The Fountains of Carrots Podcast

  Our most frequently asked question we get from listeners is how do you practice self-care in your busy lives? And how do you find a balance in nourishing your body and soul to be fit for service to your family without diving into self-absorption? That’s exactly what we got to chat with Kate Wicker about! Kate is a mom of many as well as a wife and writer living in Georgia. She used to be a frequent blogger (and Christy and Haley were avid readers) and is the author of Weightless and a new book from Ave Maria Press titled Getting Past Perfect: How to Find Joy and Grace in the Messiness of Motherhood. We were so inspired by what Kate had to share about our primary identity being children of God rather than being mothers, finding time for self-care before we’re drowning, asking for help when we need it, and staying real about our struggles in our vocation. Grab some laundry to fold or a cup of tea and enjoy! This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Kate’s books: Getting Past Perfect Weightless Connect with Kate: * Kate’s site * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

Sometimes Providence really just takes the wheel when we’re looking for good podcast guests. At least that’s the way it happened with this interview with Dr. Jessica Hooten Wilson. Christy read a fantastic piece penned by Jessica on a topic dear to our hearts, told Haley about it, and Haley realized she knew Jessica from back in the day at Baylor when they were both students! Jessica is a mother, speaker, author, and Associate Professor of Creative Writing at John Brown University. She has published on the works of Flannery O’Connor, Dostoevsky, and Walker Percy. She’s releasing A Guide to Walker Percy’s Novels in 2018 and is currently preparing Flannery O’Connor’s unfinished novel Why Do the Heathen Rage? for publication. We had a great conversation about reading works that make us really uncomfortable and force us to wrestle with difficult ideas and spiritual realities. We chatted about how writers like O’Connor, Dostoevsky, and Percy offer a mirror to their readers to examine dark parts of their souls. Jessica shared wonderful advice about how to dive in to some of the greats that aren’t easy reads.  And we even touched on some TV shows and films with stories that are worth wrestling with. We know you’ll be inspired by this conversation so brew a cup of tea and enjoy! This post contains Amazon affiliate links. Links to what we mentioned in today’s episode: Jessica’s interview with Hallie Lord Jessica’s article about scandalized reading Walker Percy Weekend Mad Men The Brothers Karamazov St. Augustine’s Confessions Moana Our podcast episode about why we love Flannery O’Connor Jessica’s books: Giving the Devil His Due: Flannery O’Connor and The Brothers Karamazov Walker Percy, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and the Search for Influence Connect with Jessica: * Jessica’s site Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and 

    After Haley met Justina Kopp at a recent gathering for Catholic bloggers, we knew we had to have her on the show for this episode airing just before Mother’s Day. Justina lives in Minnesota, blogs at Love Multiplied, and is a Catholic wife and mom to….wait for it….quadruplets! In this episode Justina shares all about discovering she was pregnant with quads, her pregnancy, birth, and surviving her first six months as a mother to four sweet babies. We also discuss issues in maternal care, support for moms in stressful circumstances, and more. It was such a treat to talk to Justina and hear her absolutely crazy story!  So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy. Links to what we mentioned in today’s episode: Sancta Nomina’s baby name consultation post for the quads Justina’s book recommendation for moms of multiples: When You’re Expecting Twins, Triplets, or Quads Connect with Justina: * Justina’s blog * Instagram * Twitter   And a huge thanks to this episode’s sponsor: Sister Moon Graphics, a Catholic card company. Their online shop provides both greeting cards and blank correspondence cards for all seasons of the liturgical year!  The designs are inspired by traditional Medieval illuminated manuscript, and seek to bring the beautiful dignity of the Christian faith to all who receive them. Cards are sold individually as greeting cards and blank correspondence cards, and also as sets of six. Through May 31, Fountains of Carrots listeners can receive 20% off their order with the coupon code “fountains” at check-out. Head on over to visit sistermoongraphics.com! Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and 

