Fostering Voices Podcast: Recent Episodes
Chris and Jihae Watson
A podcast devoted to the many voices in foster care and adoption. The hosts, Chris and Jihae, are former foster, and adoptive parents, with 7 kids. This podcast highlights personal stories, as well as many experiences from those in the foster/adopt community. Be entertained, inspired, and possibly get involved in the community yourself.
Summary:
In this episode, we’re diving deep into the growing mental health challenges affecting our communities. Licensed professional counselor Wade Cordell joins us to share his expertise in trauma, ADHD, and crisis intervention. As a Mental Health First Aid trainer and passionate mental health advocate, Wade helps us understand how to recognize a crisis, when to step in, and what steps to take using the ALGEE action plan. From risk factors to real-life interventions, we explore the power of support, the importance of awareness, and how we can all be better prepared to respond when it matters most.
Resource Links:
Shift Happens -Transformative Counseling Shift Happens
Mental Health First Aid Training Find a Course or Instructor « Mental Health First Aid
National Crisis Lines SAMHSA
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.orgFacebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast Instagram: @FosteringVoices Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
New York Times bestselling author Andrew Bridge joins us to share his powerful journey from foster care to Harvard Law and beyond. In this episode, we discuss his memoir Hope’s Boy and his new release The Child Catcher, a bold exposé on the child welfare system.
Andrew reflects on beating the odds, the stigma surrounding foster youth, and the billion-dollar business of foster care. With deep personal insight and a call for justice, this conversation is a must-listen for anyone who cares about children, advocacy, and systemic change.
Tap play for an unforgettable story of resilience and reform.
Resource Links:
Andrew Bridge
Become a Court Appointed Special Advocate
Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program | Arizona Department of Child Safety
National CASA Link
National CASA/GAL
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.orgFacebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast Instagram: @FosteringVoices Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode, Meagan Ku returns to explore the mental health challenges facing today’s teens—and how parents can respond with wisdom and awareness. As a mom of three teenagers, Meagan shares personal insight and professional perspective on what's really going on with youth today, and why it's so different from past generations. Kim and Brian dive into tough questions: What are we missing? What do we need to see more clearly? We also revisit Meagan’s previous episode (Ep. 206) and catch up on what’s new in her world. From the alarming youth mental health stats in Arizona to the subtle red flags and substance use trends, we cover both the dangers and the protective factors that can make a lasting impact. Learn about the Strengthening Families Framework and discover practical ways to support the teens in your life.
Resource Links:
Ammonite Counseling www.ammonite-counseling.com
Resilience guide for parents and teachers
American Academy of Pediatrics - Mental Health Matters Video Series First Semester at College: How I Made Connections | AAP
How to Know When Your Child Needs Help Teen Mental Health: How to Know When Your Child Needs Help - HealthyChildren.org
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.orgFacebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast Instagram: @FosteringVoices Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
We're back with a bonus episode to celebrate April's five-Tuesday month! This special release features Meagan Ku, who first joined us in February for our Foster Cooperative training event. Her insights were so impactful, we had to bring her back for more.
Meagan has spent over a decade working with children and families, specializing in support for those impacted by neglect, abuse, and attachment challenges. Her deep passion for helping youth and their caregivers shines through as she equips them with practical tools for resilience, healing, and connection.
In this episode, we dive into Meagan’s story—what drew her to this work, what fuels her passion, and how her experiences have shaped her approach. You’ll get a glimpse into the heart behind the expertise in our “Get to Know Meagan” segment.
Then, she shares her Top 5 Tips for caregivers, full of encouraging and actionable advice:
- Your kids are doing the best they can—and so are you.
- Don’t hesitate to seek support.
- Embrace new strategies with curiosity.
- Prioritize wisely—focus on just three areas of life at a time.
- Shift from reactive to intentional parenting.
Plus, we explore the joy of parenting, how to recover from hard moments, and how fear can steal our joy. Meagan reminds us of the transformative power of praise and connection.
Tune in for an uplifting, practical, and heartfelt conversation—you won’t want to miss it!
Resource Links:
Ammonite Counseling
www.ammonite-counseling.com
Top 5 Parenting Tips by Meagan Ku (PDF)
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.orgFacebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast Instagram: @FosteringVoices Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode, we're diving into the power of advocacy and what it means to fight for lasting change—especially for those who are often invisible and unheard. At the top of that list: Arizona kids in foster care. In this episode, we sit down with Darcy Olsen, founder of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children, to explore what it takes to change systems and laws to protect the most vulnerable. Since 2017, Darcy has been at the forefront of this critical work, tackling tough issues head-on and pushing for better outcomes so that every child can grow up feeling safe, supported, and loved. Tune in as we discuss the biggest challenges Arizona’s children are facing today—and what it will take to overcome them.
