About Anchored in Love: Real Stories of Motherhood & Family
Welcome to Anchored in Love, a podcast by Juliet Anker — mom of a beautifully blended family, foster and adoptive parent, former surrogate, storyteller, and fierce believer that families are formed in more ways than one.
Here, we explore the real stories of motherhood and family — the ones we live through quietly, the ones that shape us, and the ones we wish more people talked about.
Each week, we dive into:
The truth behind fostering & adoption
Blended family life in all its messy, meaningful chaos
Honest motherhood without the perfection filter
Healing after illness, trauma, loss, and change
Listening to our bodies and trusting our intuition
Family stories that reveal our deepest connections
This is a safe space for the stories that matter — the ones rooted in love, shaped by resilience, and carried through the heart.
Whether you’re a parent, a foster family, navigating a blended home, healing, growing, or simply looking for a place where honesty meets hope — you belong here.
Sit with me. Let’s talk about what really makes a family.
Send us Fan Mail Why does changing our minds sometimes feel like admitting defeat? Whether it’s a big parenting decision, a family routine, or simply realizing something no longer works for us, changing direction can bring guilt, fear, and the pressure to explain ourselves. In this episode of Anchored in Love, we’re talking about the vulnerability of changing our minds, the fear of failure, and why being consistent doesn’t have to mean staying committed to something that no longer fits. Becau...
8 Oct 2026
A little Q&A time
Send us Fan Mail You asked, or maybe you’ve just been wondering. In this episode, I’m answering some of the questions I get asked most about our not-so-traditional family and life: foster care and adoption, my surrogacy journeys, raising adult kids and little ones at the same time, working full time, going back to school, marriage, and whether I ever imagined my life would look like this. No big theme or perfectly polished answers, just an honest Q&A about motherhood, family, and th...
6 Oct 2026
That was right then and this is right now
Send us Fan Mail Sometimes the right choice for one season isn’t the right choice forever and that doesn’t mean we got it wrong. In this episode, I’m sharing our shift from having the boys home and planning to homeschool to sending them to school, what the change has meant for our family, and how the quieter days are creating more space for my career, education, and what comes next. Motherhood is full of changing seasons. Sometimes we just have to give ourselves permission to change with them...
23 Sept 2026
I am back!
Send us Fan Mail It’s been a while… and there’s a lot to catch up on. After an unexpectedly long break, I’m finally back behind the microphone to talk about the season that pulled me away—from burnout and some scary family moments to an unexpected foster placement, changing plans for our boys’ schooling, and a summer full of transitions. This episode is less about having everything figured out and more about what happens when life changes the plan. We’re talking motherhood, marriage, knowing ...
10 Feb 2026
Episode 7 - Parenting Later in Life
Send us Fan Mail Parenting little boys later in life feels different, not because it’s easier, but because experience changes how you see things. In this episode, I reflect on how age and life experience reshaped my approach to parenting. From letting go of urgency and perfection, to understanding regulation, movement, and connection, I share what truly changed for me in this season of raising young boys. I also talk about why we chose homeschooling for our family. This episode is for parents...
27 Jan 2026
Episode 6 - Divorce, Healing and Blended Families
Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I reflect on what divorce and blending a family taught me over time, not in hindsight perfection, but in lived experience. I share what I would do differently now: slowing down, holding boundaries earlier, trusting time more, and letting go of the belief that exhaustion equals strength. We talk about how kids don’t need perfect transitions, they need emotional safety, and how blending a family isn’t a single decision, but thousands of small moments shaped by ...
20 Jan 2026
Episode 5: Love Isn’t Soft — Boundaries, Repair, and Showing Up
Send us Fan Mail Love isn’t about being permissive or controlling, it’s about showing up with steadiness and care. In this episode, I talk about how supportive guidance, consistent boundaries, and repair after hard moments help kids feel safe coming to us instead of shutting down. This conversation is for parents and blended families who want to lead with compassion, hold firm without being harsh, and build trust over time, even when parenting feels heavy. For more reflections on letting go...
13 Jan 2026
Episode 4: Sibling Groups in Foster Care & Parenting Kids With Trauma
Send us Fan Mail Sibling groups are a reality for many children entering foster care, yet they’re often misunderstood. In this episode, I share what we’ve learned fostering sibling groups and parenting children impacted by trauma , how siblings provide comfort and familiarity, how trauma shows up in everyday behavior, and why accountability without shame matters so much. This is an honest, experience-based conversation about safety, consistency, and showing up for kids who carry more than t...
5 Jan 2026
Episode 2: Why We Started Fostering And Why Teens Matter
Send us Fan Mail Foster care wasn’t part of our original plan, but it became a calling we couldn’t ignore. In this episode, I share the story of how we found our way into fostering, the fears we had, and why we felt drawn to teens in foster care. Teens are often the most overlooked in the system, yet they carry so much strength, resilience, and unmet need. This conversation is an honest look at what it means to say yes, to show up imperfectly, and to believe that it’s never “too late” to make...
5 Jan 2026
Episode 1: The Anchor of my Story
Send us Fan Mail In this opening episode of Anchored in Love, Juliet shares the heart behind the podcast and the story that shaped her. She reflects on the moments that didn’t go as planned, the paths that unfolded differently than expected, and the steady love that carried her through each season. This episode is an invitation to slow down, breathe, and sit with the idea that families are formed in many ways — and that our stories don’t have to be perfect to be meaningful. If you’ve ever won...
5 Jan 2026
Episode 3: Surrogacy and What People Don’t Always See
Send us Fan Mail Surrogacy is often talked about in simple terms, but the reality is layered and deeply human. In this episode, I share our surrogacy journey, why we chose it, what it looked like in real life, and the emotional complexity that comes with carrying a child for someone else. This is an honest conversation about trust, boundaries, and love, beyond the headlines and assumptions.
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