Blessed be all mothers ...

... and those mothers soon to be.

A Blessing Way is a celebration of life and love, pregnancy and motherhood. It has evolved from a traditional Navajo ceremony concerned with healing, creation, harmony and peace to a ritual of empowerment and faith. In appreciation for and honor of Alison and her transition into this new role, the purpose is to give her strength and support while affirming that she will have a beautiful birth experience. We ask that you come with an open heart and open mind.

Friday, September 4th

4-6:30 PM

Spanish Villa Apartments, E 16

In the place of gifts, each attendee is graciously asked to bring with them;

♥ two loose beads that remind you of Alison, to be used to create a group necklace

♥ one or more flowers of any variety (to compile into a floral wreath)

♥ a small, healthy food dish that reminds you of your mother, family, or simply comfort

♥ a poem, song lyrics, story or quote to be read aloud and is dedicated to Alison

♥ something little for her Nurture Basket (ie, bath goodies, chocolates, a book, framed quotes, drawings or photos, teas, lotions, etc)

♥ be prepared to share a personal story about Alison (ie, how you met, what draws you to her, why she’s important to you, something you admire, etc)

Gifts that keep on giving ...

We've registered a few different places for baby gifts (see top of page). Thank you so much to those of you who've already purchased items from one of our registries and to everyone else who has thought of us and given a gift ... especially those of advice, support and encouragement.

It seems some people have had a little confusion using the online baby registries and when we have some time we'll post some basic instructions. For right now, here are a few things that we still hope to get before the baby comes (hopefully sooner rather than later).

Priority Items ...

Those of you still wanting to get us something for the baby, there are a few things that we would like more than others (but, of course, are happy simply knowing that you are thinking of us)!

In particular, cloth diapers! You can see some in particular that we've selected and think would work the best (from multiple recommendations) at one of the following three sites: Baby Earth, Eco Baby's Hut, or Pure and Simple Baby. We figure that we'll need 15-20 cloth diapers total, and running from $15-20 each the cost can add up quickly. However, these styles and brands that we picked out and registered for are mostly of the AIO (All-In-One) One-Size variety; meaning, they are adjustable and should last from birth to the point where diapers are no longer necessary (hopefully sooner rather than later). In the long run, the cost of buying your basic disposable diapers would considerably exceed the upfront cost of these fancy new reusable cloth diapers. Let alone costs saved to the environment. Conventional disposable diapers are the third largest contributors to landfills in the world yet only five percent of the population uses them. A single disposable diaper can take up to 500 years to biodegrade in the landfill. There are also biodegradable gDiapers made now (supposedly flushable, at least partially). These might be better for travel. If someone wanted to get us a starter kit we'd love to give them a try.

We've registered for a lot of other smaller items that we think we will need or would like to have. Some of the more necessary items, besides diapers, are the humidifier (this is the one we registered for, though any good humidifier would suffice) and bottles (we registered for both 4 oz and 9 oz WeeGo glass bottles).

Finally, please do not hesitate to give us hand-me-downs. In fact, for many items that are no longer of use to you and are fine to reuse (particularly clothes, books and toys), we would prefer this. It can be a pain to ship, mail or transport certain items but if it is possible we would much rather have it than it be thrown away. A gift is a gift, regardless of price and making it new does not make it any better. The more creative, the better ...

Cheese! (and lots of it)

An afternoon on Spring Hill College campus with Julie Clark . . .

Harden Not Your Hearts ...

... harden your belly!

We had spoken to a few people who recommended that we spend an afternoon late in the pregnancy to have some fun and solidify, literally, this moment in time by creating a belly cast. Belly casting is exactly what it sounds like; molding a cast of a belly using plaster and gauze ... in this case, Alison's nearly-nine month pregnant one. So, we took some time out of making vegetable stew for Sonya and Henry today to get a little messy and mold our memories for posterity sake. We aren't certain what we'll do with it just yet; we could paint it like those on this website, bronze it, laminate it, decorate it or leave it the way it is. Our Bradley teacher has hers hanging on the wall of her infant's bedroom. This site explains fairly well the basic process we followed.

So easy a caveman could do it!

Was supposed to use warm water ...

My Venus di Milo; someone call the Louvre!

Finished product drying in the August sunshine.

Shower by Stauter ...

When: Saturday, August 22 @ 4:00 PM

Where: Nelson Abode (Lucedale, MS)

A beautiful, sunny afternoon adding more memories to friendships that will last a lifetime. The shower was perfect. The gifts were abundant but the love and laughter was overwhelming. It's amazing how time can pass but relationships remain the same. I must say the giant cake over-flowing with chocolate covered strawberries might have been my favorite part. Ashley definitely chose a great baker for that (thanks Becky Law)! The Nelson's new home in Lucedale was a perfect setting. Thank you so much to all who were there. Your love and friendship is cherished.

Alabama Birth Coalition . . .

Below is an email sent out by our midwife asking for help in changing the laws in Alabama for birthing families. You can mail donations to her at;

Colleen Tulis

2705 Perin Ct.

Mobile, AL 36693

Checks can be made out to Alabama Birth Coalition

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Did you know that Alabama women/families desiring an out of hospital birth are forced to drive across State borders to Mississippi, Florida and Tennessee? Although legal in 27 states, it is currently illegal for a Midwife to attend a planned out of hospital birth in Alabama. The Alabama Birth Coalition, a grass roots organization working to make a change, has received an offer from an incredible benefactor to MATCH all donations up to $25,000 toward their efforts. These donations will help support efforts in legalization of the CMP (Certified Professional Midwife) to provide out of hospital care and birth services for Alabama families. Please help by making a donation today! All donations do make a difference. Even more valuable is your time, volunteering when letters and phone calls are needed. Please visit www.AlabamaBirthCoalition.org today to join our grass roots effort.