Whatever You Do: Recent Episodes
Abby Schweitzer
Welcome to Whatever You Do, where two best friends chat about life, birth and whatever you do, to the glory of God!
Happy Due Date to Abby & Zion. We celebrated by recording a life update instead of telling you about Zion's birth. Keep praying for Abby as she waits for baby boy to come!
We are finally back after way too long to finally share about Dani's 10th baby Stormie's birth!
We are back after a break! Dani had COVID and Abby gives an update on her health. We talk about our plans for Thanksgiving and the exciting news of our first birth class!
We had the husbands join us for a lively discussion about the importance of family worship in our days and what that looks like in our homes.
Dani is 14 weeks pregnant and talks about symptoms leading to an unexpected ultrasound this week. Abby gives an update on Boaz and how he has been doing on formula. We talk about a giant "free" garage sale type event we are hosting for our church and how our sorting and organizing brought up frustrating sizing issues. And finally, we talk about the ban Abby has had on kids socks in her house and her decision to give them another try.
This is a really slow episode that covers a whole bunch of nothing. We should probably delete it. But listen at your own risk. We cover a lot of subjects but none of them are in depth......including: food storage, sleep schedules, loss, our upcoming church "stuff swap", wanting to pick up our bus, and more!
We talk about a random assortment of topics as we emerge from our recapping of the summer events. Dani is 12 weeks pregnant. Abby is 2 months postpartum. We're trying to be back into normal grooves of life plus some extra!
This is the final episode on the crazy few months of trials we had. We discuss what it is like walking along side each other in pain and rejoicing and the difficulty in doing that at the same time.
On this episode we talk about the 4 weeks after the accident leading up to Bo's birth. We talk about the way God provides in the most intricate details even in the midst of our suffering. He teaches us to trust Him by asking us to live it out and gives us deeper knowing and understanding of who He is in the midst of trials.
On this episode we talk through the details of Abby's car accident and the immediate days following. We tried to hold back the tears but failed to do so, be prepared.
WE.ARE.BACK. We try to catch up on what has happened over the past few months. On this episode we discuss what took place right before Abby's car accident and why Dani spent 5 weeks in Michigan.
We managed to sneak this episode in and share our favorite recipes and then spend way too much time talking about food. We share a bit also about getting back on the bandwagon of life and being diligent in the hard.
This week was still a little bit bumpy but we're seeing light at the end of the tunnel. We give Abby's 30 week update and an update on all my pukey kids. We also give a greater than usual amount of recommends. Enjoy!
We continue on from last week's episode to try to update you all on the events of our lives over the past three weeks. God has continued to show Himself so faithful to provide and be so very present in times of trial.
Abby and Dani talk through the details of Dani's Christmas baby and the events surrounding the loss of this life.
We give updates on our pregnancies! Plural! Its so much fun to be pregnant together again and we are enjoying each day of it, but that doesn't mean that everything is smooth sailing. We talk about the drastic physical and emotional highs, lows and uncertainties Dani is facing in her pregnancy with baby #10. We also talk about the challenges with food/weight gain/future pregnancies Abby is working through right now at 26 weeks pregnant with baby #7. We review so many things we know about God and who He is and our relationship to Him that can be applied to our situations and many others.
We dive into some specific details of the crazy emotionally rollercoaster that was the last week and a half.
We spend the first few minutes talking about new things going on. After that we discuss what our vacations were like growing up and how they are for our own families.
We revisit several topics that we have talked about before. Somehow, they never seem to get less relevant. Enjoy!
We recorded a little bit late, but here we are! We update you on life, Abby's pregnancy, and our love of our new floor cleaner.
Are date nights important for a healthy marriage? What is helpful to your marriage? Listen in to find out some ideas better than date nights!
We talk (again) about ways that life shifts and changes as kids grow up. Then we give a (long) shout out to one of our favorite people and the Ultima Replenisher they brought into our lives. Finally....we dive into the world of "resting faces". Enjoy!!
Abby gives a brief pregnancy update. We talk about life the past 2 weeks since we last recorded. And then we talk about the ways that God has been convicting us and growing us in homeschool planning. We hope you're encouraged!
We discuss our week which was jam-packed with unusual circumstances and events! From homeschool changes, to home makeovers, to chicken pox- we cover it all!
Abby is in her 14th week of her 7th pregnancy and is trying to be faithful in the season she is in, while Dani is working on figuring out a new season of her life and the newness of what's to come.