Resource Links:
Center for the Rights of Abused Children
Arizona Legislators: Active Bills
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.orgFacebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast Instagram: @FosteringVoices Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this heartfelt episode, we invite you to join us on a journey of learning, empathy, and growth as we recognize Autism Awareness Month. After our own child received an autism diagnosis last year, we’ve experienced firsthand the challenges and questions that come with navigating this path. With 1 in 36 children—1 in 30 boys—receiving an autism diagnosis by age 8, the need for community education and family support is greater than ever.
We’re honored to welcome Dr. Christopher J. Smith, an experimental psychologist and leader at the Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center (SARRC), right here in Arizona. Dr. Smith oversees diagnostic evaluations and groundbreaking research at SARRC, an organization internationally recognized for its evidence-based practices and innovative approach to autism support. He also continues to serve as a faculty member at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Together, we’ll explore what families can expect after a diagnosis, what support systems are available, and how we can all better understand and uplift our neurodiverse community. Whether you're a parent, caregiver, educator, or simply someone wanting to learn more—this conversation is for you.
Let’s learn and grow together.
Resource Links:
SARRC - Diagnostic Services
autismcenter.org/Diagnosis
Autism Society of Greater Phoenix
https://phxautism.org/
“Be wary of offering ‘help,’ and other ways to support families with disabilities” by Jaclyn Greenberg
Be wary of offering ‘help,’ and other ways to support families with disabilities | CNN
Arizona Articles and Press Releases - DDD Services Impacted as of March 2025
Governor Katie Hobbs Announces Actions to Control Costs and Protect Care at Division of Developmental Disabilities | Office of the Arizona Governor
Republicans block bill to cover budget shortfall threatening Arizona’s disability services
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In today’s episode, we’re diving into a question that so many of us wrestle with: How do we shift our focus from the daily grind and truly embrace joy? Joining us is Anika Robinson—foster parent of over 15 years, dedicated mom and wife, and founder of ASA Now, a local non-profit. With a life constantly in motion, Anika has learned firsthand how to balance the chaos while still making space for joy. Tune in as we explore her journey, insights, and practical ways to find joy in every season of life.
Resource Links:
How Gratitude Rewires Your Brain - Christina Costa - Christina Costa: How gratitude rewires your brain | TED Talk
Gratitude Journal Prompts - The Gratitude Journal: Prompts, PDFs and Worksheets
Three Minute Gratitude Journal For Kids - https://a.co/d/dUtxKdH
Gratitude Journal - Amazon.com : Christian Prayer Journal - God, Goodness & Gratitude - Faith-Based Gratitude and Devotional Journal for Daily Prayers, Bible Study, and Spiritual Growth - Light Brown Leather Hardcover
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Did you know that Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) affects more children than autism, yet it remains largely unknown unless it directly impacts your family? Based on a national prevalence study, an estimated 1 in 23 children are diagnosed with PFD, a condition that goes beyond picky eating and is not related to body image issues like other eating disorders. Instead, it presents unique challenges for both children and their families, affecting nutrition, development, and daily life.
In this episode, we welcome Stacy Bradley, a dedicated mom of four, two of whom joined her family through adoption. With firsthand experience navigating PFD, Stacy is passionate about advocating for her children and sharing her knowledge to support others on a similar journey. She joins us to shed light on what PFD is, how it impacts families, and what resources are available for those seeking help.
If you or someone you love has been affected by PFD, or if you simply want to learn more about this often-overlooked condition, this episode is for you. Tune in as we raise awareness, share insights, and discuss ways to support children with PFD.
Resource Links:
Pediatric Feeding Disorder: Consensus Definition and Conceptual Framework - PMC
Toolkit for Pediatric Feeding Disorder: pediatric feeding disorder fact sheet
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Today is a special day on Fostering Voices! A couple of episodes ago, we celebrated our 200th episode and reflected on how this podcast began—not with us, but with a powerful vision. Fostering Voices started as an idea to spark meaningful conversations and raise awareness about the urgent need for community engagement in foster care. It all began with Chris and Jihae Watson, a microphone, and their living room.
Two years ago, Foster Arizona was gifted this incredible platform, and we thought it was the perfect time to check in with the Watsons to see where life has taken them. In this episode, we reconnect with Chris and Jihae, reminiscing on the journey that led to this podcast’s creation and exploring what they’ve been up to since passing the torch.
