Tim and Olivia Smith brought six kids into their blended family in 1997. In their conversation with Ron Deal, they share the joys and challenges of melding together two families, how to encourage relationship building between siblings, and how stepparents can move from a place of isolation to a place of belonging in a stepfamily.
Tim’s daughter, Christie, joins the conversation with her perspective as a teenager from the early years of their blended family. Although the stepmom—stepdaughter relationship is often the hardest to connect, Christie shares how Olivia’s small actions of moving toward her and allowing her to engage at her own pace created a loving, long-lasting relationship that she treasures today as an adult.
Show Notes and Resources

191: Father’s Day Feels Weird: Blended Family Grief and Hope
50:39

190: The Mother's Day You Never Wanted: Hope for Hurting Moms and Stepmoms
49:04

189: Widowhood to Remarriage: Blending Families with Ongoing Grief - Daniel and Brittany Brooker
1:11:44