Hannah Gunning, Co-Editor

Hannah Gunning - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Hannah is a former full-time working, now stay-at-home mom of two daughters, ages 8 and 4. She graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Marketing and Management, and has lived in Columbia all her life. She loves to find new ways to enjoy Columbia and the many things it has to offer, both for her family and herself.

Hannah married her husband Robert in 2004, and is in the third year of homeschooling her daughters. She finds the experience both rewarding and challenging, and feels one of the most important jobs as a mother is to instill a love of learning in children.

In addition to a love of writing, Hannah has a passion for art, drawing and painting, and spent some of her time as a student at USC as a political cartoonist for The Gamecock, the University’s newspaper. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with friends, watching any and all Gamecock sports, cooking and reading. Hannah also writes about living with grief, and reflecting on lessons learned through grieving, as well as insights on coping with long term illness of loved ones on her blog, Palindromic Musings.

 

Leah Stuhler, Co-Editor

Leah Iacobacci Stuhler - Columbia SC Moms Blog
After living in the frozen tundra of Western New York, Pennsylvania, and Chicago, Leah was thrilled to move to the warmer climate of South Carolina in 2014. Leah is the mother of a rambunctious “Threenager” named Raylan and a Star Wars obsessed 6-year-old named Giovanni. Her amazing husband Tim works as a Special Ed Physical Education teacher and also proudly serves his country in the Air Force Reserve.
 
Leah has the privilege of being able to work from home part time while raising her two fun loving boys. When she’s not chasing lizards out of her house, Leah enjoys spending time with her friends, reading, going to the beach, photography and writing. Leah started her blog, SecretsofMommyhood, when Giovanni was a baby and enjoys sharing her daily life as a Christian mother, an allergy mom and a military wife. Leah also does some freelance editing work and is currently writing a children’s book, which she hopes to get published in the near future.
 
Leah is beyond excited to be a part of Columbia SC Moms Blog! You can follow her on FacebookPinterestInstagram and Twitter.
 

Photo credit: Photography by Angel Kinard

 

Alexandra Lundahl

Alexandra Lundahl - Columbia SC Moms Blog Contributor

Alexandra was a newspaper journalist and editor for eight years before going back to school for nursing. After the birth of her first child in September 2015, she traded her textbooks for full-time mommyhood, at least for a few years. A true northern girl, she moved to Florida for her first reporter job after graduating from college in Minnesota. There she met her husband, Nick, and they were married in an underwater hotel in the Florida Keys and then remarried in 2014 after “life happened” then brought them back together.Now Alexandra is wading through first-time motherhood while figuring out how to wrestle the tween/teen years and be the best stepmom possible to her stepdaughter. Motherhood is by far the most wonderful and rewarding thing she has ever done, and she loves watching the daily changes in her daughter as she learns about this big world she lives in.

Alexandra moved from Florida to West Columbia at the end of 2014 and enjoys how her mommy groups and new friends are finally helping her learn her way around the greater Columbia area. She loves babywearing, La Leche League meetings, nature walks, camping, creative and artistic projects, and general geekiness, such as board games and painting & playing miniatures games with her husband.

Photo credit: Photography by Angel Kinard

 

Amanda Hamilton

Amanda Hamilton - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Amanda is the self-proclaimed queen of the hyphen: interfaith, breastfeeding, baby-wearing, co-sleeping. Her parenting style can best be described as laid-back but well intentioned, and when she is not protecting her pets from her daughter, Eliza, she works in development at the University of South Carolina from which she has a Bachelor’s degree in English and Secondary Education, so far used in her professional life. Amanda’s husband, Bill, has a degree in technology that he actually applies to his professional life. He is a show-off.