If you ever wondered what colors we associate with our kids, look no further, we answer those very questions here. But really, this might be the most pointless episode to date. Enjoy!
We answer a listener's question about our thoughts on having children when things in our lives/country/world, etc don't seem easy or stable. We hope others are encouraged!
We talk about how to date a pregnancy and why this can be important. We also talk about Abby's early ultrasound! Then we discuss Dani's ongoing attempt to balance diet, exercise, food and body changes as well as Abby's outlook on these things as she enters a different season.
There are some differences in our families when it comes to Christmas and yet we still do a lot of celebrating together. Hear an update on how Abby is doing trying to not be grumpy during the first trimester. Which do you like better, Costco or Sams?
Listen in on Thanksgiving festivities, our struggles with jealousy and sin and a surprise from one of us!
After taking a break for our road trip and having trouble getting back into the groove of things, we finally recorded! As usual, we talk about vague ideas we aren't quite ready to commit to....then, on the fly, we come up with our TOP 5 in no particular order "advice for a pregnant woman". Will we keep having new episodes each Saturday morning? We are committed to recording...but we all get to find out together if we're falling back into our regular routine or if we'll be changing things up!
More plans are being made for our road trip that we leave in two weeks for and Dani is working away at projects to get the bus ready. Abby is finishing up 8 months of exclusively pumping for Reuben and took lots of pregnancy tests this week that reveal some sin and heart issues. Listen in!
An afternoon recording as we sort out our to do lists and how God pushes Abby out of her comfort zone.
Dani gives a travel update. Then we bounce around between important and unimportant topics and conversations, including but not limited to....
Abby's new water bottle, Allie Beth Stuckey's new book, Abby's new luggage and our differing packing methods/techniques/theories, Jesus being the source that fills us up- not us, and our very different marriage conversation/hangout routines.
Join us this week as we sneak in an episode before Dani leaves for a week long trip to Michigan with her 9 kiddos.
We're joined by our friend Kaci and talk to her about her two births! Plus more! Give it a listen!
We got a last minute idea to live stream while we recorded this podcast episode. We focused on talking about the postpartum period and why we should plan for it, while mixing in listener questions as they popped up! We probably won't do this every time, but it was a lot of fun and we will have to do it again!
Well guys. Listen at your own risk. The title and warning make this sound exciting. But I promise....it's not even a little bit close to exciting. We are basically brain-dead in this episode and talk about a whole lotta nothin'. So you should probably just skip it. If you start to listen and think, "wow, this is really boring and a big waste of my time." Yes. Yes it is. And you can't say we didn't warn you. The last two episodes were some of our best. But after the highest highs come some of the lowest lows, apparently.
We start things off talking about our weeks...including Dani's midweek mall adventure. Then we interview our MYSTERY GUEST about her pregnancy. You'll have to wait patiently for part 2- when we talk about her birth!
This week we talk about how God brings us through different seasons in our lives and every time we get comfortable, He switches it up on us. He is so good to continue to sanctify us and not leave us as we are.
Special Guest Alert! We promised controversy and we delivered. Bottom Line: Kids are a blessing. Get in the Word. See what God says about this. Pray. Trust Him.
Enjoy!
There isn't enough controversy in the world right now so we thought we would add to it and talk about Biblical discipline and spanking.
We hoped to be able to just begin to crack open the conversation on what our rights and responsibilities are when it comes to birth choices, but also choices during a pandemic.
First we talk about homeschooling and the ways God has worked so graciously. We then jumping into answering questions about tips for transition in labor. Keep the questions coming!
These topics don't really go together but on this episode we talked about our current thoughts and struggles with food and then we answered a question on what advice we have for first time home-birthers. Listen in!
First we give an update on the Brown's little baby, then we answer some questions from listeners. How do we balance all the roles we have as wife, mom, sister, friend? How do we give our children all they need when there are so many of them?
God brings things into our life to keep us reliant on Him. He is so gracious to provide for us as He challenges us. Listen in on our rollercoaster of a week and the ways God is working.
Melissa joins us on this episode where we talk about how we really feel about the Covid-19 quarantine.
We talk about how we don't want to talk about the controversy of life right now. Then we talk about everything we've learned about parenting new babies. We wrap things up by Abby diving into some of the areas of her life God is growing her in.
On this episode we talk about some practical things we have tried to implement into our Sabbath celebrations, which of course includes long talks about food. We also give you a not so detailed update about our vlog plans.
