From weeknight dinners and homework sessions with their son to Christmas card photos and vacations, Nikki DeBartolo and Benjamin Heldfond have created a tight-knit, enviable family. They work and play well together, from the smallest daily tasks to the biggest life events—and it only took a divorce to get them there. Though their marriage has been over for nearly a decade, they still share a happy life with each other and their son Asher, along with their new amazing spouses and children.Ben and Nikki had hoped their wedding would start their happily ever after—but seven years, one child, and countless financial and familial entanglements later, their I do-s had turned into We can’t-s. Armed with their fierce love for their son and a desire to give him the best, they realized they needed to find an alternative to the seemingly inevitable toxic divorce that loomed over their lives.Refusing to participate in the standard litigious legal divorce process, they devised a new strategy and worked to confront their hurt feelings and fragile egos head-on. Committed to putting Asher’s needs first in every decision, they helped each other heal and build a future. Their happily blended family today is a testament to their commitment to a few core principles and their incredible son—during thedivorce and beyond.In this stunning book, Ben and Nikki elaborate on the difficulties of their divorce experience, their individual pains and triumphs, and their unique approach to relationships and blended families. Their story is sure to inspire others to pursue something few believe possible…a happy divorce.

Even under the best of circumstances, marriage in a blended family is challenging. From parenting to ex-spouses to past hurts, couples face many obstacles. In Blending Families, eighteen successful stepfamilies will show you how they've learned to overcome their everyday challenges. Whether you ve been married for years or just preparing for the journey, Blending Families is the essential resource to help you breakthrough and have a successful family that will thrive for years to come.About the AuthorJimmy Evans is Founder and CEO of MarriageToday, a ministry that is devoted to helping couples thrive in strong and fulfilling marriages and families. Jimmy and his wife Karen co-host MarriageToday with Jimmy and Karen, a nationally syndicated television program which is broadcast daily into over 110 million homes in America and more than 200 countries worldwide.

Using a GPS analogy, Co Parenting After Divorce presents a road map for developing a customized parenting plan either with a parenting coordinator or on your own.Learn what to expect from a parenting coordinator and from the court system, how to track factors important for your child's development, how and when to adjust the plan, and how to handle bumps in the road and avoid common mistakes.Written by one of only a few experts on parenting coordination, Dr. Debra Carter provides solid information that every divorcing parent needs to know before, during and after the divorce.Instead of letting conflict and divorce harm children, this book helps parents avoid actions and behaviors that influence kids in a lifelong negative way, and instead gives parents tools to prevent harm to their children even when parents are no longer together.

Love may be sweeter the second time around, but once the bliss of a newfound relationship wears off a little, the reality of being part of a stepfamily sets in. If you are one of the millions of remarried Americans facing the challenge of blending two existing families into one cohesive whole, you are part of a stepcouple—and you know all too well how hard it can be to make your marriage work in sometimes tough terrain. Different parenting styles, finances, relationships with ex-spouses, legal matters, and even seemingly simple issues such as the kinds of chores assigned to children can chisel away at your union if you don’t always make your marriage a priority. Stepcoupling offers advice for stepcouples on how to do just that—all the while strengthening their blended family with a healthy marriage. Susan Wisdom and Jennifer Green provide tips and strategies on dealing with the issues remarried couples face, with a wealth of advice from real-life stepcouples, such as:* Learning to tailor your expectations of your spouse or children and remembering that no family is perfect* Knowing where your boundaries are, whether involving a hostile ex-spouse or a stepchild who demands too much attention* Realizing that traits like flexibility, tolerance, forgiveness, and openness are especially essential in a stepfamily situation* Making “us” time for talking, problem-solving, weekends away, and enjoying your marriage to constantly renew and strengthen your bond as a coupleLet this invaluable remarriage manual help you make your stepcouple the foundation of a strong, happy, and successful stepfamily.

A funny, honest, and empathetic resource for the novice stepmother, which includes advice on The kids: Adjusting to suspicion, resentment, and biological-parent loyalties; The ex-wife: Living calmly alongside her, whether she's a psycho or the perfect mother; The holidays: Accommodating old family traditions and developing new ones; The sex: Keeping love alive through the kids' bed-wetting and nightmares. Plus an invaluable list of resources, websites, publications, and organizations specifically for the new stepmother.

“Successful stepfamilies build one step at a time.”The Stepfamily Handbook provides these essentials:• Step-by-step guidance for how to introduce children to a dating partner and pace positive engagement between partners and kids, and kids with kids.• A roadmap through the “Five Stepfamily Challenges” that will likely surface shortly after you begin dating and grow in intensity as your relationship develops — with practical, proven tips to meet each challenge. • Developmentally specific pointers for ushering children through the struggles of becoming part of a new family.• Research-based information on best practices for parenting, stepparenting and discipline in a stepfamily.• Important tips for maintaining a successful relationship with a critical player in the family — the co-parent (ex-spouse), who is the children’s other parent.• A solid communication skills tool box to help you face the inevitable relationship struggles that come with stepfamily formation.

A boy's parents help him adjust to his new stepfamily when his mother remarries after a divorce. Includes note to parents.

A young girl’s world is turned upside-down when her mother decides to remarry. Along with the ring comes a few more, Step One, Step Two, Step Three and Four. The girl will do whatever it takes to keep step siblings out of her life. She eventually realizes there are some benefits to having a blended family. This lighthearted story will reassure children that in spite of change, the outcome is worth the transition. It delights in the possibilities with having a blended family. Nominated in 2012 as a finalist in National Association of Elementary School Principals contest. Children, ages 4 to 8, will love its suessical flair of bold illustrations and lyrical text.

With the humor and poignancy of Joan Bauer and Lynda Mullaly Hunt, this story reminds readers that they have a right to a voice, that it's okay to say how you feel, and that some leftovers are absolutely delicious! Fizzy is a good Southern girl who just wants to be perfect. And win the Southern Living cook-off. The being perfect part is hard though, since her parents’ divorced and everything in her life has changed. Wary of her too-perfect stepmom and her mom’s neat-freak, dismissive boyfriend, she’s often angry or upset and feels like a guest in both homes. She tells herself to face facts: She’s a “leftover” kid from a marriage that her parents want to forget. But she has to keep all of that to herself, because a good Southern girl never yells, or throws fits, or says anything that might hurt other people’s feelings—instead she throws her shoulders back, says yes ma’am, and tries to do better. So Fizzy tries her best, but it’s hard to stay quiet when her family keeps getting more complicated. Fortunately, the Southern Living cook-off gives her a welcome distraction, as do her new friends Miyoko and Zach, who have parent issues of their own.