  We’re excited to welcome Brandon McGinley for a second time on the podcast! Brandon is editor of EWTN publishing and he also edited a great book about Catholic fatherhood titled The Joys and Challenges of Family Life. He lives in Pennsylvania with his lovely wife and three kids. In this episode we discuss whether the Church should aim to be attractive to modernity by aligning it’s liturgy and evangelization with “the spirit of the age” or whether we should focus instead on offering beauty, goodness, and truth. We bemoan the past few decades of unfortunate church architecture and music (we may or may not bring up a few of our least favorite “hymns” and ugliest church sightings) but we focus on the transcendent, even unfamiliar nature of our Catholic faith and how we can really bring that to the forefront of our liturgy and evangelization. We cover a lot of ground and have a great time tossing around some weighty ideas so grab a cup of coffee and join us! Links to what we mentioned in today’s episode: Our first episode with Brandon: The Challenges and Joys of Catholic Fatherhood Dappled Things (a Catholic quarterly of ideas, faith, and art) Brandon’s book: The Joys and Challenges of Family Life Connect with Brandon: * Brandon’s web site * Twitter And don’t forget that you can get Haley’s ebook Making Big Life Changes Together: Pursuing Your Dreams as a Couple for 97% off as part of the 2017 Ultimate Homemaking Bundle! (As well as the Literary Medicine Cabinet printable.) The sale ends Monday, May 1st at midnight so be sure to check it out before it’s gone! Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on 

  We’ve been big fans of writer Laura Kelly Fanucci for years. Haley and Christy have had the pleasure of meeting her in person and she’s been on our list of folks we’d love to interview for ages. Our conversation with Laura was beautiful, poignant and compelling and we know you’re going to be inspired and moved by her story. Laura, her husband, and her three little boys live in Minnesota. In addition to her vocation as a wife and mama, Laura is an author and theologian and blogs at MotheringSpirit.com. So many people have been touched by her vulnerable writing about her family’s journey in grief after the death of Laura’s newborn twin daughters early last year. Laura generously shares that story in this episode and how she and her husband Franco experienced something very supernatural in the NICU as they were saying goodbye to one of their daughters. It’s truly amazing. While there is plenty of heavy material in this episode, we did a lot of laughing, too. We discussed the idea of vocation or calling.  We confessed how different the reality of motherhood is from how we imagined it would be. And we talked about the intertwining of love, grief, and joy and how Christ is present with us in suffering. So grab a basket of laundry (and maybe a box of kleenex) and listen in! Links to what we mentioned in today’s episode: Bridget Jones Baby Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl Shadowlands (film about C.S. Lewis based on his experience shared in A Grief Observed) The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Laura’s books: Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting Living Your Discipleship: Seven ways to express your deepest calling Mercy: God’s Nature, Our Challenge Connect with Laura: * Laura’s blog: Mothering Spirit * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, 

  Every so often we tell the listeners ahead of time about a great book we want to discuss and have a little FoC “book club.”  This time it’s The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery–author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables series.  It’s a book we’ve both been meaning to read for ages and it was so wonderful that we wish we’d read it sooner! It is definitely a comfort read worthy of being enjoyed every year. The main character, Valancy Stirling, is a 29-year-old “spinster” in the eyes of her oppressive extended family. When she discovers that she has a fatal heart condition with only months to live, she decides to go out and live her life like she’s never had the courage to do before. The result is an absolutely delightful tale of sacrifice, joie-de-vivre, and….since it’s LMM, a great romance. We delve into everything from how to pronounce “Valancy” to the controversial “did they or didn’t they” conversation and everything in between  in today’s book episode! Whether you had a chance to pick up the novel or not, we think you’re going to love this episode. Today’s book: The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery Other books we talked about: The Anne series by L.M. Montgomery The Emily series by L.M. Montgomery And check out our previous book episodes! We’ll definitely be chatting more about The Blue Castle in our Facebook group so be sure to join in over there! Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes,