Photo credit: Photography by Angel Kinard

Amanda Rollison

Amanda Rollison | Columbia SC Moms Blog

Amanda and her family live in West Columbia. Her husband works in graphic and web design, and rides in a Christian Motorcycle Club. She has two degrees, one as a cosmetologist (although she doesn’t practice) and an Associate of Art. For the past two years, she has been a stay-at-home mom taking care of their only son. Before that she was a nanny for two kiddos and learned ways to beat the boredom of staying at home. She and her son travel all over the state, going on little adventures, earning her the label “the stay at home mom who’s never home” by her husband. Their favorite thing to do is visit the zoo, because it’s right there in their neighborhood. They also enjoy playdates with other moms from their church, Midtown. Amanda loves thrift shopping, using her creativity and is obsessed with DIY projects. She is so looking forward to being a part of this awesome mom’s community and connecting with everyone.

Ashley Byrd-White

Ashley Byrd-White | Columbia SC Moms Blog

Ashley Byrd-White identifies as a Yankee-Carolinian who was born and raised in the tundra of Upstate, New York but currently calls the Midlands her home. She began her professional career in Buffalo, NY in higher education. She continues her dedication to education at USC working full-time as a Career Development Coach to college students. She currently holds a BA in psychology and an Ed.M. in higher education administration. Moving to Columbia, SC 4 years ago so her husband could pursue his teaching career was the most challenging time in her life … until motherhood! She has been together with her high school sweetheart husband, Chad, for 13 years (married for nearly 4). Ashley is a first-time mom as of February 2016 to Oliver. She loves being a mom, is proud of her continuing breastfeeding journey, and is thankful for her mama tribe. Ashley enjoys spending time with her family, drinking coffee and wine, pinning crafts she will never have time to create, and making her son laugh.

Brandi' Starbuck

Brandi' Starbuck - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Brandi’ is a recent transplant to the Columbia, SC area from Charlotte, NC where she met her husband, Bryan, and where they welcomed their first baby girl, Mackenzie. Now living in Blythewood, SC with a spirited, fun-loving 2-year-old (who looks exactly like her daddy, but acts just like mama) and expecting their second baby (a boy!) at the first of April, they are thrilled to call the Midlands home! Brandi’ juggles working full-time, outside the home, as a property manager of an apartment community in Northeast Columbia, keeping Mackenzie entertained, and occasionally enjoying a date night with her handsome hubby! Lover of shoes, social media resale shops, and all Pinterest recipe boards, she is excited (and terrified) to have two young children and can’t wait to share her journey with others in her writing. Along with their three small dogs that were their first “babies,” they are one small addition away from completing their family! You can expect to see the Starbuck family strolling along the Villages at Sandhill on the weekends, with a cliché and loved cup of Starbucks coffee in their hands, wearing matching tees purchased from a mom-owned Instagram shop.

 

Brittany Arcand

Brittany Arcand - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Brittany is a food writer, recipe developer, and amateur photographer. Originally from Minnesota, she recently moved south and now resides in the Midlands of South Carolina. After marrying a handsome sailor, graduating with a degree in Family and Consumer Education and a minor in American Literature, she committed to staying home to be with her three children: Evelyn (8) Eli (6) and Lane (3). Her love of the written word, coupled with experience in various commercial and private kitchens has fueled a passion for sensible recipes that actually work. Her food blog Brittany’s Pantry was born, combining dishes and menus with the (often humorous) stories of how they came to be. When she isn’t writing and spending her time in the kitchen, she is reading every book she can get her hands on with a giant mug of hot chocolate beside her.

 

Cheryl Glantz Nail

Cheryl Glantz Nail - Columbia SC Moms Blog

The mom of a busy toddler, Cheryl started her blogging and freelance writing career in 2008. She has written articles for several blogs and websites, including 24/Savvy and InterfaithFamily.com. Shortly after moving to Columbia, she turned her love of content writing and social media into a career in communications, currently serving as the Community Relations Director for a local non-profit. Prior to this career change, she enjoyed 10 years in education, both in the classroom and as a curriculum developer. When she isn’t in front of her computer or wiping up baby drool, Cheryl can be found curled up with a young adult novel and a bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream, looking at cats on Instagram, or attempting to be artsy. She blogs at Take a Second Glantz, trolls Pinterest for recipes she’ll probably never cook, and sleep tweets during late-night feedings.

