162: One Family's Journey to Blended Unity: Looking Back to the Teenage Years

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 Get a copy of The Mindful Marriage.  Get your copy of Blending-100 Day Guide for Step-Parents.  Learn about Blended Not Broken  Get our monthly newsletter  See cru.org/us/en/about/privacy FamilyLife’s Privacy Policy