Cry Laugh Repeat

Meet the Kirk's!Imagine being a young couple, anxious to start a family. You start all the planning and doing all the right things to be ready for any curve ball.  Imagine, then, your doctor gives your unborn child a scary diagnosis. What would you do? For Laura and Jeff, this is exactly what happened. They changed, adapted, and planned. They reorganized their lives to accommodate the needs that their soon to be born son, Ethan, may have. They researched, saw every specialist, studied and planned for every scenario....expect for the one they didn't see coming.We talk to Laura and Jeff about the road to creating their family. It is a road that has been full of twists and turns and life altering grief. But it has also been filled with compassion, learning and kindness. Laura and Jeff share their incredible journey so far. They talk about grief and healing and finding hope after loss and infertility. They are actively looking to adopt and have an active profile on adoption.com( https://adoption.com/profiles/jeffandlaura). They are an incredibly couple. Listen to their story and please share it to help them find a way to help grow their family!

Taylor is back with us to recap Mental Health Awareness Month.As a team, we raise $4309 for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.  All three of us are suicde loss survivors and this cause is close to heart.The month of May was difficult, but we are proud of what we accomplished virtually.Thanks for your support!

This week we chat with Kelly, a millennial obsessed dog mom.  She started an Instagram for her rescue dog, Finley, during the pandemic. Her husband, Jared and she both just turned 29 and reside in Wisconsin.  Their favorite activities include hiking, camping, volunteering for HDSA, their dog treat biz Bark River Pets, and visiting Hawaii.Her Instagram started as a platform for spunky videos and pictures of their pup, but she found a way to spread awareness and even further raise some money for Huntington's Disease (HD). HD is a fatal genetic disorder that causes the progressive breakdown of nerve cells in the brain. I lost my mother to this disease in 2015, and much of my childhood/early teens years were spent watching her decline - HD is a disease described as having ALS, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases- simultaneously.  Symptoms include personality changes, mood swings, depression, forgetfulness, impared judgement, unsteady gait, involuntary movements, slurred speech, difficulty swallowing and significant weight loss.  Because the disease is genetic, there is a 50% chance I will inherit this same fate. There is testing available to see if I carry the gene, but for my own mental health, I've made the decision to not get tested, live the best life I can, and if we were to have a family  down the road, I will go through with testing at this time.  Her least favorite question is when people ask "when are you having kids?!?" because it's not that simple..Kelly connected with really wonderful accounts, including Sam's and found a way to speak about my mental health. She remembers thinking, WOW we're allowed to TALK about this!?!? She had never told anyone her story, except Jared! I truly didn't think you could talk about mental health... Therapy was never an option, because I would have never considered it. I grew up to believe therapy was a sign of weakness, and my last name was literally Strong! Now Kelly has been in therapy for over a year now and loves it.   She is learning so much about herself through therapy.Once she connected with people sharing their own experience with mental health, Kelly was ready to talk and share her story.   I remember my mom in her final stages of HD telling me she wanted to end her life, she wanted everything to be over because she was in so much pain. She saw her mom decline physically, but couldn't grasp the concept of her mental health declining until the very end. Persons with HD are at a higher risk for suicide and she is ready to start the conversation about this now. She is able to talk so openly now about mental health, but it took her many years to get there.Kelly says, "I don't have all the answers, but I have the best partner, friends, and family support group, always willing to join us at the next fundraiser!"Article Kelly Mentions during the episode: https://wisconsin.hdsa.org/news/-letstalkabouthd-with-kelly-strong?fbclid=IwAR0fk_K6gH-3TRjBSlaEWSTZolhp4mISPyxS6qvRU_X80JU5-ZOqaTVRNcU

Welcome to Mental Health Awareness month!!In this episode we share what we are doing for Mental Health Awarness month and how you can get involved.We chat with Taylor, who is in her last week of school to get her doctorate in nurse practice.  She shares about a fundraiser we are mutually working on to raise money and awareness for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.Later in the episode, we chat with Krista, a Utah grown woman who shares her own experience with depression, how it snuck up on her, and how she takes care of her mental health now!If you or anyone you know is struggling, there are resources.  You aren't alone.National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255Connect with Taylor:  @bensonupnorthConnect with Krista: @missjazzy.doodleConnect with us: @crylaughrepeatpodcastIf you are interested in supporting our fundraising efforts, Click here

This episode is all about the things we  wish we would have heard before becoming moms.Not the cookie cutter responses that every mom hears like, "Nap when they do", "you are going to be sooo tired, but it's all worth it", or "you didn't know you could love something this much!"While all of those are wonderful, we don't gate keep here!We have gathered from our friends and family, things we all wish we would have known BEFORE becoming moms.

Have you missed us??We know it's been a minute since our last episode and in this episode we are going to share why!But, there is a debate… what is the BEST and WORST Easter candy.Moving forward for the foreseeable future, NEW episodes will be out every other week.  We want to make sure we are putting out episodes we are Proud of and that you will enjoy.We have a couple series coming up that we are so excited about and We have some amazing mental health episodes for the month of may.  Thanks for being along on this crazy ride with us!

