Kate's Dol

"Dol" is the Korean first birthday celebration. You also see it spelled "Tol." I guess it depends on how you want to pronounce it in English. The Korean sound, Tanna tells me, is actually a cross between a "d" and a "t" sound--like the start of his first name (which is Dae). (Incidentally, this explains in part how "Tanna" (with a "T") comes from "Dae Hyun" with the added "aaaaaahhhhh" at the end when his Mom used to call for him.)

But back to the subject ... I want to write some more about Kate's Dol before I forget. You probably are tired of reading about it, so feel free to move on to your next blog while I record this for the sake of family history and Kate's baby book. (This blog has replaced a lot of my scrapbooking.)

The Dol consists of several elements, many of which you can read about on the corresponding link I included. Here is another one. And another. For this post, I want to focus on the service. I'll write about her toljabee in another post.

A photo with Pastor Cho before the ceremony

Tanna's parents' pastor led a beautiful service for Kate's Dol. It was very moving, and we sincerely appreciate the planning, thought and prayer that went into it. A family friend served as the interpreter, so the English-speaking guests (and Kate's mom) could understand what was being said. :o)

Pastor Cho chose two Scriptures for his message--Luke 2:40 and Luke 2:52:

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. --Luke 2:40

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. --Luke 2:52

Pastor Cho and Mr. Park during the ceremony. Tanna is holding Kate, who is eating one of the programs. I guess we probably should have fed her more before things got started. haha

He talked about how parents wish for their children to grow and to become strong and to be wise. And how they wish for their children to grow in favor with God and men. He spoke about Jesus as a child and how He grew in these ways, and how we wish these things for Kate. I wish I could remember specifically more of the things that he said. It was very meaningful and special, and (even though I was really trying not to cry in front of everyone) I got a little teary during the service.

We sang two hymns: "While the Lord is My Shepherd" and "All the Way my Savior Leads Me." As always, I love to hear hymns sung in different languages. Beautiful.

Another shot during the ceremony

Of course, the service included a couple of prayers as well. Again, I wish I could remember more of the details, but I was trying to hold Kate still during at least one of them. She just wanted to get down and crawl around. LOL!

A little aside: There were even programs printed with the music included so guests could follow along. I had no idea the service would be so nice--Tanna's parents coordinated all of this with their pastor, and we sincerely appreciated it so very much.

A few family photos:

Here we are with Tanna's parents
(Tanna's siblings live in California, so they couldn't make it.)

And here we are with my side of the family
(minus my sister and her family who live in Europe)