In this episode of Brooks Babbles, Brooke Kuhn interviews Michael Stanford, a financial advisor from Upstream Financial. Michael shares his journey from aspiring military service to discovering his passion for finance and entrepreneurship. He discusses the influence of his family, the challenges of balancing work and family life, and his faith journey that led him back to the Lord. Michael emphasizes the importance of community, masculinity, and the psychological aspects of money management, while also addressing common misconceptions about financial advising. He concludes with insights on the role of money in fulfilling one's purpose and the importance of integrating faith into professional life.

In this conversation, Kati Zuromski shares her journey from freelancing to establishing a successful agency. She discusses the fears and challenges of leaving a stable job and how a transformative event pushed her to fully commit to her business. The discussion highlights the importance of taking risks and embracing change for personal and professional growth.

Officially announcing the launch LifeStories Heirlooms! I've had the privilege of listening to my grandma's stories my entire life and I always felt like I had to find a way to preserve them so I started a new business that preserves stories in keepsake books and audiobooks. In this episode I'm sharing a clip from my beloved grandma's LifeStories interviews and discussing themes from her story.

Joining me on Brooke's Babbles is Jeff Althaus, managing attorney of Althaus Law in Northglenn, Colorado. In this episode we get to hear Jeff's journey to becoming an Estate Planning & Probate attorney, his values and how they align with his work, and some tips on how to learn more about this field of law to protect your family and legacy.

Behind every business is a person with a dream, which is why Brooke's Babbles is on a mission to build connections by shining the spotlight on stories behind businesses.

The next time you experience disappointment or loss or anything in between, I challenge you to put on your rose-colored glasses and look for the ways this moment is preparing you to offer a helping hand down the road and what it’s trying to teach you.

About Brooke’s Babbles Brooke’s Babbles is a podcast and blog where storytelling meets soul. Hosted by marketing consultant and professional babbler Brooke, Brooke’s Babbles offers honest conversations, insightful tips, and real life stories. Whether you're here for storytelling, connection, mindset shifts, or a dose of inspiration, you’re in the right place.

We live in a world that sometimes makes love feel like a transaction — only worth it if it’s returned, acknowledged, or lasts forever. But real love doesn’t work that way.

In this episode, I’m sharing a deeply personal reflection on what it means to love fully, even when things don’t go the way we hoped. From friendships that drift to relationships that end, I’ll talk about why every act of love leaves an imprint — on the people we give it to, and on ourselves.

Whether you’re grieving, healing, or simply wondering if the love you’ve poured out “mattered”… this is your reminder: love is never wasted.

You’ll Hear:

• Why love is always an investment, never a loss
• How loving well shapes you, even when it hurts
• The quiet ways our love continues to ripple long after the moment has passed
• A journal excerpt from a time I almost stopped loving so freely — and what changed my mind

Because at the end of the day, love is not a ledger. It’s a legacy.

If you’re anything like me you try to make the most of every season, especially summer. The blue skies, hot sun, and sound of splashes and laughter in the pool are missed once school starts again and yearned for during the cold months. Each season only comes once per year and though we know it will come again next year and every year after this, things will be different.

Children give us the wonderful gift called the reminder that time is fleeting. I took my son to a splash pad recently with a friend of mine and her daughter. As I sat under the umbrella with my panting pup next to me, I had a realization: my son is no longer the littlest. Of course it’s part of life for everyone to grow and it would be alarming if we all stayed babies forever! But that doesn’t change the feeling of grief that comes when we realize things like this.

Something I struggle with is comparison and the anxiety that comes along with it. When my son was 1 we went for walks every morning before I started my work day at my 9-5 at the time. When my son was 2 our morning ritual included walks every morning, enjoying a breakfast picnic on a dock at a pond, and going to the park. Now that my son is older and wakes up later I find it harder to get out for a morning walk since the temperatures rise so quickly. Rather than embracing that I now get to sleep in and am no longer waking up at 6 am to nurse a baby before working a traditional job, I find myself comparing and trying to force this summer to be like the last ones and getting frustrated that our routine isn’t identical to summers prior.

What if instead of focusing on what’s gone we focus on what’s in front of us? Instead of being sad about my son no longer being the littlest at the splash pad, I allowed myself to feel glad and grateful? He’s growing how he’s supposed to, he’s always going to be my little boy no matter how old he gets, and I even get to leave the splash pad in dry clothes since I no longer have to chase him into the splash pad (although that won’t stop me from joining in on the fun).

This concept of “letting go” of the past doesn’t mean forgetting. It means appreciating the positive things of the past (while also acknowledging that things weren’t perfect then either) and creating space for fond memories to be created here and now. This can be applied to anything from kids growing up, losing a friend, going through a breakup/divorce, moving somewhere new, shifting career paths, grieving a loved one.

Maybe things won’t be the same ever again. It’s heartbreaking. It’s okay to feel sad and allow yourself to feel the sadness. Let the feelings wash over you because without feeling the sadness we lose access to feeling joy. and in turn

The beautiful tragedy of our world is that grief is the price we pay for love.

