My name is Jennifer Stankovits and I was born in San Clemente, California. I am the second-born of five children and I enjoyed a wonderful childhood centered around Capo Beach Calvary where my dad was the senior pastor. God impressed Himself upon me at a very young age and I have never walked away from Him.
I married Sid Stankovits in October of 1996. I was one month shy of 19 years old.
In early 2001, when I conceived our son, Jonny, I was attending community college, getting ready to transfer to Cal State Fullerton to major in Art. That was after “searching” for years in community college for the right major for me. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I wanted to use my gifts, strengths and talents, but I wasn’t sure what they were. I wanted my career to be meaningful, something worthy of all the time I would be giving. Nothing seemed to match my criteria, so I settled on Art, but after I learned of my pregnancy, I was so distracted that I dropped all but one class. I figured I would stay home with my baby anyway, so meeting all of the general education requirements didn’t seem so important anymore.
Even throughout my childhood, I battled with mild anxiety. In my young adulthood I was very anxious whenever I had been inside a hospital, so the thought of giving birth in one was terrifying. I immediately started to imagine trying an alternative. I quickly learned of a midwife in Irvine, Lorri Walker. I went to a consultation at her office and decided that I would have a homebirth.
I gave birth to Jonny in November of 2001 at home. Then, in May of 2004, I had Aveline at home. Then, in May of 2007, I had June at home. And finally, in September of 2010, I gave birth to Indy at home, and with a new midwife, Susan Scott Gill of Blessed Beginnings in Lake Forest (if you’re having a baby, you want Susan there, period).
Raising my children is the worthy and meaningful pursuit I had been searching for. I truly, thoroughly and passionately love being a mother. I search my heart to muster that deepest of the purest love to offer to my children. I devote everything I am and hope to become to the pursuit of being a good enough mother most of the time (a loftier goal than it sounds, right?), for my children’s sakes. It’s not only my obligation, but also my choice, not only my responsibility, but also my passion, not only my duty, but also my joy. It is my hope that I can share my experiences and my heart regarding childbirth and mothering and hopefully spread the joy that God has given to me through these things.
I hope you’ll poke around my website and find some inspiration that will embed itself in your heart.
I have such struggles and I blow it every single day, so I would love to hear of your joys and inspiration too, I find sharing those things to be encouraging.
If you’d like to contact me, for any reason at all, my e-mail address is bouquetofparentheses@gmail.com
This is my family and I, just following the birth of our little Indy.