Join us for an inspiring conversation filled with gratitude, reflection, and the shared passion for making a difference in the foster care community. Welcome back, Watsons—we’re so glad you’re here!
Resource Links:
Learn more about Fostering in Arizona
Foster & Adopt
Inside Look at Fostering - Liz and Travis’ story
https://vimeo.com/118157857?share=copy
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode, Brian and Kim dive into the theme of love—not just for others, but for ourselves—by exploring the power of healthy boundaries.
First, we break down Boundaries 101, discussing what boundaries really mean, why they aren’t about being mean, and how they help us navigate relationships with clarity and confidence.
Then, we get real about balancing life’s demands—from managing time and energy in our most important relationships to setting boundaries at work, home, and even with our kids. Because guess what? Parents are people too! We also tackle boundaries in romantic relationships, the importance of difficult conversations, and how financial issues and lack of communication contribute to divorce.
Finally, we lean into the crazy, asking the hard questions: What’s causing stress? What issues keep resurfacing? Are we truly at peace?
Join us as we unpack the power of boundaries in fostering healthier relationships and a more balanced life. Let’s get into it!
Resource Links:
Boundaries with Kids - Boundaries with Kids: How Healthy Choices Grow Healthy Children: Cloud, Henry, Townsend, John: 9780310243151
Set Boundaries, Find Peace - a guide to reclaiming yourself
Amazon.com: Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself
Healthy Boundaries Worksheets
14 Worksheets for Setting Healthy Boundaries
Visualizing Your Boundaries Exercise
https://positive.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Visualizing-Your-Boundaries.pdf
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Welcome to an extra special episode of Fostering Voices as we celebrate our 200th milestone! This journey wouldn’t have been possible without the vision and dedication of Chris and Jihae Watson, who worked tirelessly to create this impactful educational space. We’re deeply grateful to continue fostering authentic conversations within our community, tackling real issues with compassion and honesty.
In this episode, we take on a critical and urgent topic: sex trafficking. What risks do our children face? Who is most vulnerable to victimization? And what can we do to protect our communities?
To guide this vital conversation, we’re joined by Heidi Chance, a retired law enforcement professional with over 27 years of experience combating human trafficking. Heidi is not only a seasoned advocate but also an author and trainer dedicated to raising awareness and creating lasting change.
Tune in for a powerful discussion, as we learn more about the realities of sex trafficking and the actionable steps we can take to make a difference. Together, let’s continue fostering hope, education, and community.
Resource Links:
The Bark Blog
Life 360: How Does Life360 Work? | Location Tracking Guide
Gabb: Gabb.com Blog
Book: Talk To Them: Navigating Difficult Conversations With Youth In The Digital Age: Heidi Chance
Sex Trafficking in America (full documentary) | FRONTLINE
Heidi Chance Website: A Chance For Awareness
Victim Services and Resources in Arizona: Human Trafficking and Exploitation | Arizona Attorney General
Website: National Human Trafficking Hotline
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Happy New Year, and welcome to 2025! While the start of a new year often brings talk of resolutions, research from Pew shows that 70% of Americans skip them—mostly because they’re too easy to break. So, how can we approach personal growth in a way that truly sticks?
In this episode, we explore realistic ways to make incremental changes toward the life you envision. Joining us are Toni and James McSwain, parents of six sons and founders of Divine Movement, a nonprofit dedicated to equipping individuals with the tools and mentorship needed to achieve their goals. Toni, a certified life coach and founder of “Thee Growth Coach,” also works directly with youth to help them unlock their potential.
Together, we discuss actionable strategies for setting and pursuing meaningful goals, overcoming obstacles, and staying motivated throughout the year. Whether you’re aiming for personal, professional, or community growth, this conversation will leave you inspired and equipped to make 2025 your best year yet.
Let’s dive in!
Resource Links: Divine Movement in the News: Divine Movement Track Club Competing at Nationals
Thee Growth Coach
Hive - List of Goal Tracking Apps: 15 Goal-Tracking Apps & Tools To Succeed in 2024 | Hive
Dream-Design-Define Handout 11x17 (PDF)
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In the final episode of our mini-series, we explore the transformative power of community support and how it can truly change and uplift lives. Over the last two episodes, we heard from two inspiring individuals who have directly benefited from the incredible work of Foster Arizona. Now, we’re flipping the script.
Today, we’re thrilled to spotlight Christian and Patrick Andrew, two dedicated supporters who exemplify how we can all make a difference in our own unique ways. Often, we think creating impact means making big, life-altering commitments like opening our homes. But the truth is, each of us has the power to change lives by simply sharing our gifts, skills, and influence to create opportunities for others.