 

Christian Jackson

Christian Jackson | Columbia SC Moms Blog

Faithful follower of Christ. Terrific therapist. Fun friend. Beautiful businesswoman. Motivated mother. Wonderful wife … Christian is lots of things to many people, but her most important jobs are being a wife to her awesome husband and mother to her even more awesome boys, Karter (6) and Omari (3 months).

Professionally, Christian is a mental health therapist, primarily working with survivors of sexual assault and also those who struggle with substance use addictions. Christian volunteers her time within various community settings, offering consultation regarding best practices in nonprofit operations and programs, presenting on different topics, facilitating groups, and more! She is also a proud member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., where she is able to offer more time to support her community. She took a recent leap of faith by starting her own business: Revised by Ray, a proofreading and copy editing firm that assists with helping her clients perfect pretty much anything on paper. You can follow her on her website Revised By Ray and on Instagram to check out how she involves her children in her new business on the literacy front!

How does she do it all? It’s a question she gets a lot. Christian gives credit to God and her amazing support system. The experiences and testimonies Christian has makes for amusing anecdotes and meaningful insight. She’s your homegirl’s homegirl from around the way with an appreciation for people from all walks of life!

 

Jena Martin

jena martin moms blog

Jena is mom to four kiddos, all within the last three years through the beautiful mess of foster care and adoption. Two sets of siblings, ages 11 and 7, 2 and 11 months, make up her family, along with her husband Brad and 2 pups Maya Jane and Buddy.

Brad is a chemist and is the co-founder of Engineered Marine Coatings, and Jena currently serves as the Director of Special Populations and Quality for Family Connection of South Carolina, ensuring our underserved and at risk children receives appropriate and timely special education services. 

Jena is an advocate for the deaf and hard of hearing after identifying her second son had unilateral hearing loss upon placement with her and Brad through foster care. Serving on multiple local and statewide boards for the well being of children in our state, she represents both a parent and professional voice, hoping to impact system changes for our state’s most vulnerable. 

After graduating from the University of South Carolina with a BA in English and minor in Early Childhood development in 2004, Jena worked as a Certified Child Life Specialist at Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital for six years, with experience in the Pediatric ICU and inpatient Hematology/Oncology unit and palliative care. Jena previously supervised the child life clinical experience with Columbia College and Palmetto Health as an adjunct professor.

After a brief year in Boone, NC working at a non-profit for women and children who survived domestic violence and sexual assault, Jena and her husband returned to Columbia where she served as the Palliative Care Coordinator for Hands of Hope and Hospice Care of South Carolina. She was the first Certified Child Life Specialist to provide therapeutic, psychosocial care to children and their siblings in their home.

When not working and juggling life with four kiddos, Jena enjoys writing, learning ASL, bible study, hosting Matilda Jane trunk shows, restaurant hopping and being anywhere near the water with a good book. Current life motto: “there is no balance, just enjoy the ride and move from surviving to thriving.”

 

Katie Stevens

Katie Stevens | Columbia SC Moms Blog

A transplant from the frigid winters of New Hampshire, Katie and her family moved to the ‘Famously Hot’ Columbia in Fall 2015.  She is married to her high school sweetheart Richard, and together they have three little humans; Maddox (5), Thatcher (3) and Chloe (10m), and a dog, Cabela.  Katie spends her week days at her 9-5 in at USC School of Medicine, rushing her oldest to soccer practice, and letting the kids have cereal for dinner, cause ‘ain’t nobody got time for that’. The weekends (which she lives for), are spent at the state park, the zoo, or a magnitude of other fun places.

As a fan of calligraphy, hand lettering, and DIY projects that all require hours of free time and buckets of money, you can find Katie scrolling Pinterest during late night feeding sessions, filling her boards with beautiful projects she’ll never have the time to do. Katie also enjoys spending her ‘spare’ time running her blog From North to South.