  We are so thrilled to have the wonderful Lisa Hendey, founder of CatholicMom.com with us for this episode! Lisa is the bestselling author of the Chime Travelers children’s fiction series, The Grace of Yes, The Handbook for Catholic Moms and A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms. Her work is all over the Catholic internet! She currently lives in Los Angeles with her family and we’re jealous that she lives in Bishop Barron’s diocese. In this episode we talked about spiritually guiding our kids during those sweet sacramental years when they receive First Holy Communion and nurturing the ownership they begin to have in their faith as older children. We love that Lisa’s Chime Traveler fictional series about time traveling into the lives of the saints is written for that age range because there’s not enough good stuff for kids between the picture book stage and the middle school stage! Introducing our kids to the stories of the saints is such a great way to help them get engaged with their faith. It’s been a few episodes since we got deep into “mom stuff” so we took the opportunity to ask for Lisa’s wisdom on loving our kids, keeping our own dreams alive, and modeling faith for our kids. We know you’ll be inspired by all that Lisa has to share so grab a pile of laundry and a cup of coffee and enjoy! Links to what we mentioned in today’s episode: Catholic Mom Chime Traveler’s series at Amazon ChimeTravelerKids.com UnBound Connect with Lisa: * Lisa’s blog: CatholicMom.com * Twitter * Facebook Next Book Club Episode: And remember — we’re reading Lucy Maud Montgomery’s The Blue Castle for our next book club episode coming up in two weeks. If you’d like to read along get your copy today! Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and 

  Nell O’Leary of the Whole Parenting Family blog is just one of our favorite people in the universe. She is a mom of four, a former lawyer, an Etsy shop owner, and she works for the ministry Blessed Is She as an editor. We’ve both had the treat of visiting her beautiful historic home in St. Paul, MN that she and her husband Anthony bought from her parents. So she’s raising her family in the house she grew up in, how cool is that?! Anyone who has experienced Nell’s positivity knows that after 20 minutes on the phone with her, you feel so encouraged and loved. In dreary February with Lent looming, we definitely needed some inspiration from Nell and thought you might, too. We’re thrilled that she agreed to join us on the podcast to talk Lent! In this episode we shared about preparing for Lent and talked about the practical plans we have for making the most of this special liturgical season. We also discussed dealing with discouragement in that mid-Lent slump and reflected on the big picture of what this season can help us achieve in our pursuit of spiritual growth and holiness. So grab a pile of laundry and a cup of coffee and enjoy! Links to what we mentioned in today’s episode: Blessed Is She ministry The Blessed Is She Lenten Journal (as a digital download–the print journals are sold out!) The Passion of the Christ (film) Our episode Taking the “Womp Womp” Out of Lent with Bonnie Engstrom  Our episode Get Inspired for Lent with Meg Hunter-Kilmer   Connect with Nell: * Nell’s’s blog: Whole Parenting Family * Instagram * Facebook * Nell’s Etsy Shop: Whole Parenting Goods Next Book Club Episode: And remember — we’re reading Lucy Maud Montgomery’s The Blue Castle for our next book club episode coming up in March. If you’d like to read along get your copy today! Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog

  We’re delighted to have with us Shannon Evans of the blog, We, A Great Parade. We have a wonderful conversation today with Shannon as she shares with us her family’s story of international adoption and how her son has transformed not only her faith but how she sees the world. Shannon speaks with passion and honesty when it comes to both the joys and challenges of adoption, and in turn, how all of us can contribute to a society that supports life and those who suffer in our own communities. We are so happy to have such an inspiring but also practical conversation on these very important topics, we hope that it’s an episode full of food for thought. Links to what we mentioned in today’s episode: Holly Fish The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky FoC 060: The Sisterhood of the Traveling Mom Jeans with Blythe Fike Safe Families Young Lives Adoption from Foster Care (US) Shannan Martin Connect with Shannon: * Shannon’s blog: We, A Great Parade * Instagram * Facebook *  Upside Down Podcast  Next Book Club Episode: And remember — we’re reading Lucy Maud Montgomery’s The Blue Castle for our next book club episode coming up in March. If you’d like to read along get your copy today!   Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

