12: Dana Ruch - Serving a God who turns our broken pieces into a beautiful masterpiece.

Today on the show I chat with my friend Dana Ruch. Dana was a few grades ahead of me in high school and graduated with my husband, Jeff. Dana is Mental Health Counselor at a hospital in Tacoma. She is a certified health coach through the institute of integrative nutrition and a certified yoga instructor. Dana shares her story of recovery with us after being hit by a drunk driver, where she suffered a traumatic brain injury and had to deal with the symptoms of anxiety, emotional disregulation and poor memory. Dana was so blessed to keep her life through that accident and is a living testimony of the saving power of God. She met her husband, Jon after her accident and was married 8 months later. Dana got pregnant with her first baby on their honeymoon! She shares her struggles with depression in pregnancy and her unplanned cesarean birth with her first son. Dana lost her second baby when she miscarried after her oldest was just over a year old. She got pregnant quickly after her miscarriage and experienced a whirlwind of emotions during her second pregnancy. We chat about what she felt like walking into the hospital knowing she was going to have a second cesarean birth.  

She found yoga through her recovery after her accident. Yoga was a way for her to not only heal her physical injuries and regain strength, but helped to heal her emotionally as well. We chat about life as a busy working mama, walking through life with the Lord when it’s just hard and uncertain at times, and learning to trust the Lord in each season of her life

Dana shares openly about her desires of being a stay at home mama, and being grateful for the season she is in. The Lord has been so faithful to redeem those broken pieces of her life. He’s taken things that have been roadblocks and challenges and used them to bring glory to His name. Dana shares that these challenging seasons of her life have drawn her closer to the Lord and she’s so thankful for that. We serve such a creative, beautiful God who so intricately and delicately shapes our broken pieces into something spectacular. I know you're going to find encouragement in her words today! 

As always, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. I would love to connect with you! Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com 

Resources & Links: 

Bloom Daily Planner

Dana's Website Balanced Health With Dana 

11: Katie Blackburn - 3 Babies in 3 Years - Her story of motherhood, special needs, and trusting the Lord.

I grew up going on family vacations with my friend and guest this week Katie Blackburn. Katie was just a little bit older than I was, and I always looked up to her so much even as a little girl. I looked forward to each winter vacation we would take together and the time we got to spend adventuring as kids. I've loved watching Katie become a mama and raise her three gorgeous babies. I'm so excited to share my conversation with Katie with you all this week. You guys are going to be so blessed by Katie's genuine love for people and her heart to chase after the things of God.  

Katie is married to the love of her life, Alex. She has three babies, Harper Kristin (December 2012), Cannon Lee (May 2014), and Jordi Daniel (November 2015).  She had three babies in three years, and loves the life she has been given. Just over a year ago now, in October of 2016, her son Cannon was diagnosed with autism, and she so openly shares about how the Lord has shown up for her and has brought peace to her in every season of her life. Katie is a writing instructor at her local college, a contributor at Coffee + Crumbs, and has co-authored her first book The Magic of Motherhood. Katie also writes beautiful essays about her faith & family on her blog Just Enough Brave.

Katie tells us she went into her first birth experience feeling pretty over confident and what she would later find out was very unprepared. She thought to herself, “how hard could this really be?” I'm sure there are many of us out there who can relate to those feelings. 

With the birth of her third baby, she had different hopes and really wanted to try for an un-medicated birth. I loved our conversation about surrender. How she learned to give her desires over to the Lord in labor with her third baby. She had the hard & beautiful un-medicated delivery she had always hoped for.  

Katie shares with us about her son, Cannon’s, autism II diagnoses. She talks about the blessing of being on the same page with her spouse, regarding Cannon, and how time with Jesus allowed her to gain perspective and strength for each day. Katie tells us the most unexpected thing about having a child with special needs was the way it changed her faith. The Lord became so much bigger and so much more real for her. Her prayer for Cannon is that the works of God might be displayed in and through him. I loved listening to Katie talk about hope and how she manages her days with three little ones. You’re going to love our conversation about self care and self comfort on today’s show.

You can hear Katie talking about motherhood, faith, special needs, and a so many other encouraging topics on the Coffee + Crumbs podcast, the Open Door Sisterhood podcast, and at Tears of Gold.

