In this episode, Kathleen discusses her novel with a couple of the teenagers in her life. Listen along as Alec and Rebekah give you a glimpse into this book, the characters, the plot, and their perspectives as pre-readers and revisionists for the book. As a novel about a girl in adolescence, the target audience of Defining Home is teenagers. Of course, we hope this episode piques your interest no matter who you are! We hope you will grab a copy and read it, cliffhangers and all, before the second book in Adelina’s story is released in October.

Amerey interviews her husband, Seth, about working with kids from hard places. They discuss unique educational experiences and Seth’s work at Chestnut Mountain Ranch, a Christian home and school for boys in need of hope and healing.

Kathleen and Lori talk about the changes in schedules for the summer season and how it can cause problems for a child with sensory issues or past trauma.

Summer means cookout food, staying up later than usual, and different experiences than usual. And sometimes that can be the perfect recipe for disaster for a family with adopted kids, kids with sensory issues, or kids on the autism spectrum. The Whole House ladies have a little bit of experience with this and want to offer some tips and tricks to make the summer go a little more smoothly for everyone!

Amerey and Kathleen talk about the ins and outs of having their very own family camp every summer. It all started back with Camp Watermelon, and began as a way of a grandmother to get all her grandchildren together for a week. It’s evolved into Camp Lemon Lime, and now it is her great-grandchildren and extended family! A family camp could be your perfect summer activity and it can be as simple or extravagant as you want it! Amerey and Kathleen talk about how the Guire family does a family camp and how you can do it too!

Episode 23: Kathleen and Lori talk about transitions and changes in the life of a woman, specifically for moms. Doesn’t it always seem like as soon as you get used to something, it changes?! We know that’s usually how motherhood is! Kathleen and Lori have been through every transition from pregnancy trimesters to elementary school-aged kids to adult kids. Grab some coffee and join us as we offer you insight and tips and tricks to make all the transitions just a little bit easier.

Amerey, Carly, and Kathleen (and Glenna) kick off the summer with a quick discussion about vacationing and having fun when you are on a budget! We firmly believe that you can create a fun summer for your kids and family without a huge budget! The ladies share their favorite stay-cation ideas and activities, including local parks and library activities, as well as camping and swimming! We hope you are inspired to go have a fun summer without needing to spend all your money!

Carly and Kathleen interview Audrey (Guire) Simmons on her perspective, as the oldest biological kid, of the adoption of a sibling group of four from Poland.

Audrey offers unique and introspective opinions and stories of experiencing the adoption as an 11-year-old. We love her perspectives on visiting the orphanage in Poland and how the trip impacted her life. We also love her perspectives on how her new siblings impacted her life.

Kathleen and Jessica talk about moving out of your comfort zone and pursuing God-sized dreams. They talk about pivot points and seasons of life. Each pivot point sends us in a new direction. Do we do it afraid or do we remain where we are. Jessica talks about opening Soar, her fitness studio and why she finally took the leap. Kathleen talks about her seasons of God-sized dreams, children, adoption, homeschooling and her current season- The Whole House and writing. Jessica speaks of a death of a loved one made her rethink her current path and become a pivot point. Kathleen shares a similar story. Grab a cup of coffee! Get ready to pursue your God-sized dream with The Whole House!

Amerey, Ashley, Carly, Kathleen, and Lori talk about Mother’s Day (from a mom perspective). Not that we have forgotten about the women who gave us life, but we wanted to discuss what the holiday means to us as moms ourselves. We talk a little about our perfect Mother’s Day and setting realistic goals for celebrating! We even share Mother’s Day fails (in case you thought our lives were perfect)! We encourage you to find a way to incorporate a little bit of self-care and self-love into your holiday this year!

Kathleen and Lori, homeschooling Moms, discuss how their families began their journey into homeschooling.

Between these two ladies, there are decades of years of experience with homeschooling their children of all ages. They want to share their stories and insights, offer you tips and tricks from their own troubleshooting, and encourage you if you are considering/are already/have any interest in homeschooling!