  It’s a Q&A episode! Every so often we gather questions from listeners in the Facebook group and answer them (between tangents, of course). This particular episode we focused on the questions we got about organizing our lives and homes as well as what’s working for us spiritually. We cover everything from schedules to meal planning (or lack thereof) to our prayer lives. So grab a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy! Things we talked about: The Buy Nothing Project Magnificat Laudate app Blessed Is She journals Catholic Woman’s Companion Planner Haley post: How I’m Organizing My Life Right Now Other Q&A episodes: Episode 26: Fountains of Carrots Answer Your Questions Episode 40: How Small Can We Go and Other Questions Answered Episodes that answer other questions asked in the FB group: How we find time to read: Episode 8. How we deal with social media: Our interview with Kendra Tierney. Next book club episode: We’re reading L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle for our next FoC book club episode so grab a copy so you can read along! Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests,

  Blythe Fike has been on our list of folks we’d love to interview for ages! She’s basically one of our favorite people and as Haley discovered when hanging out with Blythe in real life, she’s a top notch storyteller. As in, you’ll be laughing so hard you’re crying kind of storyteller. We’re so thrilled that she was able to join us on the podcast this week! Blythe is a blogger at The Fike Life, wife to Kirby, and mom to seven kids. She lives in sunny LA in a fantastic mid-century home. Blythe has a great conversion story and is full of love for her Catholic faith. She’s also the person everyone should be following on SnapChat and Instagram. In this episode Blythe shares about converting to Catholicism after growing up in the Baptist church as a pastor’s kid. It’s a great story! We covered some pretty deep theology, but we also covered some light and hilarious topics. We were crying with mirth at her stories about her former life in a early 2000’s pop group. Blythe is such a joyful person that it can’t help but rub off on you!  So if you’re ready to laugh, grab your cup of coffee and enjoy. Links for this episode: The YouTube video about Catholicism featuring Blythe and her family by SoulPancake Blythe’s brother’s band: The Head and the Heart Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire Ministries Scott Hahn’s books How to connect with Blythe: * Blythe’s blog * Instagram * Facebook Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.

When we realized it had been awhile since we’d recorded an episode that focused on Catholic single life, we knew Christina Grace Dehan was the right person to chat with! We’ve been following Christina  over at her blog The Evangelista for ages. She writes about everything from fashion to Pope Benedict XVI and has been beautifully open about the challenges of Catholic single life and vulnerable about her journey to the altar. Christina is a speaker, writer, and former high school Theology teacher who resides in central Texas and Haley is so glad they’re neighbors now! She writes at her blog and for other sites about personal growth, relationships, the benefits of therapy, and faith. And for the past couple of months she’s been very busy with wedding plans for her Christmastide wedding! In this episode we talk about the challenges that Catholic single folks face in modern life (particularly the womenfolk), how to encourage and support single friends, and how to prepare for seasons like engagement and marriage. We chat Catholic weddings and Christina also shares her dating and engagement story with us and it is NOT to be missed. So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy! Links for this episode: Christina’s post: My Engagement Is Not a Fairy Tale How to connect with Christina: * Christina’s blog * Instagram * Facebook * Twitter     Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at Fountains of Carrots.com.

