Mama of the Wild Crew Podcast

18- You're like, Very Pregnant: Hope for Hydrops with Konnor Lanker

Alexis Schmoker Season 1 Episode 18

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Konnor Lanker's story will stop you in your tracks. When doctors diagnosed her first daughter with hydrops—a rare, life-threatening condition with fluid building up in her baby's body—at 31 weeks pregnant, Konnor's journey into motherhood became one of medical uncertainties and deep faith. Doctors performed an experimental treatment using poppy seed oil that had only been tried once before at their hospital, with unsuccessful results. The miracle that followed changed everything.

Now 35 weeks pregnant with her second daughter, Konnor found herself facing the impossible again: the same diagnosis doctors said had virtually no genetic likelihood of recurring. Yet within weeks of beginning community prayers, the condition mysteriously cleared from scans. These medical journeys have shaped Konnor's perspective on motherhood, faith, and what truly matters.

Beyond medical challenges, Konnor opens up about balancing motherhood with her pursuit of cosmetology school, creating a career that allows flexibility to be present for her children while still contributing financially. She shares how becoming a mother transformed her priorities and deepened her relationship with God in ways she never anticipated.

What resonates most is Konnor's intentionality about building a home where faith is woven into everyday moments—from playing worship music to praying multiple times daily with her spirited toddler Hallie, who now faithfully prays for her baby sister. Konnor's legacy of faith, passed down from her grandmother and mother, continues as she raises daughters who understand that faith isn't just a Sunday commitment but a way of life.

Whether you're navigating your own medical uncertainties, juggling education with motherhood, or simply trying to find purpose in the beautiful chaos of raising little ones, Konnor's story reminds us that we don't have to do it alone. Subscribe now and join our community of mothers embracing the wild, messy, joy-filled journey together.

It would mean the world to me if you would like, subscribe leave a review and/or share with a friend if you enjoyed this episode! Please find me on Instagram, tag me, comment, or DM me. Let me know what you enjoyed and what you’d like to hear next. I love hearing from you!

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XO, Alexis Schmoker

Mama of the Wild Crew



📸: A heartfelt thank you to Jordan Allen of Cr00ked Teeth Photography for capturing this stunning cover photo.

Alexis Schmoker:

Welcome to Mama of the Wild Crew podcast, the podcast where we embrace the messy, wild, beautiful journey of motherhood together. I'm your host, alexa Schmoker, mama of two beautiful kiddos, wife, nurse and lover of Jesus. Motherhood is full of hard moments, unexpected chaos and those days where you just really don't have it all together. But in the midst of it all, there is so much joy. On this podcast, we're diving into the real, honest conversations about motherhood the challenges, the triumphs and everything in between. We'll hear the stories of incredible moms from all walks of life, share wisdom, laughter and let's be real probably a few tears, and we're going to discover how to embrace the joy in this chaos. So, whether you're rocking a baby to sleep, folding that never-ending pile of laundry or sneaking away for a quiet moment with your coffee, welcome mama. You're not alone here. Hit, subscribe and join me on this wild adventure of motherhood. I can't wait to do this journey with you. Hey, mamas, and welcome back to mama at the wild Crew podcast. I'm so glad you're here.

Alexis Schmoker:

Today's conversation is one that has stayed with me long before we have recorded it. I'm sitting down with Connor Lanker, a mom who's walking through pregnancy, raising a spirited toddler and going back to school while trusting God through some very real unknowns. Connor's story holds up so many layers, from navigating unexpected diagnosis to finding purpose in a new season, to building a home where faith is front and center. Her heart is steady, her honesty is refreshing and I know you're going to feel seen in the way she talks about motherhood, identity and holding joy and fear at the same time. And she is also 35 weeks pregnant and we were just talking before that. She's got like that pregnancy brain. So, guys, I know we have all been there. Welcome, connor. Tell us a little bit about you and your family.

Konnor Lanker:

Hi, so I'm excited to be talking with you today. I'm Connor and I'm married to Caleb and I'm Hallie's mom and I'm expecting Parker's shoe to come anytime in the next month. Hallie's mom and I'm expecting Parker Sue to come anytime in the next month.

