Chattanooga Moms

:: Social Media Assistant::

Jordan

I’m Jordan, and I have small town, southern Florida Panhandle roots that have been transplanted to the foothills of the Smokies. I am a very proud wife and mom of two. I love to be outdoors, travel, spend time with family, sit on the front porch, take a nap, do some yoga, and you’ll always find us at our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, on Sunday. My husband and I met in high school and the rest is history! Married at 19 and made parents at 22, we haven’t necessarily taken the traditional route, but it’s been the best ride. My kids keep me on my toes daily and if I’m not running around after them, then I am inevitably dealing with our human-like animals or trying to spend five minutes with my husband.

I do my best to find humor in all things and keep motherhood real – the good and the bad. I struggled in my transition to Mom and found ways to soothe my soul with writing and yoga.  I am by no means an expert at this whole parenting thing (truly, I’m just winging it), but I never want another woman to feel alone on the journey of motherhood and that’s what you will find at the core of my writing. I am the owner and founder of Mama Yoga here in East Tennessee where I create community for moms and encourage self-care with mindful movement in prenatal, postnatal, and traditional yoga instruction.

You can follow along with my writing and yoga adventures on Facebook, Instagram, and on my website, www.jordanmorgan.com

:: Content Creator ::

Cassidy 

Hello, friends! My name is Cassidy, and I’ve been a Chattanooga area native my entire life. In my opinion, there’s no better place to raise a family. I graduated from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga in 2010 with a degree in middle grades education, and I’m currently working on my Master’s degree. I met my husband on a blind date in college and never looked back. We got married in 2009, and we’ve settled down with our three boys and two Goldendoodles right at the foot of Lookout Mountain.

Our oldest son is Cooper. He fits the mold of “oldest child” perfectly, too. He’s very smart, serious, artistic, and loves to boss around his little brothers. He could run our household if I needed him to!  Our middle son is Clark.  He’s very wild, sweet, and has such a fun-loving spirit!  He’s my little protector.  The baby of the family is Abel. He’s a little firecracker!  He never stops talking and goes wide open until he crashes!

I’ve been working in education since I graduated, and I’ve taught a little bit of everything. For the last several years I’ve been teaching 4th grade language arts, and it’s the best! My husband owns and operates several FedEx Ground routes in the Chattanooga area, so that keeps him very busy. We’re also really involved in our church.

My hobbies include reading, photography, eating cookie dough, and listening to boy jokes about different bodily functions. We prefer to watch tennis and golf over SEC football, and we may get kicked out of the South for that one of these days. We also love to travel and see new places.

I’m just a simple mom and wife trying to raise godly little men, but I’m very thankful to be a part of this community. It really does take a village to raise a family!

:: Assistant Project & Event Coordinator ::

Jessica

Hello! I’m Jessica. I grew up in Northern Indiana where I joined the Navy right out of high school. After 3 deployments and some amazing port calls I married a fellow sailor and began a family. We moved around a few times in search of a forever city. After a few visits to the Chattanooga area we fell in love and set in motion our move to the highly recommended Signal Mountain.

I am slowly chipping away at my marketing degree while working part time at a local marketing agency. I am also a huge portrait photography lover and have a small studio up here on Signal Mountain where I shoot luxury portrait for children and women. You can check out my work at www.venyaportrait.com.

We have 2 kiddos, Jazzy(6) who’s larger than life and Joseph(3) who is taking his sweet time growing up. We have always planned to adopt as well and are currently awaiting a match for a big sister in need of a loving home. I also volunteer as a court advocate for abused and neglected children in the area. It’s a great program and you can check out more at https://www.tncasa.org/.

You can find me binging true crime podcasts and dark drama shows late at night. I’m a serial hobbyist, I’ll never turn down an iced coffee, I actually try hard not to cuss like a sailor and I love meeting different kinds of people.

Melissa

Greetings!  I’m Melissa, and I am an East Tennessean through and through.  I grew up outside of Knoxville and came to college here in Chattanooga.  Despite a 3-year interruption of trying out the Nashville area, Chattanooga has my heart.  I love the mountains and water, the localized area, the personality of the city, and the small town feel that Chattanooga has to offer.

