Mammas We Love: Alyssa Bethke

Hey CJLA Girls! We are really excited to share another interview from our Mammas We Love series with you. We chatted with CJLA Girl Alyssa Bethke and she shared more of her beautiful story with us. Read the full interview below to learn more about Alyssa and her family!

CJLA: Tell us your story! How did your brand/business get started?

ALYSSA: I've always dreamed of being an author, and doing something where I can pour into other women. When my husband and I were dating, he released a spoken word on youtube and overnight it went viral! It catapulted him into speaking, traveling, writing and having a business online. When we got married, we slowly merged our callings and giftings together and got creative with how we could serve together. I started a blog during our first year of marriage and realized my true love for writing. We served in a local college ministry, and started to speak together here and there. We then dreamed of pouring into marriages after a few years, so we wrote a book, put on a conference and started a membership site. When we started having more kids, we realized our passion for healthy families and legacy, and so began Family Teams. Each year brings a new adventure, and it is a wild ride! A dream come true, but also I could never have dreamed this up. I feel so grateful for what we get to do and that we can do it together.

CJLA: We’d love to know a little bit about what a day in your life looks like. Can you tell us about what a typical day is like for you?

ALYSSA: We have three kids: 6, 4, and 1. So we're in the stage of being at home a lot, schooling and embracing the ordinary and mundane with joy. I love this stage so much though! It's wild and crazy and sweet. I like to wake up before the kids, read and pray and work out. The kids come downstairs at 8 and we eat breakfast together and try to do our morning time. Right now Lucy who is 1 is all about climbing on tables and throwing everything so we have to roll with the punches sometimes! Morning time right now includes us reading and reciting things that we value. So for us it may be: a hymn, a poem, a read aloud, our memory verse for the week, or any other memory work we may be working on. Then we start school for 1-2 hours. After that we all need to get out so we either just play, catch up on chores, do an art project, go for a nature walk, or go on a little adventure. We eat lunch, have quiet time (where I either get work done, clean, catch up with a friend or do something creative). Afternoons are all about reading and play! Then we eat dinner and hang out as a family. I love going for family walks or just hanging out in our neighborhood, but sometimes we put on puppet shows or tell stories. My kids are really into being secret agents right now! Then it's bedtime, and rest time for my husband and I! I seem to always have a load of laundry waiting to be folded and most of nights end with me eating a handful of chocolate chips and watching a favorite Netflix show. 

CJLA: What is one of the most important lessons that you have learned through your journey? 

CJLA: Tell us about your community! What women and support systems do you have in your life?

ALYSSA: Yes! I am so thankful for my community. It has been such an answer to prayer. My mom lives close by, and is the biggest support to me. She encourages me, helps so much, loves my kids and cheers me on. I have a few best friends, that live here and afar, that have carried my burdens, listened to my griefs, and cheered me on in my dreams. I have a handful of friends- online, across the nation and here on Maui- that are just true gifts to me; women who I can confide in and who I don't get to see often but when we do it's like we just pick up from where we last left off. The Maui community is pretty amazing and close knit. A lot of the people who live here don't have extended family on island, so we become family. Every new mom has a meal train, we do tons of baby showers, ladies nights, shop my closets, worship nights, and beach days. We never say "Mr and Mrs" but everyone is "Uncle and Auntie". People here just feel like family. 

CJLA: Carly Jean Los Angeles is an amazing community of women. Why do you love being part of the CJLA community? 

ALYSSA: I love the joy that CJLA spreads. Women who feel good about how they look and what they're wearing, right where they are, with their season of life. I love how CJLA encourages, inspires and cheers other women on, always.

CJLA: What is your go-to CJLA outfit? What are your must have capsule pieces?

ALYSSA: Oh man! Well I am currently loving the Lucas shorts (both black and denim) and pairing them with any of the striped t's, or blouses. Also, that Brooks jumper is my new go-to for lounging at the house and as my new pjs! My must have capsule pieces are the Lucas Shorts or the Larsons, or the Chrissy Jeans. I also love any of the jumpers (one stop shop!) or dresses. Also, living in Maui, I rotate between two of CJLA's swimsuits from last year every time we hit the beach. They're the best swimsuits I've ever worn and I always get compliments on them.

CJLA: For any readers who may be visiting your neck of the woods, what part of town do you live in and where are your favorite places to eat, explore and hangout? 

ALYSSA: We live in Kihei, on the island of Maui. We love any of the south side beaches. Surfside has awesome tide pools for little kids. I love walking the path by all of the Wailea hotels (it's 3 miles total) overlooking the ocean. We also love going strawberry picking upcountry or walking along Thompson Road. Our favorite food spots are: Akamai Coffee, Coconut's Fish Tacos, Gus the Bus shaved fruit, Monkeypod for Happy Hour, and if you want to go all out, I love Merriman's for a nice dinner overlooking the ocean in Napili.

CJLA: What is your favorite part of being a mom?

ALYSSA: It is the best job I have ever had. My kids are the greatest joy to my life. They certainly stretch me and humble me- I'm constantly having to ask for forgiveness and grace. But I love making memories with them, learning together, reading aloud, going on adventures and seeing life through their eyes. They make me laugh all the time and I learn a lot from them! I love the snuggling, cuddling, cooing part of the baby stage, but it also gets just plain old fun as they get older. The other night the kids each spent 10 minutes telling my husband and I stories that they made up in their heads of cool missions and adventures and it was so fun to just sit back and hear what they had to say. I am so thankful for the tribe God has given us.