I’m a big fan of doing our civic duty and voting. But you know what can make a bigger difference? How we live our every day lives. I’ve seen a lot of pundits and talking heads putting a lot of blame for problems on politicians. While elected officials can and should be held responsible for their choices and actions, we also have a responsibility as individual citizens to be a part of the solution. If we say we are pro XYZ, what are we actually doing in our every day real lives to make a differen...
Oct 13, 2020•23 min
After a few heavier/deep topics on the last few episodes, we had fun doing a more lighthearted podcast episode this week! So many people have asked how we chose our kids' names, so Jesse and I had fun sharing some of the stories behind their names in this podcast episode. Plus, we also share about Jesse subbing at the kids' school, our recent sleep struggles, a book I recently read and found fascinating, a book Jesse is reading, plus some electrolytes I've been loving. In This Episode: [00:36] W...
Oct 06, 2020•29 min
You aren’t enough — in your own strength. But, in Christ, you can do ALL things! As Alli Worthington says in her new book, Standing Strong , “You may not feel able to stand strong. You may be filled with self-doubt. When you hear others talk about great women of God, you may say, ‘Oh, that’s not me.’ “But friend, it is you. You are more than you think you are. “A superpower exists inside you. If you are a believer, the Holy Spirit lives in you. We can’t keep walking around feeling powerless like...
Sep 29, 2020•28 min
"Do you let your kids have phones? If so, how do you protect your kids and what kinds of apps or parental controls do you have in place?" I get some kind of variation on this question multiple times every week. Since this topic is one that really depends so much on the family and the situation and each individual child, I was hesitant to share what we do at our house. However, after we continued to get so many questions on this, Jesse and I decided to delve into this topic on this week's episode...
Sep 22, 2020•33 min
Every day, in every hard situation, we can choose faith or we can choose fear. We can choose to focus on the what if’s, worry about what might happen, and fret over the worst case scenarios. Or, we can remind ourselves of how God has been faithful in the past and trust that He is going to continue to be faithful and good in the present and future — even in dark, difficult, or even downright impossible situations. Our circumstances do not change God’s character. I don’t know what you’re going thr...
Sep 15, 2020•27 min
“A woman’s highest calling is not marriage or motherhood.” @jamieivey says this in her latest book and on this week’s episode of The Crystal Paine Show. I wholeheartedly concur. But while most of us probably agree with this statement, how often do we let marriage and motherhood become completely all consuming — whether it’s the overwhelming longing to be married and/or have a baby or in how we walk out our roles as a wife and/or mom. We can let our spouse’s happiness or our kids’ success become ...
Sep 08, 2020•30 min
Want to change your life in some way? It starts by consistently changing one small thing... Get up 15 minutes earlier every day. Go to bed 15 minutes earlier daily. Exercise for 15 minutes every day. Invite one person over for coffee every week. Eat one salad every day. Drink two more glasses of water every day. Read for 15 minutes every day. Spend 15 minutes playing with your child every day. Work on that organizing project a little bit every day. Spend 5 minutes praying every morning. Show kin...
Sep 01, 2020•23 min
It's the beginning of a new school year for us and many of you. With that, come new routines -- whether you are homeschooling or your kids are going to school in-person. In this episode, Jesse and I share strategies for having a better morning routine and how to set up a morning routine that serves you and your family well. We talk about why a successful morning begins the night before, how to tackle the hardest things first, and the importance of creating more than one morning routine. Say what...
Aug 25, 2020•29 min
This school year looks a lot different for many families. Some of you are never planned to homeschool and your school went virtual so you've been unexpectedly doing school at home. Some of you made the choice to homeschool this year as that was what you felt was the best choice for your family. In this week's podcast episode, Jesse and I share some of our best advice for brand-new homeschool parents. While we are currently not homeschooling, we have been asked again and again to share some encou...
Aug 18, 2020•29 min
(See more pictures and videos of Champ here .) A year ago, we were in the middle of our foster care home study and praying for who God would bring into our home for us to love on. We were at peace about pursuing this path, but we were still apprehensive and wondering what it might mean for our future. There were so many unknowns, so many what if’s, and so many things outside our control. I look back on this last year and the 5 children we’ve had the privilege to have in our home — 4 for just a v...
