The Love of Family and Friends

I feel incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by such amazing friends and family during these last few weeks (6 to go!) of my pregnancy. Of course my amazing parents have been taking great care of me since I came home...virtually not letting me lift a finger, cooking amazing meals, making me comfortable in every way, and just being the loving kind parents they are. But this weekend, I was joined by my aunt and uncle who are making their way back from Florida to Toronto and made a special stop along the way to take part in baby shower festivities with me. I feel so lucky to have had this time with them because not only do we rarely get to see each other, but I know when this baby joins us and we get back to Ghana, it may be a while before we get to all be together again. They have shared their excitement with me over our baby coming into the world soon and we've gotten to catch up and just spend time together.

My beautiful Auntie Dale...


And then there was the amazing baby shower that my mother and my very special friend Delene threw me yesterday. Love and attention was truly showered upon me and we had an amazing time. About 23 women (along with my dad and uncle!) joined us in our house for an afternoon of food, arts and crafts, poetry, and even singing!

Homemade bagels with lox and cream cheese...





These women ranged from people who have watched me grow up from when I was a baby, to people who cared for me as a baby, to girlfriends from grade school, to friends from my adult life and everyone in between.





My baby shower planner-extroidinaire, Delene, decided to forego any baby shower games like smelling diapers stuffed with random gross foods, measuring the mama's belly, and guessing baby food flavors and instead opted for an arts and crafts activity which was much more appropriate for me - given my crafty inclinations these days.


All the women worked together to create a mobile which hangs with moons, stars, globes, and colorful ribbons all adorned with loving messages to hang in the baby's room back in Ghana. They also wrote messages of wisdom, advice and encouragement in a booklet that I can keep and read when I need a little hometown comfort.






And opening presents brought tears and beautiful poetry read by our friend Susan.



My Aunt crocheted a beautiful baby outfit that is so special...





And lots of other adorable outfits and toys came our way which I am so grateful for!



And maybe the most creative touch to the shower that my friend Delene planned was to create a phone tree so that all my friends and family can be contacted one by one when I go into labor and they were each given a candle to light to send good vibes and thoughts my way. I joked that the candle had a 3-hour burn time in the hopes that that would be the length of my labor! I'm afraid I won't be so lucky, but it will be so nice to know all these wonderful friends and loved ones are thinking of me.