Join us as we dive into their stories and discover how small acts of support can lead to big changes, inspiring all of us to find our own ways to contribute to our communities. This heartwarming episode will leave you motivated to take action and see the ripple effect of community care.
Tune in and be inspired!
Resource Link:
Foster Arizona
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode of our mini-series on the transformative power of community support, we dive into another inspiring story of connection and resilience. Last week, we heard from Joseph, who shared how the community shaped his journey from foster care to adulthood. This week, we’re thrilled to continue the conversation with Jenny Montgomery.
Jenny brings a wealth of experience as someone who has dedicated her professional life to supporting children and families in the community. But her perspective is especially meaningful because she’s also been on the receiving end of that support during pivotal moments in her own life.
Join us as Jenny shares her powerful story, offering insights into how community support can be both life-changing and life-giving. Her journey reminds us that we all have the ability to make a difference and that receiving help can be just as transformative as giving it.
Tune in for an uplifting discussion that will leave you inspired to foster connection and support in your own community.
Resource Links:
Foster Arizona
Foster Cooperative
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Welcome to our podcast mini-series, where we dive into the transformative power of community support. Join us as we explore how fostering connections can truly change lives. To kick things off, we’re thrilled to welcome Joseph Layton to the show. Joseph has been a vital part of Foster Arizona’s housing initiative for over a year and a half, working tirelessly toward his goals and aspirations.
Guided by host Ashley, a dedicated Foster Arizona board member and longtime advocate, we’ll uncover the inspiring journey of someone who’s making big strides toward a brighter future. Ashley’s insight into Foster Arizona’s mission brings a unique perspective, helping us better understand the impact of communal support on those who need it most. Joseph’s story offers a firsthand look at what’s possible when people come together to create positive change.
Tune in as we discuss Joseph’s path, the challenges he’s faced, and the powerful role of organizations like Foster Arizona in helping individuals thrive. Get ready to be inspired by the stories, the resilience, and the unbreakable spirit of a community that cares.
Resource Links:
Foster Arizona: Foster Arizona
Foster Arizona Housing Project: Get Involved
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Welcome to today’s episode, where we dive into the important and often misunderstood topic of refugee and international foster care in Arizona. Misinformation around this issue tends to spread, especially around election seasons, making it hard to separate fact from fiction. Our goal is to shed light on the realities of refugee and international foster care and to offer you practical ways to support those involved.
We’re thrilled to welcome two special guests to help us unpack this topic: Erin Pelley and Adan Benitez. Together, we’ll explore the unique challenges and inspiring stories within the foster care system for refugee children, as well as the ways community members can provide support and make a lasting impact. Tune in to learn, dispel myths, and discover how you can be a part of positive change.
Resource Links:
Catholic Charities: Unaccompanied Minor Program | Catholic Charities.
Best Practices for Working with Unaccompanied Migrant Children - UNICEF: Best Practices for Working with Unaccompanied Migrant Children in Humanitarian Contexts
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode, released during Invisible Disability Awareness Week, we shine a light on the often-overlooked challenges of living with invisible disabilities. We share our personal experiences navigating a world where assumptions are based on what can be seen. From expectations about how a child should behave to judgments about what adults are capable of, these perceptions can create unintentional barriers for those with invisible disabilities.
Join us as we explore how our interactions and assumptions affect others and discuss what it might look like to shift our approach. How can we create space for more understanding, allowing people to be seen for who they truly are? What happens when we let down our guards and give each other room to breathe? This episode invites listeners to reflect on how we can cultivate a more compassionate society—one that acknowledges the realities of invisible disabilities and fosters more mindful, inclusive connections.
Resource Link:
Programs 4 People - Invisible Disabilities® Association
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode, we’re diving into an essential conversation about the role we all play—parents, caregivers, and community members—in supporting the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ youth. Even if you don’t feel this is directly relevant to your life, we encourage you to listen. Statistically, more than one in five Gen Z adults and one in ten millennial adults identify as LGBTQ+. Youth who identify as LGBTQ+ are at a significantly higher risk for homelessness, substance abuse, trauma, and suicide, with even greater risks for those who’ve experienced the foster care system.
These youth could be our neighbors, friends, children, or our kids’ friends, making it crucial for us to put down our guard and open our hearts.
To guide this discussion, we’re joined by Rochelle Rippy and Hira Ismail from one•n•ten, a nonprofit organization dedicated to serving LGBTQ+ youth and young adults ages 11-24. They provide critical services that promote self-expression, self-acceptance, leadership development, and healthy life choices. Let’s explore how we can all play a part in creating a more supportive, inclusive world for the LGBTQ+ youth in our lives.