Aug 11, 2020•37 min
You all love it when we do Answering Your Burning Question podcast episodes. It's been awhile since we've done one, so I posted recently on Instagram asking for questions you’d like Jesse and I to answer on the podcast and you had lots of great questions. We went through as many as we could on this episode -- including talking about Kathrynne's new job, budgeting, where we'd love to travel, how we find time for intimacy (this was the number one asked question!), where would we love to travel to,...
Jul 29, 2020•30 min
A few weeks ago, Jesse and I recorded a podcast episode sharing our thoughts on parenting a strong willed child (or a "strong child", as we prefer to call them). We got so many great responses from people about that episode, but one was a question from a mom asking if we could talk about how to parent a child with the opposite type of personality -- one that is more passive and people-pleasing. This was such a great suggestion and Jesse and I loved getting to talk about this and give some ideas ...
Jul 21, 2020•33 min
As promised, Shaunti Feldhahn is joining me on the podcast this week to talk all things marriage and communication around money. Shaunti and her husband Jeff are researchers who have worked together for years on numerous books and research projects. Their latest project surveyed thousands of couples on the topic of marriage and money. Throughout three years of research, they discovered five game-changing insights on what is at the root disagreements and tension surrounding relationships and mone...
Jul 14, 2020•29 min
"I would love for you to do an episode with Jesse sometime on how he's taught your kids about budgeting, money, setting up a bank account, etc." This request came in a few weeks ago, and I knew it would be a perfect podcast topic! So, in this episode, I interview Jesse on how has has instilled wise money management principles in our kids -- especially as they have gotten older and have begun earning their own money. He shares his thoughts on budgeting, when to have your kids open up their first ...
Jul 07, 2020•32 min
Board games and card games can be such a great way to have some frugal fun! Best of all, once you've invested in a game, you can play it over and over and over again -- without ever spending another dime! In this week's episode of the podcast, Jesse and I share our family's top five favorite games. We had a very hard time narrowing the list down to just five, but we did it (well, we did mention a few other favorites at the end, because we just couldn't help ourselves!) The games we picked are on...
Jun 30, 2020•28 min
"Could you share some parenting advise for raising my enneagram 8 daughter? She is very headstrong and persistent, but has a complete disregard for rules and regularly challenges authority. As an enneagram 5 (and people pleaser), I do not understand the way she thinks. We have gone around and around and I've tried to get to the heart is the issue. But it seems her bottom line is she is going to do whatever it takes to get what she wants. How do I help channel her perseverance and tenacity in a p...
Jun 23, 2020•33 min
One of the things our family loves to do together is watch shows and movies. Recently, someone asked what our favorite shows are to watch together as a family. So, we all talked together as a family and put together a list of some of the shows we've most enjoyed together. On this week's podcast episode, we share that list + we talk about why we don't have a TV in our living room and how we approach being intentional and careful in our TV-watching. We also talk about a book we're finishing togeth...
Jun 16, 2020•33 min
We’re back! Jesse and I have really missed recording podcasts, but it was also nice to take a break and figure out a good rhythm of having three older kids and two babies. In this episode, we not only share Kierstyn's birth store but we also answer the questions many of you have asked over and over (such as why we chose to go with an OBGYN versus a midwife, what was different about this birth compared to the other births, if COVID-19 impacted the birth/hospital experience in any way, etc.) This ...
Jun 09, 2020•40 min
A lot of you have asked for my thoughts on how we’re dealing with the Pandemic as parents. In this week's episode of The Crystal Paine Show, Jesse and I share some of the ways we're approaching parenting right now and what's working for us. As always, every child is different and you know your kids best, so I’m only sharing how we are approaching things at our house... and these principles can be applied to many different seasons of upheaval. Here are some of the strategies we share in this epis...
Apr 21, 2020•29 min
I usually have almost endless ideas for content. However, with the world in so much upheaval, I've struggled with how to be a podcaster. Should I only talk about the pandemic because it's impacting everyone's lives or should I go ahead with producing normal content? As I was grappling through this, I decided to ask for feedback and thoughts on Instagram on what you would like for us to share on the podcast during this weird season of unknowns. I heard from SO many of you and the resounding respo...
