Meet Lindsey.

She's a career mom.

Lindsey is a West Michigan Reporter at Michigan Radio.

It was about a year ago when she found out she was pregnant with her second child.

This was just three days after getting what she describes as

"the biggest, most difficult assignments of her career".

This is the real life of being a mom and balancing a career...

"I get up around 7:15ish and check emails..

..Layla is usually up around 8:00

...Adam and the baby 8:30ish

then news meeting on Skype at 9:00 from home...

... then I feed the baby ..then I go to work." How it all started..

 "I've always felt driven to please people,

and got joy out of being a good worker and being rewarded.

Like when we were kids and Grandpa and Grandma would pay us 1 cent to pick up walnuts in the front yard.

I learned at a young age that you always got rewarded for hard work.

I got my first job at 14 at a hardware store. 

 I would walk --it was right across the lake.

 I worked there for 5 years and got promoted to different jobs.

Hard work always."

Stepping into Motherhood..

"We didn't want kids, 

but when Adam turned 30, he told me that he thought that we may regret not having kids.

He said "We can make this work, I can stay home."

I asked Lindsey what her biggest fear about having kids was,

and she says,

"I was afraid of being pregnant, I was afraid of being in labor, 

I was afraid of everything! 

I thought to myself, 'I didn't need this',

but Adam put it in my head.

It took 4 years, but at 29 I had Layla."

I asked Lindsey what her biggest surprise was when it came to motherhood.

She answered,

"how much no sleep would impact her."

With her first she didn't get good sleep for the first 4 and a half months,

so by the second time around she was more prepared for sleep deprivation only to find out 

that her second was a much better sleeper.

She says one of the challenges is that breastfeeding can be super hard,

so she feels lucky that she can work from home.

She notes her gratefulness for her husband who is able to stay home with the kids,

making her more flexible at her job.

I asked her how she got to where she is career wise,

and she says,

"from hard work, knowing the right people,

and pure luck". 

I asked Adam if he thought the luck thing was true and 

he says "no she's great, she's great at what she does, she's perfect".

Lindsey has received dozens of awards for her work.

Most recently including, "Best Radio Journalist of the Year" and

 2016 Best News Documentary, "Not safe to Drink", which covered the Flint Water Crisis.

This past month her and Adam visited New York for the first time.

She and her team accepted the award for best audio news documentary in the county,

"Not Safe to drink."

They were able to beat out big markets such as New York, LA, Chicago, and DC.

In her humble words, "It was a compelling story without me.

I just hope I did them some justice.

Also, its weird to celebrate when the water in flint is *still* not safe to drink with a filter.

This was not lost on us."

Can I add that my cousin Lindsey is the best example

of working hard and staying humble? ;)

Meet Abbie.

She's 28,

 an Occupational Therapy Assistant,

and single foster mom to FOUR.

I spent Saturday morning with Abbie and her adorable kids.

There were tons of smiles, laughs, and even a few tears.

"It's something that I have wanted to do since I was younger," she says.

 "I met a foster mom when I was 17, in which she became like a mentor."

Abbie said she started taking it seriously last year in January 2015 after she got back from Alabama,

where she went to Ministry School for two years at The Ramp.

She began taking classes in May through June of last year, and got licensed last September. 

She was placed with a teenager from September 2015-June 2016,

and currently has four younger ones, ages 2 months-9 years.

It was amazing to see how happy they all were and I was also impressed at how well behaved they were. 

She shared that just in the time that they have been with her, they have come such a long way.

She explained that some of the challenges are helping them work through their past and trauma.

"It's mainly hard carrying the emotional burden;

And at first when I got the three girls,

it was all about trying to find all the needs and then trying to survive," she laughs. 

"It's just 1 person, so I can't just have my husband go pick the girls up from school." 

I asked her how she makes it through, she states,

 "first God- daily, the foster care agency, and friends and family. 

Seeing the small victories keeps you going,

also seeing them grow and step out of bad habits and dysfunctional cycles."

I also asked her what was the main thing she liked about fostering and she says,

"getting them into a safe and loving environment for as long as needed." She goes on saying,

"I mean it says in the bible, in James, that as Christians it is one of our greatest responsibilities to look over orphans & widows."    

Can I just add that my favorite part of the morning was when the girls took

me up to show me their room. Not only was it cute and cozy, but so peaceful that it made me tear up. 

It's so wonderful to see the girls have such a comfy and safe place to rest their heads,

and see how excited and adorable they were showing it off.

Of course I asked if she even realizes how much of a big deal it is

as a single mom to take in four foster kids on your own.

She says "Yes I do.

It's crazy, but it's do-able".

I asked her "HOW?"

She says, "You just get up and do it,

you see a need and then you fill it.

If I had a bigger home, I would take in more."

There is such a need for foster care, she adds.

"It's crazy because if everyone were on board, there wouldn't be a need.

Even if it's not just fostering, not every person is called to foster,

but there a lot of things you can do, even if its just donating."

She highly suggests Adriel, which is a private organization. They have offices in Archbold, Toledo, West Liberty, & Dublin.

Or, she suggests, you could get involved with your local counties Job and Family Services.

A quick look at Josh and Alysha's bridal portraits.

I would describe these as nothing less than timeless and magical.

We literally had 5 minutes to get these before we needed to get into the reception hall.

It was right during golden hour and we snuck over into a shaded area right under a batch of trees

with the most gorgeous light beaming through the shadows.





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xOxO