memoirs from the MINIVAN

Today is the NEW EPISODE launch of the first of the series UNEXPECTED. The UNEXPECTED Series is all about highlighting the hard stories... And giving moms a chance to talk thru their journey and what it's meant on the other side.
Today we hear from Molly. Molly is a mom of three and after unexpectedly losing her Dad, she entered some hard seasons which ultimately led to difficult chapters of emotional and verbal abuse, making hard choices for her kids, financial hardship and ultimately leading to single mom life.
I hope you'll listen to Molly's story and be encouraged that the hard choice may still be the right one.
#momlife #podcastsformamas #minivanlife #overcomingabuse #emotionallyabusivemen #relationshipabuse #singlemom #singlemomlife #hardstoriesofmotherhood #seasonsofhard #workingmomlife #overcominghard #minivanmom #momofthree

I don't know how you felt about your grandma, but I was really close with my grandmother on my Dad's side. I spent a week with her every summer, we wrote each other letters and she even came and stayed with my at my college apartment and went to the football game with me and a bunch of my sorority sisters. She was one of my favorite people, and I gave the eulogy at her funeral. Today I got to spend some time with Lori Gordon, a grandma who I recently connected with who wanted to take the opportunity to remind younger mamas about the things that matter and the lessons she learned. I loved our chat and I know you will too. Thanks for hanging with me these past few weeks as I've been pretty sick... I'm excited to be back and sharing more Memoirs from the MINIVAN with you!

I had the chance to recently be part of a zoom call with like some of the most incredible women I've had the pleasure of being mentored by. It was just so good!! We CAN chase dreams AND chase our sweet little ones. It blessed my pants off and I just wanted to share my big takeaways with you!!

Megan and her husband always wanted to adopt, but they didn't expect that to happen so quickly or be the option God allowed for their lives. But having planned to make this a part of their story, Megan shares about their incredible adoptions from Ethiopia and China and her two beautiful girls and all the blessings, challenges and surprises that this chapter brought into their lives. She also shares about her work with Noon Day as she works to support mamas in other countries use their skills and talents to provide for their family.

Kacey experienced horrible tragedy when she lost her dad early in her college career. During that time she felt alone and was angry at everyone, including God. In the midst of being from a small town where everyone knew everyone, grief ended up putting her at odds with her own mom and sister and was a source of darkness for a season as the three of them tried to figure out how to move on without her dad. But as they say, God never wastes a hurt. Kacey found herself in new chapters, experiencing waves of grief even now, but found her way to marrying her husband Wade, and then becoming a mama to her three kiddos. From her dark chapters came her love of people and her compassion towards those who feel lost in the dark. A fiery woman, an incredible friend, and the biggest heart for helping others, she and her husband now find themselves called to be missionaries in the Dominican Republic. I hope you'll join me on today's episode as we unpack Kacey's story to see the light of redemption in a powerful way.

Shontel is a southern mama to three sweet babies, but experienced 6 losses as she desperately tried to start and grow their family. Shontel spent a number of years as a child growing up on the mission field in Africa, which impacted her view of life and faith and just the privileges that we often take for granted. We talk about motherhood as a working mama in the home and how she felt very unprepared to run her home well. So she shares her helpful lessons about what keeps her sane navigating life with three littles, homeschooling and the keeping of all the things. I hope you'll join in on our chat today!

Kelly is a working mama in a beautifully blended family of five. She and her husband live in Illinois where she recently stepped out in faith and fear and started her own business. Kelly describes her journey in stages... 1.0 after the loss of her first husband, 2.0 in the next chapter and now to 3.0 where she's pursuing something different, more meaningful and on her terms in pursuit of helping others. She shares her vulnerable journey of life and learning in motherhood, career changes and pursuing something more.

My sweet friend Nikki shares her heart in this beautiful episode about hurt and healing... 2020 not only took her beloved business of hair styling away from her for two months, but her marriage of 12 years faded away from her and ultimately ended in divorce. She shares her journey thru counseling and grief and navigating her role as a mom in the midst of the pain her son was also dealing with. She shares the incredible guidance of scripture and the book that she says impacted her the most outside of the Bible, It's Not Supposed to be this Way by Lisa TerKeurst. At the end of the episode she reads from the book and it's so incredible, just make sure you have your tissues nearby. Full of hope and real with hurt, this episode truly is beautiful. I hope you'll grab a cup of tea or coffee and join us. ❤️

Jessi and her husband Glenn have endured so much as parents. Their journey, which brought them to parenthood, also took them thru a lot of grief and hardship that made it difficult to understand where God was in some of those painful moments. Having experienced multiple miscarriages and failed embryo adoption, Jessi candidly shares her story. We talk about grief, moving forward and how to offer support when you find yourself not knowing what to say to someone experiencing loss. I hope you'll join me in this brave conversation about hurt, hope and healing.