Resource Links:
one•n•ten: one•n•ten
Tips for Parents of LGBTQ+ Youth: Tips for Parents of LGBTQ Youth | Johns Hopkins Medicine
Embodied: Transgender Identities, the Church, and What the Bible Has to Say: Sprinkle, Preston: 9780830781225: Amazon.com
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode, we are honored to sit down with Mari Ramsey, whose inspiring journey began when he and his brother entered foster care at the age of 14. While many teens in his situation end up in group homes, Mari was fortunate to find a loving foster family where he could thrive. Through the challenges he faced, Mari discovered his passion for music, faith in God, and a calling to share his story with others. Join us as we listen to Mari’s heartfelt reflections on his experiences, the power of resilience, and how his love for music and faith shaped his path.
Resource Links:
Fostered for Greatness - Mari Ramsey - Fostered For Greatness
Foster and Adopt Information: Foster Arizona | Foster & Adobt
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In today’s episode, we dive into the world of group homes for children in foster care. When family or foster families aren't an option, group homes become the next step for many kids. But what is life really like inside these homes?
We’re joined by Shevaun Sullivan, Director of Group Home Relations at OCJ Kids, who shares her insights from years of experience. Shevaun discusses the day-to-day realities for kids in these environments and highlights the crucial role the community plays in supporting their well-being. If you’ve ever wondered how group homes function or how you can help make a difference, this conversation is a must-listen!
Resource Links:
OCJ Kids
What adolescents (or teenagers) need to thrive | Charisse Nixon | TEDxPSUErie
Gestures - Changing Minds, by Futures Without Violence
Dr. Bruce Perry: How the Neurosequential Model Can Be Used to Meet Children Where They Are
Foster Arizona | Foster & Adobt
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Join us on location at Central Christian Church in Glendale, Arizona, for Foster Arizona’s semi-annual Foster Cooperative Training. This episode is packed with insightful talks from experts dedicated to empowering caregivers and community champions. Discover valuable knowledge and practical tools to better support the children who need us most. As we learn and grow together, we enhance our ability to make a meaningful impact in their lives. Tune in to be inspired and equipped to show up with greater purpose and compassion.
Resource Links:
Foster Cooperative
Taproot Therapy
Pure Phoenix
Lighthouse Psychiatry
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In today’s episode, we’re diving deep into the concept of building resilience, particularly in children. We often hear about the importance of resilience, but what does it really mean? And more importantly, how can we help our kids develop this crucial skill? Resilience isn’t just about surviving challenges—it’s about learning to bounce back and thrive in the face of adversity. While there are many ways to nurture resilience, today, we’re focusing on a powerful and perhaps unexpected tool: art.
Art can be a transformative medium for children, offering them a way to process emotions, express themselves, and find healing. To explore this topic further, we’re excited to welcome Matt Sandoval, the Executive Director of Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona. This incredible local nonprofit is dedicated to providing trauma-informed programs that connect the community to the healing power of the arts. Matt brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our discussion, and we’re grateful to have him with us as we explore how art can be a successful tool in building resilience in children.
Resource Links:
Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona -
Free Arts
Video: 3 Art Therapy Activities to Boost Resilience Made from Dollar Tree Materials
3 Art Therapy Activities to Boost Resilience Made from Dollar Tree Materials
BOOK - I Can do Hard Things - Mindful Affirmations for Kids
I Can Do Hard Things: Mindful Affirmations for Kids: Garcia, Gabi, Russell, Charity: 9780998958088
Resilience Guide for Parents and Teachers
Resilience guide for parents and teachers
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
As summer blazes in Arizona, we’re constantly on the move, seeking cooler escapes to preserve our sanity. Traveling with a family of nine is no small feat, and we’ve gathered a treasure trove of tips and tricks to make it smoother.
In this episode, we dive into Intentional Travel. Fresh from a recent timeshare presentation, we discuss the joys and challenges of discovering new experiences together and the importance of adventure in our family. We’ll share our favorite adventures and how we align them with our family goals.
Next, in The Planning Behind the Fun, we break down the essentials of gearing up for family trips. From our favorite Shacke Paks to specific bags for medications, bug spray, sunscreen, and more, we cover it all. Learn how we manage kid bags, hygiene kits, and day bags to keep everyone organized. We’ll also share tips on cooler prep, using Stasher Bags and Mason Jars, and our go-to kitchen bucket.
Our clothing plan includes an emergency washing kit and a portable clothing rack, plus how to plan laundry stops on the road. We’ll guide you through planning the fun with tools like the Road Tripper app and Google Docs for seamless travel details.
