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After more than a year of harassment, stalking, threats, racial slurs, police calls, arrests and violations of a civil stalking injunction, we finally got news I wasn't expecting: criminal charges have been filed.

In this episode of Gritty Mamas, Carley and I talk about the moment I learned my neighbor was facing 19 stalking counts with hate-crime enhancements and a no-bail warrant—and then learned that he had apparently left before police could arrest him. 

But this conversation becomes about something much bigger: what it feels like when you don't feel safe in your own home, why victims can become frustrated with systems that are supposed to protect them, and the complicated line between believing victims and preserving innocent-until-proven-guilty. We also talk about motherhood, family court, resentment, and trying not to let everything you've been through change the way you see the world. 

This one is messy, personal, and very real.

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Eleven people, Disneyland, an eight-day cruise, endless sibling fighting—and one child lost within the first ten minutes. 😅

In this episode, I’m home just long enough to tell Carly all about our once-in-a-lifetime family trip before leaving again for Scotland and Ireland. We talk about the joy of watching my kids experience Disney, Mexico, snorkeling, karaoke and cruise life for the first time—and the exhausting reality of parenting eight children in a different place.

But this conversation becomes about much more than a vacation. We talk about carrying the mental load alone, the frustration of being misunderstood, difficult co-parenting dynamics, and why I refuse to stay silent about the realities so many women are living through.

I’m still in the mud too. I’m still figuring it out. But if sharing the hard parts helps another woman feel less alone, then I’m going to keep talking about them—right alongside the miracles, the unexpected helpers and the compensatory blessings.

If you’ve ever felt like everything rests on your shoulders, this episode is for you.

Subscribe to Gritty Mamas and tell us in the comments: Have you ever needed a vacation after your “vacation”?

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After years of fighting, I finally got so much of what I had been fighting for. The agreement is signed. The chapter should feel like it's closing.

So why don't I feel free?

In this episode, Carley and I talk about what happens when you've spent so long in survival mode that you don't quite know who you are without the fight. We talk about motherhood, identity, sacrifice, the value of women, rebuilding after years of stress, and why getting to the other side doesn't automatically mean your nervous system knows you're safe there yet.

We also get into the complicated conversation around women finding their strength without diminishing men, raising sons and daughters who understand their worth, and remembering that motherhood isn't a consolation prize or something that keeps us from doing something meaningful with our lives. It is meaningful. 

If you've ever thought, “I made it through… so why don't I feel better?” this one is for you.

Gritty Mamas — because sometimes the hardest part isn't surviving. It's figuring out who you are afterward.

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What if the seasons that feel the most scattered are actually taking you somewhere?

This week, Julie and Carley talk about what it feels like to be constantly striving, trying, pivoting—and wondering whether any of it is actually working. From content creation and dog sitting to digital real estate and Julie’s newest venture, GRITROCK: The Agency, Julie opens up about the frustration of feeling like she’s bounced from one thing to another just trying to build a life that works.

But maybe none of it was wasted.

They talk about productivity and self-worth, the pressure to always be doing more, the difference between real confidence and simply telling yourself you’re amazing, and why sometimes the only way to discover what you're capable of is to do something really hard. Julie also shares why “just forgive and move on” isn't always as simple as it sounds when the consequences of what happened are still affecting your everyday life.

And, finally, there’s a long-awaited update: an agreement has been signed. Julie shares a little about what that means for her family and why this may finally mark the beginning of a new chapter.

Sometimes you can't see the path while you're walking it. Sometimes all you can do is take the next step and trust that someday you'll look back and realize—

none of it was wasted.

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Starting over sounds empowering… until you actually have to figure out how to pay the bills.

This week, Carley and I talk about what it really looks like to rebuild a life when you have people depending on you, expenses that don't stop, and no clear roadmap for what comes next.

I've spent the last few years trying everything I could think of to make it work — content, dog sitting, digital real estate, lead generation, affiliate work — and lately I've been asking myself a different question:

What if none of it was wasted?

What if every weird job, failed idea, new skill and unexpected detour was actually teaching me something I needed for the next thing?

We talk about my newest business idea, the skills I'm finally realizing I DO have, raising kids who are getting more expensive by the minute, the pressure to “just get a job,” young marriage, stay-at-home girlfriend culture, youth sports, motherhood, and the reality of trying to build something while life keeps happening around you.

I still don't know exactly where I'm going.

But maybe I'm getting closer.

💬 Tell me in the comments: Have you ever had to completely reinvent yourself? What did you do?

Subscribe for more conversations about motherhood, rebuilding, resilience, and figuring out who you are when life doesn't go according to plan.

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Four years ago, I thought I was starting over.

I was rebuilding my life, figuring out who I was again, and trying to create something meaningful out of everything I'd been through.

So why, four years later, do I suddenly feel like I'm back at the drawing board?

In this episode, Carley and I talk about that weird, uncomfortable place where you've come SO far—but still don't know exactly where you're going next. We talk about Gritty Mamas, what I thought it would become, what's worked, what hasn't, and the realization that maybe starting over doesn't mean you've failed.

Maybe rebuilding isn't something you do once.

Maybe it's something we do over and over as we become different versions of ourselves.

If you've ever looked at your life and thought, “I should have this figured out by now,” this episode is for you.

Come hang out with us. We're figuring it out too. ❤️

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Pardon our quality.  The dogs, and kids in the background, the lack of mics and makeup...we're doing the best we can, and we still manage to disappoint sometimes.  We talk in this episode about how we are just normal people and that it is a good reminder to be curious instead of jumping to conclusions and assuming things.  This podcast was hard to get done.  If you're listening, it can be obnoxious with the sound problems, and the pauses, and at times the squirreling.  But if you're watching, you'll see we are juggling kids coming in and out of our "studios," dogs that won't leave us alone, sore backs from improper chairs, lack of quality wifi, no microphones and dim lighting.  Don't judge a podcast by its cover or its sound!  We do the best we can!

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We give you a rare unfiltered podcast.  We talk about the final mediation, the stipulations, the waiting, the arguing and a little bit of spicy Julie and as always, level-headed Carley. Join us for an episode you won't hear everyday.  It's a goodie.

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Single parenting is hard.  There is no backup, there is no relief party, and no partner.  It's not even single parenting, it's solo parenting.  And it's impossible. Julie talks about trying to become something in the midst of battling kids that are defiant and remembers being left at the dinner table after a selfish disagreement.

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Closet casting tonight.  We talk about some of our life's mottos, the motivation behind them and the tender mercies we've had along the way.  Through moments of despair and heartbreak, God sent people to the right place at the right time and continues to.  Even if it's one shaded spot at a time.

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