Babies and Blessings

One of my nearest and dearest friends, Mallory, had a little bundle of joy in February- Gavin Mark. I helped throw one of her baby showers in December and met some of her friends who loved her and her soon-to-be baby as much as I did! 

 Shane and me with baby Gavin a few weeks after he was born.

This past weekend, one of those friends- Katie- threw Mallory a Baby Meet-and-Greet party- something that was new to me, despite all my baby shindigs.

The party was held at the yoga studio at which Mallory teaches, and it was lovely meeting all her “yogi” friends. Katie had mentioned on the invitation to bring something for Mallory to fill a jar with good things for Mallory. Not sure if i was on the right track, I brought a tube of my favorite fancy lip gloss to remind her not to forget about little luxuries, and hoped it would suffice. 

Walking into the yoga room, shoes off, lights low, you could feel just a very cool energy. Baby Gavin was happy and peaceful, the girls were lovely to be around, and I was just genuinely happy to be there for my friend and her baby. 

We first wrote blessings for Gavin’s life to be displayed in a doorway blessing (I couldn’t find much online about this but it is basically a banner made of colorful fabric that hangs outside of the nursery door with separate little pockets to stuff the written blessings). Everyone went around and shared their blessing, and then it was time for the bowl for Mallory. Not exactly what I was thinking, the bowl was full of homemade sugar scrub and some of the guests added “pixie dust,” lavender essential oils, and stones with things like “patience” written on them. Obviously, I couldn’t exactly add lip gloss to this concoction, but the idea was the still the same: pamper yourself, you’ve done a miraculous thing bringing this life into the world, and even if just for a moment- you deserve to be treated like royalty. At least I know Mallory will appreciate her skin AND lips being as soft as a baby’s bottom…(chuckle chuckle…get it!?)

I am so excited for Mallory’s journey, and grateful that I have been able to play a small part in it. Gavin is such a beautiful gift and Mallory and her husband, Stefan are already amazing parents. 

What are some unique ideas you have seen displayed at baby or wedding showers?

Dear Avery, Love Mom

There are two things in this world that I have always known I wanted to be: a writer and a mother.

Some people go through elementary school with a football under their arm, a stethoscope around their neck, or a pair of ballet shoes they just can't come to terms with taking off. Me? I attended to my doll babies and constructed elaborate stories, poems, and dialogues. I had a fun childhood full of ballet, pa-sghetti, sponge curlers, and sleepovers. My mom and I held hands as we walked through Dillards and ate chicken fingers at Chili's. I wrote poems and songs that I would read aloud at the dinner table or to my most influential teachers. These traits would follow me, as I am still honing them now: I am still learning to weave writing in my everyday life, I love nothing more than being around babies, and am excited for the day I will have my own (although, I am content waiting a few years for that.)

I read the most incredible blog last week that I just could not peel my eyes away from, and yet it has haunted me just the same. A co-worker shared with me the blog of a girl she had grown up with, and now lives in Kentucky with her husband. A girl known for her charm, sweet disposition, and servant's heart, Carey is the kind of person you know is destined for great things, and "her children will call her blessed" (Proverbs 31).

When Carey discovered she was pregnant with her first child, she was ecstatic. She started her blog, Dear Avery, as a collection of letters she writes to her unborn child. Although my co-worker spoiled the ending for me, I started reading Carey's blog from the beginning. 

I have never been pregnant or brought life into the world, but I know that the love Carey expressed to the child growing inside her was something I have yet to experience... it was the most astonishingly beautiful account of love one could read. I almost felt privileged, let in on a secret I wasn't sure I should know all about.

Carey spoke to her daughter, Avery, as if she was sitting in front of her, soaking up every word that was typed. And when Carey found out about her daughters condition, I felt a twinge of the hurt Carey felt.

You will need to read about Carey and Avery's journey yourself... I read through the entire blog in one sitting, bursting with a plethora of feelings I didn't know I could feel for a family I have never met.

The love Carey felt for her unborn child, the decisions she made, and the pain she endured is something I personally know nothing about. But sometimes, you just know where you are called. I am a firm believer that God never gives you more than you can handle, and nothing that you cant go out and do good with. Carey, I believe, fits that category. It may not have been the hand she deserved, she prayed for, or could ever imagine... but something good will come out of her story.

Please read Carey's blog. It will do something to your soul I can't even explain. Or maybe it won't, but it sure did something in me.

I know bumps, bruises, and detours happen when we least expect them and usually, at the most inopportune times. Like Carey, though, I will never let that get in my way of what I feel called to become.