Lastly, we touch on the essentials of permits, advance tickets, seasonal activities, and international travel tips. And when things don’t go as planned, we’ll share our go-to interventions to keep the fun alive.
Join us for an insightful episode packed with practical advice for memorable family travels!
Resource Links:
Shacke Pak!: Shacke 5 Set Packing Cubes for Travel Lightweight Luggage Organizer (Precious Pink)
Wise Owl Towel: Amazon.com : Wise Owl Outfitters Camping Towel - Camping Accessories, Quick Dry Microfiber Towel for Travel, Hiking, Yoga, Workout, and Backpacking, Blue
Stasher Bags: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Stasher/page/72A85B6D-96FA-4F49-9D3D-156FABEC9DB6?ref_=ast_bln&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandLogo_sto
Portable Camping Kitchen Organizer: Portable Camping Kitchen Utensil Set-27 Piece Cookware Kit, Stainless Steel Outdoor Cooking and Grilling Utensil Organizer Travel Set Perfect for Travel, Picnics, RVs, Camping, BBQs, Parties and More
Water Dispenser: Water Bottle Pump 5 Gallon Water Bottle Dispenser USB Charging Automatic Drinking Water Pump Portable Electric Water Dispenser Water Bottle Switch (White) - Amazon.com
Roadtrippers app: Roadtrippers
Bonus Content:
Copy of Vehon 2023 Summer Trip Itinerary and Meal List: LINK TO DOWNLOAD FROM DRIVE: Copy of Vehon 2023 Summer Trip Itinerary & Meal List.pdf
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this week's episode, we continue the important conversation started in Episode 184 “The Link Between Foster Care and Social Disparities”. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, we highly recommend checking it out to gain a deeper understanding of today’s discussion. June is Family Reunification Month, a time to celebrate families coming back together after separation due to child protective services. But what if reunification wasn’t necessary? What if we could focus more on prevention and support within our communities to keep families together in the first place? This week, we explore these critical questions with our returning guest, Claire Louge. Join us as we examiine how every one of us can play a role in supporting our neighbors and fostering stronger, more resilient communities. Don’t miss this insightful and thought-provoking episode!
Resource Links:
“Considering Yourself a Mandated Supporter” training: For Mandated Reporters - Prevent Child Abuse Arizona
Arizona - Triple P Parenting Education: Triple P Arizona
Non-Arizona Triple P Parenting Education: Triple P - Positive Parenting Program
Family Resource Centers: Arizona Family Resource Network - Find a Resource Center
Foster Cooperative: Foster Cooperative
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In honor of June being Family Reunification Month, today's episode sheds light on a crucial yet often overlooked issue in our community: the challenges and misconceptions surrounding birth families involved in the foster care system. As foster parents, we initially held unfair biases towards these families. However, through our journey, we've learned that various factors make some families more at risk of system involvement than others.
To deepen this conversation, we are thrilled to welcome Claire Louge, the Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse Arizona. Claire is dedicated to strengthening families and protecting children. She is passionate about creating a supportive and welcoming community where everyone can access the resources they need. Her insights and dedication to family reunification will inspire and inform our discussion.
Join us as we explore the complexities of the foster care system, challenge our preconceptions, and learn how we can all contribute to a more understanding and supportive environment for families in need. We are grateful to have Claire share her expertise and heart with us, and we hope this episode fosters greater awareness and compassion within our community. Tune in and be part of this important conversation.
Resource Links:
Article: Contact with Child Protective Services is pervasive but unequally distributed by race and ethnicity in large US counties | PNAS
Protective Factors Framework - Center for the Study of Social Policy
“Considering Yourself a Mandated Supporter” training: For Mandated Reporters - Prevent Child Abuse Arizona
Community Opportunity Map
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell: https://a.co/d/1zrvSxg
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In honor of Foster Care Awareness Month, join us for an inspiring episode featuring a heartfelt conversation with my sister-in-law, Tara Armstrong. Tara played a pivotal role in our family's foster care journey, guiding us as we transitioned from having two kids to seven. Now, she has embarked on her own remarkable path. As a single mom of two, Tara opened her heart and home, adopting two children from the foster care system who were searching for their forever family. This episode delves into the challenges and triumphs of fostering and adoption, offering real talk and personal insights that highlight the profound impact one person can make. Tune in to hear Tara's story of love, resilience, and the transformative power of family.
Resource Links:
Foster Arizona | Foster & Adobt
Foster Cooperative
Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents
ASA Now
Families | Arizona 1.27
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In today's episode, we explore the profound impact of connections on well-being, particularly in the context of foster care. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention highlights the pivotal role of social connections in fostering healthy choices and better mental and physical health outcomes. However, many children entering foster care face profound disconnection from their familiar support networks, exacerbating challenges like stress, anxiety, and depression.