This week, we had the pleasure of chatting with Sam's grandparents and Julie's aunt and uncle, John and Joan.John and Joan have been married over 60 years, have 4 beautuful kids, 11 grandkids, and 19 great grand kids.  Often reffered to as Bamo and Papa, this couple is the epitome of what a beautiful relationship looks like.  They have set an example for our entire family.They shared the ups and downs of marriage, what their secret is for 60+ years, and how to overcome difficult moments- together.We appreciated their vulnerability around sobriety and they shared a few books during the episode that we will link below:Five O'Clock Comes Early by Bob Welch and George VecseyDrinking: A love Story by Caroline KnappThe Joy of Being Sober by Jack MumeyWhere did everybody go? by Paul MolloyIf you think this episode will benefit someone, please don't hesitate to share!Find us on Social Media@crylaughrepeatpodcast

Karoline wanted to fit into the perfect prom dress.  What innocently started off as loosing a few pounds to reach her goals, turned into an obsession.  Karoline of Dog Mom Mentality on Instagram and host of the Dog Mom Mentality podcast, joins us this week to talk about her eating disorder.Not only does she share her story, but she also shares tips for how to approach someone struggling, what helped her in recovery, and what her relationship with food looks like now.If you know someone who this episode might help, please don't hesitate to share it with them!  When we allow ourselves to open up and be brave, we create a space for others to be brave as well!  Thank you, Karoline, for being brave.If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, you can:Call or Text: 800.931.2237Crisis text line: text "NEDA" to 741741

Mental Health is not something we have, it's something we practice.In this week's episode, we dive deeper into what Mental Hygiene is and what that looks like for us.  We did talk about Mental Hygiene in our episode with Krysta.If you haven't listened to it, check it out now.Julie and I also check in with how we are showing up for ourselves and other people in our lives.

When Dave enlisted for the National Guard in 2000, he thought he would ride out his 8 year contract, have a little adventure, and ride out the calm that the world was in. But his second day of basic training was September 11, 2001, and that changed everything. What followed has been a 22 years long career where Dave has witnessed, experienced, and survived things that most of us will never be able to understand.In this episode, we chat with Dave about his military career, normalizing conversations around mental health, PTSD, adjustments when returning home, and the rising rate of suicide in the military.  Does the military do enough for our servicemen and women?  Tune in to find out.Follow Dave on IGWe hope you enjoy this episode.  Follow us on Instagram and join our FB Community

On March 14th, I found myself sitting in a darkened living room at 3 in the morning, replaying the voicemail he had left me only 12 hours early, just before he died by suicide. I listened, trying to memorize the way he said, "I love you, Bear," trying to decode any of his words that may have indicated this was the last time I'd hear his voice, trying to make sense of the fact my dad was gone.  In this episode, we are continuing to chat about why we talk about mental health.  In part one of this two part episode, Sam shared her story about losing her brother.  This episode is all about Julie losing her dad, the struggles of bi-polar disorder, and the compassion she has learned in her grief journey.Thank you for listening.

This year will be 10 years since I lost my younger brother to suicide.  He was 22 years old.  In this episode, I (Sam) will be sharing about our life leading up to and after his death.  In all transparency, I had my doubts about this episode airing.  I feel like I didn't say enough yet said too much all at the same time.  If my story can make one person feel less alone, it'll be worth it.

Meet Krysta Kluska, a corporate dropout turned confidence coach.  After years of fighting burnout, she is empowering women (and men) to get rid of the layers of "shoulds" in their lives in order to accomplish their dream goals.  In this episode, we chat burnout, mental health, inner child work, healing, how to stick to your New Years goals, and what our word is for 2022.Check Krysta out on Instagram

Happy New Year!On today's episode, we reflect on 2021.  We celebrate our wins and chat about our struggles and what we are taking from it to make 2022 a great year.   Julie reflects on her back surgery and Sam chats about her son going to school for the first time.  There are some real life mom moments with interruptions from kiddos too.We hope you enjoy..

On this weeks episode we speak with Kendra Webster.  Kendra is a mom of 5, two of which she and her husband, Ryan lost to a devastating and incurable disease called SMARD.  Kendra shares her story about Kenzie and Brooks, how she has navigated grief and loss, how she honors her children, and offers advice on showing up for people when their are in their darkest moments. She gives advice on how to talk to and help someone who has suffered any kind of loss, child loss, parent loss... all of it. Kendra is a beautiful soul, with a beautiful story.  She offers hope and light on a very delicate and hard subject and we hope that you learn from her as much as we did.You can follow Kendra on Facebook and Instagram to see what she's up to.  If you want to read about her leggings project, check it out here.

Anyone else feel like Thanksgiving came and went... YESTERDAY and now Christmas is a few days away?  Sam still has tons of presents to wrap and even some to buy.  Julie, as you will hear in this episode, doesn't have much to wrap.This episode is all about the holidays!  We talk about navigating those first holidays after you lose someone, holiday traditions we grew up with, and even some struggles we are having this year.  We hope your holiday season is going well.  But, if you are anxious or feeling anything other than the holiday spirit, we feel you.  (we are you!)xo,Sam & Julie

This is our first episode, so bear with us as we learn to navigate the podcast world!In this episode, we talk about why we decided to start this podcast.  Julie and I are cousins but, have never lived near each other.  We have always been connected and when we both lost our loved ones to suicide, we bonded in a new way.  Speaking out about mental health is something we are both passionate about, so we created a podcast around mental health, motherhood, marriage and overthinking everything in-between.  We hope our stories help you feel more confident and brave and not alone.  We are right there with you!Follow us on social media:IG: @crylaughrepeatpodcastFacebook: @crylaughrepeatpodcast