This is our Grand Finale Episode! We have consistently produced this episode for two straight years, but this is our last episode. We talk about why and what's next for both of us. We would love to stay connected, so feel free to reach out! Sara = FeedingTheSoil.com Katherine = katherinerobinsonsd@gmail.com…

This podcast is turning 3 today, and we start every year with this conversation because the process of intention setting is really important for anyone who seeks to build a life of purpose, joy, and community. So it's definitely something you can expect at the top of every year on this podcast! We start with our current Highs and Lows. Then we shif…

Every year at this time, we both engage in the process of reflecting on our previous year and setting intentions for the upcoming year. We purposefully split our podcast conversation into two distinct parts. The first conversation is today and it's about looking backward. Then in two weeks, we will be chatting about our thoughts for looking forward…

We know it sounds a little bizarre to be doing a podcast about death (while many are prepping for the holidays!), but we found preparing for this episode was incredibly helpful. The inspiration came from hearing a hospice worker talk about how having a healthier relationship with death can help us live better lives. So today we spend a little time …

We are fascinated with the topic of vocation—of trying to align the gifts and interests that we have with the needs of our communities and the world. Parker Palmer says that “Vocation does not come from willfulness. It comes from listening. I must listen to my life and try to understand what it is truly about – quite apart from what I would like it…

Today we talk through each part of our ideal weekday and reflect on ways we might be able to live more in tune these visions. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., enjoying Halloween, foster kittens, arriving in Bali, missing Halloween). Then we shift into Today’s Topic. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks including KidNuz and dog Hal…

Today we are going to take time to dive into a core aspiration of Sow Connected: the idea of living a life rooted in joy. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., traveling in Malaysia, building strong family connections, family progress, and carousal rides). Then we shift into Today's Topic. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks including…

The research shows that having community and connection in our lives is one of the most important things. It’s not only connected to our physical well-being and our longevity; it’s also connected to our happiness and mental health. And yet we find that making and maintaining solid friendships is no easy task! Today we spend some time unpacking this…

We recognize that this time of year can get busy and hectic. So we excited to talk through ways we are trying to prioritize and streamline what matters and let of go things that are getting in the way for this season being full of joy, purpose, and community! We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., goodbye party, being outside and biking, p…

Today Sara and I take a note from Ann Quindlen’s book A Short Guide to a Happy Life and talk about writing “soul resumes.” We discuss our processes and read aloud what we wrote. We also talk about areas of our souls that are still in process. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., lack of sleep, a night away, Henry starting school, and mak…

Today Katherine and I talk about how to keep things simple as mothers in order to maximize enjoyment of our space—all while streamlining our lives. Our hope is that this conversation helps move us toward the goal of becoming more minimalistic while maintaining a sense of authenticity and practicality in our spaces. We start with our current Highs a…

Today, Sara and I take a deeper dive into the Internal Family Systems (IFS) model of therapy. We discuss the parts of IFS (Self, protectors, exiles) and how to work toward healing with a specific focus on how our past pain impacts our relationships with our children. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., school advocacy, enjoying a more s…

Katherine read a book a few years ago that talked about the power of staying curious over becoming critical. As someone who is deeply committed to lifelong learning, but also has very high standards for herself and those around her (which can sometimes lead to being judgemental), she LOVED this idea. Turns out, however, that it is harder to do that…

Our topic today dives deep into some very big questions we have around the 2022-2023 school year as Sara prepares to home school while traveling the world and Katherine grapples with educational options for her two girls. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e. bedtime woes, the joy of summer produce- especially peaches, the glow of well-pla…

Our topic today is a reflection about how we are doing toward our annual goals, since we are nearly at the halfway mark. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e. settling into parenting, reducing stress, feeling sluggish, and worrying about the current state of our democracy). Then we shift into Today’s Topic. Next we share a couple of Tips &…

Our topic today is a conversation about the current states of our most essential relationships. We talk about what is going well and what we want to work on with our partners. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e. end of school year chaos, vacation fun, and home repair woes). Then we shift into Today’s Topic. Next we share a couple of Tips…

