Always Here – Episode 1: Our Origin Story, Marriage Advice, & 2026 Resolutions

Podcast: Always Here
Hosts: Abby Howard (married to Matt) & Abigail Howard (married to Caleb)
Date: January 2, 2026
Producer Contribution: Addie
(Skip: ads, intro, outro)

Episode Overview

In this premiere episode, sister-in-laws Abby and Abigail Howard (yes, both are Abby!) introduce themselves, share the real story of how they became family, and reflect on their evolving relationship. The conversation is filled with warmth, humor, and vulnerability, from navigating “same name” confusion to sharing candid marriage advice and their personal and family resolutions for 2026. The show features the recurring segment “Wow, That’s Crazy,” pop culture chatter, and the launch of “Ask Abby”—their interactive listener Q&A. The Abigails aim to provide a hopeful, heart-forward, and genuinely funny take on love, motherhood, and womanhood.

Key Discussions & Highlights

1. The Abby & Abby Origin Story

How they met, initial impressions, becoming true sisters

• Name Confusion:
  • “We should probably first address for those that don't know why we have the exact same name.” – Abby (married to Matt) [02:07]
  • Joked their family could “only afford one name,” a reference to Zack and Cody [02:20].
• Clarifying Identities:
  • Abigail’s full name is Abigail, while Abby is just Abby. Both married brothers: Caleb and Matt, who are 18 months apart. [02:25–03:01]
• First Impressions & Early Years:
  • Neither remembers their first meeting precisely, as they dated the Howard brothers in high school and would cross paths at holidays [03:27].
  • Abby (to Abigail): “I have distinct memories of you from the beginning. I was really scared of you…You always felt edgy to me.” [04:02]
  • Abigail: “I think that's so crazy…I've never been cool.” [04:06]
  • Abby: “I was so nervous around their family for so long…you were so comfortable.” [04:32]
  • Abigail: “He [Josh, younger brother] kind of was. He is my little brother.” [05:37]
  • Abby was intimidated by Abigail’s confidence at family gatherings.
• Growing Closer:
  • Shared awkwardness of “dual bridal showers” and being labeled “child brides” at ages 20 and 23 [06:49].
  • Turning point: Abigail visiting Abby and Matt in Springfield and sharing a small apartment, realizing “Wow, they're so fun.” [07:34–08:19]
  • Now, all live in Arizona and are “all sisters”—Addie (married to Abby’s brother) calls herself a “bonus sister-in-law.” [08:55–09:03]
• A Note on Sisterhood:
  • Addie expresses insecurity over calling them “sisters,” but the consensus is: “Now we can just say sisters. And we all know.” [09:34]

2. Segment: “Wow, That’s Crazy”

Lighthearted pop culture chit-chat and surprising news

Youngest Female Self-Made Billionaire [11:04–14:15]

• Abigail highlights Luanna Lopes Lara, 29, co-founder of Kalshi—a regulated exchange for event-based trading: “Think about gambling on elections, weather, sports…” [12:16]
• Only 430 out of 3,000 global billionaires are female; just 124 of those are self-made [11:48].
• Discussion on gambling vs. sports betting, cultural perspectives:
  • “I feel like my dad used to drive over state lines to Illinois to gamble.” – Abigail [13:27]
  • “I've always…heard: don't ever get started on that, you'll squander all your savings.” – Abby [13:38]
• “Love that for women. Go, girls.” – Abby [14:14]

Hair by Chrissy Drama [14:15–20:08]

• Viral TikTok: Someone charged $4,000 for “Chrissy service” at a high-end salon but Chrissy herself “only touched her hair for 60 seconds.” [14:27]
• Chrissy’s mockery responses online fueled backlash; both sides recap: paying for a name vs. fair, transparent service. [15:41–17:56]
• “If you're paying thousands for the Chrissy experience, I…see where she feels misled.” – Abby [17:53]
• “I see both sides.” – Both agree [17:56]
• Drama escalated with merch, influencer reposts, confusion about who supported whom [19:00].
• “This is just…a circus…” – Abby [19:00]
• Concludes: “Wow, that's crazy that that became a big deal and merch was sold about it.” [19:46]

3. 2026 Goals & Resolutions [20:33–53:04]

Mix of personal, relational, and family intentions for the year

Podcast Mission

• “Always here to share the hope and the hard with heart and humor.” – The Abigails, mission statement [25:10]
• “We can fill that gap of being a podcast where it feels like friendly, casual, sweet…but also, we're gonna talk about real things in our life.” – Abigail [22:26]

Personal & Marriage Goals

(Select highlights and memorable quotes; full lists in episode)

• Abigail (married to Caleb):

  • One planned date night per month: “...At least we can have a babysitter come once a month and go out to dinner.” [26:19]
  • Take a trip, just as a couple—"We haven't done that in a long time" [28:05]
  • Run a half marathon postpartum: “I did that with CJ…gonna try to make that a goal with every baby to try to do a half marathon.” [29:43]
  • Get a pull up again: “I always missed out on the blue ribbon because I couldn’t do a pull up.” [32:27]
  • Schedule a dentist appointment after years of not going; barrier was post-insurance $$ [34:30]
  • 10 minutes of uninterrupted play with kids daily (inspired by Dr. Amen's advice) [38:25]
  • Get back to regular Bible study routine, at least 4x/week: “It's just good for me to start the day like that.” [45:01]
  • Monthly one-on-one “date” with her kids as the family grows [51:30]