In Arizona, where the average foster child experiences two or more placements, the need for stable, nurturing relationships is starkly evident. Our guest, Freddie Hernandez, a former foster youth, shares his remarkable journey of resilience and transformation. With a degree in Digital Film and Video Production from The Art Institute of Phoenix, Freddie defied the odds, emerging as a beacon of hope in his community.
Join us as Freddie sheds light on how one caring adult can alter the trajectory of a young person's life. Through his passion for digital storytelling and filmmaking, Freddie exemplifies the power of connection and the ripple effect of mentorship. His story serves as a testament to the transformative potential inherent in human connection. We extend our gratitude to Freddie for lending his voice and invaluable experience to today's conversation. Tune in as we explore the profound impact of connection and the pathways to support and empower those navigating the foster care system.
Resource Links:
Foster Arizona | Foster & Adobt
Child Welfare Statistics: Arizona Children in Out-of-Home Care
Voices for CASA Children
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Arizona
Get Involved
How Does Social Connectedness Affect Health? | CDC
Volunteer at Family Involvement Center
Book: Tattoos on the Heart
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Today, it’s just the two of us, engaging in a candid conversation about mental health. Ironically, we find ourselves easing into a month dedicated to both mental health and foster care awareness. For those who have experienced life within the foster care system, the intricate connection between these two realms becomes evident. So, let’s dive into the spaces where our mental well-being has been profoundly affected and the valuable lessons we’ve gleaned along the way. With that, let’s begin this authentic conversation. 🌟
Resource Links:
Your Mental Health Today Test / Quiz
31 Tips to Boost Your Mental Health
11 Ways to Find and Make Friends as an Adult
Foster Cooperative
The Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In honor of Stress Awareness Month, our podcast delves into the crucial topic of stress reduction and self-care. While this is important for everyone, it holds even greater significance for caregivers of children with special needs and those working in social services fields. The toll of constant stress can adversely affect our health, leading to feelings of depression, anxiety, inadequate sleep, lack of physical activity, and imbalanced diets. These factors increase the risk of serious health conditions like heart disease and diabetes.
But how do we address this challenge? Today, we’re thrilled to welcome back Dr. Jaime Parker, a seasoned expert with over 25 years of experience in health and wellness. Dr. Jaime wears multiple hats as a holistic health coach, fitness instructor, certified personal trainer, nutrition educator, and certified Pilates instructor. She has personally triumphed over numerous health obstacles.
Recently, I sought Dr. Jaime’s guidance in my own healing journey. The years of accumulated stress have taken their toll on both Brian and me. Dr. Jaime’s genuine empathy and understanding resonate deeply as she navigates the delicate balance between caring for others and prioritizing self-care. Her remarkable ability to meet people where they are, infused with love and encouragement, is something we’re excited to share with you today. Tune in as we explore simple yet impactful changes that can lead to stress relief and better health. 🎙️🌟
Resource Links:
Caregiver stress: Tips for taking care of yourself - Mayo Clinic
Bali Blue Wellness (Dr. Jaime Parker)
Products:
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Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Today, we’re delving into an exciting new therapy modality called Critical Memory Integration. This groundbreaking approach focuses on healing trauma by exploring unresolved critical memories and integrating them with neutral memories, fostering resilience in individuals.
At the forefront of this creation, our incredible team of panelists joins us today. You might recognize one of our team members—Estefana Johnson—who shared her insights in our Valentine’s episode. Estefana is a cherished friend of Foster Arizona. Alongside Estefana, we have two remarkable psychologists: Dr. Brian Livesay and Dr. Diego Hernandez. Both experts bring extensive backgrounds in trauma care and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Over the past two years, I’ve eagerly followed the progress of this project, and it’s truly remarkable to witness its practical implementation locally and globally.
Resource Links:
Critical Memory Integration (CMI) - ARISE Alliance Institute
The trajectory of PTSD among youth in foster care: A survival analysis examining maltreatment experiences prior to entry into care.
How We Feel
Atlas of the Heart - Brené Brown
Lighthouse Psychiatry
Lt. Col Mann TEDx on Generosity of Scars
The Generosity of Scars | Scott Mann | TEDxSantaBarbara
Elizabeth Feldmann Barrett How Emotions are made
How Emotions are Made (Cinematic Lecture)
Luiz Pessoa: “The Entangled Brain: Integration of emotion, motivation, and cognition”
Luiz Pessoa: “The Entangled Brain: Integration of emotion, motivation, and cognition”
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:00 - Opening
00:33 - Intro
02:03 - Dr. Brian Livesay
03:40 - Connection is Fundamental
04:35 - Dr. Diego Hernandez
05:23 - Did I Make a Difference?
