A few weeks ago my husband and I had a Baby Blessing for Emily at our new home. It was the most special and beautiful day. You may be wondering what a Baby Blessing is exactly. Well, we are not religious people so a baptism did not make sense for our family. We are spiritual and raising Emily with a belief in a higher power is important to us. We also believe family is the most important part of her life. So we decided to set aside a day to honor our daughter and celebrate her life amongst the company of her closest family.
We had buffet style food and drinks and everyone hung out for a while. Then we had a little ceremony. I had been nervous about this part of the day wondering how it would all come together, but it worked out perfectly! Everyone naturally gathered in a circle at this point. Emily had fallen asleep in her carrier so while she wasn’t awake for it, she was there!
First, I thanked everyone for being there. I was very emotional having lost my grandmother earlier that same week. The cycle of life was all too evident in that moment. I also talked about Emily’s name. We chose “Emily” because we thought it was the most beautiful name- it sounds like a song. And “Rae” has an extra special significance. We originally chose the name to honor my grandfather Renato who went by “Ray”. We knew it was the absolute right choice when we realized each letter of the name “Rae” was the first initial of each of my grandparents. R for Renato, A for Angiola, and E for Elise. I know all over them are watching over her.
Next my mom, Emily’s Mema, read a prayer she wrote. Mema is a talented author and has written many beautiful prayers. I hadn’t read her special prayer for Emily prior to the day 
so it was a wonderful moment to hear it for the first time. Mema printed out a copy for everyone and rolled them up into scrolls so we could follow along. It was a priceless moment! She also framed the prayer and it now sits in Emily’s room where we can read it all the time.
The ceremony ended with Emily’s Aunt Jamie reading “Forever Young” by Bob Dylan. I had searched for a while to find the perfect words for this event, and thought that this song said it all. Aunt Jamie has been instrumental in Emily’s life. She was there for me throughout my pregnancy and any time I have needed her advice as a new mom. She did a beautiful job with the reading and I think we were all teary eyed!
The last thing we did was take group picture with the whole family, our village. I will treasure this photo forever!
One other detail I want to mention is the little wish box I had out (photo below). I asked everyone to write a special wish for Emily to read one day. I think the words she received will mean so much to her when she is older.
And that was that! From there we all enjoyed some cake and hung out for a while. I will never forget that day and am so happy we pulled it together after a very difficult week mourning my grandmother. My sweet Emily Rae has officially been welcomed into the world by her incredible family.
Lifted Into the World 