As always, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. I would love to connect with you! Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com 

Resources & Links:

The Life We Never Expected by Andrew & Rachel Wilson

Cold Brew Trader Joes

Click List Grocery Pick Up at Fred Myer

Athleta Studio Wrap

The Magic of Motherhood by Ashley Gadd & Coffee + Crumbs

Coffee + Crumbs

Katie's Blog Just Enough Brave

10: Julie Cannon - An Adoption Story: Equipped to do the sanctifying work of motherhood through the fullness of His grace.

Today on the show, I chat with my friend Julie Cannon. Julie is a wife, a mama, a writer, and a talented photographer. Julie shares with us her story of adopting their one year old daughter, Crew. Before, meeting their precious, smiley, adorable daughter they walked through years of infertility. Julie shares with us so honestly about how her marriage struggled in that season, and the importance of honoring the covenant of marriage she made. She shares about continuing on and staying in the fight for a healthy marriage. Julie talks about how she conquered fear and anxiety while in the middle of her adoption process. The Lord, changed her and allowed her to learn to trust Him in new ways.

Julie talks with us about how she struggled with the reality that she might mess her daughter up. She asked the question of the Lord, “how am I not going to mess her up?” Julie explains how the Lord changed her heart, and encouraged her not to live a life of fear, but one of freedom. One where she found freedom and refreshing knowing the Lord had grace for her each day. I loved our conversation about how motherhood sanctifies you in a way nothing else can. Being a mama forces you to examine your heart and become more like Christ. We chat about how we are fully equipped to do this work of motherhood because we are made in His likeness through the fullness of His grace.

For those of you who are interested in adoption or learning more about Julie’s story, you can connect with her through her blog Relentless Journey or on IG @JulieKCannon

As always, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com See you next week!

Resources & Links from the show: 

Song: Elevation Church Do it Again

Sonos Speaker

09: Colby Martin - Laughing through Labor! A mama's story of falling in love with a baby she didn't know if she could love.

Today on the show I sit down with one of my past doula clients, Colby Martin. I had the opportunity to attend the birth of her daughter last fall. I had so much fun catching up with her on the show today. I have never laughed more at a birth than I did with Colby. Her coping mechanism was laughter, and that we did. A lot. I know this episode is going to bring a smile to that lovely face of yours today.

Colby is a work from home mama who runs her own business with her husband in the South Sound. We chat about remodeling their home and celebrating our kids birthdays.  

Colby shares honestly about how guilty she felt for not having that gut feeling that she just, “had to be a mom.” She was guarded for many years and was afraid that she wouldn’t love her daughter. She felt like she missed out on having a love connection with some individuals in her childhood and didn’t know if she would be able to love her child. She asked herself, if there were seasons in her life when she felt unlovable as a child by those who should have been able to love her, how could she love her own daughter? She wondered if she was even capable of love. Colby’s honesty is remarkable when she said she was afraid to be excited about her pregnancy because of the fear of what loosing a child might feel like. She was afraid feelings of loss might overtake her even before she was actually pregnant. It wasn’t until after having her daughter that she realized she had an overwhelming love for the daughter she now had.

Colby has a unique birth story and tells us what it was like to be electrocuted on accident during her pregnancy. Colby recalls a specific memory in her birth story when she was terrified to push out her child. She froze knowing this was the moment she might meet her child and know if she was going to have a love connection to the child growing inside of her. She knew she was the only one who could push out her baby, and so she did it. She did what she knew only she could do.

We had a great conversation about making the decisions that are best for ourselves and our babies regardless of what others are saying. I loved how she talked about her journey to finding a pediatrician for her daughter that aligned with her values and desires for care. Colby encourages us to be confident in who we are as parents and trust our instincts.

It’s an encouraging and uplifting conversation you guys. Go have a listen and enjoy! 

My 6-Day Free Email Course - Can be found on my homepage in the green menu on the lower right of the screen.

As always, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com See you next week!

Resources & Links from the episode:

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

Impractical Jokers

Ellen tube

Bumpy’s in Puyallup, WA

Colby & Dave's YouTube Channel

Podcasts

The Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

Coffee & Crumbs Podcast

The Story Brand Podcast

Fierce Marriage Podcast

08: Katie Knudson - Parenting children on a journey toward heart transformation - striving for forgiveness and letting go of perfection.

Our guest on this week's episode is Katie Knudson, a high school friend of mine. Katie lives in a small town in Washington with her husband Perry. They’ve been married for 7 years and have loved small town living.