Our topic today is a conversation about some of our favorite books. Katherine was busy getting ready for her trip to Mexico, so Anissa from Mama Goes Beyond joined us as a co-host. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., saying goodbye to friends, launching Camp Happy Mama, and preparing for solo-parenting). Then we shift into Today’s Topic…

Our topic is week acknowledges that our children are in or entering the “interpretive stage” of parenting according to Galinksy’s theory. This means that they are the most open to our messages about life and our values. This period only lasts until Adolescence around age 12. We are excited to share our top ten life lessons and how we think about im…

We have talked before on the podcast about the importance of restorative rest and about how routines and rituals factor into our processes for making sure we have margin in our lives. In this episode we dig a layer deeper on how we think about rest and rejuvenation. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., weekends away with friends, dealing…

Today we talk about how we are thinking about envisioning and creating summer plans. In this episode, we share how we went about getting really clear about what matters to us, then how we can be proactive about making it happen but also we can be intentional about saying no to the things that don’t bring us joy. We start with our current Highs and …

Today we talk about something that both of us really struggle with: how to have a mindful relationship with food. So if anyone is listening with hopes of hearing from people who have achieved mastery, this podcast might not be for you! But we do delve into some honest talk about how hard this is for us and why, as well as what we’ve have done to ma…

Today we borrowed an idea from The Lazy Genius podcast and Barbara Brown Taylor to each share 10 things that are saving our lives right now. From farmer’s markets to time set aside for connecting with our children, we hope you will be delighted and inspired to notice what is helping you connect with a life of joy, purpose and community in this seas…

Today we are talking about beauty! We don’t mean the cover of a magazine kind of beauty. We are talking about the moments that take our breath away and fill us with wonder. We are talking about the times that we notice the setting sun and are so captivated by it that we pull over our car to take in the purples and the yellows and the oranges of the…

How do I want to grow this year?” is such an important question to ask ourselves as we strive for greater purpose, joy, and community in our lives. Yet, it’s so hard—especially for those of us who have to focus a lot of our energy on taking care of other people. In this episode, we carve out a little time for ourselves to have this conversation. We…

In many ways, all children go through periods of having pretty extreme or challenging emotions or behaviors. This can happen when they go through a big life change like starting school or losing a pet. Behaviors can be even more pronounced when the child has experienced trauma (like a pandemic!) or is autistic or has unique has sensory needs. We st…

Vacations are one of those things that can slip right off the radar until it’s too late. It can be really hard to muster up the energy, time, and—frankly—motivation to spend hours planning something that is months and months away. And COVID has made vacation planning downright impossible in a lot of ways. But if you want to be more intentional abou…

We’ve talked before about how we are both on journeys to heal from attachment-related childhood trauma. In today’s episode, we are going to dig deeper and share what we have learned from our journeys. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., home organizing, mini-retreats, conflict with spouses, and parenting difficulty). Then we shift into …

Today’s topic explores our one of our favorite themes: setting goals for a new year. We share our processes, our personal goals for 2022, and what tools and approaches we are using to stay on track. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., nourishing and relaxing Christmas holidays, a friend’s injury, and the faulty promises of our democracy…

Today’s topic explores our processes for reflecting on this year as we gear up for a brand new year. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., getting foster dogs adopted, holiday crafting, and parenting challenges all around). Then we shift into Today’s Topic. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (Galveston Diet and Black Paper Party). Fi…

Today's topic explores ways to handle holiday stress. Katherine shares how she is struggling to redefine the holidays to create traditions unique to her multicultural family. Sara offers helpful advise for planning ahead to streamline her to do list and maximize her enjoyment of the festivities. We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e. a disa…

