Alison
I was born and raised in rural Connecticut. Upon graduating high school in Connecticut, I moved to Utah and attended BYU for 2 semesters. Even though I had wanted to attend BYU for as long as I could remember, I had a really hard time there. I was ready to move back to Connecticut (even though I knew there was nothing left for me there) but my mom wouldn’t let me. I struggled along for my first two semesters. After that first year I decided to attend Utah Valley State College (now Utah Valley University) and had a much better experience; for one thing, classes were much smaller and less overwhelming for me. I’ve now lived in Utah for nearly 27 years. My husband, Scott, and I have married for 21 years. We have 4 unique, neurodivergent, and awesome children, ages 18, 15, 12, and 8. I love my family, animals, cooking, eating food, being outdoors, and traveling.
Scott
I have lived in Utah for most of my life, but spent a decade between 6 and 16 in several other states. Music lessons and going to swim practice were my lot in life as I was growing up. Around the age of 15 I started learning computer programming, which I pursued with great fervor. An attempt was made to major in Computer Science in college, but Calculus got the better of me. Eventually, multimedia became my focus. Even then, I’ve been a PHP developer and Systems Engineer for the better part of my career. When it all comes down to it, I just want to be a better person. There is a lot of negative static in the world. Wouldn’t it be better if we all joined together to make it a better place? The goal here is to unite where there is so much divisiveness. We want to spread peace where there is contention. We’d love to have you join us in this effort.
How We Got Started
Here’s a little story as told by Alison:
The early years of our marriage threw us some curveballs; from lost jobs, a poor job market, moving across the country while very pregnant with our first child, having our baby, moving back to Utah when our baby was only 3 months old, and living with family, amongst other things. As a result of these curveballs, and others, I realized about 5 or so years ago that I was stuck in survival mode. I knew that something had to change; I also knew that that change had to happen from within myself. I was so consumed with taking care of my growing children, making sure they had clothes and shoes that fit that I forgot to take care of myself.
I began by simply deciding to purchase a couple new outfits, or a dress, for myself a couple times a year. It was a start. Then, about 3 or 4 years ago I was talking with a friend who told me about a podcast by Jody Moore (a Christian life coach) called “Better than Happy”. I was intrigued and started listening to it right away. This helped me realize that I was holding the weight of the my family and the world, and therefore, hurting myself. “Better than Happy” also helped me understand just how truly powerful our thoughts are. Shortly after I began binging “Better than Happy”, I stumbled across a podcast called “Light the Fight” by David Kozlowski (a licensed marriage and family therapist and high school teacher in Utah) and Heidi Swapp (a mom who lost her teenaged son to suicide). I loved listening to their conversations; I learned so much about my family relationships and how to parent my growing children from them. The podcast shares real, relatable stories and gives real-life advice about relationships. It’s not just a parenting podcast, it’s a relationship podcast.
In fact, their bio states:
“Where you’re at. Stories you can relate to. Real-life advice. Shine a light on the fights your kid faces every day.”
Between the two podcasts, I learned so much more about myself and my upbringing; I started to see that I needed to make changes for myself and my children. I knew that by my small changes, that my husband and children would begin to change as well. Just like losing weight, it is taking time. It doesn’t happen overnight but it is happening.
It was also during this time that I really began noticing all the negativity in the world. It’s everywhere you look. BUT another thing I noticed was all the good there is in the world. What you look for is what you’re going to see. Positivity and negativity are both contagious. I’m choosing to spread positivity.
Despite all the bad that surrounds us, I believe there is still truly so much more good.
My hope is that you will begin seeing and spreading more goodness as well.