Konnor Lanker:

Um, I was a CAPA at OSU, so I think we have that in common. But, um, I have a degree from OSU and I have my associates in interior design too, but I don't use it, um, and I'm currently in cosmetology school, so I'm just a collector of degrees and certificates. Thanks, but Caleb and I met in college while we were working at Camp War Eagle in Arkansas. Over the summer. He went to K-State and I went to OSU. He is a chiropractor and he just opened his own clinic in my hometown. Um, hallie is very strong willed, she's joyful and she has taught me more about God's grace than I have ever imagined. Uh, parker is due soon and her journey is already shaping her faith in big ways. After Caleb's chiropractic school in Kansas city, we moved back to my hometown of Cushing, oklahoma, to be close to family, which has been such a blessing. Hometown of Cushing.

Alexis Schmoker:

Oklahoma to be close to family, which has been such a blessing. Oh, okay, so do you? Do you know Bailey Cook from college or from or?

Konnor Lanker:

both, so from from college, like that's when I met her.

Alexis Schmoker:

But um, like pretty quickly I figured out like who all she was related to yeah, yeah, she's a small town yeah it is a small town, how fun, okay, and I was looking up war eagle camp before we got on here because I did not know what that was. It looks straight up out of like parent trap oh, it is, it is, and no air conditioning.

Konnor Lanker:

Um yeah, it's rough in it, for sure it's right it fun.

Alexis Schmoker:

but it is so fun, yes. So did you go there as a camper too, or you just went back as a counselor?

Konnor Lanker:

Um, yeah, I didn't go there as a camper and neither did Caleb, um, cause he's from Kansas and the campus in Arkansas. Um and uh, I just kind of ended up like getting hooked up with some people in college that like recommended the camp and, um, yeah, just ended up being there and that's where I met Kayla. How fun, yeah, super fun place oh well.

Alexis Schmoker:

And then I was like, oh, it was Hallie Parker.

Konnor Lanker:

Yes, the parent was intentional yeah, yeah, how cute.

Alexis Schmoker:

Oh, I love that, okay, so, so we're going to dive into the podcast question. So you know, as moms, we can absolutely be crushing it and one little thing leads us to a mom fail. So I literally have so many I cannot even keep track. It is like daily, multiple times a day. So, connor, hit us with one of your cringiest mom fails.

Konnor Lanker:

Um, so I'm gonna hit you with like a more like cute one, not like, oh my gosh, that's terrible. First, um, so currently, potty training oh, I'm trying to get that done before Parker is born. Um, but potty training is already hard, but when you're 35 weeks pregnant, just like crawling on the ground cleaning up pee, um it, it's not cute, it's not fun, and I'm not a crier. And our day one I just sobbed multiple times. She would pee, she'd have a puddle, she'd run through it and there's just pee everywhere and it's a lot.

Alexis Schmoker:

I did the same thing. I was determined that she needed to be out of diapers before we had another one in diapers and she kind of got there. But once Wilder came, it's like it just snapped into place, like she just decided that like she was big sister and babies wear diapers and she goes potty in the potty. So it was like all that stress beforehand. All of a sudden she just like got it okay, that's actually so encouraging to hear.

Alexis Schmoker:

I hope that that like makes things click for I hope so too, because everyone had told us like, oh, they'll have a regression and everything. So I was kind of planning for that, like, oh, she's gonna have some sort of regression, but I feel like for some reason she just took it as like oh, I am not the baby, yeah, and I am big sister, right.

Konnor Lanker:

So I hope that's how that works out. But she's doing better, she's learning, but we're just having to be patient with her for sure.

Alexis Schmoker:

Yeah, and that's hard, like the glamorous life of motherhood, yeah, okay. So I do not know a whole lot about. Is it high drops? Is that how you pronounce it? Okay, so for me and for others who do not know, can you explain what high drops is and then take us back to Hallie's diagnosis? Those early NICU days, what were you feeling, as not only a mom but a first time mom, walking through that and now with Parker Sue, facing some of the same fears? How did it impact your heart? How have you seen God's steady hand in the unknown?

