Help Me Help Carla...

So. The midwifery program that i am enrolled in is called Ancient Art Midwifery Institute. The founder and director Carla Hartley is amazing. When i went to enroll she knew that financially I was not able to pay for the whole of tuition. She lowered my tuition for me by half. She also gave me a discount off the Trust Birth Conference that she is holding in March....She is the most generous person I have ever encountered. She believes in midwifery so strongly that I cant help to see what I can do to help. She has helped empower women all over with her intense dedication to birth, babies and women. She has done so because she believes so strongly in her trust birth philosophy and in all her students.

Right now, her husband, Ray, is battling cancer. And the Trust Birth Conference is rapidly approaching.
I really want to help. So, I have offered my volunteering time IF i make it to the conference. Which is feeling impossible.

But I feel like I can help from afar...... I have this sculpture I made a few years back...a ceramic beautiful pregnant torso sculpture that is just sitting in my living room. I want to find a way to auction it and another smaller sculpture off to see if I can raise funds to give to Carla for the conference and/or her personal needs.

So, what I am asking for is perhaps crafted donations that I could also auction off. ...can be anything....it would be nice if it was birth/pregnancy/woman/midwifery related...vaginas are good! babies. whatever! I would so appreciate any help!!

Also, input about how to go about doing an auction through my midwifery blog would be cool.

I do need to do this with a quickness...I could either have you send the item(s) to me and then I could mail them out to the highest bidder...or you could send me photos of the item, I could auction it and then have you send it directly to the highest bidder....either way. any proceeds acquired would go to Carla and she can use it as she sees fit...personally or for conference expenses.

Thank you so much if you are able to help. In any way!
i hope i can do this!!! i really want to help her.

First Post!

So, here we go! I havent been able to keep up with my personal blog but I need to keep a journal of sorts for all my midwifery endeavors. So, I decided to start a new blog. I will have you know that many names and things might be changed (such as specifics of curriculum etc) unless folks specifically tell me they dont mind their name out on the internets. That being said, here I go!

So, I want to explain how I got to where I am today: When I was 12, I had a dream. I dreamt that I helped ladies have babies. I remember waking up and feeling so content and happy about the dream. I also remember promptly telling my mom about the dream. She, to this day, encourages my "calling" to helping mamas have babies by reminding me of that morning.

Many years later, I thought the road to doing that was through nursing. I thought for a while I wanted to be a Certified Nurse Midwife. I studied at community college for many years as I continually applied to various nursing schools. After 3 years of applying and not getting in, I decided to look into midwifery schools in the area. I told myself that if I didnt get into nursing school that year I was going to change my path (little did I know, my path would be changed for me in the future). So, I was accepted at the last second to Concordia University where I studied Nursing for two years to recieve my Bachelors of Science in Nursing. I really wanted to become a Labor and Delivery nurse. My very first interview out of nursing school was for an L&D floor at a local hospital. I wasnt hired. I was bummmmmmed. To say the least. So, I interviewed again, this time for a position in Women and Childrens Services which encompassed working on a Postpartum floor, NICU and Pediatrics. I got the job.
I still currently work as a nurse for the time being.

During my first year of working as a nurse, my husband and I got pregnant! When that occured I instantly knew that I didnt want to have my baby at the hospital. I sought out a midwife that had the same views on birth and pregnancy that I do. I felt instantly comfortable with her and her apprentice! <3

I always knew that midwifery care was unique and I was drawn to it. I have always thought I would have my own child at home. During my pregnancy, the more I read and experienced care in which I was ultimately in the drivers seat, the more I knew how right midwifery care was for me...not only for my own pregnancy but also for the type of "nursing" that I wanted to do. My son was born in August. I continued to seek out information and educate myself about the midwifery scene here and there. I kept in contact with my midwives. And in January, my apprenticeship sort of just fell into place! So, here I am!

I am loving it. It feels right for me...and I am grateful for the path that I have taken to get here. If I had chosen any other path to midwifery I wouldnt have met the inspirational midwives, women and families that I have.

A potential client of ours asked me the other day why I wanted to become a midwife or something to that effect....my answer, after a brief explanation of how I got to where I am, was that "midwives are what nurses used to be"....And I really believe that.