This weekend is our baby shower-blessingway mash up to celebrate our little boy! I think it should be fun. We are having a small group of women over to celebrate and support for his upcoming birth. If you follow me via social media, then you probably already know about this, but if you don't, I wanted to put it up here as well.
We are welcoming anyone who wishes to participate in an online portion of our blessing way, from now, until the end of January. I have created an 'event' on facebook to better organize things, however I know not everyone uses facebook so I wanted to get this posted quickly.
If you have a facebook acount, you can view the event HERE.
If not, I will share what is written there, explaining what a blessingway is, and how you can participate from wherever you may be in the world!
Hi lovely ladies!
**please stick with me as this is long, but important to include all the information.**
I sent out my invitations to my baby shower/blessingway mix this week, and I really want to include the beautiful community of women that surround me, but aren't close enough to be with me.
My online community and support is very important to me, and I have gotten to know some really fantastic people.
I am opening up the blessing way portion of my baby shower, so that I can include ALL of the women who support me in my life.
I'm unsure how to explain this, so I'm going to paste a portion of my actual invitation to better explain what I am doing:
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You must be wondering what the heck a 'blessingway' is, so let me tell you a bit about it.
A blessingway, is a traditional celebration to welcome a mother into a new stage of life when she is expecting a baby. It's an ancient tradition that centers mainly around women, and the expecting mother. I personally find this celebration very near to my heart, and rather than doing two separate events, I'd like to combine them, and have you help me celebrate this special time.
A traditional blessingway can be very ceremonial based, with poems and chants and feasts and special rituals, however, I have chosen to choose what suits me and only include a couple of things. One thing I have chosen to do, is a bead giving. This is where each guest brings a bead (or a couple if they should choose) that represents a wish or blessing they have for the mother during her birthing time. This can be anything from a blue bead, because it reminds you of being calm, to something that is said to keep mama and baby safe. After the shower, the mother then has enough beads with all these beautiful blessings and meanings attached to them, to make a necklace or bracelet to wear during her labor and birth. She can look at this and be reminded of all the wonderful women in her life, supporting her during this special time.
A blessingway is meant to create a support or 'net' of women for the mother, to fill her with positivity and good wishes before and during her birthing time.
The other things I plan to incorporate, would be each guest writing me and baby a note or blessing at the shower, that I can display or read through during labor to help keep me strong and grounded and lifted by the support of friends and family. I will also be giving each guest a candle at the end of the shower, so that they may light it whenever they want to send me some positive support, and for when I go into labor. This is said to send positive energy to mama and baby.
Now, I know many of you might be unfamiliar with such 'hippie' aspects to a baby shower, but as you have read, I have kept it to a minimal so there wont be any hand holding flower circles. The point of all of this is to come together as women, and show support and love to a mother about to transition into a new stage of life and growth. Regardless of how open you choose to express this sort of thing, I think everyone can support the sentiment behind it.
It's very important to me, to include the blessingway aspect and to have all the women in my life be able to be a part of this with me. So please, come help me celebrate this time and welcome our last child. Your support as a friend, and a woman, means a lot to me and I appreciate you maybe stepping out of your comfort zone to do so.
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Now that you have a better idea of what the actual blessingway-baby shower will be like, here is where this online event comes in.
I want to open this event for you to be able to write on this wall any blessings or well-wishes you may have for baby and myself, from now until January. (but maybe I will keep it open until he is born if I can.)
I also welcome you to participate in the bead giving (only if you wish, of course). If you would like to send me a bead, from now until the end of January (so it gets to me before my guess date of February 18th.)
If you wish to send me a bead, personal message me and I will give you my address so that you can!
You are also welcome to post a photo of your lit candle here, if you should choose to partake in that way.
Thank you all so much for helping me honor this special time in our life. I want you to know that I truly appreciate you.
**ALL are welcome to participate! Whether you know me from my blog, or a social media site, know that you are a part of my community and are more than welcome to join me here.**
If you would like to participate, you can comment below and offer a blessing, or you can go to my contact page, and send me an email if you would like to keep it private, or for my address to send me a bead to add to my chain/necklace! Or of course, feel free to participate through the facebook event.
You can post a blessing whenever you would like! It doesnt need to be the day of the 'live' blessingway, however you are more than welcome to do it that way. I am closing it off later in January though, to ensure I receive all the beads and blessings before he is born.
If you have any questions, please let me know.
Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to read and or participate in this with us. I am blessed by each one of you!
XOX
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