On Sunday, February 23, 2014 we dedicated Maddox Knight Dupree in front of our family, friends and church family at Four Points Church! This is a very special day for us because it is Josh and I publicly proclaiming that we will raise the children that the Lord blesses us with in His name and in His Word. It is us, as parents, saying that we will do everything to honor Jesus as we raise Maddox (and our other 3 kids that have all been dedicated) and we will pray for him to know Jesus as his personal Savior and to have a personal relationship with Him. It was a great day and we are beyond blessed to share it with our families!
After the church service we had our family over for lunch to celebrate with us :-)
Kyle, Kensi and Mom
Grandpa and Maddox Man (he was 3 month old)
Grandma, Aunt Em and Melissa playing with the kids on the treehouse and swings
Our kids love to have picnics!
Melissa and Kaylee girl
Seesha and Maddox man!
The strawberry cake I made :-) My amazing friend Cynthia inspired me a few years ago to bake, so I always think of her when I make fancy (and labor intensive!) cakes like this! They're not as good as hers lol ;-)
Pappy and his personality twin, Roman
Boys love to climb...
3 of the 6 of us! I love Maddox man more than I could have imagined. I prayed for a 4th baby because I still had the burning desire in my heart to have more children after I had Say girl. I loved not knowing if he was a boy or a girl during my pregnancy, and ever since Josh told me, "it's a boy!!" during our homebirth, I've been more in love than ever (this is not to say that I love him any more than any of our kids!! I love them all the same...it's just crazy how your love can grow!). I love seeing how his little personality is developing, and how the Lord made him just as unique as the other 3.
Being a wife to a God-fearing husband who adores and loves me like Christ loves his Church, and having the Lord bless us so that I can be a mommy to 4 beautiful children is amazing and brings me to tears and to my knees in praise to the One who made the heavens and the earth. I feel so privileged, honored and not deserving of these precious gifts. It is our job to stewart these gifts to glorify Jesus, the One who gave them to us ("Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." James 1:17).
We take that seriously, and we are in constant prayer that our children will KNOW Jesus and have a relationship with Him and glorify Him in everything they do. We pray for strength and endurance to parent and guide them to Jesus, and pray that Jesus will reveal Himself to them. We cannot wait for the day that we can stand by our children as they are submerged and baptized in the water, claiming that Jesus is their Savior and they have put their faith in Him!! I will be on my knees in thanks when all 4 of our beautiful children make that decision: the decision that is the MOST IMPORTANT decision in the entire world. This world is harsh, constantly changing and constantly a struggle, but God is constant and doesn't change. He is only good and hates evil. He sent His son to be crucified and take on His justified wrath on sin in our place, so he paid our debt for our sins. It's incredible, and it's the most beautiful love story ever written. We're undeserving, but by God's grace he gave us the gift of Jesus even while we were sinners.
If our kids understand that, if they live for Jesus, they will have beautiful and full lives. Nothing on this earth can take that joy away, and that is our prayer. That is how we will raise our kids, and we need Jesus' help daily to empower us to do that!
"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it."Proverbs 22:6
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