Konnor Lanker:

So high drops is a condition where fluid builds up in a baby's body while they're in the womb. So it's really rare, it's life-threatening and has a really low survival rate. Hallie was diagnosed when I was 31 weeks pregnant and she was born at 32. It took them a long time but they figured out that her high drops was caused by a malformation in her lymphatic system. So actually, like high drops they explained it to me this pregnancy better.

Konnor Lanker:

High drops is like a symptom of an underlying issue. So it can be caused by thousands of things, but it's just basically just swelling fluid retention that makes the organ shut down. Um. So born at 32 weeks and she had shunts placed like three days before she was born. Um. So I was awake during that surgery super crazy um. But they went through my belly and placed shunts in her chest to uh drain fluid off of her um and then, thankfully, her lungs started developing because of that and she started taking practice breaths in the womb. Um. So yeah, I mean that was super scary, just like the feeling of the unknown and just like not knowing if she would survive.

Konnor Lanker:

So she was in the NICU for a long time. It took them a long time to figure out what to do. But they figured out that it was a malformation in her lymphatic system through the scan that they did, where there were a whole bunch of holes just throughout her whole body. So the fluid wasn't circulating correctly because it was leaking through those holes, and so they ended up injecting her with poppy seed oil into her lymphatic system and it went and filled all those holes and sealed them up With poppy seed oil. Yeah, what in the world? Yeah, super crazy with poppy seed oil. Yeah, yeah, world, yeah, super crazy. And they didn't tell me at the time, but they had only done it one other time before at the hospital and it was it was like eight years prior and that kid didn't survive and like, yeah, like, so it was like super experimental but super cool that she was able to get that treatment.

Alexis Schmoker:

Yeah, wow, okay, and then tell us a little bit about your journey with Parker Sue.

Konnor Lanker:

Yes, so sorry, I'll scroll down here a little bit. Um, so, yeah, so now facing some similar fears with Parker, um, I've just kind of had to choose to trust again. Um, I mean, genetically, the likelihood of this happening again was non-existent. Um, so we definitely like have some questions just for, like, future kids or like if we can't have more kids.

Konnor Lanker:

And um, just because, like, there obviously is a genetic issue, but it's like how they explained it was like they don't know everything genetically, so like just because nothing came back genetically doesn't mean it's not a genetic issue, and just cause it's such like a niche problem that it's not being researched. But God has definitely like steadied my heart and reminding me that he is the same always, even when everything feels uncertain, and I almost felt like Parker's diagnosis was a wake up call to have the same level of gratitude for Hallie's life that I did on the day that she came home from the NICU. Every day I'll never forget what God did, but I think that sometimes it's easy to look at her being completely healthy now and forget how bad it was and how thankful I should be. Yeah, that makes sense.

Alexis Schmoker:

Yeah, so Parker was diagnosed with it as well.

Konnor Lanker:

Yes, so she was diagnosed. They started to tell me at like 12 weeks that something looked off. They started to tell me at like 12 weeks that something looked off and then at 20 weeks we got the like formal diagnosis from the MFM Wow. And then we had like a weekly scan every week after that and I think it was two weeks later they said that there was literally nothing on the scan.

Alexis Schmoker:

Wow, yeah, amazing.

Konnor Lanker:

Yeah, it's really. It's really cool. It's like I did the same thing this time as last time, where, like, I posted about it and just ask people to pray, and I totally think that has made all the difference.

Alexis Schmoker:

Right, oh, because that's a true miracle, yeah, I mean, oh, that's amazing Well good. Well, I hope that you guys are just feeling that peace and that God just guides you through the end of this last month with your pregnancy.

Konnor Lanker:

Yeah, definitely.

Alexis Schmoker:

Delivery. Yeah, that you're excited, yeah, super excited. Yeah, with delivery. Yeah, that you're excited because, yeah, super excited, yeah, with crew pearl too, just kind of having some complications as well.