I’ve been married to my wonderful husband, the Urban Woodsman, for over 10 years, and we have two rambunctious boys – Owen and Jude.  They are 19 months apart, and life with two that close in age is never dull!

I work full-time in higher education, and I love what I do!  I love working with others to help them solve their problems.  College was one of the best times in my life, and in some ways, I get to live it again at work every day!  I have worked full-time throughout my time as a mom, and that presents its own share of interesting experiences.

Motherhood has various forms as does family, and I am an equal opportunist when it comes to what being a mom should look like!  In an attempt for full disclosure, here are some answers to burning questions: 1) I work full-time, but am in full support of all moms (full-time working, part-time working, stay-at-home) because being a mom is hard work 2) we are not planning to have any more children 3) I mostly formula-fed both of my kids after attempts at breastfeeding 4) both boys are c-section babies 5) my kids are not vegetable eaters 6) I do occasionally spank my children 7) I do vaccinate.  Whew…

In my spare time, I love to spend time with my family, binge watch Netflix (I take recommendations), watch college football, spend time outside, and crack stupid jokes (sarcasm is my preferred language).  I love to write and I love to know what other moms are thinking, so this gig seems like the perfect balance!

Jessie, Senior Contributor

Hi! I am Jessie, a 30-something stay-at-home mom and writer, editor, and blogger. My husband and I relocated to Chattanooga from Nashville in 2009 for him to teach at Baylor School. I’ve lived in Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia, but Tennessee is home sweet home now. We live on campus at Baylor, where my husband is a dorm parent and we enjoy the dining hall meals, pool, and gorgeous view of the Tennessee River!

I have four kids and am always trying to figure out how I was entrusted with this when in my head I still feel 15.

After working for a few years in editing for LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, I “retired” to stay home with my daughter, but I continue to work for them and others on a freelance basis.

I write for HomeLife and ParentLife magazines and have edited Bible studies and books. I share about parenting, recipes, faith, and being an abysmal housekeeper at JessieWeaver.com and published an e-devotional called Parenting Parables in 2014. You can find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, too.

Beth, Senior Contributor

I am a Chattanooga mom to three kids.  I grew up in Chattanooga and enjoying everything the city has to offer.  It has been so much fun to see it grow and change over time.  I graduated from Baylor in 1999 then moved to Nashville where I spent four years at Vanderbilt University and graduated with a BA in Political Science in 2003.  I decided I wanted to go to dental school near the end of my time at Vanderbilt, so I returned to Chattanooga to attend UTC for a year.  I was able to take the science classes for dental school and was also lucky to be able to walk on and play tennis for the UTC women’s tennis team here.  After my year back in Chattanooga, I moved to Memphis where I attended UT College of Dentistry for four years and received my dental degree in 2008.  I also met my husband, Brian, in dental school!  We were in the same class, so we both finished up at the same time.

When we finished dental school, we moved to New Orleans where he did an orthodontic residency at LSU.  We lived there for two years, and I worked as a general dentist.  I decided I really loved working on kids so I applied to a pediatric dental residency and was accepted at UT.  Two weeks after my husband finished up at LSU Orthodontics, I started my two year residency in pediatric dentistry, and we were back in Memphis again.

I finished up there (and had our son, Cooper, in the middle of the first and second year of residency), and we headed to Chattanooga to FINALLY settle permanently.  I am working as a pediatric dentist and my husband as an orthodontist in the area.  We have been here for a little over four years and have had two more kids.  We now have Cooper (5), Caroline (3), and Lucy (1) and two dogs, and we live in North Chattanooga.  We love the area and everything that it has to offer, and I love being home and close to family.  We enjoy being outside and we love dining out in Chattanooga.  It has been fun to see how much the city has grown and changed in just the time we have been here.

