My Angel Shower

Saturday my mom and her friend, Sherry, threw me an Angel Shower. An Angel Shower is similar to a baby shower, with a few obvious changes. The purpose is to celebrate the life of the child that isn't going to get to stay on Earth after birth. Instead of the guests bringing gifts like baby clothes and toys, they instead bring things for the parents to help remember the baby, or maybe a giftcard to somewhere, or something for the other child or children.

The necklace from my sister.

My Angel Shower was really amazing. I honestly didn't know what to expect. I wasn't sure if it would be a sad day, or a happy day, or a combination of the two. The day turned out to be very joyous, and a little emotional, but it was a happy emotional. I got to my parents' house long before the actual shower started, so I could just visit with my mom, and help with anything I was able to. My sister gave me the gift from her and my mom early. It is a necklace with a heart, and on one side of the heart, it has a footprints, and on the other side, it says, "...it was then that I carried you." I'm not sure if my sister really realized all the meanings the necklace holds for me, but it's truly perfect. I know the "real" meaning of the necklace is the poem "Footprints in the Sand" by Mary Stevenson, but the first meaning that the necklace held for me was the choice I made to carry Eden. I also thought it was pretty perfect that one half had footprints on it, because "There is no footprint so small that it can not leave an imprint on this world" was the theme of my Angel Shower. It was definitely a God thing, and God made His presence very apparent throughout the whole day.

At 2:00 is when the shower started. Family and a few close family friends arrived one by one, and we all visited and ate the amazing food my mom made. The 3D/4D ultrasound that we had a couple weeks ago played on the TV in the background on a loop, and every so often we'd hear the sound of Eden's heartbeat fill the room. Sherry really made the house look fantastic with all her decorations, and she made a bunch of delicious desserts including little cookies in the shape of a foot! We played a little game in which a poem made us pass a gift around the room, and we also played Bingo. It was really fun, and it actually felt like a "normal" baby shower. It was so great to have people treating me like a normal pregnant woman. 

Gift from my cousin. It has Eden's name on the front.

Then we did gifts, and I (barely) made it through without crying. I got some really heartfelt gifts from everyone, and I was really touched with all the thought everyone put into each gift and card. My cousin got us a really beautiful Guardian Angel that is holding one of those water globes, and inside the globe she put one of Eden's ultrasound pictures. On the front, it has Eden's name engraved on it. And as if that wasn't perfect enough, it also plays "Pachelbel Canon", which was one of the main songs we played at our wedding - another one of those God things I was telling you about! I also got a Lavender Falls Wisteria tree to plant in memory of Eden. The tree was once again God showing his presence to us, because literally the night before, James created an event on our Life of Eden Marie facebook page called Trees for Eden, but none of my family knew about the event.

My mom plans on making a special quilt for us, and requested people to bring a piece of fabric that had special meaning to each person. My great-grandfather sent his "all time favorite tie", and my step-daughter gave us her favorite shirt, and a close family friend gave us a piece of clothing from a child that she lost many years ago, and we were also given my husband's baby blanket that his Granny made for him 33 years ago. The pieces of fabric that everyone choose had me on the verge of tears, and this quilt is going to have so much meaning when it's complete. My mom also requested the story behind each article, so she can make a book with the stories behind it. We haven't collected all the fabric we need for her to start it quite yet, but I know it'll come together perfectly when it's meant to.

We stayed at my parents' house long after the last guest left, and there isn't too much I'd change about the day. There were a few people who really wanted to be there and couldn't, but otherwise the day was perfect. 

We only have about 5 more weeks left, and we need your prayers more than ever. Today the calendar changed again, and it was rough for me, because it's our last full calendar month with Eden. I feel so done with being pregnant, but I'm nowhere near being ready to hand my child off to God just yet. I don't think I will ever be ready to give up a child, but I do find comfort in knowing exactly where she'll be going and that my Great-Grammie will be there to greet her and take her into her arms when she gets there.

From the Angel Shower. The rose has the Poem I shared in the previous post attached to it.