My Blessingway!!

The idea of a Blessingway first entered my mind during Alicia's celebration last summer. When Robin said, "We'll have one for you too..." my mind began to wander.

At first, Alicia & Robin wanted to set a date once we met our daughter. I was still trying to "be cool" and put the celebration off until it was closer to when we'd bring our daughter home. Honestly, I envisioned a celebration after she came home so she could be involved, but looking back, I'm glad they convinced me otherwise. I do plan to have some kind of a ceremony when she comes home, but it can be a "Welcome to the Family" kind of celebration then!!

As the months dragged over the summer with no movement, I began to doubt Baby Sister would come home--oh yee little of faith I had!! I didn't feel like celebrating. But then when we saw movement I was ON BOARD to celebrate!!! With only 3 weeks' notice, Robin & Alicia put together such a sacred, touching ceremony that I couldn't have been happier with.

Robin made the invitations using a picture Hubby took of me holding our daughter from our visit trip, while Alicia searched the internet for a really good explanation of what a Blessingway is & viola!! I heard that some people teared up when they got their invitation in the mail--let's just say it was a hint for what was to come during the Blessingway. Below is part of the invitation:

a Blessingway is an ancient Navajo ceremony to celebrate a woman's transition into motherhood. The Navajo have a saying, "whatever happens here on Earth must first be dreamed", and that's exactly what a Blessingway does. This will be a celebration centered around "S" and her upcoming rite of passage into motherhood of two. The idea behind the Blessingway is to surround "S" with support and encouragement as she counts her days down to the arrival of her daughter home.

As they arrived, each person found their Guatemalan Pictograph bookmark to keep as a momento & were given blank notecards & pens to write their "wish" down. Then we all headed to the playroom where we had cleared the toys out & arranged lots of big pillows for everyone to sit in a circle on the floor. Alicia decorated the playroom walls with molas she made from a children's craft idea book and Jan helped me create a bit of an "altar".

In the middle of the circle, we covered the floor with a handwoven blanket we bought from the village our Birthmother is from. Then the blanket was covered with special things: my favorite picture of Baby Sister, the Guardian Angel pendant Hubby gave me for Mother's Day, a small dish filled with river rock & the Venus of Willendorf figurine in the middle, a necklace Jan made for our daughter, the blanket Aunt Karen made for her, and a hand woven dress & booties we bought when we were on our visit trip.

Each person took turns introducing themselves before Jan & Twigg started the ceremony with a smudging. They lit a bundle of dried sage & sweetgrass and let the smoke drift over each person in the circle. After everyone had been "smudged" Alicia explained the "wish necklace" by describing her bead & reading her "wish" for me. Each person followed until the whole necklace had been strung & we were all wiping our eyes, blowing our noses and laughing at each other!!!

Next, we all went up to Baby Sister's room. Everyone chose a Guatemalan friendship bracelet as I explained the latest info on the adoption process. I mentioned that the timing of the news was perfect (so to speak). What better time to get scary news than right before you spend time amongst strong, confident, sacred women!!! As everyone linked hands, I asked for positive thoughts that all the turmoil between the Guatemalan & U.S. govts will be resolved.

OK...if I haven't lost you yet, I'm almost done!!! We ended the Blessingway with a video Hubby made. He did a slideshow featuring pictures of Hannah's Hope in Guatemala, some pictures of other All God's Children families & their adopted children as well as all the pictures we have of Baby Sister to date. As the slideshow ran, the music of Steven Curtis Chapman's "When Love Takes You In" and the Dixie Chicks' "Lullaby" played. It gave everyone a chance to see how beautiful Hannah's Hope is and how well our daughter is being taken care of.

After the video, everyone dug into the various potluck dishes & chatted while enjoying the beautiful weather. You know the coolest thing of all? Most of the people that attended had never been to a Blessingway or knew what to expect, but were open to it & really enjoyed themselves. It was so touching to look around & see so many positive women gathered & having a meaningful experience. For the gazillionth time, I was reminded that I'm truly blessed...

A special thanks to Laura for grabbing my camera & capturing some special moments...