Ikebana

Ikebana is a type of Japanese flower arrangement. The idea is not to just make the flowers look pretty, but the person arranging the flowers is supposed to give each one a meaning and arrange them in personally meaningful way, while still creating a pleasing arrangement. Ikebana actually means "living flowers" and the living not only means that the flowers are alive, but that they tell a story of the person's life who created it. Patrick was able to do this one at one of his work retreats last week. The pink flowers represent us. There are two blooming flowers and one that is hard to see that hasn't quite blossomed yet. The ones that have bloomed are him and I and the one that still has yet to bloom is our baby. The orchids represent our family. They are pointed away from us becuase we are far away from family right now, but they are still close to us in our hearts. The leaves represent new friends we are making here, and are spread out in front of us to symbolize moving forward. The long willow sticking straight up is God, always watching over us, and the baby's breath above and all around represents our blessings. When he brought it home and explained the meanings of all the flowers to me I of course started crying. It is so sweet and such a beautiful way to express our lives right now. Unfortunately, the flowers won't last forever, but the things that the flowers represent will last much longer. Patrick is so sweet. He really can be sentimental when he wants to be:)