 

Katrina Siron

Katrina Siron - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Katrina is a mom of three great kids and has been married to her first love for more than 10 years. She’s grateful to have a job that allows her the flexibility to both work from home some days and in the office others. On the surface, Katrina is pretty crunchy – she loved breastfeeding, babywearing, co-sleeping, natural birth, and the idea of homeschooling — but still loved her stroller, having her kids in their own beds at some point, her epidural was fantastic, and she’s sending the kids through public school. Most of all she loves the fact that we have all these choices, which makes life interesting! One of her favorite experiences was moving to Japan in 2002 to live as an adult dependent with her USMC family. It was an amazing experience, and if it weren’t for that, she probably wouldn’t ever have met her husband.

Photo credit: Photography by Angel Kinard

 

Kimberly Poovey

Kimberly Poovey

Kimberly is a writer, speaker, wife, and new(ish) mom. She directs the teen pregnancy prevention program for Daybreak pregnancy center, and is a founder of Pearls, an organization that serves women in the sex industry and fights human trafficking in the Midlands. She studied English literature at Florida Atlantic University, and though she will always be a Florida girl at heart, she has called Columbia home for the last seven years. She and her husband Braden have been married for a fabulous decade, and they welcomed their first child, Declan Finn, into the world on June 3rd, 2015. She is a contributor for Scary Mommy, the Huffington Post, and The Mighty. You can find her wandering around the great outdoors, drinking far too much coffee at her favorite local shops, and on Facebook.

 

Kristen McGuire

kristen website picture

Kristen is a wife, mother and full-time special education teacher. Born in Connecticut, she has lived in Washington, DC, North Carolina and now happily calls Columbia home. Her children, the tortoise and the hare, were adopted from South Korea and are now 7 and 4. This “Dawson’s Creek” enthusiast was convinced if she scored a spot as an extra on the show, a famous actor would fall in love with her and whisk her away to pursue a life of parties and Prada. She scored the spot, but not the actor. With a chronic case of Wanderlust, she can be found day-tripping throughout the Carolinas and planning excursions to visit family across the US. She could be a contestant on “World’s Worst Cook” as she has ruined instant pudding not once … but twice.

 

Kristi Bothur

kristi bothur - Columbia SC Moms Blog

Kristi Bothur is a pastor’s wife, mother, writer, and former public school teacher for English for Speakers of Other Languages. She grew up all over the United States as an Air Force brat, but moved to Columbia in the 1990s to attend Columbia International University, and has called the Midlands “home” ever since. Her days are kept full with the antics and activities of her children, homeschooling through Classical Conversations, participating in MOPS and church activities, writing, and leading her Columbia-based pregnancy loss ministry, Naomi’s Circle. Kristi is a contributing editor for Rainbows and Redemption: Encouragement for the Journey of Pregnancy After Loss and a co-author (with our lovely contributor Alexa Bigwarfe) of Sunshine After the Storm: A Survival Guide for the Grieving Mother. She shares her thoughts about parenting, loss, cloth diapers, homeschooling, babywearing, and how to integrate faith and life on her blog, This Side of Heaven.

 

Lacie Hooks

Lacie is a true God-fearing Southern woman. She was raised the same small town that she lives in now. As an alumni of the University of South Carolina and Columbia College, she understands and believes in the absolute power of education. Lacie received her Bachelor of Education in 2014, and now works as an elementary school teacher. She received her Masters of Education from Columbia College in 2017.

Lacie married a southern man from that same small town. They meet in 2010 and married in 2014. Their family grew in 2015 with the birth of their only biological son, Gatlin. The family of three lived happily until 2017. The Lord decided then that the family should open their home to those in need as foster parents. The home is ready to receive those blessings now.

In her spare time, Lacie enjoys reading so much so that Gatlin would have been named after the wonderful Harper Lee if he had been a girl. Prison documentaries are a vice that her husband does not understand. Finally, Lacie enjoys spending time with her five siblings and their amazing children.