Konnor Lanker:

I know like that just excitement, but also that fear too yeah, it's kind of I'm sure you felt the same way where there's a lot of things that it's like I'm almost like a first-time mom with a lot of things, because it's like I don't know what a newborn is like and I don't. I don't know, I've never been this pregnant, and there's just a lot of things because it's like I don't know what a newborn is like and I don't. I don't know I've never been this pregnant, and there's just a lot of things like that. That's like kind of cool because I get to experience it for the first time, even though it's the second time yeah, oh yeah.

Alexis Schmoker:

And like with Wilder's birth too, it was so nice, like the whole, from the time we checked in to the time we had him, like I had been like on my induction I got my epidural, we were about to have him and the doctor came in and she's like we're about to have a baby, like, and we were excited and smiling and like my husband's like, yeah, let's do it. You know where. That was not our experience the first time and it's like I was just so grateful to have like that exciting, beautiful experience where you're just the normal, normal, yeah, yeah, I feel that and I know there's other moms out there too that I've had both ways as well. So you are again very pregnant, you've got a toddler and you are back in school yes, in school cosmetology, you're a superhero, okay. So what inspired that decision? What challenges or wins have you faced, and what do you hope your girls see one day in this example from you?

Konnor Lanker:

So I actually ended up like I think it was two weeks ago I decided to like go. It was two weeks ago. I decided to like go ahead and take my maternity leave, which was which it stunk so much, because I had two weeks left, oh, to graduate. But I was having a lot of like consistent contractions just from being stressed and I was like I can, I can come back two weeks after she's born, It'll be okay.

Konnor Lanker:

But yeah, as far as choosing to go back to school, I've kind of always struggled with knowing what I wanted to do with life. I'm the youngest in the family. I never grew up around kids, so Hallie was really like my first experience around a kid before. And now I feel like my true purpose is like to be a good mom and to raise kids that serve the Lord, and I feel like I kind of just like switched my life choices and like career goals to like center around that. Yeah. So I just felt like working in hair and just doing all that. It gives me the flexibility to make my own schedule and to be kind of a stay at home mom and just work around with um, like just be there for my kids whenever and show up for everything. So, um, yeah, that, while also, just you know, contributing financially and caring for people.

Alexis Schmoker:

Hey there, wild Crew Mamas, some super exciting news. If you're like me, these days any day is a hat day. Literally, probably every day is a hat day, and we have two new hats for Mama of the Wild Crew podcast. I am so excited and huge shout out to my sister-in-law, brie, over at Schmokey Designs, for taking these ideas and bringing them to life. We have Mama of the Wild Crew podcast hat and we also have the cutest hat. It says motherhood is my ministry. And ain't that the truth, guys? Head on over to our Instagram at Mama of the Wild Crew underscore podcast, dm me or comment on one of the posts and let us know that you want your hat today.

Alexis Schmoker:

Growing up, our parents had a super special tradition. We kept this big stork in our garage and whenever someone, either in town or one of our friends, had a baby, we would all load up and go over to their house and put this stork in their yard to help them celebrate. It was one of my favorite childhood memories and my sister, addison Sewell, has carried on that tradition, memories. And my sister, addison Sewell, has carried on that tradition. She is the proud owner of Owasso Storks, offering personalized stork deliveries to families celebrating the arrival of a new baby Whether it's a baby announcement, a baby shower or to celebrate the birth of a little one, owasso Storks is the perfect, thoughtful, sentimental gift.

Alexis Schmoker:

There are even options to celebrate proud big siblings and even those furry little family members. For a sweet, memorable gift. Reach out to Owasso Storks. Check them out on Instagram. That's at Owasso Storks, at O-W-A-S-S-O-S-T-O-R-K-S, and you can find their contact info in the show notes. Guys, this is just the sweetest gift. I have personally been blessed by a stork from Owasso Storks. Before, owasso Storks was a thing and it was just the sweetest thing, so definitely reach out to Owasso Storks.

