ESP: How has motherhood changed you the most over the years—especially now that your kids are pre-teens and teens?
Kacie: I’ve learned to savor the small moments and to turn busyness into fulfillment. Motherhood has pushed me to grow in my faith in the Lord. I’ve learned to slow down and trust that God is protecting my family. He has given each of them their own strengths and weaknesses, and I need to guide them in the right direction rather than controlling their entire path of growth. Fred and I have found that all of this becomes easier when we turn our conversations toward Christ. If we try to control and protect them from failures and hardships, we miss out on seeing their true character develop.
ESP: What has surprised you most about parenting during this season of life?
Kacie: I am surprised that I love it. Social media can make you think that the teen years are something to fear, but they are actually one of our favorite phases. We’re able to have real conversations with our kids. We laugh, yell, and forgive a lot. Each day is a fresh start.
ESP: What values are most important to you as you raise your children, and how do you model them daily?
Kacie: Fred and I feel called to raise Godly children, not just good children. We try to model this by putting Christ at the center of everything. Most importantly, we are open with our kids about our own struggles. We’re not afraid to ask for their forgiveness, but we know we can always do better. We are realistic that sometimes this comes at a social cost. We don’t do things just because everyone else does; we make decisions based on what’s best for our family. We believe family time should be protected.
ESP: What do you believe has been key to maintaining a strong marriage over 19 years?
Kacie: We’ve protected time together. A non-negotiable every day for 19 years is having coffee together in the morning and afternoon. We avoid discussing work or frustrations during these times. We’ve also dedicated time over the years to connect with friends who have already walked through similar parenting seasons. Their wisdom helps us when things get tough and emotions run high. These are couples who offer godly advice.
ESP: How have you and your husband grown together through various seasons of life?
Kacie: We’ve shared many wonderful moments. We’ve also faced difficult times. We hold onto each other during the hard moments, which makes us appreciate the good times even more. We don’t take each other for granted. We see that our different strengths and weaknesses complement each other. Our personalities aren’t the same, and we don’t try to change each other. Instead, we lean on each other to step in when needed.
ESP: What led you to your role as Director of The PNSL?
Kacie: After finishing my student teaching in inner-city Mobile, I began teaching first grade at the K-1 Center in Fairhope, where PNSL is located. I would walk past the lab on my way to class and was amazed that kindergarten and first graders were learning about Mobile Bay—walking to the bay to put their toes in the water and catch fish! I started learning alongside the students about a habitat I had grown up seeing but never understood or experienced firsthand.
During my eight years of teaching first grade, my passion for teaching all subjects through science and local relevance grew, earning me a reputation that led to this position. In 2013, the year my youngest son was born, I couldn’t start the school year because he was born prematurely at 29 weeks. Due to our NICU stay, I wasn’t scheduled to return until January. The founding director retired in December, and I’ve been in this dream job ever since.
ESP: What is the most rewarding part of leading The PNSL?
Kacie: Seeing a child touch the bay for the first time, encouraging a teenager to hold a fish when they’re scared, recognizing a student making a connection with a barnacle they read about, watching a student take pride in teaching peers how to cast a net, hearing a chaperone whisper “Wow, I did not know that,” seeing future generations connect to their home, providing a safe space for students to fail, and seeing a student’s genius come alive through facts, engineering challenges, or organism identification—these are all incredibly rewarding.
Rapid Fire Questions:
- Homework or Practice? Practice
- Plan ahead or go with the flow? Go with the flow
- Messy Bun or Styled Hair? Messy Bun
- Date Night In or Out? Date night in
- One word to describe yourself. Compassionate
Kacie Hardman has been married to her husband, Fred, for 19 years. They met through mutual friends during her freshman year of college. They have three children—Percy Jane (16), George (15), and Emery (12).
Kacie has worked for the Baldwin County Board of Education for 20 years, and for the past 12 years, she has been the Director of the Pelican’s Nest Science Lab (PNSL). Fred is the Coastal Region President of West Alabama Bank and serves as the President of Fairhope Youth Basketball and on the board of Fairhope Youth Baseball.
The entire family attends and serves at 3Circle Church in Fairhope, mainly in the Next Generation Ministry. When they can, they love being on the water, going camping, hunting, and watching funny movies together.