Apr 14, 2020•39 min
By popular request, we had fun this week sitting down and talking about some of our favorite creative family fun things to do at home. If you are looking for some simple ideas of things you can do at home (or in the car) while still social distancing, you don't want to miss today's podcast episode! We also give you an update on what's happening in our lives, how we're adjusting to life with one newborn, and talk about how we're seeking to focus on our blessings and blessing others during this ti...
Apr 07, 2020•34 min
Since we all have been home pretty much 24/7 recently self-isolating, we thought it would be fun to do a laid-back family episode for the podcast week. I asked on Instagram what questions you'd love for us to discuss as a family, and you all submitted such great ideas. In this episode, we talk about: Our individual pet peeves (and Jesse schools us on the origin of "pet peeve") How the kids feel about fostering One tradition the kids loved from when they were younger (their answer totally surpris...
Mar 31, 2020•33 min
Well, like I’ve alluded to other places online, the past two weeks have been packed full of so many different, unexpected things. Some good, some hard, some just plain different than what we expected. It feels almost as if we’ve lived through an entire month in just a week’s time. In this week’s podcast episode, we sit down and talk about some of the BIG updates/changes/unexpected things that happened at our house recently, including: getting a long-term placement from foster care for a preemie ...
Mar 24, 2020•36 min
I know that the whole world is kind of in upheaval right now and there's a lot of unknown and uncertainty. I debated whether to go ahead with publishing this podcast that was planned for the week as it didn't really have much of anything to do with what's going on in the world. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that probably some of you would like a break from the incessant stream of news. Also, I know that many families are going to be hunkering down over the next few we...
Mar 17, 2020•29 min
Early Friday morning, Kathrynne (15) got on a plane to fly to Suriname (in South America) for 9 days with a teacher and a small group of girls from school. (This picture was taken at a park there yesterday.) This is the girl who — just 5 years ago — was scared and completely uncomfortable to be around kids her age. This is the girl who has struggled with so many panic attacks and anxiety. The girl who was incredibly angry with us when we made the decision to put her in school after always homesc...
Mar 10, 2020•31 min
Feeling burdened, weary, tired, or heavy-hearted today? Try the One-Minute Pause! Here’s how it works: Set a timer for 60 seconds. Take a few deep breaths. Then, verbally release the weight of what you are carrying. “I release my stress or worry over my job to You, God.” “I release my fear over my child’s future to You, God.” “I let it go.” Literally let yourself breathe out your fear, stress, worry, tension and breathe in God’s care and carrying of You. This simple practice isn’t going to solve...
Mar 03, 2020•30 min
Today’s culture is often one that feels so fast-paced. We are busy and strapped for time. What is this frenetic pace doing to our souls? I’ve been reading Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge and the first chapter of his book and the questions he asked inspired this episode. Many of you know that I'm currently working on a new book. As part of the writing process, I’m going through old Instagram posts -- many that I wrote 4 to 5 years ago. It was fascinating to me to read so many of these posts a...
Feb 25, 2020•31 min
"How do you stay so positive?" I've been asked this question by multiple people in multiple ways recently so Jesse and I decided to devote a podcast episode to the topic. I thought it would be insightful for us to both talk about this, because I tend to be more of glass half full kind of person while Jesse is more of a glass half empty person. But it's been so cool to watch Jesse intentionally work to develop more of a positive outlook on life. He shares how he has done that and how it has impac...
Feb 18, 2020•29 min
"How did you manage to read 15 books in January?" I've gotten this question over and over again the past two weeks. Truth be told, I had to stop and ask that question myself when I got to the end of January and realized I had finished 15 books in the first month of the year! As I reflected on the last month, I realized that there are 4 tweaks I made in January to how I approached reading that made a big difference... even though they were really minor tweaks. How I'm Fitting In More Reading Time...
Feb 11, 2020•27 min
Over the past few months, we've gotten lots of questions about this very unexpected and surprise pregnancy. So we decided to devote a podcast episode specifically to answering these questions. We had so much fun answering them in this week's podcast -- and talking about the books we're reading and two things that are saving our lives right now. In this episode, we share: A body wash I'm loving How Jesse finally came to the dark side and joined me in loving joggers Books we're reading and loving ...
Feb 04, 2020•35 min