Konnor Lanker:

Cosmetology school while being pregnant and raising a toddler has not been easy. It's been kind of messy, a little bit exhausting. I'm so sorry. No, you're fine. But yeah, I want my girls to know that they can do hard things and that obedience to God's call doesn't always look easy. And I hope that they see that I've pushed through and finished what I started, um, and I hope that they grow up knowing that stepping out in faith, even when it's uncomfortable, is worth it and that they were part of the reason I kept going. Um, missing out on time with Hallie has been really hard, but my parents have been really amazing. I've taken care of her every day while I've been in school for the last year.

Alexis Schmoker:

Oh, that's so nice to have that community and we're going to kind of dive into that as well. I totally get what you mean about like changing your career ideas or goals or whatever it may be, cause I kind of did the same thing. Like I was working in the ER, I like wanted to go back to nurse practitioner school, like that was my whole goal and I never thought I would like want to be a stay at home mom. I was never even on my radar. And then once I had kids, like I changed into it with nursing. It's so flexible. So I changed into like a sales role where I could be really like hybrid most of the time and not miss anything. And it's, it's not that, that's not my job, it's not my passion anymore, it's that's not it, but it's not my life. Like right, I feel like it has really like shifted. Like before I really did like what was it live to work, and now I work to live. Do I say that right or is that backwards?

Alexis Schmoker:

I think so. That's my mom brain too.

Konnor Lanker:

Yeah, is that word? That's gotta be the one to ask, right?

Alexis Schmoker:

now. Yeah so, and I'm like it's just kind of the season, like the season will come back again where the kids are bigger and in school and then you can refocus. But I completely understand, like just wanting to have that balance.

Konnor Lanker:

Yeah, be there for them, okay it's actually, um, it's actually really nice, caleb. So the place that we got for him, it's actually, um, it's actually really nice, caleb. So the place that we got for him, it's an old doctor's office, so it has like a whole bunch of little rooms in it, and so I ended up taking one of the rooms and that's where we're putting my like little mini salon in. Oh, no way, so you guys, yeah, together, yes, and so that will be nice. And then when Parker's here, I think I'll probably just work and take her with me so I can breastfeed, and then, um, I think we'll probably like just make one of the rooms into like a little nursery and yeah bring the kids when we have to.

Alexis Schmoker:

Oh yeah, you just definitely have to. My husband's a soccer coach, so at his soccer field we have a room that, like we have a couch in. We've got I've got different formula diapers of all sizes, we've got all of our toys from like other kids. I mean you really just have to, like, make a comfortable space where it's going to be at.

Konnor Lanker:

Yes, yeah, it's totally possible. I think it'll be nice.

Alexis Schmoker:

Yeah, oh, that'll be so nice. That's exciting. And you said that you know motherhood makes you feel your truest best self and I love that. So how has the identity?

Konnor Lanker:

grown through the hardest moments, and how has God used those unseen or use those seasons to shape who you are today? Um, so I think being a mom has definitely put everything into perspective, like what's important and what really doesn't matter. Um, just like with breastfeeding, I really don't care if I have a few extra pounds to lose because, like, my goal for like that first year after birth is basically just eating and nourishing my body so that I can make, you know, good milk for them, and just, uh, I just think that just goes out into everything where just a lot of things just don't matter as long as my kids are taken care of.

Alexis Schmoker:

And um, yeah, I just it's a lot of things don't matter. Yeah, it puts everything into perspective. A girl, another girl I talked to she libby. She was talking about like how she just realized things are not that serious. Yeah, like you get so hung up on things and you're like it's not that serious. Yeah, it's not.

Konnor Lanker:

There's certain things that matter and that is not one yes, yeah, I definitely think, like just with um, how these medical issues perker's medical issues in the past like um, it's just definitely like made me depend on the lord, and I mean, when there's literally nothing else you can do but pray for your kid, I mean that's it truly just like I feel like I've never felt so just like reliant on the Lord, as, since I've been a mom, I think I just spend the whole day in prayer a lot of times, just like throughout little things, just like for protection for her and um, yeah, that's, that's been like one of the coolest things about being a mom is just like that. I just I feel like it's just naturally brought me closer to the Lord.

