[00:00:00] Speaker A: This is the Morning Journey Rewind with Mark and Brittany. Never miss a moment.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: This week on the Morning Journey Rewind, Mark and Brittany tell you the top baby names of 2026. Brittany recaps the wedding. Have you ever heard of a skinnybaiter? This new invention is changing the nicu. And do you struggle remembering things? You aren't alone. Also, what tasks would you give someone else to do if you could?
[00:00:21] Speaker C: Well, the top baby names in the US for 2026 are out. 20 top name for a girl is Olivia. And the number one name for a boy is Noah.
[00:00:31] Speaker D: So this was hard for me because my husband and I, even when we named our daughter Stella four years ago, we try to find something that's unique but not super strange. That's like still a name but like unique enough. And so I'm happy to report Stella is still not on the top ten of the girls. So we're good there. And then we named our son Maxwell and it was hard for us to find a name for him. Like we went back and forth and kind of just decided on something we'd had on our list for a long time. And that name, Maxwell is not on the top 10 list.
[00:00:57] Speaker C: No. So I
[00:00:58] Speaker D: feel like we did it.
[00:00:59] Speaker C: You did,
[00:01:01] Speaker D: but yeah, I did. Like one of the names on the top 10 list was Ezra and I did like Ezra.
[00:01:05] Speaker C: Yeah.
[00:01:06] Speaker D: And I'm glad we didn't go with that because it's on the top 10 list and I want to be different. So there you go.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: Uplifting and encouraging because you need it now more than ever. You betcha. The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:01:20] Speaker C: Brittany was at a wedding this weekend, so the family packed up and took a road trip.
[00:01:25] Speaker D: We did? Yeah. Max's first road trip. It was five hour drive to Maggie Valley, North Carolina. And so the kids did great in the car, like better than expected. And then we get to the wedding and Stella's been really excited about the wedding. She couldn't wait to dance and show everybody her moves. And I think she's just started to feel bad because we get there and she doesn't want to dance, she doesn't want to leave our table, she doesn't want to do anything. She did, however, think the bride was a princess.
[00:01:49] Speaker C: Did she?
[00:01:50] Speaker D: Yes. And so as soon as my cousin got up the groom, she went over and sat on like the bench at the and like sat next to her and got all close. So I got a really cute picture because she thought she was a princess. I don't think she understood that she was the bride. And then at one point she danced by herself a little bit. But like, overall I think she was just overwhelmed and didn't know really what to expect. Now, Max, we fed him and he slept in a corner. He did crazy. That's
[00:02:13] Speaker C: what he
[00:02:13] Speaker D: does. Yep. And then Stella ended up eventually, like, sleeping on her.
Her grandpa. So we packed him up about 9:30 and said we should probably get him back to the hotel. But she had a good time overall, I think. Think at least. I mean, they had dessert. They had a brownie and a skillet. Well, there you
[00:02:29] Speaker C: go.
[00:02:29] Speaker D: That was all she needed was a little dose of chocolate.
[00:02:32] Speaker C: Well, it's that time of year. It is candy season.
[00:02:36] Speaker D: Yes, it is. I mean, I have to go through. That's my goal this weekend. Get rid of candy that my daughter has left over from the past holidays. Because it's that time of year, starting this weekend, we get a lot of candy. And then you go into the Christmas holiday and that's what we stuff stockings with. And then we go from that into Valentine's Day and then you have Easter and the Easter egg hunts. And between all of that, we bags and bags of candy. I'm looking for other things to do for like Christmas and Valentine's Day and Easter like that aren't candy. Like, we did a really good job last year of stuffing eggs with like toys instead of candy because it's just. It's overwhelming, like, and I don't need to be eating that candy and she can't eat all of it.
[00:03:17] Speaker C: We get a little bit of candy like at Christmas time, like stock and stuffer type things. And I never eat it. I'll eat maybe a few pieces of it and that's it. Because I'm not a big candy eater,
[00:03:28] Speaker D: right? Mine ends up here. I bring mine here and leave it in the little kitchenette we have in the back and hope that somebody here eats it. We have a student worker. She can eat all the candy she wants.
[00:03:39] Speaker A: A great way to start your day. The morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:03:44] Speaker D: Well, this is a cool thing. If you've ever had a child that has ended up in the NICU or is born premature, you know that being able to have contact with them is very minimal and very difficult and sometimes very sad. Because as a mom, one of the first things they do is hand the baby to you and you don't get that experience. And as a dad, it's good to have that skin to skin contact right away. Well, now, thanks to this invention that can happen for nicu. And premature babies. It's called a skin cubator and it's like an incubator, but it has a place for parents to get that skin to skin contact with their infants still.
