Bethany's Dedication

Yesterday (Sunday 6th) we joined together with our friends and family for Bethany's dedication. The day started with Bethany's early morning feed, then straight into cooking preparations. I must admit I was a bit nervous as we have never entertained that many people before, and with a newborn & only having just moved into the house I found myself wondering it was all going to pan out.

Do I have enough seats for everyone? (The old house was a 1/4 the size of this one and we only have enough furniture sufficient to fit in the old house!)

Where is it best to serve everything? Do we have enough food? Do we have enough tables? How will it all work?

We were expecting some 45 people for dinner after the service so now is the time to test out the new kitchen. Oh what a pleasure it is to have some bench space for once!! What a wonderful thing it is to be able to have 3 or 4 dishes on the go at once. Unlike previously, where I could only do one dish at a time, making the whole process take 3 times as long! But not yesterday - I got all the hot food done by 10am, just in time for Bethany's second feed! Wonderful!

Once the cooking was down there was still plenty to do, nibblies to organise, drinks to buy & platters to pick up from the shops. Oh, and plastic plates/cups/utensils. Oh, and some more serving stuff & dips to be bought. It was then off to Woolies to battle the Sunday shoppers. Still - cooking done, there was a whole house to clean, and I couldn't have got everything done without two angels, my sister-in-law Sal, and my niece Jemma.

Then it was off to church for the 4pm service. And boy was it hot in there. Whenever anyone asks me about the dress-code at our church, I always tell them the same thing, "dress for comfort". Because we've not long moved into the building and it hasn't yet been fitted out for church-use, so therefore it's not air conditioned, nor conducive for breezy air flow.

Pastor Lex did the dedication as Pastor Troy was away in India. And I must say that all went well and Bethany was on her very best behaviour. She was asleep during the dedication ceremony itself! She looked resplendent in the dedication gown, hand-smocked by Grandma Moore for me when I was dedicated all those years ago. It is a wonderful family heirloom that has now been worn by: Myself; Beck; My aunt's children - Rachel, Vicki, Natalie, Cameon, Caitlin, & Jemima; My boys Lachlan & Harrison; My niece Marcella and now little Bethany. That's 12 children that have worn Grandma's dress - and I must say it has held up well, looking every bit as good as when it was first made. That's thanks mostly in part to Vanessa, who cared for it so well for so many years.

Anyway, the dedication over, we only had just enough time to take a few pictures at church before rushing home. There was a storm coming and it was supposed to hail, and no one wanted to be caught driving in it. It turned out to be only quick shower of rain, no hail, fortunately.

Dinner at our house went off without a hitch. We managed to fit everyone in, had plenty of food, and a good time was had by all. Again, a big thank you to Sal & Jemma for their tireless efforts in serving up & clearing away the food. I couldn't have done it without your help! Bethany did quite well all in all - it was a very big day for her - and even though she was passed through many sets of hands, she eventually settled well for the night, after a bottle and an extended cuddle from Nanna (Jackie).

As for Kevan & I - well we collapsed into bed also. It was a great day, and we enjoyed finally being able to have the extended family over to celebrate in the new house!