Alexis Schmoker:

Yeah, oh, absolutely, and I love how you talked about, too, whenever you started posting about it, and other people were praying for you too. That is amazing. Like I think that has been something that you know. Social media has so many good, bad things, whatever. Through social media, though, that has been one of the most amazing things. I feel, like that you've like just seen from your story, from other people's story, like that if you do ask for prayer, like people will pray for you.

Alexis Schmoker:

And they're praying for your children, and there's nothing more comforting, I think, as a mom, than knowing that other people like love and pray for your kids.

Konnor Lanker:

Yes, definitely, yes, definitely. And that, like that, makes me think of like when she was in the NICU and like when there were nurses that she had, that like I knew. I just knew that they were Christian. I just felt like a lot more peaceful about it, because I was like I feel like they're praying for my baby, they're loving on my baby. And like that just makes a huge difference to me too.

Alexis Schmoker:

Oh, yeah, it does. And, speaking of other people, that love on your baby. So you, you guys, live around family and, like you said, your kids are always around family. So my kids are the same way. My mother-in-law keeps both my kids majority of the time and all of our cousins are here, like all of our siblings are here, so then they've got cousins just everywhere. It's great, it seriously is so. You said that your daughters are also kind of surrounded by the same kind of love and that you were raised by strong women of faith yourself. So how has that legacy shaped the way that you parent and how are you intentionally weaving Jesus into your home, your girls' daily lives and the relationships they're building with people around them?

Konnor Lanker:

So, yeah, I was raised by some really strong, faithful women and men and now I see how much that shaped me. Prayer, scripture and worship were always woven into everyday life. I had a really wonderful grandma that took care of me and my cousins every day and that has been like into adulthood like one of the greatest gifts. Um, just because I grew up with my cousins like they were siblings and like now like we, we still talk every day and just like love on each other's kids and that's been such a blessing. Um.

Konnor Lanker:

So, yeah, my grandma, my other grandma, like we just had a lot of like really good Christian influences in our lives growing up. But Caleb and I are definitely intentional about bringing Jesus into our home through worship, music playing and taking her to church and praying with her multiple times a day. And praying with her multiple times a day. Hallie's definitely growing up surrounded by cousins, grandparents and people who will speak truth over her, and that's really important to us. And that village has been such a gift and it reminds me that I don't have to do that alone. I want my daughters to grow up knowing that faith isn't just a Sunday thing and it's a way of life, and I hope I raise daughters that want to instill the same values in their own families.

Alexis Schmoker:

Oh, that's beautiful. And then it's like someday you're going to be the grandma.

Konnor Lanker:

Yes, and I hope that. Then I think that, like my mom, she saw how my grandma took care of us and like we my grandma passed away about a year ago and like we, each of the grandkids, we all spoke at her funeral, and for my grandpa too, when cause they both passed like pretty close by, and I think my mom was like I want somebody to speak like that about my you know, I want Hallie to talk about that and like, think as highly as you guys did of your gram, think as highly as you guys did of your gram. So, yeah, I just it's definitely like just the legacy that they have instilled in our family, like I think it's just set a really good standard for, like how to love each other and care for each other.

Alexis Schmoker:

Oh, absolutely, and, like I said, we're I've been very blessed like to kind of come from the same type of family and, you know, with my grandparents and my parents and Jordan, my husband is kind of the same way, like we've, like I said, been very blessed to have very similar upbringings. He's an all boy family and we're an all girl family, so it's different in the sense of boy versus girl. But you know, as far as like being in a Christian home, having parents, that you know, love us and love Jesus and speak that over us has been such a blessing.

Alexis Schmoker:

But for the moms out there who maybe haven't been raised like that, I think it's so important to know too that, like you can always start, that Definitely want to start the legacy, so, just like feeling empowered to be able to do that, which would be intimidating yeah, definitely, it's like you just see that you see the importance of, like that generational Love and that legacy that you can start to.

Konnor Lanker:

Yeah, it's definitely like such a privilege and that I'm super grateful for, and I think it makes it easy to be a good mom when you have good moms that are setting an example and that are also pouring into your kids For sure, yeah, absolutely.