• Abby (married to Matt):

  • Kiss more and write more love notes: “I put Kiss More and write more love notes… Matt is a words of affirmation man and he saves all of our notes.” [26:21]
  • Travel with friends, especially with families/kids: “Get a big house, everyone comes…have game nights, food together…” [28:26]
  • More nature walks—alone, as self-care: “I started that after the loss…this feels like self care, really good.” [31:21]
  • Take more pictures, including with friends, “It’ll be awkward but I’m shameless” [33:15]
  • Check out more library books, to foster reading and traditions [35:58]
  • Work on letters/numbers with kids (home education) [37:39]
  • Organize “pain points” at home, start with mudroom: “Every time I walk through that space, I'm just not happy…create a system so it doesn't happen again.” [40:21]
  • Volunteer more in the local community [52:03]
  • Learn to cook a great steak: “I really, really love steak…but I have no business cooking that. Like, I need to only go out to eat that.” [46:37]

Other Notable Themes

• Motherhood Realities: Both express keeping “systems” simple, being okay with mess, rejecting unrealistic toy rotation, and supporting each other as working, stay-at-home, or on-the-go moms. [42:14]
• Honesty about Shortcomings: “Volunteer more…I've made every excuse in the book…if I don't continue this now, I'll never continue it.” – Abby [52:03]

4. Ask Abby: Listener & Family Questions [53:27–End]

• Origin of the Podcast Name:
  • ChatGPT helped inspire “Always Here,” but they wanted something with their shared initials—AH [55:31]
• Marriage Advice for a Bride-to-Be:
  • “Just respond kindly…It can be very easy to be impatient or snippy…just take a deep breath.” – Abigail [56:59]
  • “Say sorry often and quickly…If they're winning, you're both losing.” – Abby [57:59]
• Will you move back to St. Louis?:
  • “You, mom, you ask me this daily…For right now? Yeah. I don't ever see that happening. Sorry, Mom.” – Abigail [59:45]
  • “I feel like she [my mom] needs to move to Arizona.” – Abby [59:51]
• Childhood Traditions to Continue:
  • Weekly traditions (Friday sleepovers at grandparents, Sunday dinner, library weekends): “That nostalgic feeling…is those Friday nights, those Sunday afternoons.” – Abby [60:25–65:15]
  • Abby plans to institute both Christmas and “weekly” traditions with her kids [62:24–63:01]
  • Abigail loved cookies for Santa, St. Nick’s little gifts, etc. [63:01]
• From the Husbands:
  • Caleb asks Abigail: “What is something that I do…that you wish I did more frequently in marriage?” She requests more love notes [66:21].
  • Matt asks Abby: “What does it look like for a husband to adore his wife daily?” Abby’s answer: “Small daily things—a cup of coffee made, acknowledging efforts—make me feel seen, appreciated, ultimately adored.” [67:35–68:56]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “I have flavors full confidence in this being really natural for us, ‘cause we talk all the time.” – Abby [01:26]
• “We're always here to share the hope and the hard with heart and humor.” – Abigail [01:08, 25:10]
• “I need to schedule a dentist appointment. I don't even want to say how many years.” – Abigail [34:30]
• “If you're paying thousands…for the ‘Chrissy experience,’ I kind of see where she feels misled.” – Abby [17:53]
• “Maybe I need to document that journey. It's literally so spooky in [the toy closet].” – Abby [41:48]
• “I'm going to try to make [running a half marathon] a goal with every baby within the first year postpartum.” – Abigail [29:43]
• “We’re both Abby. Abigail for her. My full name is just Abby. We married brothers.” – Abby [02:47]
• “It’s so easy to get up here with a microphone and dog on your husband or dog on your kids…and it's like, that's not, in the long run, beneficial.” – Abigail [24:31]
• “No, we have a phone number that you guys can actually call in!” – Abigail (launching Ask Abby) [54:01]

Timestamps to Find Key Segments

• Sister-in-Law Relationship & Early Years: 02:07–09:10
• “Wow, That’s Crazy” Segment: 09:52–20:08
• 2026 Resolutions Discussion: 20:33–53:04
• Ask Abby (Listener Q&A): 53:27–End

Podcast Tone and Final Observations

• Vibe: Warm, casual, self-deprecating and funny. They are unguarded about everyday struggles and joys.
• Ethos: Big on sisterhood and community, honesty about real life, inviting listeners into both the “hope and the hard” in marriages, parenting, and self-growth.
• Notables: Both genuinely supportive of each other’s goals, often finish each other's sentences, and blend practical insights with real family anecdotes. This is “sister chat” at its most relatable.

Calls to Action

• Listener participation encouraged: call the “Ask Abby” line ([54:10]: 602-456-9690) with any questions for the hosts.
• They’ll revisit resolutions and check in on listener (and their own) goals in upcoming episodes.

In their own words:
“Always here to share the hope and the hard with heart and humor.”
“We want to laugh a lot.”
“We’re both going to be laughing.”