Danielle, Senior Contributor

Raised in Ringgold, GA, I have always considered myself a near enough resident of the “big city”, Chattanooga. Through various moves, I have found myself living right next door to the house I grew up in. While my family’s physical address is not in Chattanooga, we spend a lot of time there in local shops, hiking and finding new swimming holes, and enjoying the food! Staying home to raise and school three children, ages 14, 10, and 9 has been an adjustment from my lifelong dream of being a motivational speaker/super model/teacher/doctor/writer. Can you tell that I’m a bit of a dreamer? Despite those titles not being official, I have found that the big dreams we have as little ones weave their way into our adult lives. For this reason, I am always encouraging my children to dream big!

Quickly building a family from one kid to three, the last being a year left me in a whirlwind. With fear of “losing myself” in post homebirth recovery, cloth diapers, and minimal adult conversation, I attached myself to the paper of a journal. It was through those journals that I started a blog to share all things natural and random hobbies with a spice of real life with seasons of depression and lessons I have learned walking with God. I believe writing for ourselves does a deep soul purpose, and that unlocks us to talk with others as well. I believe all want to be heard, and we all have room at the table even as Mommas with crazy schedules. We need each other! Happy to be sharing a piece of my life and lessons learned along the way here for you, Mommas!

Dawn, Senior Contributor

Hey, y’all! I’m Dawn! I was born and raised in Gallatin, Tennessee and could not wait to get out of there! I attended Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia where I majored in English (Literature) and Economics. For years before having my older son I worked in marketing communications and advertising which I loved. After having Brendan in 2003, I became a stay-at-home mom but nearly lost my mind from loneliness and boredom. In 2005, I began freelancing as a writer and shortly thereafter started my own blog. Our family grew with little brother Beckett arriving at the end of 2006. Over the years, I’ve been challenged with postpartum depression and with balancing my yearning for meaning with being “just a mom.” I found great delight in being a part of our Atlanta public school’s PTA where I served in nearly every role available. In 2015, I returned to a full-time job as Marketing Director for a small company only to find out 8 months later we would be moving to Chattanooga. Moving is in the top 3 hardest things I’ve ever done (ask me in person and I might tell you the other 2) and led to a full-blown depression at the beginning of 2017. Mindfulness practices, a little faith, and making the conscious choice to find joy everywhere have been my way out.

I’m into art, movies, music, TV, pop culture, nerdy stuff like Doctor Who and Game of Thrones and I know more than my share about the DC Universe, Pokemon, Minecraft, Battlefield, and all things LEGO thanks to having two boys.

Sarah G., Senior Contributor

Hi, my name is Sarah. I’m a New Orleans native with roots in many other places including Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and Kentucky. I am a Physical Therapist with a passion for preventative wellness. I’ve taken a step back from my career to be home while my husband starts his job in hospital administration and our family adjusts to a new and exciting city!

We have one busy, almost-3 year old (Mary Ellen), one baby on the way, and one 13 year old cat, Gus. Our family loves traveling for pleasure and to visit our siblings that live coast to coast.

My husband and I are big college football fans, except we cheer for different teams. On fall Saturdays, you can find us hollering for both Auburn Tigers (my husband) and LSU Tigers (me). We are excited to live close to The Great State, as my husband calls it, since he has kept season tickets for over 10 years now!

I would consider my “hobbies” non-negotiable activities. I enjoy all things related to health and wellness, such as exercise, cooking nutritious meals, spending time outdoors and staying involved with our church. I LOVE helping other moms find balance in their lives through more affordable, holistic solutions to mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. Finding community during motherhood is so important and contributes to a happier, healthier world to bring up our little ones.

Kimberly

Hi, my name is Kimberly and I am a new stay at home mom. I am a nomad of sorts. Born in Arkansas to a military family of five children, I was speaking German by the age of 4. I have lived in Germany, England, and the United States and have traveled to countless other countries. In 2006 I moved to Providence, Rhode Island in order to attend Johnson & Wales University where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Food Service Management, an Associate’s in Culinary Arts, and an Associate’s in Baking and Pastry Arts. So you could say that I’m a foodie.  After college I worked in Collegiate Ministry for many years and loved every second of it. I would do it again in a heartbeat if given the chance today. I met my husband, Wade, in 2011 through Collegiate Ministry but we didn’t start dating until 2015. Our entire relationship was long distance and we saw each other a total of 10 times before our wedding. After our wedding in 2016, I moved to Chattanooga where my husband is an associate pastor and I can say that this move was one of the hardest things I had ever done. After two years of marriage we welcomed our daughter into the world this past October. She is a joy, loves to smile, and has turned our world upside down. If I’m not in the kitchen baking or cooking, you can find me outside enjoying nature.

