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For all those who are considering giving a puppy to your children this holiday, or for those who have already done so in the past......this episode is for you!

In this episode, Larry & Dawne share the heartwarming and hilarious story of how their precious Oakley, an English Cream Golden Retriever, was introduced into Larry's family.  Although Larry grew up with dogs, getting a puppy for a growing family of eight children was never something he seriously considered, despite the best persuasion efforts of his daughter Carmel, who had a puppy at the top of her Christmas wish list for 5 years.

But along comes Dawne, a lover of dogs, who thinks it would be a perfect gift for the children.  She convinces Larry that it is time, and they embark on the journey to pick out a puppy and surprise the kids on Christmas Eve.   But their perfect plan needs to change after a nightmare first night of an overactive bowel system, a nasty rain storm, and no sleep!

Despite the challenges, the gifting of Oakley to the Ambrose children produces the perfect moment when the kids come to the realization that the puppy that Dawne is holding as she walks into their family room, is actually theirs!   And Carmel's reaction?  Well in the words of the famous commercial...Priceless!

They close by describing how Oakley has perfectly complemented their family and how they could not imagine life without him.   So, if you are on the fence on whether or not to gift your kids a new pup....our recommendation is a resounding YES!

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In this episode, Larry & Dawne discuss how to cope during the holiday's when you are going though challenges in your life.    The holiday season is supposed to be the most joyous time of the year.    But there are seasons of your life when you may be going through significant hardship due to the loss of a job, financial struggles, a loved one who has passed away, a medical issue, a broken relationship, etc.    During these times, the holiday's can be anything but joyous.  

Larry & Dawne share some of their own personal coping mechanisms that helped them navigate very emotional and stressful times, while trying to maintain the joyous experience for their children.   They share how keeping traditions and creating new ones, can be helpful to everyone involved, and ways in which you can stay in gratitude along the way.

They offer hope and support to those who find themselves in this predicament as the calendar turns to December, and in this season of giving, encourage others who are in a position to do so, to seek out family and friends in need and offer a helping hand.  It could make all the difference in the world for them and their family!  

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What is your origin story?    

In this episode, Larry & Dawne discuss the fascinating topic of your origin story, the wounds that we experience typically during the formative years of our childhood and create a blueprint that unconsciously influence our behavior into adulthood.    Everyone has something, whether occurring  in a moment or over a period of time.  Examples of this would be parental abuse, addiction within the family dynamic, a traumatic event that took place, or the loss of a close family member or friend.  

They discuss their respective origin stories, and how they manifested themselves, from Larry always feeling unsettled and anxious - resulting in a feeling of unworthiness and always needing to prove himself,  to Dawne feeling anxious, scared, alone to figure things out herself and always walking on eggshells as a people pleaser - which resulted in her not wanting to use her voice professionally or personally, having an extreme lack of confidence. These were all unconscious until triggered, then came to surface unknowingly and impacted their relationships and career.  

They then discuss the events in their lives that led them to face directly into the pain that these wounds had caused in order to heal.   A perspective of gratitude enabled them to accept and forgive the past, allowing them to operate as whole healthy person, and live in a spirit of joy.   

We hope you enjoy this episode.   It is really a thought provoking topic.   Most importantly, it is never too late to dig in and do the hard work, to resolve any conflict caused by your origin story/childhood wounds, in order to live the life you deserve!

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In this episode, Larry & Dawne discuss the differences they had following Larry's traditional career path with a college degree vs. Dawne's, without a college degree.   Dawne dives into the challenges she came up against while trying to climb the corporate ladder, but also how that instilled in her a strong determination and work ethic to succeed.   

They then dive into the dynamic that took place during Covid between the applicants and HR leaders as the job market shifted from massive layoffs to the accelerated demand for hiring quality candidates.  

They discuss how the career landscape has evolved for both their children and themselves providing additional options beyond pursuing a career that requires a college degree.   These are the traditional trades, such as plumbing, electrical and HVAC, as well as the creator economy, which has boomed since Covid in which anyone with a purpose, a set of skills that solves a specific need, and a laptop, can launch a business from anywhere and reach a global audience.

We hope you enjoy it!

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In this episode, Larry & Dawne discuss the difficult balance between enabling and empowering your children.   As parents, our natural instincts are to do whatever we can to protect and shelter our children from negative experiences.   But by working through failure and pain, our children grow and mature, setting themselves up for success in the future.   

Larry and Dawne discuss how their parenting styles were completely different due to life's circumstances....and how they feel their parenting positively and negatively affected their children.

