Milspouse Matters

Dawn M. Smith is an Army spouse of nearly two decades, a freelance writer with a talent for creating real estate and home design content, and a mom living in the D.C. area. She's rebelling against the description of "seasoned spouse," though we still haven't landed on a better term!

Dawn shares her tips for creating a home wherever the Army sends her family (and gives you permission to shop!), as well as provides her hard-won wisdom for spouses navigating military life.

Making use of the resources provided by the military and educating yourself, blooming where you're planted, and parenting an (almost) middle schooler are all topics we touch on in this fun episode! Wondering how to style your rental or military housing? Listen in for some great info!

Mentioned in this show:

Dawn's home decor posts on MilitaryByOwner

Home Decorating, Military Family Style!

Military OneSource

Find Dawn:

Dawn M. Smith

Dawn on Pinterest

Learn more about the show, get show notes and more content at jenmcdonald.net.

Get Jen's book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse.

*Contains affiliate links.

Lana Simmons is a retired military spouse now living in Virginia. Through the years of her husband's military career, she grappled with the common questions many milspouses face: How do I keep a career going with constant moves, especially overseas? What if I decide to stay home with my kids? Should I volunteer? Where do I find friends?

Lana came to terms with the best answers for her family, and talks with honesty about choices she made and even where she realizes she went wrong! Learn more about her military spouse journey and hear the advice she would have given her younger self, had she only known better. Maybe you can relate!

A woman of varied talents and interests, her projects include launching and hosting several podasts and starting a family farm! She's working through the process to become a certified Master Gardener and she's also a homeschooling parent, herbalist, Usui Reiki Master Teacher, and yoga instructor. Listen in and be inspired to carve out your own identity, without apology.

Mentioned in this show:

wellFULL Podcast

Reinventing Midlife

Blue Star Families Survey

Find Lana:

Lana's site lanasimmons.com

Facebook

Instagram

Learn more about the show, get show notes and more content at jenmcdonald.net.

Get Jen's book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse.

*Contains affiliate links.

Christina Youngblood is an Army veteran and Air Force spouse. At the age of 20, she was sent on a 15-month deployment to Iraq and went through experiences that later culminated in a diagnosis of PTSD. Christina is very open about her journey dealing with PTSD and how she has gotten to the point where it doesn't control her anymore.

Along with resources and advice for military members and family dealing with the fallout of PTSD, we chat about her family's recent return from an overseas tour in Belgium, "reverse culture shock," how veteran and active duty military spouses are viewed in the milspouse community, and her upcoming projects for military families.

Mentioned in this show:

Military OneSource (free confidential counseling) 1-800-342-9647

The PTSD Breakthrough

Find more from Christina at Heart & Stripes

Learn more about the show, get shownotes and more content at jenmcdonald.net.

Download your free 5-day deployment devotional.

Get Jen's book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse.

*Contains affiliate links.

Christine Barker Anderson ("Chris") is one of those people who lights up a room with her smile and warmth. She shares with us about her family's military life of over two decades, including moving around the world with her husband and four children and going through several deployments, until her husband Air Force Chaplain Lonnie Barker's unexpected death while still on active duty.

Candid and humorous, Chris always points us to faith and family as the answer to get us through the hard times of sorrow and loss, while providing hope and encouragement to those going through their own dark times. You won't want to miss her wise words and will also appreciate her practical advice about how best to reach out to families going through tragedy.

Mentioned in this show:

Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart

One Fit Widow

A Single Rose

Christine's daughter's song: "Fire" by Fáire

Find more from Christine at Notes By Christine

See show notes and find even more content at jenmcdonald.net!

*Contains affiliate links.

This week Jen's chatting with Tara Howes, a retired Army spouse who's gotten through military life with lots of laughs and facing challenges with flexibility. Tara is the mother of four and the cohost of My Military Life Radio.

Over the years of her husband's Army career, she's become in her words, a "professional volunteer," supporting military families in numerous capacities, including as a parent trainer for Military Child Education Coalition, an Army Community Service Master Trainer, an Army Family Team Building instructor, and as a volunteer for PWOC, the FRG, and more.

She says she's loving life post-military and currently resides in Arizona with her husband Dino and four kids.

Tara's advice? "Take the overseas assignments!"

Connect with Tara:

Tara on Twitter

My Military Life Radio

Reinventing Midlife Podcast

See show notes and find even more content at jenmcdonald.net!

Join Jen McDonald as she shares the stories of military spouses, both past and present. With less than 1% of our country serving on active duty, we're highlighting the stories of military families so you can hear from them firsthand.

We're going to talk about it all: getting through the separations that go along with training and deployments, moving around the world, seeing the one you love leave for war, raising kids in the military, finding your own place as a military spouse, and strengthening your military marriage.

Grab a cup of coffee or glass of wine and tune in every week for a new personal journey.

Find out more about the show, get shownotes and more content at jenmcdonald.net.

Download your free 5-day deployment devotional.

Get Jen's book, You Are Not Alone: Encouragement for the Heart of a Military Spouse.

*Contains affiliate links.