Ella's Blessing Weekend

 Last weekend, our little Ella got blessed and most of our family were able to come up for this very special occasion! Of course, in typical Scotland style it was pouring with rain on the Saturday morning when everyone arrived...and it continued to rain all day long! For about an hour in the afternoon, the rain held off just long enough for us to go on a nice woodland walk - and even the sun made a quick appearance!

 We were loving the bluebells!

 and we had to grab a family shot, whilst there was an additional pair of hands to take the photo!

It was also my Dad's birthday that same day, so we celebrated with a coconut and lime curd cake -

because in his opinion cake is better than a present - I wonder who I take after!

and we all headed out for a big family meal at Nando's in the evening.  Again Dad's sweet tooth came out as he ate his frozen yoghurt before his meal had even arrived!

The rest of the night we spent adding a few last minute touches to our bakes for the next day!

 

 Ella woke up full of beans, ready for her big day! We tried to take a few shots of her in her pretty dress before we left the house - but she had other things in mind! Like eating everything in sight - her dress...

 and even her fists! but I guess this is just a way to document that on her blessing day she was in full on teething mode!

 For a few seconds she folded her arms like a reverent little baby! and we managed a few smiles too!

 Isn't her dress so cute? My uni friends Tash and Lucy posted it to her as a prezzie when she was a newborn and I knew as soon as I saw it that it would be her blessing dress! Her little pink cardigan was knitted by a colleague of By's.

 Here was our little family shot before leaving for church! 

The blessing ceremony itself was really lovely, in our church the baby blessing gets performed by the father so Byron was able to bless Ella.  It was such a special moment seeing him up there bestowing all kinds of lovely words to Ella.  God has entrusted us with this baby girl, she is a beloved child of his and he wants her to return to live with him again one day and so it is down to Byron and I as her earthly parents to raise her in obedience to keeping the commandments of God and walking in righteousness.  Having her blessed into our church is just the first step in her journey but one that will ensure that she grows up to know God and to follow in Jesus' footsteps and example.

Just a few weeks before the blessing I found a picture from my own blessing day...

and my mom also gave me one from her blessing day!

 
 I want to get all three of them framed together, three generations sharing one special moment!

Of course no special moments happen in the Jones family without accompanying baked goods! so we whipped up this very pink and girly dessert table for after! My sister Mara made that lovely bunting that said Ella's Blessing on it...

and she also made this E, and these cute little flowers from dyed coffee filters - she's so clever!

 I made these brownie bites...

 

oreo truffles...

 

 magic bars...and some treats called fifteens which weren't photographed - they are a traditional Northern Irish treat of condensed milk, marshmallows and coconut - mine had maltesers in too! and we also made some marshmallow pops for the kids table!

 Mara brought the gourmet popcorn, one little boy came up to me and asked where the popcorn was, I pointed to the little pink dishes, and he said 'no, the normal popcorn, I don't like coconut popcorn'!! Too bad for him, because it was yummy!

 My mom made this lemon polenta cake, to give a bit of a break from all the chocolatey treats on the table! and she also made some super cute mini scones with jam and clotted cream!

and she did this beautiful pink arrangment for the table!

 The rocky road was provided by Mel, and Mara brought a whole tray of rocky road fudge brownies too!

 She also made these mini chocolate cupcakes, and the little pink toppers were handmade using a mould of all sweeties and cupcakes...

 

they were super cute!

Shloer and pink lemonade was accompanied by stripey straws...

because everything is made better with stripey straws! especially ones in pink buckets, which my dad sprayed especially for the occasion - thanks Dad!

 Here are the proud great grandparents! all the way from South Africa, we waited until May to do the blessing so that they would be able to attend :)

A nice family shot outside the chapel!

and a sister shot...

 Ellis and Ella having a moment!

 All the Jones girls!

 and this is where we tried to recreate the pose from my blessing picture 28 years ago!

Uncle Arne getting broody for a girl! and look at cute little Ellis' special tartan tie for the event! He had a waistcoat and everything but that didn't make it past the beginning of church!

 

We took a few more pictures of the special girl in her special dress!

 She loved clutching it all day long!

and seemed pretty happy about how the day had gone! We are so blessed to get to be her mommy and daddy!

Ella was truly spoilt with so many goodies and so much love - she definitely has a huge family who love her very much! We were so grateful to everyone who was able to make the effort to come! It was a weekend that will not be forgotten!