  It’s Advent! Since it’s a favorite season of ours, we just had to devote a whole episode to Advent chat.  It’s such a lovely time of year, but if we’re not careful we can take on a whole load of stress instead of enjoy a season of refreshment and renewal. We wanted to talk about the Advent struggle and what we’ve learned over the years about being nourished by observing Advent and avoiding the pressure of making Christmas perfect. In this episode we share about how we observe Advent with our families, how we bring quiet into our homes (and into our own whirring brains!), the importance of self-care so we don’t get burnt out before Christmas, and (of course) what we like reading during this season. So grab a cup of holiday tea and enjoy! Music for Advent we talked about: Advent Playlist: Wonder: Carrots for Michaelmas Advent Playlist: Sleepers, Wake!: Carrots for Michaelmas Advent at Ephesus by the Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles Book Suggestions for Advent we talked about: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas The Reed of God by Carryl Houselander Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives by Pope Benedict XVI Blessed is She Advent Journal by Elizabeth Foss Comfort & Joy: Living the Liturgy Through the Advent Season by  Elizabeth Foss The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home by Leila Lawler The Catholic Woman’s Companion (Planner by Nancy Bandzuch that Haley loves)  And here’s a discount code for it (not sure when it expires,

  We’ve had several questions lately about 20th century Catholic writer, Flannery O’Connor in the Facebook group. And since we share a deep and enduring love for Flannery, it wasn’t hard to convince us that she deserved her very own episode. In this conversation we discussed why we love Flannery, tips for where to start if you’re unfamiliar with her works, some typical reactions when reading her for the first time,  why she inspires us so, and whether we think there’s any chance she’ll ever become St. Flannery of Milledgeville. So grab a cup of coffee (or a glass of sweet tea if you want to really dive deep into Flannery’s world) and enjoy! Books we talked about in this episode: A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O’Connor Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor The Violent Bear It Away by Flannery O’Connor Wise Blood by Flannery O’Connor The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O’Connor Flannery O’Connor and the Christ-Haunted South by Ralph Wood The article that mentions the Flannery documentary film: Flannery O’Connor’s Genius and Grace: William Doino, Jr. for First Things Haley’s post, 10 Things I Love About Flannery O’Connor Christy’s post, Will We Read Blogs in 50 Years Like We Read Flannery O’Connor’s Letters Christy’s post,

  This episode is sponsored by our friends at CheruBalm. A few months ago, we happened upon Kristyn Brown’s amazing Saints Project when scrolling through Instagram and we were hooked. We knew we wanted to share her work with you and get a behind the scenes look at the project. Kristyn is a wife, mama, and a photographer who was inspired to start photographing people to portray different saints. In this episode she shares the story of how the project began, how she chooses which saints to portray (as well as the faces to photograph), and how this creative project has brought her into closer friendships with the saints. Part way through the interview, Christy realized that this episode would air on All Saints Day! We call that positively providential! We loved talking to Kristyn about our favorite saints and how they’ve entered our lives and helped us in our journey of faith. We know you’ll love getting to know Kristyn (and the saints she brings to life in her photographs) in this episode, so grab a cup of coffee and enjoy! How to connect with Kristyn: * Kristyn’s website * Instagram * Kristyn’s Etsy Shop This episode is generously sponsored by CheruBalm, a lovely little Catholic company that makes handmade chrism-scented baby balm out of natural ingredients safe for sensitive skin. If you’ve ever had the pleasure of smelling a newly baptized baby’s forehead, you know how good that chrism scent smells! These lovely tubes of baby balm are perfect for stocking gifts, baptismal gifts, or baby shower gifts. And CheruBalm has generously offered Fountains of Carrots listeners a lovely 20% off discount code! Just head over to the FoC discount page to grab your code and enjoy some swoonworthy scents for baby’s skin. (And psst! Haley’s running a CheruBalm giveaway this week, so you can head over there to enter and four lucky winners will receive some chrism-scented balm.) Come hang out with us! * The Fountains of Carrots Raspberry Cordial Social Club on Facebook (our Facebook group) * Connect with Haley on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and her blog * Connect with Christy on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog You can listen to us on iTunes, and we’d love a quick rating or review. If you have an android device we’re also on Stitcher. And as always, you can find all links, show notes, upcoming guests, and listen to all episodes at