The lovely Megan Wright joins Carly and Kathleen for a discussion (that could have gone on for hours) about marriage, homeschooling, and how both make up Megan’s ministry. When these three ladies get together, there really is no topic off limits! Grab a cup of coffee and join us here at The Whole House!

(If this name sounds familiar, that’s because it is! You can find an interview with her mom, Molly, on Episode 12!)

Ciarra McCartney is a teenager and budding author who was adopted through the foster care system. She shares some of her realities of growing up in a broken home, placements in foster homes, and finally being adopted.

We hope you enjoy Ciarra’s wisdom, self-awareness, and eloquence beyond her sixteen years. As always, thank you for joining us here for The Whole House podcast!

Amerey, Carly, and Kathleen talk about some of the ups and downs and dealings of being a young mom.

We think every mother will encounter moments where they will have to speak up for themselves or else be misunderstood/taken advantage of/manipulated. We share some (spoiler alert: truthful and raw) stories of times when we have had to advocate for ourselves or our babies, with family members, medical professionals, or strangers. We’ve been there, and we want to encourage you in those possibly tough situations.

A double-feature!! Get to know a little about our two new team members, Ashley and Jessica! In these back-to-back episodes you get to hear from our two new ladies about who they are, what they care about, and the passions they will be bringing to The Whole House! We SO look forward to sharing more from Ashley and Jessica, as well as the rest of The Whole House team!

Amerey and Kathleen talk about learning how to understand and work well with toddlers, little kids, and kids with lower emotional ages. Do you always know how to express your feelings? We, as adults, can’t always answer yes, so how can we expect it out of our littles?? We aren’t preaching from perfection, we just want to offer tips to helping little kids with big emotions regulate and adjust their behaviors appropriately.

Kathleen has a short and sweet discussion with Molly McCartney, who holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is also a Certified Trauma Therapist and Adoption Therapist.

March is National Professional Social Work Month, and we want to celebrate by sharing a little bit of Molly’s journey through working with horses, becoming a social worker, and then adopting. We discuss Molly’s unique and super cute private practice, The Beacon Barn (find more info at www.beaconbarn.com) as well as the importance of trauma-informed therapy in adoption.

Amerey, Carly, Kathleen, and Lori discuss how they do hobbies and projects as moms! We share helpful tips to help you keep doing hobbies you love after having kids, and to help you find new things to do to keep your creative juices flowing as a mom! Whether you have a newborn or teenagers, we know you need an outlet from meeting everyone else’s needs and we want to encourage you find one! As always, we thank you so much for listening!

We talk about making celebrations habitual, be it Christmases, birthdays, or just doing laundry!

We discuss catering celebrations to fit your families, your circumstances, and your budget! We offer solidarity and encouragement to make your days full of meaningful celebration!

On The Whole House Podcast Episode 8, Lori and I talk about a tough subject. The Six Risk Factors that create a child from a hard place. We don’t like to think that children come to us with trauma in their history. We adoptive/foster parents wish it weren’t true. When we pretend the past trauma doesn’t exist and see the behaviors glaring at us every day, we have to put those somewhere in our scope. In our file cabinets in the brain. We file them under  blame ourselves for the way that they are behaving. Sometimes others do. Or we can learn and grow. We can learn what trauma does to the brain. What it does and how to help the kiddos make progress.

Have you ever wondered why we are stay-at-home moms? Or maybe what we do all day? The Whole House ladies discuss their lives and choices as stay-at-home moms and share why they consider themselves to be parenting counter-culturally, or “parenting against the grain.” Find more about us and our ongoing caffeine-fueled lives at thewholehouse.org, on Instagram @the_whole_house, or on Facebook at The Whole House!

Episode 3: The Whole House ladies give you some insider info and unique perspectives on the adoption of 4 Guire children from Poland. You can find Kathleen’s book, A Positive Adoption Story: The Door from Theology to Reality here (soon-to-be re-released with a new subtitle, cover, and study guide!) Grab a cup of coffee and laugh with us! Even cry with us! We love this story of adoption and we hope you will too!