Candace has spent years in the child care and social work profession and now works at a large child care facility in Nashville Tennessee. Candace is a mom of three and wife to her sweetheart, Kevin. They've been married for thirteen years. Candace and I chat about the daycare search and what you would want to look for and be aware of as a parent. We also talk about her major take aways from the 2020 pandemic and what she learned. And we wrap up talking about raising daughters and how we can help them navigate the world around them. I hope you'll join us for this week's chat with Candace on the Memoirs from the MINIVAN podcast.

Kristie and I met in a working moms support group on Facebook and friends, I highly encourage those! They're great to just be affirmed that you are not alone in the struggle! Kristie connected about her work, The Mom Advantage! In this episode we talk about her journey with her daughter and how she has learned to provide her with the right skills for what she needs in processing emotions - a conversation I've been having with my own 8 year old. We also talk about Kristie's work in Literacy and early development for kiddos that can help them be prepared for school. Thanks for joining in on our chat this week!

Jana and I had a wonderful chat this week as a busy mom of four kiddos, a business owner, part time social media manager and private basketball coach. Jana shared about her journey in basketball where she spent a significant amount of time jumping rope during practice because she lacked coordination and skillsets.... Fast forward to college when she played in the elite eight championship for her school. Jana is also the owner of Hummingbird Hems Boutique where she helps women of all shapes and sizes find clothes they'll love. Jana approaches life with grit and tenacity and she says, I start the day with a plan and a to do list. I want to be efficient and productive so when we're all together at night as a family, we can all have fun together. I loved hearing her story and was inspired by her wisdom! Don't miss this week's episode! ❤️

After a traumatic birth with her first daughter, Misty struggled with recovery and mental health and just feelings of failure and being overwhelmed. Now having just had her second child, she dives into this topic with me about intimacy after birth. It can be hard and weird and uncomfortable when your body is different and little humans are absorbing all the physical touch you can handle in a day. I love that Misty shared so openly and honestly about her experience in navigating this chapter with her sweet and playful husband Josh. You definitely don't want to miss it. ❤️

Shelby is just a delight! She's real and honest and just spoke such great truth. Her husband is a local high school football and basketball coach and she shares both the challenges and opportunities in that journey. I loved hearing her heart for ministry and how God has changed her heart over the years. She and her husband became family for some young men at the school before they were even married and she shares how that impacted her as a mom. She is so transparent about her feelings when she became a new mom and affirmed mamas that it's okay not to enjoy every moment.. some moments are hard and that's okay. You just feel what you feel. Hope you enjoy this episode with Shelby!

Aimee is a health coach, a wife, a mom of two and a recent California girl, turned Tennessean. She and her family moved to Tennessee just a few weeks ago for a change and what an adventure they've had. But Aimee is no stranger to challenges. She and her husband Carl overcame multiple failed foster to adopt relationships, health struggles and job loss, all to find themselves helping other people change their lives and take ownership of their health. We talk motherhood, marriage, faith, overcoming hardships and deciding not to give up! I hope you'll join me on today's episode!

Amanda works in children's ministry with a team of incredible staff and navigating the past 10 months has been challenging to say the least. She learned about burnout and trying to give everything 100%. She also experienced the turmoil of this year in that her husband is in law enforcement. As a Christian she shares how navigating the year changed her, grew her and forced her to think about what she knew about life prior to 2020.

Erin is a full time working mama for a major communications company. She has two beautiful little girls and her and her husband Brian have been friends of my husband and I for the past 3 years. Erin is one of the sweetest and most caring women I know. Quick to lend a helping hand, share a caring word or encourage a fellow mom or friend, Erin is truly a gem. On today's episode we talk about raising daughters in our world today, what she's learned from 2020, having mom friends and her own personal health journey. Grab a cup of coffee, decaf if it's late, and join us for another mom chat in today's Memoirs from the MINIVAN podcast!

Life is hard and the pandemic has made things a lot harder. Mental health, parenting, marriage... It's all taken a hit in 2020 and it will take a lot of intention and work to keep it strong and moving forward. Christy Fogg is near and dear to me because she helped me work through my own birth trauma after my first child. In today's episode we talk about mental health, her own journey with infertility and adoption and how we can take care of ourselves so we can take care of others better. I hope you enjoy it!