We didn't want to talk about THE virus. But also, how can you not? So we tried to stay balanced. And not get too political or opinionated. But we also tried to share a little bit of perspective on the comforts and idols we see it revealing......and that led right into meal planning....again....because food is a pretty significant amount of our time. Also.....we share some special upcoming-in-the-works-not-happening-but-may-someday news!
The episode you may or may not have always been waiting for, episode 50! Join us as we talk birth with our husbands and their perspective.
We spend the first half of this episode talking about how our kids do chores, how and when they can earn money and then take a detour caring for the littlest Brown boys and come back talking about postpartum emotions.
We talk again (still) about all the many aspects of living full lives with many kiddos.....but we actually remember to bring it around to the reasons that give us hope and encouragement in this busy and exhausting season. Enjoy!
Join us as we talk about working on our new normals after babies, some exciting progress in ending abortion and the upcoming bee season.
In case you were hoping to hear about Reuben's birth story on this episode, spoiler alert, not on this episode! Instead, listen to us talk about prodromal labor, end of pregnancy, and Dani's postpartum.
Dani is over a week postpartum and Abby is waiting on meeting her baby any day now. Join us as we discuss this middle we find ourselves in and some thoughts on having people at our births.
Sorry for slacking last week and not having an episode but join us for an update this week on how the Schweitzer's are handling their new puppy, how we are preparing to meet our babies soon and what comforts we like in labor.
We hardly know what day it is, Christmas is fast (but slowly) approaching, and we are slowly preparing for the arrival of our new little buddies. Can you all guess what the Christmas Surprise is going to be at the Schweitzer house? What are your favorite Christmas cookies? I ask that..... and then never even talked about ours. Not our best work, but hey....at least you get something.
After a 2 week disappearance, we jump back into updating on our pregnancies and how Dani is processing growing a big baby again.
Why do we cringe when hearing the word "self-care"? What do we think about shoes and socks? How are we planning for the holidays? I'm sure you are dying to know...
On this episode we talk about how we practically celebrate birthdays in our families, update on our pregnancies and discuss what we are currently eating or not eating.
Does Abby love the pregnancy pillow? Did Melissa ever have her baby? What is Abby naming her baby? How do we process fears towards labor? LISTEN IN TO FIND OUT!
Will Melissa break her own longest pregnancy record? We talk about how even when women have "norms" for their own bodies, each pregnancy can be so different. We also discuss, again, why the predicament of going past 42 weeks hardly even seems like an issue for most women in the US. Enjoy!
We discuss the journey God brought us through wanting to very much be in control of how many kids we had and when, to feeling convicted about letting go of that "control" and trusting God to provide.
We chat about the difficult mental and physical challenges the end of pregnancy brings as we enter into our third trimesters and anticipate the months to come.
Join us as we dive into Abby’s very first birth story with her daughter Gracelyn. On this episode we talk through the different choices Abby made and how her mindset has shifted since then.
First we give some boring life updates....then we continue on with the discussion we started last week. We start with trying to answer "why does being thoughtful and educated in makings decisions surrounding pregnancy and birth even matter anyway?" (We didn't ask the question that clearly, though, but that is what we meant.) The conversation just kept rolling from there......
We've been dragging our feet each week and playing it safe by mostly giving you boring updates about our lives. SURPRISE! This week we dive into some harder conversations. DISCLAIMER We are warning you that this episode may cause lots of emotions and come across as controversial. Our desire is not for controversy and division, but to open pathways in which women in the Christian community can acknowledge hard things and have deeper dialogue regarding the topic of birth and other sensitive issues.
We discuss how difficult it can be to know the balance of how to spend your time, money and energy wisely and well though through while not holding on to your plans and goals as idols. Then we recap the birth class held at Dani's house this week that covered 3rd stage of labor and placentas. Enjoy!
Our friend Skye joins us as we recap our week. We talk about how different each postpartum time can be different regarding cycles returning....not only among different women, but also for the same woman in after each pregnancy. One of the Schweitzers is another year older and we cover some of the birthday festivities. We also lament some of the recurring struggle of keeping motivation going as we keep getting more pregnant.
On this episode Dani and Abby discuss changes in their lives with routines and schedules. Also, find out what Dani has named her baby, and the frustrations Abby is having naming hers. Dani and Abby also answer an question about period products.
We found a few very distracted and interrupted moments as we prepared our glow wands for our gender reveal, to answer a question we got about reading through the WHOLE Bible with our children of all ages. How do we approach the more mature topics in Scripture? Can Cal have a frozen Gogurt? And while we're at it, Dani gives a preview of a book series that the Browns are going to go through with their kids regarding a Biblical worldview of sexuality, puberty and relationships.