Rebecca

Hello! My name is Rebecca Walden Miller Heid. Seems like a lot of names squeezed in there, doesn’t it?

I am married to Andrew Heid, a traveling production electrician, and we are blessed to have one daughter, LillieMarie, who turned three in October.

I was born in Ohio and raised in Walker County, Georgia. I graduated with a BA from Georgia College and State University followed by a MA from UTC in Creative Writing. I worked for the Chattanooga Times Free Press as a staff writer before moving to Nashville to be with my husband, where I became a homemaker and mother. I recently returned from a four-year stint in Nashville and am overjoyed to be back home.

I am so thankful to be raising my daughter in the best city in the world. I am now surrounded by family and friends, feeling rejuvenated and eager to introduce my daughter to the best Chattanooga has to offer.

I am a writer by trade but have gotten a bit rusty as I have focused on mommy duties more than writing for the last few years.

I aim to change that.

I am currently working on self-publishing my first Fantasy novel and am in the midst of writing an Urban Fantasy series that I hope to publish this year as well. Beyond my writing, mothering, and mounds of laundry, I tend to enjoy fiber arts projects and am eagerly teaching myself how to bobbin weave.

I can’t wait to contribute and be part of the mommy community of Chattanooga! Let’s figure out this motherhood thing together!

Amy

My name is Amy, and I’m a married mother to three wonderful boys. Originally from Southern California, I’ve called Chattanooga home since 2010. I hold a Master of Social Work degree and absolutely love both my day job and my second role as an adjunct university professor. I’m passionate about my faith, my family, and traveling whenever I get the chance. My family and I enjoy everything Chattanooga has to offer!

Amanda

Hi, guys! Amanda here. By day I am a higher education professional, and “by 24/7” I’m a pastor’s wife and mama to TWO kiddos– a super energetic toddler and a super active little one. I was born and raised in Little Rock, AR, but consider Memphis, TN my second home. There, I attended the University of Memphis, where I met my husband at his freshmen orientation. I was actually his orientation guide, and let’s just say the rest is history. Today, we reside in beautiful Chattanooga, where my husband pastors a local church while I wrangle our toddlers and hold down this fort we call home.

When it comes to motherhood, it is by far the hardest “job” I’ve ever had, but the one that gives me the greatest joy. I spend my days exhausted, for the most part, trying to balance it all, and know that things will only get more intense when we add another little one to the mix in a few short months. The more the merrier though, so I’m sure another clown joining our circus will only make life more fun.

When I get a break from working, wifing, or momming, I enjoy quiet time with Jesus, crafting, decorating, people watching, and scaring myself silly indulging in shows I have no business watching on Discovery I.D.

Tiffany

Hey ya’ll! My name is Tiffany Wiltshire and I am a wife and mother of two. I am also blessed to be a bonus mom. I’m married to the love of my life, Ellis who works in insurance and is a fabulous DJ. We have a really cool blended family where the oldest in our home is 15 (Silas) and our youngest is 18 months (Elijah). So our household includes discussions from learning to drive to learning to potty. And then there’s my daughter, Katie (10), who is the only girl and remains the pre-teen princess of our home. I am a Chattanooga native and a 15-year veteran high school English teacher. In my spare time, I work as a free-lance makeup artist. Although teaching is my passion, I really enjoy enhancing beauty and helping women get “glammed-up.” I am a creative by nature; loving all things art, music and theatre.

Fun fact: Though my bio seems pretty outgoing; I am definitely an introvert and really enjoy sitting on my deck with my plant babies. I’m really excited to blog about things I’ve learned during my mom journey and hope to learn from other great moms too!

Christina

Chasity

Paige

Kalah

Elizabeth