Allison is a nurse, wife to a police officer, mama to an almost two year old and expecting her second daughter in the middle of a global pandemic. Yet she remains peaceful and joyful in times of crazy and uncertain. Join us today for this episode where we talk about the expectations of being a mom, overcoming birth plans, trusting God and really appreciating the little things.

Christina is a working mama, a wife of 16 years, a principal, a health advocate, and a good friend. Today she spent an hour of her time sharing about her journey and what she's learned from life, health, covid and all the things. Christina's candid honesty was refreshing and I walked away with big takeaways and some reminders I definitely needed. I hope you'll join us this week for this awesome episode of the Memoirs from the MINIVAN podcast!!

My chat with Ally Kowal about all the things was amazing because she's amazing! We've had some technical difficulties and much like 2020, you just gotta roll with the punches and figure it out!! Bring it on... Working mamas don't back down. 🙂 Join me for what I hope is a chat you can hear... For life and laughs and living authentically with Ally Kowal!

Kelly and I have been friends since sophomore year of college. We met as RAs in our dorm and we're pretty fast friends. Fast forward nearly 20 years and her two kiddos are 12 and 6 and her oldest, her son Hudson, finds himself the target of horrible bullying at school. In this episode, we hear from Hudson about his experience and how he's coping and overcoming what has happened, and then I also talk to Kelly about this impact on her as a mom and what parents need to know to help protect their kids from this but also navigate it if it happens to them.

Having lost 80 pounds so far this year, Naydia shares her story about health and habit change. Specifically we'll talk about how to have health through the holidays and some tips and practices to help us navigate this season with less stress and better choices!!

After trying to get pregnant for 8 years, Brooke found herself mom to a little boy, dealing with post partum depression and having not left her house for over four months. She shares her story about overcoming her own misconceptions about getting it right when it comes to motherhood and leaning in to just what comes and dishing out huge heaps of grace. From motherhood to moving and a long drive to Florida, she found herself in love again with an old passion, writing. Juggling being a stay at home mom and now pursuing a writing career, Brooke published her novel last year and talks about her journey of success and failure and deciding whether to give up or just keep going! It's an episode you don't want to miss!

Amber and I have been friends for 15 years. We met at a sorority leadership consultant interview and the rest is a history of working and volunteering together, being in each other's weddings and now living the working mom life and continuing to learn from each other! Amber resides in South Carolina with her husband Andy and her daughter Hattie. She's expecting her second baby in the next few months. Amber's passion for life and pursuing her goals has always inspired me!

Magen was a working woman and always wanted to be a career woman. She even told her husband before they got married that she wanted to work. But God has other plans for her heart when she went back to work for 8 months after her daughter was born and realized she just didn't want to be there. Today we'll chat about how you deal with a change to what you thought you wanted out of life and also talk about her losing her mom this past year, homeschooling and her side hustle turned business that helps provide for her family! I hope you'll join us!!

We all had goals that we expected to accomplish in 2020. We had things we wanted to do, people we wanted to see, things we wanted to celebrate, achievements we wanted to pursue. And then... Covid. But the reality is the year's not over and there's still time to do things that maybe weren't something we originally thought about. There's still time to do things that maybe we didn't think we had time to do before. Today I'm sharing what I had hoped to accomplish in 2020, what that has looked like, and how I'm tackling the last 100 days of this year in anticipation of looking back on 2020 as a year that was a pivotal turning point in my life for years to come.

Covid has certainly presented us with new opportunities... Forced opportunities at that, but opportunities nonetheless. I love that Katie shares her story in this season and how she's finding new beginnings and silver linings as a wife, mom and professional career woman.

Today I chatted with Sara Loxton about life and motherhood and health as a single mom. Sara's story is full of hope and encouragement as she shares her life and advice and words of affirmation to help remind you that you aren't alone. Her story of hope and health, even amid losing her own mom unexpectedly is so touching. Join me today on this episode of the Memoirs from the MINIVAN podcast.

This week I sat down with my sweet friend Stephanie and we talked about everything from mom mental health to working schedules, balancing all the hats we wear, saying no and setting boundaries for ourselves. It was so great to have her join me about this important conversation.

This week I sat down with my hubby to talk about marriage and some of the things we do to keep our marriage strong and our communication good with both of us working full time! A lot is different in a marriage when both spouses work full time. There's a lot to unpack about who does what and our individual expectations of each other! But we've found some things that help us out and we're sharing them this week on the podcast!