About Brooke’s BabblesBrooke’s Babbles is a podcast and blog where storytelling meets soul. Hosted by marketing consultant and professional babbler Brooke, Brooke’s Babbles offers honest conversations, insightful tips, and real life stories. Whether you're here for storytelling, connection, mindset shifts, or a dose of inspiration, you’re in the right place.

Brooke’s Babbles: The Cracked Coffee Cup

This babble was inspired by a coffee mug my sister gave me on her wedding day as a thank-you for being her maid of honor. Nearly four years later, that mug sits beside me as I record—cracked but cherished. That little crack, likely from carelessly tossing a hand-wash-only mug into the dishwasher, hasn’t stopped me from loving or using it.

Why talk about a cracked coffee cup? Because sometimes the smallest, most ordinary things hold the most meaning. This blog isn’t just about big life moments—it’s about finding magic in the everyday.

Let me paint a picture: It’s Monday morning. You're tired, you reach for your favorite mug… and it’s gone. You’re a little thrown off. You start thinking about why you love that mug—who gave it to you, how it feels in your hand, the way it holds just the right amount of coffee. Suddenly, something seemingly small carries weight.

You're not alone. A friend recently told me about the mug he’s used since his teenage years, a gift from his dad. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s been with him through the seasons of fatherhood. He dreads the day it breaks. That stuck with me—not because it’s just about a mug, but because it’s about what it represents: comfort, memories, identity.

Here’s where the analogy kicks in: we are all like coffee mugs. If your favorite mug gets chipped or cracked, do you throw it away? Of course not. You might even treat it more gently, love it more deeply. So why don’t we treat ourselves—and each other—the same way?

We all have “cracks.” We’re tired, imperfect, worn at the edges. But those flaws don’t erase our worth. In fact, they can make us even more lovable. So here’s the real question: What if we viewed ourselves and others with the same tenderness we give to our favorite things? What if we accepted our cracks and loved each other more because of them?

The Spark

The spark I want to leave you with today is this: you are worthy of being someone’s favorite. Even if you feel too “cracked,” too tired, or too broken—there’s someone out there (even if it’s just you) who can look at you and see something irreplaceable.

That might be a romantic partner, a best friend, your child, or your own reflection in the mirror. You don’t need to be flawless to be treasured. You just need to be seen—and to believe you’re worth seeing.

So hold your cracks gently. Cherish the cracks in others. And remember: we don’t have to lose something to remember how valuable it is. Let's choose to love with our whole hearts, flaws and all.

Intro

• The blog that this episode is based off of was written in my notes app on my phone the other day while I was making protein waffles and my dog Lulu was staring up at me hoping for me to drop one, and this was a reminder once again that as a mom I do things differently and when I can, even if it’s not while sitting at a desk

• My saying is, “if you want something done ask a mom to do it” because we have so many things that we’re constantly juggling, yes, but that’s actually our strength because we’re the ones that will find a way to get it all done. Someway, somehow.

Babble

• So let’s get into it. This blog is titled Space for Grace, originally it was going to be called Room for Grace and even though it sounded like it would be the name of a 90s sitcom or a trendy Denver bar I was going to go with it until I decided I liked a rhyme better. Anyway, the other night I was spending time with friends and now I couldn’t even tell you exactly what it was that I said but after the hangout I was beating myself up for saying something in an imperfect way, and honestly now I couldn’t even tell you exactly what I said (that’s how insignificant it was) and this quickly took me down a spiral of worrying about what they thought and being hard on myself for not thinking through every little thing I said.

• As I battled my inner critic, a little voice in my heart challenged me to see things differently. Now, I want to add a note here that we often think of storytelling in the sense of stories others have told us or that we have shared with others, but let me remind you that we are constantly telling ourselves stories about who we are, what others think, maybe even anxious made up stories about the future that really we don’t even know if they will or will not happen. Anyway, instead of fixating on what I said wrong and catastrophizing how my friends must have judged me, I flipped the story from one based in fear and criticism to one of compassion and opportunity. What if I gave myself some grace? What if this time where I was “imperfect” is a chance to grow in love and understanding? When we say things incorrectly, or words fly out of our mouth quicker than we can catch them, or our actions don’t align with our values, this is the Space for Grace. The place where we can forgive ourselves, remember that our intentions are pure, and the next time someone says or does something that hurts us, we can come back to this space for grace because our own mistakes remind us to see the humanity in others when they make mistakes.

• As a psychology nerd I also want to add in a reminder about a concept called The Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE), which is a cognitive bias where individuals tend to overemphasize internal factors (character, personality) and underestimate external factors (circumstances) when explaining the behavior of others. In essence, it's the tendency to attribute someone's actions to their inherent disposition rather than considering situational influences. So, the next time you say or do something that you’re not proud of, of course be accountable for it, but also take this concept into account. The same goes for others, the next time someone cuts you off in traffic remember that maybe it has less to do with them being a jerk and perhaps maybe they have an emergency, their wife is in labor, or maybe they really need to use the restroom.

Spark/Takeaway

• The spark that I want to leave with you all today is to practice compassion, gentleness, and forgiveness both for yourself and for others, because when you can offer it to yourself it becomes easier to offer it to others

Paradox of perfection: it expects us to achieve everything with a gold metal yet it prevents us from even starting. It paralyzes us. Brooke is diving in on tips for overcoming perfection.