Being a mother dealing with a child with mental health challenges can be lonely. That’s why I invited today’s guest, Audra Elkington, to share her experiences. In episode 77, Audra shares her journey helping her 9-year-old daughter navigate anxiety. Advice and Hope Woven throughout Audra’s journey to help her daughter, you’ll hear her advice on researching and reading as well as finding the right type of therapy for your child. Listen to hear other advice like recording small successes and findi...
Jan 29, 2020•36 min•Season 3Ep. 77
Listen to hear my interview with Beth Given. Beth is a wife and mom to four who believes that small and simple things bring great things in the end. In the interview we talk about feeling inadequate, why achieving goals doesn't determine your worth and how to change your perspective on temple attendance. If you are feeling stuck in the early days of motherhood, Beth will give you hope that the feelings of inadequacy subside and you will find your own style of mothering. Beth shares her philosoph...
Jan 22, 2020•29 min•Season 3Ep. 76
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness month. I wanted to help shed some light on this huge problem by interviewing a mom who is fighting human trafficking and give you ways to help too. Listen to hear my interview with Cammy Bowker, a wife, mom, teacher and cancer survivor who heard God tell her she needed to something with the second chance she had been given. During a beach vacation in Mexico she won on the Price is Right (seriously!), Cammy wrote down thoughts and impressions about ...
Jan 15, 2020•32 min•Season 3Ep. 75
I’m starting off the new year with a solo episode. In this episode I’m spilling all the reasons for choosing “power” as my word of the year for 2020. I share my previous experiences with having a “word of the year.” I talk about the things I’ve learned from intentionally focusing on one thing all year, even though I haven’t always chosen a word. Listen to hear what focusing on power means to me. I also dive in to how I’m using President Nelson’s words from the talk Spiritual Treasures as my star...
Jan 08, 2020•17 min•Season 3Ep. 74
Valerie Cuevas has maintained her focus on Jesus despite the many ups and downs she has experienced in her life. After being a pseudo-single mother with a husband going through medical residency, Valerie suddenly found herself facing her husband’s terminal illness and death. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, her second time battling the disease, just six months after her husband’s passing. Valerie is now remarried and blending a family of six children. She continues to see her role as a moth...
Dec 18, 2019•47 min•Season 3Ep. 73
In 2010, my guest, Erica Kiefer, and her husband experienced the death of their first child, Ty, who was only 4 1/2 months old, to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. In the interview, Erica shares how she found healing and hope and turned to God despite the grief. Personal + Unique Communication with God Erica discusses how she used her talent for writing to feel healing and hope as well as the Spirit after Ty’s death. Her experience illustrates well God is a personal God. He can use our gifts and ab...
Dec 11, 2019•34 min•Season 3Ep. 72
Listen to my interview with Emily Jones, the co-founder of Family Tech University , a “drivers ed” workshop for wholesome tech use. Emily is also a Deseret Book author, wife, as well as a mother to 5. In addition, she is a passionate believer in the untapped potential of teenagers. Parent Fearlessly Emily and I start off discussing our love of teenagers. We both share why we shouldn’t be afraid of their questioning. Emily talks about how we can be heroic parents through parenting fearlessly inst...
Dec 04, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 71
From babies to teenagers, my guest for episode 70, Bonnie Wiscombe, is currently experiencing it all as a mother to nine children. Listen to hear how she has gained confidence in decisions as a mother. You’ll hear how mothering a large family has helped Bonnie learn to be flexible, let go of expectations and trust God. Bonnie expresses how she has learned to have confidence in her decisions as both a mother and a business owner. In regard to deciding to home school as well as start a business, s...
Nov 27, 2019•21 min•Season 3Ep. 70
Have you ever prayed for something with so much faith and diligence, and then, the exact opposite of what you were praying for happens? I have. In episode 69, I’m sharing an experience from my life where I prayed for God to “temper the elements” and then it rained and not just a little drizzle but torrential downpour. You’ll hear the lessons I learned from this experience and how it increased my faith Heavenly Father does answer my prayers, even if it’s not always in the way I think He should. S...
Nov 20, 2019•16 min•Season 3Ep. 69
A few months ago, I discovered Miranda Anderson through an interview on another podcast. I loved her positive approach to life and immediately binged episodes from her own podcast, Live Free Creative , and read her book, More Than Enough . I was thrilled when she agreed to be a guest on my podcast. Living the Life you Want In the episode, you’ll hear Miranda discuss how she learned to live the life she wanted. She shares key elements she has learned of contentment and gratitude as well as settin...
