDEO: Click play below to watch video: