Blessed In Love

The Blessingway turned out *BEAUTIFUL*!!! It was such a special time of showering my sister with love and blessings! Plus I always treasure time spent with family and close friends. We really had a great time enjoying eachothers comany and also acknowledging and filling our hearts with thanks and awe with regards to the miracle of pregnancy, birth, and babies. It really did turn out beautifully, and I know I was the host but everybody present was so open and had the same feedback afterwards-- that is was just a great and meaningful celebration. I'm so happy with how everything turned out!! There were meaningful and "serious" aspects of it, but the coolest thing is that it was a *joyous* celebration and we were all just relaxed and having fun.



The above pictures are of the pampering that my sister got! My mom brushed her hair and her sweet friend, Kristen, made a flower wreath for her- this symbolizes the transformation into motherhood & preparing the 'headspace' for birth & mommyhood. My sister, Annie & dear friend Casey massaged her hands & arms with delicious Pachouli Lime lotion, which symbolizes preparing her hands and arms for holding and comforting baby Finn. We soaked her feet in water with rose petals and lavendar oil, and the washing of her feet symbolizes the washing away of all fears. We massaged her feet and legs with lotion and then dried them with cornmeal, which symbolizes preparing her feet for the long and awe-inspiring journey through birth and into motherhood. It was a beautiful time of women helping and lifting up women, sisterhood bonding. It's silly that doing something like this makes a lot of people feel uncomfortable, but it's the most natural thing ever... I think that in most cultures, women learn about pregnancy and birth from the other women in their tribes/communities, and it is the women who help prepare eachother for the various rites of passage that may occur in their lives (marriage, menstruation, birth, etc).
The bracelet above was made during our "blessings". We each took two beads- The first bead was for Christine-- we each said something special for Christine (a wish we have for her, something special, maybe a Bible verse or quote), and the bead was strung onto the bracelet symbolizing our wish for her... and the second bead was for baby Finn-- for this we each said an attribute or character that we wish for him to have. It was a very special (and tearful!) time. We had someone writing down everything said and this was presented to Christine with the bracelet. The bracelet will be with her during her birth-time to remind her of all the love and support she has. We also created a prayer-chain for her birth time. During this "blessing" time, we also each shared what we loved most about our births, or some other little ancedote that may be empowering or positive for her. As well as any words of wisdom we have for her. We gave her 4 extra beads so her and daddy can both place their wishes on the bracelet as well.
The 2nd picture is the belly-cast that we made after all the festivities and the yummy food. Isn't is BEAUTIFUL!!! Anyways, I just thought I'd share more about the Blessingway because so many people weren't sure what one was. Don't you feel blessed that we are able to experience this miracle of pregnancy, birth and parenthood? AMAZING!!!
P.S. I'll try to be better about posting- I've been sooo busy! I'll post a recent pic of Jake soon too. He turns ONE next week!!! Oh, I'm halfway through my pregnancy too. It's going great!