Remember when Annie Dillard said, "How we spend our days is how we spend our lives"? Today's topic delves into the rituals and routines that we bring into our lives in order to have more purpose, joy, and community. Katherine has powerful rituals that ground her on a daily basis. Sara tends toward routines that minimize brainpower and maximize effi…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., a new 1:1 aide for Katherine’s daughter, finding times for things that are fueling, a Halloween Party, and the effects of aging). Then we shift into Today’s Topic focused on our personal finances. We share our financial goals and how they impact the decisions we make in our day-to-day lives. Next we s…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., looking forward to Fall activities and good weather, as well as shoulder pain and struggling to fit in time for oneself). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on writing family mission statements or manifestos. We talk about our process for writing our family mission statements, we read our actual…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., the joys of mini-vacations and day trips, seeing our kids shine through extracurricular activities, and children’s struggles at school). Then we shift into Today’s Topic focused on being intentional in our marriages. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (sugar skull kits and the an Indian YouTube C…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., i.e., camping, struggling to establish exercise routines, awesome partners, and children's struggles at school). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on heading into Fall and Winter with intention. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (camping strategies and a red cabbage pasta recipe). Finally…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., spending the weekend with friends, processing the abortion ban in Texas, settling into the school year). Then we shift into Today’s Topic focused raising secure, independent children. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (EMDR and picking up the house together after dinner). Finally, we close out w…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., positive family dynamics, good haircuts, new jobs, and children learning to ride bikes!). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused taking care of ourselves and others during difficult times. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (taking care of teachers and conversations about faith). Finally, we cl…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., a broken arm, the final weeks of summer, the impact of COVID of schools, a weekend away, and stomach issues). Then we shift into Today’s Topic focused on unpacking our whiteness. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (blessing teachers with pencils and toasting tortilla strips for tacos). Finally, w…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., two weeks home alone, book club retreats, and COVID anxiety). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on our long-term lifetime goals. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (TikTok shenanigans and writing schedules on antibiotic bottles). Finally, we close out with Facing Forward to share what we w…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., getting to know new colleagues, shifting schedules, special alone time with kids, and an unexpected turn on the progress of Sara's new rental house). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on gearing up for back to school. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (screw back earrings and sparkling wa…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., vacation houses, unhealthy habits, weekend trips away, and popcorn kernels up noses). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on friendship. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (a new game and air fryers). Finally, we close out with Facing Forward to share what we want to make true in our lives i…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., summer vacation highlights, struggles with mindful eating, a distaste for the summer heat). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on checking in on our annual goals. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (grocery store meals on trips and a $100 foosball table). Finally, we close out with Facing F…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., renovating vacation homes, playing old-school Nintendo, planning a road trip to New Mexico, our post-vaccine lives). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on travel. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (how to beat jet lag and how to make road trip activity kits for your kids). Finally, we clos…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., a new job, hard work in therapy, buying a vacation house, and performance reviews). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on self-regulation. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (baked quesadillas and nutrition coaching). Finally, we close out with Facing Forward to share what we want to make t…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., sleep over date night, imminent end of the school year, the emotional difficulty of Mothers' Day, and loads of stress). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on the practice of deep listening. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (like using online interior design companies and touchstones for d…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e. feeling good, in our bodies and in our lives and the juxtaposition between our joy and the suffering of others). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on living through a pandemic. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (like using a FitBit to track your sleep and activity and adding frozen caulifl…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., finally reaching a 10 in life, finishing big projects, anti-trans legislation in Arkansas, and disturbing insights into the Conservative agenda). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused on learning from the natural world. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (like chocolate coconut spread and mini…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., a weekend away, daylight savings time, hope at the end of the COVID current tunnel). Then we shift into Today’s Topic focused our our understanding of wellness. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (like recommendations for biking with children and suggestions for enjoying activities with your chil…

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., getting ready for Spring gardening, Hawaii trip planning, and plumbing problems). Then we shift into Today's Topic focused our physical environments. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (like throat spray for preventing infection and recommendations for gardening with children). Finally, we close …

We start with our current Highs and Lows (i.e., the snowpocalypse and picture perfect picnic at the lake). Then we shift into Today’s Topic focused the rules that guide our lives. Next we share a couple of Tips & Tricks (like the nighttime light parenting hack and some great shows on Netflix). Finally, we close out with Facing Forward to share what…