004 : Where We Are At In Life Right Now— RANDOM CHAT!

Buckle up, friends! In today's episode we talk all about the seasons of life we are each living in right now. It is a random girl chat, with ALL the goods. We talk about how things are really going in life mentally, physically, and emotionally. We dive DEEP into how motherhood is treating us and what it is like trying to navigate a new lifestyle that we couldn't have prepared for. We speak on life and work balance and how the HECK we manage to run multiple businesses while being a mom. And lastly, we give you the inside scoop on our relationships with Jesus - how they are looking and how they've changed recently. If you want to just hang out, listen to some real, raw girl chat, and just feel like you've got a friend today, this episode is for you! 

TRIGGER WARNING: Discussion of postpartum experiences.

On today’s episode our co-hosts, Maddie and Kaitlin, have a girl’s chat about where they are at in life right now. Through discussing their real, raw lives, our hosts express their wish to invite all of their listeners into their lives in a vulnerable and personal way. Both Maddie and Kaitlin are new moms to precious little boys and in this episode we get to hear about how the postpartum experience has been for our co-hosts, specifically when it comes to managing a business and pursuing a relationship with the Lord. 

Maddie asks Kaitlin how she is doing and Kaitlin expresses that she is feeling good and full of joy. Maddie says that she is also feeling good and like she is in a better place with work and everyday life–and just as she does her baby Keegan starts crying for her in the background (typical mom life). Both of our co-hosts talk about how exciting and fun being a mom is, despite it being exhausting. 

Kaitlin asks Maddie how being a mom is and how her postpartum journey has been. Maddie expresses that so far her journey through being a mom and navigating has been good–mainly because she prepared for the absolute worst before having Keegan (which is very much like our Maddie). Maddie says that postpartum as a whole started off really well, and then she went through a period where she was just really sad for no apparent reason, which then led to an anxiety-ridden phase whenever her son got sick for the first time.

Maddie expresses that she wrote in her bible last week that she will no longer let the anxieties of being a mom consume her. She provides the example of how a few months ago, if Keegan even so much as coughed or sneezed she was immediately on google, assuming the worst, worried that she was going to be spending the last moments with her baby. These are real fears that SO many new moms deal with and it is okay to feel this way– but Maddie discusses how she has overcome these issues and now does not worry about her son, Keegan, quite as much. 

Both of OUR hosts share different experiences of pure joy in their lives as they danced and sang like crazy people with their babies in their homes for no apparent reason. But, these are the moments that we as moms live for—to be able to enjoy the bliss of being a mom even amidst the chaos of the job. 

Kaitlin brings up that she would like to discuss what it is like managing a business with a baby. Both of our co-hosts were managing their own businesses and pursuing their entrepreneurial dreams before becoming moms, so they both have a keen insight on what their own journeys have been like as they transitioned. 

Kaitlin: “Coming back to business after having a maternity leave has been something that we [Maddie and Kaitlin] are trying to still learn… We don’t even have someone to watch both of our children while we do this [podcast]  and that’s okay with us.” 

Kaitlin shares that after her maternity leave she went straight back into shooting weddings six weekends in a row and it is just not as easy as it used to be. She says that it is all fun but also very challenging, she then shares encouragement for other moms: 

“No matter what season you are in, if you have a kid that you are taking care of, we see you. And we feel you. We know it is hard.”

Maddie pipes in on this conversation that Kaitlin brought up and talks about how managing their own businesses and being moms has taught both she and Kaitlin to work on personal boundaries. The whole dynamic of both Maddie and Kait’s businesses has shifted since they each added a member to their families. Now, knowing that she [Maddie] can’t just go home and unwind like when she would do a shoot before she had a baby. Maddie expresses that both she and Kait have learned and grown a lot in their businesses and Kait also says that they both want their first form of ministry to be their children. 

Maddie says that managing a business and being a parent has really put into perspective for her what is important in life and forced her to reevaluate what she is saying “yes” to in life–like she talked about in her “Get to Know Maddie” episode. Getting to be a mom has taught Maddie to say “no” a lot more which is a really empowering feeling when you are used to always giving, giving, giving. 

Despite how business and motherhood are going, Kaitlin makes a clear point that really is the root of why this podcast exists: to encourage other women to live Christ-centered lives and to run Christ-centered businesses and homes. 

KAITLIN says: “At the end of the day, we are rooted in the Lord and I think that that has helped SO much. I know that I have tried to stay on top of my relationship with Jesus since having a kid and in general, trying to spend time with the Lord, spend time with your baby, spend time with your husband, do your business…excuse me two businesses, it is insane. But at the end of the day, both of us have to come back to how we are doing spiritually. Because there is nothing that beats that time with the Lord.” 

Maddie says that she tried to stay on top of her relationship with the Lord because she knows it is most important but she also says that she wants to encourage others that when you go through a season of change, whether that is becoming a mom or not, change makes things look different than they were before and it is okay that that is unsettling. This leads into a discussion of what “quiet time” with the Lord looks like since becoming a mom and Maddie says that one of her favorite times with the Lord is when she is putting her son to bed at night. Then, she can just be there with him, and with Him, in the quiet of the night and the peace of Keegan’s room. Maddie shares that she prays for the Lord to meet them there and for the Holy Spirit to be in the room. 

MADDIE: “The Lord definitely doesn’t expect us to be perfect, and I don't know why we put this expectation on ourselves to be perfect when that is not what the Lord asks of us. But it is so hard because pre-baby we had all of this free time. We were working at home, we were by ourselves. We had no other distractions. To know what my quiet time used to look like compared to now at first was really, really hard because I did not think it was good enough. But He does not expect me to be perfect and I have learned to see the beauty in what has changed.” 

This episode ends with encouragement from our hosts that perfection is impossible. Kaitlin reminds listeners that the Lord always meets us wherever we are at. He is good. He loves us no matter how much time you are spending with him and will always have your back more than anyone else can. 

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Thank you SO much for being here. We hope you leave today feeling more encouraged than you were when you started listening and like you are a welcome part of this community— because you ARE.

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  Music : Better Than Life by Oliver Dodge