Little Elf Family Services is named in honor of our son, Timothy, the “little elf”. We lost Timmy to Leigh Syndrome, which is a type of mitochondrial disease, at 17 months of age. Parenting him was both the greatest joy and greatest challenge of my life, and it tested our parenting relationship beyond what we thought we could handle.  We made it through, and I want to support all families to get through the joys and struggles of parenting together!  

Dr. T. Berry Brazelton talked about the idea that with every pregnancy there are 3 babies: the dream baby who is smiling and cooing; the feared baby who has special needs or other challenges; and the real baby. We had a real baby: full of both fears and perfection.  Infant mortality rates are falling in the U.S. (click for more details), and it is unlikely that you will have the level of challenges that we had. No matter what happens, I feel that part of my job is to help you as a new family to figure out the real baby that has come into your life.  

We also miscarried a second “little elf” in 2015 and are done having children. One of my favorite metaphors that has shaped my view of my experience is that of kintsugi. Kintsugi is a form of Japanese pottery that has been broken and mended with gold. The gold makes the art both stronger and more beautiful.

Our son's life has inspired me to help families get off to the very best start. I feel so fortunate to have found a career path that I'm very passionate about, where I can help families to be resilient. I live in Northern California with my husband, Marshall, and our dog, Brutus.