Alexis Schmoker:

And those people that you can go to whenever you're having a hard time or maybe that you haven't gone to, but they see that and pick up on that and sense that you're going through something or having a hard time and they reach out or just pick up your kids and watch them for a little bit, you know, sometimes they're little things, it really is Okay.

Alexis Schmoker:

You know, sometimes there's little things it really is Okay. So just the stories you've already told about Hallie she sounds like such a joy. I've got a wild girly too. Girl can be wild and she's always keeping us on our toes and just saying like the funniest things. So I totally get that. But what are some of the little things that Hallie's doing right now that make you laugh, pause or even just feel overwhelmed with love?

Konnor Lanker:

So Halllly is just so funny right now. Um, she wants to do everything herself and she says no, mama, I got it about everything yeah she is.

Konnor Lanker:

She loves to match with me. She likes to we, I give her like a weekly pedicure I'm creating a monster, but like it's fun, so it's fun, she loves it. She loves to pick out her toenail polish every week and so that's kind of a fun way that I get to like, pamper her and use my coffee, um, but she likes to, yeah, she likes to do all the matching things with me. Um, she's never not singing, she's always yapping. Um, she loves to sing. Jesus loves me.

Konnor Lanker:

She sings the barney song, but she sings that. I love me, you love hallie k. So, um, she loves to help with parker, sue, she likes to rub my belly and say stuff like baby, sissy, and she has to pray for Parker, sue, which is like so sweet, oh, that's sweet. Yeah, just because somebody had sent me something, um, just somebody that's praying for Parker, and they were like you need to have Hallie pray, um, for Parker. And they said that, like you know, like Hallie was healed from the same thing, like, so you need to, like she has like the power, that power in her, that like she should be praying for this baby too. And you know, at first I felt kind of silly, but then, like she was totally into it immediately and was like, can I pray for Parker Shue? And so like every day we pray for Parker Shue and it's so sweet that is beautiful, that childlike faith.

Alexis Schmoker:

It is like nothing else yes, um, yeah.

Konnor Lanker:

I think every parent probably feels this way. But, just like with her story, I feel really privileged to have her and just think like man, I would have missed out, like all the time. Just when she's like yapping in the back seat, I'm like what would we be doing right now? Like we'd just be so bored and um, yeah, I just think, even with the chaos and potty training and cleaning up puddles, um, I just think like she's such a privilege and just such a joy to have yeah, oh, that is so sweet and sometimes it's just just simply thinking about the privilege.

Alexis Schmoker:

It is because the chaos, the tantrums, the sleep, whatever turmoil you're going through with your toddler kid at the time, it's just always such a privilege to be a parent. Yeah, definitely, sometimes you just always have to bring yourself back to that.

Konnor Lanker:

Yes, for sure.

Alexis Schmoker:

Well, connor, thank you so much for bringing your whole heart into this conversation. Your story is layered with grace, grit and the kind of faith that holds steady even in the unknown. To the mamas listening. Maybe you're in a season of waiting, maybe you're trying to juggle a million things, or maybe you're just trying to do your best to trust in the things that you can't see. I hope this episode reminds you that God is near in all of it and that the way you show up, even in the middle messy craziness, matters more than you know. Thanks for being here and we'll see you next time on Mama at the Wild Crew podcast. Thank you, connor. Thank you, mama. I'm so grateful that you took time out of your busy schedule today to listen to mama of the wild crew podcast.

Alexis Schmoker:

I'm alexa schmoker and I hope you love this conversation and that it resonated with you. Thank you so much for opening up your circle and letting us in as we walk through this wild ride of motherhood together. Remember in in the chaos of motherhood, there is always joy to be found, so keep looking in those little moments that make it all worth it. Be sure to follow along on Instagram at mamaofthewildcrew underscore podcast. Please don't forget to like, subscribe and share our podcast. I'd love to hear from you, so comment, tag me, dm me, let me know what you think and let me know what you'd like to hear next. Mama, I am praying for you, I love you and I cannot wait to see you next time.

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