A Name and a Blessing: Haiya's Blessing Day

We are so grateful that we could bless our little Haiya in the presence of so much family! Caleb had a week break from school this August so we drove up to Utah so that we could have both of our families be there for the special day. We blessed her at my parent's home in Salt Lake and had a light dinner afterwards. It was a beautiful and memorable day! 

As members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, instead of christening our babies like many others do, we give our children a special priesthood blessing in which we present the new infant to our Heavenly Father and officially pronounce a name and a blessing on them. 

The name we have officially chosen to give our daughter is Haiya Elizabeth Stott. Yes, you read that right ;)  We announced when she was born that her name would be Haiya Sophia. I have always loved the name Sophia and wanted to use it, but since Haiya has been born I have had some very, very sacred experiences in which I have come to know that Haiya and I have a very special and unique relationship. One that began long before this lifetime. As such, I have felt really bad over the last few months that I didn't give her part of my name. The day of the blessing, Caleb and I had an impression come over us in which we felt prompted to change her name - giving her the same middle name as me.  We have felt such a sweet, beautiful confirmation since then that it was the right thing to do!  To read more about what the name Haiya means, see my post Haiya: The Meaning Behind Her Name. 

On August 24, 2014 Haiya was given a beautiful and poignant blessing by her daddy, wearing the very same dress her mama wore when she was blessed 28 years ago. It was such a sweet and tender thing for me to see Haiya in my blessing dress. 

We are so thankful for all of our family who were able to be there in attendance, and especially to those who helped us to make it a beautiful day! I am thankful to both our mothers for providing delicious food, to my sister Jenn for a gorgeous floral arrangement, and to my sister Caitlin for taking pictures. She did SUCH an amazing job- I am so thankful for her talent and how it has helped to capture and preserve this special day for us.  {Check out her photography website http://www.caitlinnicolephotography.com/ to see more of her amazing work!}

It was also so special to have four generations of women present at her blessing: Haiya, her mother, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother. I am so thankful for these two amazing women (my mom and Grandma) and for the remarkable examples they are to me of what it means to be strong, virtuous women. 

Haiya and her great-grandmother Charlotte. This picture is precious to me!

Our growing family

Us and Caleb's Parents

The men who participated in her blessing

 This beautiful little dress is the one she wore to church on her big blessing day. It is so beautiful! And so is she :)

Words cannot express how much we love our little Haiya! She truly is such a light and joy in our lives!! (Thank you again Caitlin for the beautiful pictures!!)

xoxo