Amber is an amazing mama of two, military spouse, non toxic lifestyle coach, esthetician, fitness instructor and soon to be nursing school student. Her life is full and her heart is purposeful in reminding women of their worth and value!! You don't want to miss this episode!!

Jocelyn is a hard working mom of two kids and her husband is a stay at home Dad. Jocelyn works in creating and evaluating assessments for companies and organizations. Her work in helping people figure out their motivation and work behaviors is interesting and I can't wait for you to dive in with me. Jocelyn walks us thru understanding ourselves better and we chat about gender roles and mom guilt too!

This week at sat down with the childhood director at my church, Kelly Ablaza. Kelly is from Rhode Island and randomly found herself moving to Tennessee after a visit with a friend. Kelly shares about parenting, communication in marriage, ministry and the incredible impact her own mom had on her life before passing away when Kelly was only 15 years old. You don't want to miss this beautifully transparent conversation with Kelly today!

This episode was hard. I don't talk about it a lot because there are a lot of painful memories. But I wanted to share my story because a lot of women have journeyed similar paths and it's comforting to know someone else survived. From long labor and a big baby to an unexpected C-section after wanting natural birth to post partum hemorrhage and depression and guilt... It's my story of becoming a mom and figuring it out and finally coming thru the darkness and finding myself on the other side of the pain.

Lacey and I randomly ran into each other at her snowcone trailer on a very hot day in July. She quickly entertained my kiddos with sugar and started up a conversation. From there I quickly learned about her amazing story and just had to share! I hope you'll join us as we chat about career changes, cancer, faith, motherhood and of course, snowcones.

Sarah is my sisters' sister-in-law and we came to know each other between wedding showers and our kids walking down the aisle together. We'll chat about motherhood and how she approaches her parenting, the legacy her parents instilled in her and how it impacts her response to her own children. We chat about asking for what you want in your career, how being a mom changes everything and a few points in between. It's a great episode you don't want to miss!

Today I share a conversation with my friend Cayce Bentley. Cayce became a teacher after a career change and talks about making that difficult decision. We'll also discuss being present as moms, managing friendships when you work full time, playing in the mud and learning how to play trucks and how the enneagram can help you better understand your spouse. You don't want to miss this week's episode!

Today I chat with my sister in law Melody Mills. Mel is one of my favorite people and is helping me in my own health journey. She's a mom of three teenagers, wife of a pastor, school counselor with a masters degree that she got while working full time with three kids at home. She's patient and kind and is just super easy to talk to. I love to chat with her about family and dig deeper into the psychology of our human nature. I can't wait for you to join us!

I loved talking with Kandace Peppers this week about all the things. Her story is an incredible journey of pursuing passions, being open to life's changes, never giving up on dreams and knowing who you are. Check it out!

Today on the podcast, Ashley and I talk about life over the past decade of knowing each other. We discuss motherhood, career, faith, dreams and everything in-between! Ashley and her husband live in Indianapolis with their two boys, Christopher and Micah. Join us today for a conversation about life, laughter and WWE!

This week I decided to share my perspective and heart about all the events of this past week and talk thru why I feel certain things and why my world view exists towards Black Lives Matter and Racism and prejudice and what we can do to show love and truly see people. My hope is that in understanding the why, we can see the how and begin to show up differently.

Join me as I chat with my sweet friend and fellow working mama, Sandi Bridges. We chat on my patio this week about all things #workingmomlife and an obnoxious cat chimes in for a while too! There's nothing better than an hour of girl talk with one of your best working mom friends, who happens to live around the block in the same floor plan as yours. #twinsies. Join me and this ennegram 7 for a great conversation about well, all the things. 😁

Last week I attended Rachel Hollis' virtual conference and it was outstanding. She has put together a group of speakers who really captured the feelings we are all having about how to be courageous and how to be leaders during this crazy time of living thru a global pandemic. So I picked some of my favorite sections and shared my biggest take aways and how I applied this to my own life of being a working mom, homeschool mom right now, wife and friend.

Join me for an interview with Louise Mitchell, my best friend of 19 years and fellow working mama! We'll talk motherhood and overcoming unexpected challenges of her little boy having hearing loss. We share our stories about surviving quarantine, what we're reading and cover the most important topics of Latin dancing and Ricky Martin! It's always full of laughter whenever you talk with your best friend right? Join us on this special Launch Podcast for Mother's Day!!

Naydia launches our first podcast episode and shares her story of how this all came to be.