I am a homeschool mother of 4 kids, ages 4 to 12. I’ve been married to my husband for 15 years after meeting on a youth mission trip to the Yakima Indian Reservation. I’m a Christian and very involved in my church community, and I value the relationships that I’ve built there and in my own neighborhood. We recently traded in our city life for a country one in Sultan, Washington. On any given day you will find me either teaching a math lesson, pruning a fruit tree, drinking fresh pour-over coffee, reading a novel, or leaving a birth where I got to witness the strength of a mom who believed that her body was made to do an incredible thing. 

Like many others, I grew up thinking that birth was much like what you saw on television: the lady in the stirrups being yelled at by her doctor to push! When my husband and I found out we were having our first baby, I hadn’t really thought about my options or the fact that I had them, but I knew I didn’t want to be the lady in the stirrups. Soon after, I met a lovely midwife at our church who was talking about the last birth she was at, and I was intrigued. The way she talked about birth was so positive and intuitive, and I could tell that her model of care was more of a relationship than a hierarchy where she was always at the top. This approach to birth was what I wanted, and in the months that followed, I learned how to ask the right questions, have genuine care for new families, follow the evidence, and how to advocate for the things I cared about. When my midwife gently told me after 24 hours of labor with my first baby, that I was developing preeclampsia and needed to transfer to the hospital, I learned about fear and expectations, and how being flexible is crucial with the many surprises that can come your way during labor. My midwife and friends also raved about doulas and how they can really be a valuable addition to the circle of care, which I found to be true myself with my own doula. Having a doula who believed in me, cheered me on, rubbed my back, and saw birth as a natural process was so invaluable to me. Several years later, after having all my kids, attending several births for friends and family, pursuing education on pregnancy and birth, I decided that I wanted to be a birth doula! Today, I love being able to use what I’ve learned and experienced to serve moms, along with their families, and show them how strong and capable they are to birth their baby!