Raising 10 children between them, spanning from middle school to  high school to college to adulthood, they share a few experiences where their children were stuck in different situations which left Larry and Dawne to make the difficult decision to push them through the pain and discomfort of doing what they didn't want to do....ultimately ending positively....but the pain of doing it was real!

Parenting is hard stuff!!

 

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In this episode Larry and Dawne share how they started to date again in their adult years.    They discuss the difference between meeting organically, online dating and how being introduced by a mutual friend worked best for them.  

They then dive into the importance of showing up to the first date as yourself and not trying to be someone else.   Key to having a meaningful relationship is healing the wounds from your past so that you don't transfer them to the next person. 

Listen in as they share some of their secrets and tips that help them stay connected through the distance that separates them.  

Laugh along as they describe an event that took place early in their dating journey that converted two strong willed, independent individuals into a true couple that learned how to give and take for the benefit of their relationship and their kids.  

Finally, they discuss some of the core values that are important to their relationship and making sure they stay focused on each other while they navigate the chaos and blessings in their life!

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In this episode we take a step back to "Dawne's Story".  We received an overwhelming response to this podcast - filled with heartfelt testimonials of other similar stories and questions wanting us to expand on certain areas of Dawne's story. 

So, today we expand on Dawne's childhood, the mother wound, how this wound repeats in our life and continues to show up in our adulthood.  

Dawne also points out the red flags to look for in new relationships, or even existing ones.

Finally, Dawne shares how her faith was non-existent as a child but later restored and was the catalyst to learning that her pain she endured throughout her 47 years was not that she was put on this earth to be tortured, but meant for greater purpose. 

She now dedicates her life to helping people heal and overcome their pain by identifying where they are struggling - so they too can overcome their childhood wounds and live free from the pain and limiting beliefs that have been bestowed upon them and holding them back from living a life of joy.

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In this episode, Larry shares the story of meeting his wife Chris in 1991 and her tragic passing in 2011.   Supported by family and a community that loved them, he and his eight children were eventually able to navigate life again.   But living a chaotic life as a single parent and corporate executive eventually took its toll, leading to a crash in 2017.    Forced to face into his reality, he doubled down on his faith in God and went through a gut wrenching and soul searching process to heal.   With clarity came a new life mission statement and the decision to leave his career to stay home and give his children what they needed most...a dad who was fully present to them.  Thriving again, he shares how living in faith and with joy led to meeting his fiancé Dawne and forming their company Grit2Grace to help those in need become unstuck, find their true purpose, and live a life of joy.

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Dawne & Larry offer suggestions and relatable moments that derive from the transition from summer to back-to-school madness!  
 
Topics discussed include:

• Back to school shopping and how men approach it differently than women.
• Moving kids back to college and into apartments, and how important the roommate coordination is!
• Helping the older boys avoid the pitfalls of selecting the right apartment.
• Navigating all of the medical appointments that seem to mount up this time of year.
• Supporting one of the girls through a very personal decision regarding a tattoo.  
• Doing all of this while we got engaged and launched our business!
• Reflecting on how handling all of this would have been a major challenge in the past, while now looking to create experiences with the kids and taking full advantage of our time together.
• How we stay connected with each other while living apart amidst the chaos, such as date nights, nightly FaceTime's, keeping it light and laughing, sharing our faith and attending church together, etc.

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Dawne and Larry were former high-achieving corporate executives both living outwardly successful lives. Internally, they were spiraling. Life circumstances had brought them to their knees. Rather than giving up, they leaned into their Faith and did the hard work to make themselves whole again. Now thriving, they are on a mission to lead others to find their true purpose so they too can live a life of joy.
 
Launching this Podcast is part of our mission. 

In today's episode, we will provide an introduction into who we are, why we are doing this podcast, and the mission behind it. 

Topics discussed include: 

• Life hacks from a his & her perspective. 
• Introducing ourselves and how we learned we had a common mission during our first date. 
• Some of our experiences that we will share with you including parenting 10 kids in total from ages 12 to 30, overcoming significant loss by digging deep to do the necessary work to find our purpose and thrive again, navigating 30 year career's in corporate America, many as a single parent, and falling in love and learning how to build a relationship again in our 50's.
• Why we formed Grit2Grace, a company designed to offer hope, inspiration, and real-world solutions to those in need. Through our experiences and transformative process, we teach you how faith, resilience and hard work can help you: 

• Get unstuck and find your true purpose 
• Overcome and heal through loss 
• Remove limiting beliefs 
• Navigate single parenting challenges across many different ages and circumstances 
• Double down on your Faith to find true joy.... and much more