Boots & Booties

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to a military baby shower hosted by a great organization in Fayetteville called Fayetteville Cares.  This "shower" is considered the world's LARGEST military baby shower, or probably baby shower in general.  There were a total of 1000 pregnant mama's there!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I had heard about this event from a friend on base and signed up thinking it maybe a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  Needless to say as the event got closer and closer I kept hearing about the hype.  Free things!  Good food!  This sounded like my type of event :)

When I got there on Saturday, I was early but that didn't seem to make a difference.  The ladies were already lined up out the door stretching most of the parking lot.  I joined the line of pregnant women and slowly made my way to registration.  With my packet and wristband I was off!

New Parent Support Program, an awesome program here on base, was there with lots of information about birth and parent classes, safety, infant massage, SIDS.  All the pamphlets a girl could want really.  Although the information was helpful, I think most of the women were interested in the door prizes.  Each of us were given a certain amount of tickets that we could put in whatever raffle box we wanted.  They had things from TVs, laptops and vacuums to gift cards for dinners and gender specific gift bags.

After dropping off my tickets I grabbed some food and just tried to soak it all in.  Its amazing to see how a community comes together to support these military families.  Not only do they throw this shower every couple of years but they are constantly putting together packets for the troops overseas and their families here on the home front.  Its a great example of how a community has embraced the military presence rather than isolating it.

The afternoon wrapped up with some speeches from high ranking army personnel and then the announcement of the raffle winners.  I didn't get anything big but I did win the prize at my table.  Baby girl got a cute knitted cap and booties.  The most exciting part of the day was leaving.  Every woman was directed into a colored line based on her wristband.  Each wristband corresponded to a certain gift.  Some women got car seats and bouncers.  I walked away with a carrier, a few toys and some diapers.

Overall it was a great afternoon and it was such a great experience to meet other women going through the same things I was.  It was also such a blessing to see how the community is supporting the military and their families here in Fayetteville!