What's the progress on Abby's addition? How's are Abby and Dani feeling in their pregnancies? What's the theories on twins? They discuss nutrition and why it matters in your blood volume expanding.
This episode takes a turn back to the roots of our original podcast premise.....talking about birth philosophy. As you will hear, we struggle with knowing exactly where to start and exactly how to express our convictions while leaving plenty of room for our own continuing growth and perspective changes. Whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, we want to bring glory to God....and want to encourage those around us to seek to do the same. What does this look like in birth? We just begin to scratch the surface of a this topic.....again.
Did the Schweitzers get a dog? Listen to the unexpected ways God is calling Abby to submit. We also discuss Dani's attempt to figure out schedules and school subjects and overall life goals and the overall time commitments of a family of 10. Finally, Abby's sudden belly growth has us pondering the potential of twin pregnancies.......stay tuned!
We're boring. In this episode, we give you updates on some of the same old stuff. We'll try to be more exciting next time.
Dani and Abby discuss Abby's predicament of wanting to find out the genders of their babies together, even though Abby also wanted to find out weeks ago and Dani doesn't want to find out at all. Can Abby keep waiting? When will they find out? How will this all go down? No one knows...
Dani and Abby talk about current and previous nursing relationships and experiences with their babies.
Join us on another Friday night as we talk through a bit about our weeks. We then discuss Dani's recent lab results, the blood test she hasn't had yet but is planning to get (rh antibody screen) and why she is planning to get it, and finally wrap things up by once again opening up the discussion of the underlying philosophy of birth and how that affects where, why and how we birth and setting the stage for future controversial conversations.
Dani is now 12 weeks pregnant and Abby is nearly 10 weeks. We talk about making decisions about ultrasounds, finding out genders, give some homeschool updates and discuss unwanted animals.
After some catch up time about random events of the week, Abby and Dani talk through some of the recent struggles they have faced in making decisions surrounding homeschooling, other educational models, curriculum choices and staying accountable.
Today we chat about how we meal plan and our summer adventures with kids doing swim team.
We discuss a book we are reading called "Real Food for Pregnancy" and some changes we are trying this pregnancy.
Here is the Pregnancy Tea recipe we made https://nourishedkitchen.com/pregnancy-tea-recipe/. You can find most, if not all, of the herbs on Amazon.
Hear about how Abby found out she was pregnant, an update on the early weeks in pregnancy for us, and our weekend trip without our babies,
Did Dani get her period? Or does she think she is pregnant? How has God changed Abby's heart and attitude towards serving her husband and family in trying limited and labor-intensive diets over the years? Also....who's Steve?
In this episode we interview our friend Janna and she shares about God's sovereignty and faithfulness in her journey to becoming a wife and mother. God has plans to bring glory to Himself and many times it doesn't happen in the ways we think we'd choose!
On this episode we dive into discussing where we are in our cycles, taking pregnancy tests and some birth talk.
On this episode, we start out chatting about our cycles and a recent ER trip and then dive in deep discussing why we homeschool and how we try to teach our children to look at our culture from a Biblical Worldview, specifically in doing abortion mill ministry.
A few websites we brought up was endabortionnow.com and Babies Are Murdered Here
On this episode Dani gives an update on her trip to Kauai and we talk about how God provides in different ways.
On this episode we introduce our other neighbor, Melissa. We discuss more about how God worked out some details to allow us to all become neighbors 2 year ago, and we try really hard not to be too awkward, and fail.
On Episode 5, we discuss the difference between principles and methods, and how we can live out Biblical principles using different methods. We also talk about how to honor God with our bodies and trying to get them to a healthy place after having a baby. Plus some date night and curly girl method chatting too.
On this episode we discuss physical signs of fertility, how God created these signs and how much we don't have control over wanting to or not wanting to conceive. Ultimately, it is God alone who gives and takes away life and we CAN trust Him!
A good resource to learning more about what physical signs are there when fertile, check out this book "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" by Toni Weschler.
If you haven't listened to Episode 3 yet, listen to Part 1 here
FULL EPISODE
Thoughts on birth control pills, timing and planning pregnancies, and such things.
On this episode, we discuss the beginning of our friendship and give some background on our 12 births to 13 kids.
We wanted to share a bit about ourselves and our families as well as give an overview on why we wanted to start a podcast!