Katie is a stay at home mama to her two boys. She’s just started homeschooling her preschooler and is loving it. Katie went to college in Oregon and married her college sweetheart. She shares her experience with PUPPS (pruritic urticarial papules and plaques of pregnancy) during her pregnancies. She went to 42 weeks with her first pregnancy and talks about patiently waiting for her baby to arrive. She had such trust that her baby would come at the right time. She shares her water birth story and the excitement of having her mom arrive just in time for the birth. Katie shares about the excellent care she received from her midwife during the postpartum period and how much she enjoyed transitioning to life as a new mama.   

During her second pregnancy, Katie shares about how fluid retention and PUPPS was a struggle for her. She went to 41 weeks with her second pregnancy and ended up catching the flu bug. With her entire family sick, she went into labor. All of that throwing up worked wonders for her, and kicked her into active labor. 

We have an authentic conversation about parenting little people. She shares that the reality that she’s just in the thick of it with her littles is hard to manage at times. We talk about balance. Is it attainable and what does that really even look like? I really enjoyed our conversation about healthy living not just in our roles as mamas, but also as women, friends, and wives. 

I think my favorite part of the conversation is when we chat about what it looks like to be a sinner yourself while parenting sinful children. It’s such a challenging task as times. I loved how Katie shared what so much of us experience. We fail as parents, and our kids will fail as well. They are on a journey to heart toward heart change just like we are. Katie beautifully shares her heart with us and what it looks like for her to pursue what God has for her life. The very real truth about parenting little ones is we all are tired. Chasing after and exerting our energy towards things that the Lord has not called us to will drain us even more than we already are. We talk about what it looks like to give grace and receive it for ourselves. Katie talks about needing the Word of God in this season of motherhood more than she ever has before.

I loved how Katie shared about the example she wants to set for her boys. That she doesn’t desire to be some perfect mom. That she desires heart transformation. For herself and her kids. She values her boys seeing her fail, repent, and come back to what they know to be true. An example not of perfection, but of forgiveness is something she wants to instill.

Resources & Links from the episode: 

The Risen Motherhood Podcast 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/risen-motherhood/id1072833310?mt=2

My 6-Day Free Email Course - Can be found on my homepage in the green menu on the lower right of the screen.

As always, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com See you next week!

07: Angela Baker - A Redeeming VBAC Story - Finding Security in a Season of Uncertainty

Angela Baker is my guest for episode #7 of the Perfectly Wonderfully Made Podcast. Angela has been commuting to work for 10 years, and has recently decided to leave her full time corporate job and stay home with her two boys. We chat today about the transition from one – two kids. Angela shares her story of developing hyperemesis gravidarum with her first pregnancy and the challenges of being sick for such a long time. 

Angela shares her two birth stories with us today. Nothing turned out as she had planned with her first baby. We chat about the challenges she had during her first labor with the many distractions she wasn’t prepared for, her epidural that wasn’t effective, and the unfortunate experience of getting a spinal headache that led her to needing an unplanned cesarean birth. Angela recalls one of her health care providers telling her, her pelvis was too small and she’d never push a baby out. We talk about the emotions that made her feel and how she processed and worked through her first birth experience. Her postpartum journey was challenging after her first birth. She struggled with feeling detached and emotionally unavailable for her baby. She longed for community and felt isolated and alone. 

Shortly after Angela got pregnant with her second child, her husband was laid off and without work. Angela talks us through the fears and anxiety she struggled with while pregnant with her second baby. Living on one income and trying to provide for her family while pregnant was really challenging for her. There were moments when she was unsure how she was going to feed her family. We talk about how she ultimately was able to surrender control of her finances to the Lord. Angela was able to have a healthy pregnancy and continue to work full time in order to support her family.   

We chat about her preparations for her birth with her second baby and how excited she was to go into labor. I loved listening to Angela talk about how prepared and confident she felt going into her second birth. She wanted a different experience and she knew she could have one. She choose a hospital and provider that was VBAC (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean) friendly and did the work to mentally prepare for her labor and birth. She was ready. I had the opportunity to attend Angela’s birth as her doula and I loved hearing her shout with joy after her delivery, “I can’t believe that just happened. I can’t believe I actually did it!” She had a perfect, redemptive VBAC. Angela shares how her recovery went so smoothly following her second birth. Her healing was quicker and she experienced much less pain. 