Nov 13, 2019•32 min•Season 3Ep. 68
In episode 67, I am excited to be interviewing my husband, Tim Trendler. We discuss how we have navigated spiritual differences throughout our 22 year marriage. You will learn quickly in this episode that Tim is definitely the fun-loving, outgoing partner in our marriage. I am more intense and a deep thinker. We aren’t perfect, but we have learned to help each other develop spiritually and respect our different approaches to gospel living. Looking back, I can see how our differences actually mak...
Nov 06, 2019•23 min•Season 3Ep. 67
My guest today is JoEllen Woods, a wife and mom to four who has spent the last few years following a prompting to move overseas and travel the world with her family. In the interview, you’ll hear how JoEllen and her husband decided to travel full time with their kids and how they felt guided by God in the process. Their prompting eventually led JoEllen’s family to New Zealand on a 30-month visa and then to full-time travel for 6 months. After traveling to 17 different countries, The Woods Family...
Oct 30, 2019•36 min•Season 3Ep. 66
Within 2 years of her 19 year marriage, my guest for episode 65, Norma Zaugg, realized her hopes and dreams for her home and family were not going according to plan. Her marriage was rocky and her husband stopped being involved with the Church. Norma was left wondering how to navigate it all. Guidance from God In my interview with Norma, she shares how she didn’t take the thought of bringing children into her dysfunctional marriage lightly. Through heartfelt prayer, she felt guided to know the t...
Oct 23, 2019•35 min•Season 3Ep. 65
Welcome to Season 3! I am so excited to be back. In episode 64, I am sharing some new insights I gained about feeling the Spirit. Spoiler Alert: You might not know when you are feeling the Spirit and that is perfectly normal! If you’ve ever asked yourself this question, “How do I recognize the Holy Ghost when it comes?” you’ll want to listen. This is a solo episode where I dive into experiences I have had with the Holy Ghost but the bulk of the episode is a recap of a devotional I found from the...
Oct 16, 2019•27 min•Season 3Ep. 64
Welcome to the final episode of season 2. I am taking a short break from the podcast and will be back in September with more faith-filled interviews for you. In episode 63, my guest is Shelley Swapp. Shelley shares what she hopes her children will remember about her as a mom. Motherhood Challenges She also gives insights into the challenges her family has faced in the past few years. As a mother, she has watched her children deal with moving, brain injury, physical special needs, mental health c...
Jul 17, 2019•43 min•Season 2Ep. 63
Episode 62 shares the perspectives of 6 different people who have experience with a loved one who doesn’t share their faith. I am so grateful for each of these people who called in to share their thoughts and perspectives on a topic that isn’t always easy to talk about. In addition to hearing from members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have had families members who have struggled with their faith, you will also hear the perspective of someone who left the church. She shar...
Jul 10, 2019•40 min•Season 2Ep. 62
Today I am doing a solo episode talking about how to eliminate distractions and always have the Spirit. This content was originally a devotional I wrote and presented at a recent girls camp. Feel free to use this episode as a resource to help you teach your older children or other youth. Can You Hear the Music of the Spirit? I shared a story told by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf about a violinist dressed in jeans who plays in a busy subway. Elder Uchtdorf uses this story to illustrate how we might mi...
Jul 03, 2019•26 min•Season 2Ep. 61
Stephanie Piacitelli , my guest for episode 60, is someone who has learned to find joy in the middle of hard things. In October 2014, Stephanie and her husband, Bryant, were living a normal life with their four children. But near the end of that month, everything changed in an instant. Bryant was on his way to work as a police officer when he was struck on his motorcycle by a driver who ran a red light. Bryant was killed and Stephanie was left a widow with four young children. Losing Her Husband...
Jun 26, 2019•42 min•Season 2Ep. 60
I first interviewed Cheryl Cardall in episode 23 about overcoming weakness and using humor in motherhood. Cheryl is back and we are diving in to talk about what Cheryl has learned in 20 years of motherhood. You’ll also hear why Cheryl believes you should be the expert and advocate for your child. Cheryl talks about a recent moment when she realized she was doing better as a mom than she thought she was. She shares how motherhood refines us and makes us better. Cheryl believes you can do more tha...
Jun 19, 2019•28 min•Season 2Ep. 59
Heather Herbert is a wife and a mom to three children ages 19, 15 and 13. She has experienced the heartbreak of having a stillborn daughter. Heather has also had many other crises with her children. Through it all, Heather has learned life-changing lessons about how to get through difficult times. Listen to hear how Heather learned that practicing gratitude for little things can completely change your life. She also shares how prayer has helped her in moments of crisis to know the needs of her c...