[00:04:18] Speaker C: Yeah,
[00:04:18] Speaker D: it's pretty cool. This is only available right now in Houston, but I have a feeling that obviously, as technology progresses, it will probably end up being available hospitals everywhere, hopefully.
[00:04:28] Speaker C: I would think so, because they understand that the contact with the baby is so important.
[00:04:35] Speaker D: Yeah. So pretty cool. Invention looks weird and, like, clunky, but it's serving a really, really good purpose.
[00:04:43] Speaker E: We're just gonna worship, we're gonna be encouraged, and we're just gonna be together.
[00:04:48] Speaker A: That's the idea. You're on the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:04:53] Speaker C: Sticky notes were a great invention, especially when you put them in places that you're actually going to look.
[00:04:59] Speaker D: Yeah. Well, we've been talking about this and how forgetful I am and how I need a sticky note for things. And so I wrote myself a sticky note on Thursday before I left for the wedding here in the morning to remember to pack certain things.
And not only did I forget something, but I forgot the sticky note. It's still here this morning. So I didn't even remember to take the sticky note, which helped me not remember the things I needed to pack. So I left my breastfeeding pump. So. So that was a lot of fun. Luckily I had the wearable ones, but. Yeah. So the sticky note only works if you remember the note.
[00:05:29] Speaker C: Yes.
[00:05:29] Speaker D: And I didn't remember the note. So
[00:05:31] Speaker C: you're gonna stick it on. You
[00:05:32] Speaker D: have to, like, stick it on my forehead or start writing things. I'm gonna go back to old school days where you just wrote things on your hand. Like, remember this for homework or like, somebody's phone number. I'm gonna start writing things directly on my person.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: Start on a positive note. You're on the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:05:52] Speaker C: Well, we posted this on our Facebook page. If someone could take over one task for you, what task would you give away?
[00:06:00] Speaker D: This is a hard one for me because one of my biggest struggles is planning meals for the week and then having to, like, go get the groceries and then cook the meals. And luckily, my husband cooks most of our meals, so that part isn't so, so bad. But I think having a private chef would be pretty awesome.
[00:06:14] Speaker C: That would be. That would be nice. Yeah,
[00:06:16] Speaker D: I think that'd be mine.
[00:06:16] Speaker C: I'm kind of that way. I don't like to go to the grocery store. I don't like to grocery shop. I Try to. My goal is to get in faster than the last time I was.
Get in and out.
[00:06:25] Speaker D: Mark's like, setting a stopwatch. I really am.
[00:06:28] Speaker C: Connie chimed in on this. She says, cleaning my house to my high standards.
[00:06:32] Speaker D: Oh, okay, Connie. Good
[00:06:34] Speaker C: luck finding
[00:06:34] Speaker D: something
[00:06:35] Speaker C: with that one.
[00:06:35] Speaker D: Sandra said, mopping, and I found that one interesting because I'm like, maybe this is just me. Does anyone actually mop anymore?
Now? Growing up, my mom would get on the floor and clean our floor on her hands and knees with, like, ammonia and, like, soapy water. Like, have
[00:06:51] Speaker C: the Swiffers and. Or whatever they're called.
[00:06:54] Speaker D: Yeah, but I don't know. I don't know about the mopping here.
[00:06:57] Speaker C: Gabriel says, taking garbage to the dumpster.
[00:07:00] Speaker D: Oh, yeah, that's. I don't mind that one too much because it's like, a fun trip. Like, we tell Stella, like, oh, we're going to the dump. And she gets all excited. So that one I don't mind too much. This one I need somebody to do for me. Betty Lou, she says, raking the yard. And this time of year, I got trees down. I could use somebody to do that.
[00:07:17] Speaker C: If you go to the Journey Facebook page, you'll see this question. If someone could take over one task for you, what task would you give away? You can chime in on that. Sharon says it would be laundry.
[00:07:30] Speaker D: I said, having a private chef, along with Deborah and Barbara, who also said cooking and said, washing the dishes. Now, I don't mind that. If somebody cooks for me, I don't mind doing the dishes.
[00:07:40] Speaker C: Carol says, keeping my car cleaned and service. I don't mind washing the car.
[00:07:46] Speaker D: I do. I take it to the car wash. There's a service for that, Kathy. There you go. And then Debbie says, cleaning the bathroom. That one my husband does. I like.
[00:07:55] Speaker C: Phil does it. Really?
[00:07:56] Speaker D: I am like, you're not touching it. I refuse to clean the bathroom. So thank goodness for Phil. Otherwise, the bathroom would not be clean.
[00:08:03] Speaker A: We just wanted to say thanks for making us part of your day. It's the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:08:09] Speaker C: Well, it's that time of year. It is candy season.
