Stay Classy and Choose Love

Last week was an emotional one, and I’m still learning how to navigate the love, the feelings, and the importance of healthy emotional boundaries. This week, we celebrate Everett’s birthday (and his new driver’s license!), including a little panic over the bright lights. Turns out, knowing how to do something and remembering it when your nerves take over are two very different things! Then we head...

A successful start to night shift has me feeling grateful I took the plunge and started over. But this week also brought some unexpected emotions, sending me back to a season of life when I was learning to find myself all over again. After losing Jeremy, I was lonely, hurting, and trying to figure out who I wanted to be. (Apparently, bangs, eyeliner, and Invisalign were part of the process! 😂) So...

A line dance breakdown leads to an unexpected realization about love, perfection, and the fears that can quietly run our lives. Then, we travel back to a season of loneliness, anger, and a tattoo that became a reminder of the woman I wanted to be. Faith, hope, and love have been guiding me through more than I realized. 💛

This week starts with a hard lesson in parenting: sometimes loving your kid means stepping back, letting them make a mistake, and empowering them to have the hard conversation themselves. It’s a whole new stage of parenting—and I’m learning as I go. A grief class at work then takes me somewhere I didn’t expect: back to the months after losing Jeremy. I talk about the beautiful moments tucked insid...

This week, I’m talking about the unexpected ways life has a sense of humor—like being humbled by a dysrhythmia class at work, only to discover I actually passed. 😂 It got me thinking about how new dreams don’t always feel exciting and inspiring. Sometimes they’re scary, and sometimes they come with a healthy dose of humility. Then I pick up the story again, back in the days after Jeremy’s funeral...

This week, I’m feeling calmer than I have in a long time. Maybe it’s because I’m finally realizing I don’t have to control everything—or convince everyone that I’m doing it right. Todd and I had some good conversations, Everett reminds me that raising a young man means learning when to step back, and hosting the swim team at my house proves that apparently I enjoy having a small army of teenagers...

Sometimes loneliness has very little to do with being alone. In this episode, I begin by sharing what lonely has really meant to me—a feeling rooted much deeper than solitude, in the ache of feeling unseen and unloved by the people who were supposed to know me best. Then I return to one of the most devastating moments of my life: the immediate aftermath of learning Jeremy had died. I tell the stor...

This week, Colleen lets herself be honest about a hard week—missing someone she loves deeply while also making space for the things that bring her back to herself. Time with old friends, afternoons at the pool, and an unforgettable hike through the Colorado woods remind her that healing doesn’t always look like moving on. Sometimes, it looks like simply continuing to live. Then she returns to the...

This week, Colleen gets honest about the emotional roller coaster she’s been riding lately. She opens up about mom guilt, her struggle with perfectionism, and the deeper fear underneath it all—the feeling that she has to be perfect to be lovable. She shares what it looks like to begin healing that part of herself, from being at work on Everett’s first day of school and realizing he was just fine w...

Colleen takes a minute to share an update on her heart as she continues healing from her breakup with Todd and processing the loss of Logan. In the middle of some difficult emotions, she also reflects on how incredibly thankful she is for the new chapter she’s stepping into as a labor and delivery nurse. Then she heads back into the story of becoming parents with Jeremy. From an absolutely inedibl...

Colleen takes a break from her story about her and Jeremy to share a whirlwind week with you. She’s thrilled about her new job and opens up about some recent tough times. Colleen brings a realness to how she copes with heartache and talks about what’s coming up this week.

Colleen takes a minute to reflect on her appreciation for her family despite some of the challenging patterns she experienced growing up and continues to face today. She then dives into the heartwarming season with Jeremy where they prepared to welcome Everett into the world. This episode is full of reflection, a little bit of humor, and a lot of love!

In this episode, Colleen reflects on faith, unanswered prayers, and what it truly means to trust God when life doesn’t unfold the way we hoped.  She also opens up about a memorable marriage retreat, the deeply personal journey of navigating fertility struggles, and a family vacation where, as she puts it, everything seemed to fall apart. Through it all, Colleen shares the moments that felt messy,...

After a heartwarming girls’ trip, Colleen reflects on the incredible friendships and relationships that have carried her through every season of life. She shares what she’s learning about healthy emotional boundaries, why they’ve been so important in her healing journey, and how setting them has helped her grow. Then, she looks back on what she calls The Good Years with Jeremy, a season filled wit...

What does it mean to dream in this season of life? In this episode, Colleen reflects on the dreams that have shaped her journey—from the ones she and Jeremy built together to the new ones she’s learning to embrace today. She also shares honest lessons about marriage, communication, and the pressure she put on herself to be perfect. Looking back, she recognizes how her need for control during stres...

In this episode, Colleen reflects on her and Jeremy’s first year of marriage and the challenges that came with his first deployment. From learning how to stretch a budget to figuring out life in the kitchen (including a few memorable lessons along the way), she shares the real, everyday moments that helped shape them as a young military couple.

In this episode, Colleen shares the whirlwind of becoming a military wife. Colleen looks back on wedding dress shopping, milkshakes that became lasting memories, and the little “God winks” that reminded her she wasn’t alone. She also shares what it was like to begin life as a military wife, packing up for Georgia and navigating those first moments when Jeremy couldn’t be there to help. It’s a stor...

Long before texts and video calls became part of everyday life, love often traveled by mail. In this episode, Colleen shares memories of the letters she received from Jeremy while he was away at basic training, the comfort they brought then and now, and the way they kept their relationship strong across the distance. She also revisits one of their happiest milestones: Jeremy’s unconventional propo...

Fifteen years ago, on June 14, Colleen received the news that would forever change the course of her life. In this special bonus episode, Colleen sits down with one of her closest friends, Katie, who was there when it happened. Together, they reflect on the moments leading up to the news, the shock and heartbreak that followed, and the enduring power of friendship during life’s darkest seasons. Th...

What do you do when you know a major life change is coming? In this episode of Stay Classy and Choose Love, Colleen reflects on the summer before Jeremy enlisted in the Army. From promise rings and water slides to difficult conversations about the future, she shares the memories, emotions, and lessons that came from making the most of that summer together. This episode explores love, uncertainty,...

In Episode 2 of Stay Classy and Choose Love, Colleen explores what it really means to be brave, not in the absence of fear, but in the middle of it. Through heartfelt reflections on her early days with Jeremy, she revisits the vulnerability, uncertainty, and courage that shaped one of the most important relationships of her life. Along the way, she shares how those lessons continue to guide her th...

In this first episode of Stay Classy and Choose Love , Colleen reflects on the unique weight of turning 41 on Memorial Day—a day that has long carried both celebration and remembrance after losing her husband Jeremy in war. Through honest conversation and personal reflection, she explores grief, love, identity, and the quiet beginning of an emotional awakening. This is a story about carrying loss,...