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.
Episodes
7 episodes
Episode 7 - Parenting Later in Life
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 ...
Episode 6 - Divorce, Healing and Blended Families
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, a...
Episode 5: Love Isn’t Soft — Boundaries, Repair, and Showing Up
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 inste...
Episode 4: Sibling Groups in Foster Care & Parenting Kids With Trauma
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 ...
Episode 3: Surrogacy and What People Don’t Always See
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 carryi...
Episode 2: Why We Started Fostering And Why Teens Matter
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 ar...
Episode 1: The Anchor of my Story
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 st...