My Blessingway

This past Sunday, (February 15th, 2015) Corrine held a digital blessingway for me.
I didn't really know what to expect, but it was so magical.
It was held at 10:00AM EST which, honestly, was clearly too early for most people, but it was the most convenient for myself and she so that's what we went with.

Around 9:30AM I began getting ready; I got my little blessingway altar all set up, I saged the space, put on some Loreena McKennitt and got comfortable.

I put a lot of thought into the items that I included on my altar.

I knew I wanted it to be beautiful, inspirational and filled with pregnancy-and-birth-centered love.

Top left; My carved stone elephant with a baby carved stone elephant in her belly.

Top middle; One of our oil burners; just using it to hold a candle.

Top right; My stones.

Middle left; My large amethyst piece.

Middle; Me.

Middle right; My blessingway cord.

Bottom left; My pregnancy stones.

Bottom middle; My sage.

Bottom right; One of my favourite Ganesha statues.

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We started with a "welcome" post; we all introduced ourselves and shared our altar spaces.
Then, a nature offering where people told me what flower reminded them of me and why. Oh, the replies made me so happy...
Next were affirmations; each goddess posted a (very large) number of inspirational mantras for me to say to myself. This was so empowering... Knowing they were all thinking of me, of us when they wrote these...
Then blessings for myself and Rowan were said.. Oh my heart is so full still thinking of them!
The next step was music; people posted links to beautiful, calming music / sounds that I could relax to.
And then the closing circle, followed by the blessingway crown. A few of us tied cord around one of our wrists to be cut off just before the birth in encouragement. Corrine asked everyone to choose a stone to make me a crown and she'll be sending it out soon. How blessed am I?

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The things that were said about me... about the kind of person these people see me as... Lifted me up higher than I can tell you. Matthew makes me feel like a goddess every day and Lennon could not be sweeter when it comes to me. But knowing that people outside of my immediate family feel like I have an impact on them... And a good one? Wow.

I feel so empowered and not as scared about the birth...
Which is fantastic because I wasn't very scared about it until quite recently. But I know I can do this. I am strong. My body is ready for this and so is Rowan's. We will be safe and healthy.
I am so excited!

I doubt I'll post again before his birth so I'll likely be back in a couple of weeks.
Thanks for all of the love thrown our way; we feel it so strongly.

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A Week From Today, Rowan Will Be Here!

So basically, this is a semi-hiatus notice for my blog.
I'll be back to active writing eventually, but please understand that family comes first!

One week from today, our second son, Rowan will be born. (If I don't go into labor before then. By this time next Friday, I'll already be prepped and in surgery.)

I can't even believe it's so close... Soon we will be the parents of two boys. "The boys" we'll call them.

My amazing friend Corrine is holding a digital blessingway for me this Sunday and I am so, so excited.

My heart is so full...

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Gratitude Journal; A Daily Reminder To Be Grateful

My friend Corrine of Wolf Den Holistic Farm posted a beautiful challenge on her blog. She encourages us to take the time each day (just a few minutes) to write down in a special journal 10 things we are grateful for. Simple enough, right? And can you imagine how amazing you'll feel looking back at all the beautiful things in that journal?

So I'm taking her challenge. I can take a few minutes each day to remember what I'm grateful for. They don't even have to be anything huge; just simple things throughout the day. I just grabbed a lined book that I had on hand and wrote "Gratitude Journal" on the cover. So simple.

Here is what my first page looked like;
1. My family's health.
2. Sunlight coming in the bedroom window mid-Winter for the cats to bathe in.
3. The burden of "too much."
4. Decent weather today.
5. Our apartment. It's small but perfect.
6. Abundant water & living somewhere that I can drink all the clean water I want.
7. Food in our home. Especially food we enjoy & can make the decision to eat all depending on what sounds good.
8. Generosity from friends & family.
9. Matthew's job & the ability to sustain ourselves.
10. A doctor that actually pays close attention to & cares about Rowan and I. (And is awesome with Matthew and Lennon as well.)

If you take the challenge, go tell Corrine at her blog or on her Instagram account WolfDenHolisticFarm and keep her updated via the #wolfdengratitudechallenge tag!

You can find my updates on Instagram over at LaurenDouglasCreative. I'll be using the #wolfdengratitudechallenge tag as well!

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