Jun 12, 2019•27 min•Season 2Ep. 58
My guest today is Kristin Brown. After experiencing 5 years of infertility, Kristin and her husband were excited to welcome boy/girl twins to their home. Kristin and her best friend, Laura, have a podcast called T he Progress Project , a personal growth podcast with conversations on how to improve little by little, while giving ourselves plenty of grace. How Challenges Help Us In the interview, Kristin shares how she learned through the trial of infertility that challenges help us learn exactly ...
Jun 05, 2019•30 min•Season 2Ep. 57
My guest in episode 56 is Heidi Tucker. Heidi is a wife, a mom to four adult children and a grandma to 9 grandchildren. She is the author of two books, Finding Hope in the Journey and Servie’s Song . Heidi is known as a great storyteller who believes every story not only teaches a gospel principle but can make you feel it. In the interview Heidi shares how she knew through a dream she needed to write a book even though she was going through one of the lowest times of her life. We discussed how y...
May 29, 2019•33 min•Season 2Ep. 56
I am happy to welcome Bergen Hyde to the podcast. Bergen is the co-founder and creative director of WOMB , which you’ll more about in the interview. Bergen is married and has 3 children. Her number one passion is women’s issues, especially within the context of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and she loves helping other women claim their power. In the interview, Bergen shares three amazing lessons she has learned in motherhood. Lesson 1: I’m happier and more fulfilled when I am ...
May 22, 2019•39 min•Season 2Ep. 55
Listen to episode 54 and hear about an experience I had recently in my life. I talk about how I learned more about the enabling power of the atonement of Jesus Christ. I also share how the Spirit taught me to give my burdens to the Savior. Thus the enabling power of the Atonement strengthens us to do and be good and serve beyond our own individual desire and natural capacity. David A. Bednar Show Notes Listen to the full talk by Elder David A. Bednar called, In the Strength of the Lord , a BYU S...
May 15, 2019•15 min•Season 2Ep. 54
Today I’m welcoming Becky Proudfit to the podcast for episode 53. You may know her as one half of Becky squared where she cohosts the podcast Cultivate a Good Life with Becky Higgins. She is also a former Disney Princess, a wife and a mom to four, a lover of travel and a cancer survivor. In this episode you will hear Becky remind moms that motherhood is “not about you.” She shares why she thinks motherhood is not about her but about loving her children and giving them agency. Becky and I discuss...
May 08, 2019•35 min•Season 2Ep. 53
My guest for episode 52 is Chantel Allen. Chantel is a mom, a wife and also a certified life coach. She is passionate about offering encouragement, to others through her coaching and podcast, Find Your Beautiful You . Through her training and personal experiences, Chantel has learned the true definition of success in motherhood. Listen to hear Chantel’s insights on how you can benefit from changing your thoughts. She gives a great exercise you can use to figure out what is going on inside your b...
May 01, 2019•31 min•Season 2Ep. 52
My guest for episode 51 is Jamie Hutchings. Jamie is a wife and mom to three. She is a motivational speaker who frequently shares her story of beating childhood cancer, overcoming survivor’s guilt and dealing with mental health issues, including PTSD and multiple suicide attempts. In the interview, Jamie shares what she learned from her experiences going through cancer as a young child. She beat cancer but faced mental health struggles in the years following her cure. At age 17, Jamie nearly too...
Apr 24, 2019•45 min•Season 2Ep. 51
Episode 50! I can’t believe I am even typing that and I am so honored to share my interview with Rachel Nielson for this milestone episode. Rachel is married to Ryan and they have two children, Noah, who is adopted and Sally, who was conceived through IVF. If you’re not familiar with Rachel, you will immediately see she is both down to earth and relatable. She is also the host of The 3in30 Podcast for moms. She interviews guests on a variety of motherhood topics and shares 3 doable takeaways eve...
Apr 17, 2019•32 min•Season 2Ep. 50
Today I’m sharing an interview with best-selling authors, Richard and Linda Eyre . The Eyre’s have been married for almost 50 years and have raised 9 children. They have authored numerous books and spoken around the world to very diverse groups about families and parenting as well as balancing work and family with personal needs. Although they are seen as parenting experts, the Eyre’s were quick to point out in the interview they do not have a perfect family. Both Richard and Linda shared how th...
Apr 10, 2019•46 min•Season 2Ep. 49
My guest today is Brittany Frank. Brittany is a wife to her husband, Trevor, and mom to a cute one-year-old little boy. When Brittany was a junior in college and competing as a track and cross country athlete, she was involved in a rappelling accident that left her with a spinal cord injury. In the interview, Brittany shares about her accident and how she dealt with her recovery. She explains how she felt so much hope from God from the very beginning. She also shares how she dealt with the diffi...
Apr 03, 2019•31 min•Season 2Ep. 48