[00:08:13] Speaker D: Yes, it is. I mean, I have to go through. That's my goal this week. And get rid of candy that my daughter has left over from the past holidays because it's that time of year. So starting this weekend, we get a lot of candy. And then you go into the Christmas holiday, and that's what we stuff stockings with. And then we go from that into Valentine's Day, and then you have Easter and The Easter egg hunts. And between all of that, we have bags and bags of candy. I'm looking for other things to do for like Christmas and Valentine's day, Easter. Like, that aren't candy. Like, we did a really good job last year of stuffing eggs with like toys instead of.
[00:08:47] Speaker C: That's a good idea. Yeah.
[00:08:48] Speaker D: Candy. Because it's just, it's overwhelming, like, and I don't need to be eating that candy and she can't eat all of it.
[00:08:54] Speaker C: We get a little bit of candy, like at Christmas time, like stocking stuffer type things and I never eat it. I'll eat maybe a few pieces of it and that's it. Because I'm not a big candy eater.
[00:09:05] Speaker D: Right. Mine ends up here. I bring mine here and leave it in the little kitchenette we have in the back and hope that somebody here eats it. We have a student worker. She can eat all the candy she wants.
[00:09:16] Speaker F: I turn y' all on in the morning when I get in my truck.
[00:09:19] Speaker G: It's helpful when I'm taking the kids to school. Here we
[00:09:22] Speaker A: go. It's the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:09:25] Speaker C: By filling shoeboxes full of toys and other fun items, you can be a part of giving boys and girls what may be their first gift ever. You can pick and drop, pick up and drop off packed occ Christmas child shoeboxes right here at the journey.
[00:09:39] Speaker D: We would love for you to get involved in this wonderful cause with operation Christmas child. They ship boxes all over the world to children in need. And sometimes something as simple as a toothbrush or a comb reminds a child that God sent sees them and loves them because someone in the world is thinking about them. So if you want to get involved, you have until November 16th starts National Collection week. If you're not in the Lynchburg area and you can't come here to pick up, you can find a pickup and drop off location near you. @myjourney fm.com
[00:10:07] Speaker G: I just kind of channel surfing through the radio.
[00:10:09] Speaker A: Families are catching on
[00:10:11] Speaker G: and I'm like, wow, this is pretty cool.
[00:10:12] Speaker A: To the best way.
[00:10:13] Speaker G: So now this is the only thing I listen to now
[00:10:15] Speaker A: to wake up.
[00:10:15] Speaker G: My style of everything has started and changed.
[00:10:17] Speaker A: It's the morning journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:10:20] Speaker C: Well, last week you had an opportunity to win tickets to hear Lisa terkhurst and then singer Tasha Layton. They will be at Highland Heights Baptist church in Rustburg November 12. We've got some winners to congratulate.
[00:10:33] Speaker D: We do. Yeah. Congratulations to Michelle, to Dawn, to Jackie, to Cindy, and to Kami. You guys are our ticket winners. So you will be going to see Lisa Terkers and Tasha Layton as they talk about letting go of control and letting God be in control and how much peace that brings us. So if you want to go, you can still sign
[email protected] but big congratulations to our winners.
[00:10:54] Speaker E: We're just gonna worship, we're gonna be encouraged and we're just gonna be together.
[00:11:00] Speaker A: That's the idea. You're on the Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:11:04] Speaker C: If you haven't done so already, check out the My Journey FM app. You can get that in your app store. A lot of people letting us know that they're listening to the Journey on the app.
[00:11:13] Speaker D: We love hearing from you. We've heard from so many either vacationing or living all across the country, all over the world. Gail checking in from Smithfield, Virginia. Thank you, Gail for listen.
We love hearing from you and we love knowing that you've downloaded the apps. It's absolutely free. My Journey FM on your app store. You can take us with you when you go for walks. If you have doctors appointments that you're nervous about, have the comfort of the music there. Let God bring you peace through the songs here on the Journey via the app. And it's a great way to share the hope of Christ with others as well. Just tell your friends, hey, download the My Journey FM app.
[00:11:46] Speaker A: Start on a positive note. You're on the Morning Journey with Mark and Brittany.
[00:11:52] Speaker C: Zach Williams will be in Virginia Beach November 21st. If you go to myjourney fm.com you'll see there's been an update on the ticket prices.
[00:12:00] Speaker D: Yes, all remaining non VIP tickets are now $25. So if you want to go, this is a great opportunity to get in all the details. Myjourney fm.com it's not only Zach Williams, Cochran and company is going to be with him as well. And so it's going to be in a fantastic conference. If you want to go, now's the time. $25 tickets are available.
[00:12:20] Speaker A: Thanks for catching up on the Morning Journey Rewind pod with Mark and Brittany.