Near the end of our conversation we talk about a season of her life when she felt like she couldn’t hear from the Lord. That God wasn’t speaking to her. She couldn’t feel him near. She remembers feeling like God wasn’t listening to her. In that season of financial hardship is she shares with us how she had to realize that her security wasn’t in her finances. It couldn’t be. That wasn’t working. She had to give up control and trust that the Lord was and always has been her provider. God was going to take care of her. 

We talk about how she’s learning to dive into the character of God and really get to know who He is. She’s choosing to focus on contentment and satisfaction in this season of her life and experience the peace that can only come from her God.  

As always, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com See you next week!

Resources from the show:

My 6-Day Free Email Course - Can be found on my homepage in the green menu on the lower right of the screen.

Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth

Organic Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

Jeff's Instagram Project:  #Oldfilmproject

Vie Bites – Kathryn Burke @Bakeandbefit

Podcasts

Fierce Marriage

Jen Hatmaker

The Bible Project

05: Dani Larimore - A journey through grief, while clinging to hope

Today on episode #5 of the Perfectly Wonderfully Made Podcast, I chat with my friend Dani Larimore. Dani is a mama to two beautiful little kiddos. She tells us her story of falling in love with the man of her dreams, their struggle with infertility, and the birth of her first baby in her local hospital. She talks about how life with her new baby are some of her favorite moments to look back on. Dani shares about getting pregnant with her second baby with the help of fertility medication.

We talk about how Dani’s life changed two years ago this month. Her husband very unexpectedly went home to be with Jesus while she was 16 weeks pregnant with their second child. Dani shares so honestly with us what walking through that tragedy was like for her. She walks us through her anxiety, grief, and loss. Her hope in the Lord through devastation is incredible. Dani shares her birth story with her second baby and how she faced giving birth without her husband by her side. 

We chat about her dreams for her kids. How she continues to pursue joy, and vision for her future. The Lord is so clearly continuing the good work he has started in Dani’s life. We talk about how faithful the Lord is to redeem those broken pieces of our lives.   

If you haven’t already, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com See you next week!

Show Links:

Dani’s Blog (a MUST read):

http://thelittlelarimores.blogspot.com/

A YouCaring page was setup to support Dani and her babies.  If you feel moved to support her, donations can be given here:

https://www.youcaring.com/danielle-larimore-452250

Dani’s Gym (and mine!):

http://vieathletics.com/

Ellen Tube:

https://www.ellentube.com/

04: Amanda Gandy - Overcoming shame: Finding hope in God

Amanda Gandy joins me on the Perfectly, Wonderfully Made Podcast today for episode #4.

Amanda is a childbirth educator & doula. She is a wife and mama to two boys ages 3 & 18 months. Amanda is one of those people who are just so easy to be friends with. We chat about her unplanned pregnancy, her decision to walk out of the abortion clinic and save her baby, and the shame that overshadowed her. When she was 3 months pregnant she married her husband, Jeremiah and they’ve been together now for 4 years. Amanda shares about changing health care providers at 36 weeks while pregnant with her first son. We get real and talk about the shame and depression she dealt with becoming a mama and a newlywed at the same time.

While pregnant with her second baby, Amanda was told her son had Down Syndrome. We chat about how she proclaimed the goodness of God over her son in that season, regardless of what his diagnoses would come to be. Her labor with her second baby was much different than her first and much more mentally challenging. She shares about her traumatic postpartum hemorrhage, emergency hospital transfer, and near death experience. Those moments listening to her share about the word the Lord spoke over her life when she thought it was going to be her last, were so powerful! We both agree there was no question, the grace and hand of God on her life is remarkable. The Lord is so surely in control of her life. Just as He is ours.         

Amanda & I have a great conversation about raising bi-racial children in our society today. She shares her hopes and dreams for her boys in our culture. You will be so encouraged by her words! 

As always, I would love it if you would share the show with your friends & family. Find me on IG @perfectlywonderfullymade and Facebook @yourbirthclass. Email me anytime with your comments about the show alise@alisemarsh.com See you next week!

-----------------------------------

Resources from the show:

My 6-Day Free Email Course - Can be found on my homepage in the green menu on the lower right of the screen.

Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore 

https://www.amazon.com/Get-Out-That-Pit-Deliverance/dp/0718095820/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506919863&sr=8-1&keywords=get+out+of+that+pit+by+beth+moore

Ina May’s Guild to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin

https://www.amazon.com/Ina-Mays-Guide-Childbirth-Gaskin/dp/0553381156/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506957925&sr=8-1&keywords=ina+may%27s+guide+to+childbirth