06:38 - We Did Everything Together
08:07 - Estefana Johnson
09:57 - You were Made to Fly!
10:46 - It Starts with the Therapist
13:20 - Clinicians are more than Technicians
15:42 - Survival is not Enough
16:34 - Critical Memory Integration
18:24 - The Deepest Conversations
19:00 - We are Designed for Play
19:47 - Getting Through the Bad Feelings
21:54 - Recognizing the Signals
22:59 - Tactical Disclosure
25:02 - Power in Relatability
28:55 - Where does CMI Fit?
32:20 - Integrating CMI
35:08 - Critical Memories
36:14 - The Stories Movies Tell
37:15 - Full Access to your Emotions
40:21 - Teaching Kids to Experience Emotions
43:33 - Stories are Wisdom
44:18 - How to get this new Therapy
47:10 - New Understanding
48:03 - A Hub for Training
50:18 - Resources
51:15 - Final Thoughts
55:10 - Conclusion
55:40 - Thank You!
Summary:
Welcome back to the Fostering Voices podcast! In today’s episode, we’re picking up where we left off last week. Our microphones are live on location at Foster Cooperative’s first training day of 2024, where we’re soaking up knowledge and growing together. 🌱
Last time, you had the pleasure of meeting some of our incredible presenters. This week, get ready to hear from three more remarkable human beings. They’ll share their stories, insights, and passion for fostering. 🎙️
So, without further ado, let’s dive into this enriching conversation! Buckle up, because here we go! 🚀
Resource Links:
Foster Cooperative
PAX Arizona Initiative – PAXIS (Frances Holguin)
Mercy Care (Nichol Khan)
Bali Blue Wellness (Dr. Jaime Parker)
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Today is all about something extra special! We've packed our gear and hit the road to bring you an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience. Right now, we're on location at Foster Cooperative's training day, immersing ourselves in a day of learning and growth.
Foster Arizona, a beacon of support and empowerment, hosts these training events twice a year. And let me tell you, each time is a unique journey filled with eye-opening insights. Today, we're not keeping those gems to ourselves – we're bringing you along for the ride!
Join us as we dive into various topics and explore valuable resources that shape the fostering landscape. Whether you're a seasoned advocate or just starting your journey, there's something for everyone. So, buckle up and get ready to embark on this enlightening adventure with us. Are you ready? Let's go!
Resource Links:
Foster Cooperative
Learn From People Who Lived It (Mathew Blades)
I Needed That Podcast - Chris Powell (Mathew Blades)
Shift Happens Transformative Counseling (Wade Cordell)
Lighthouse Psychiatry (Carol Melim)
Internet Safety | Arizona Attorney General (Jillian Ashby)
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
It’s officially Hallmark’s week of love! 🌟 When it comes to parenting kids with trauma, we often hear the words, “All You Need is Love.” But is that really true? This week, we dive deep into this question.
We’re thrilled to have Estefana Johnson joining us in the conversation. Estefana, a clinical social worker, began her career working with youth in residential treatment facilities. She’s a mover and a shaker, bringing innovative approaches to trauma therapies. Plus, she’s a favorite trainer at our semi-annual Foster Cooperative training events. And let’s not forget, she’s one of the most loving people we know. Tune in for insightful discussions and heartfelt stories! ❤️🎙️
Resource Links:
Trainings
Arizona Council of Human Service Providers – Neurosequential Model in Caregiving© Webinar Series
History | ChildTrauma Academy
Info@fosteraz.org
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:12 - Opening
00:35 - Welcome!
01:41 - Estefana's Journey
03:39 - Radical Acceptance
04:46 - Moving Beyond Fear
06:31 - Being Curious
06:59 - Therapy
08:07 - The Hero Complex
09:58 - What is Love?
11:00 - If you Loved them Better...
13:10 - "We're on Your Team"
14:35 - Rose-Colored Glasses
17:40 - Your Purpose is Greater
19:01 - The Heart Connection
21:17 - Handling Trauma
24:07 - Drip Drip Drip
26:00 - Self-Judgment
28:09 - It is not a Fault
30:17 - Deep Connections
32:01 - Choosing to Show Love
36:34 - Gratitude
36:55 - The Takeaway
37:58 - Resources
39:09 - Connect with Us!
39:33 - Thank You!
Summary:
Discover the profound journey of becoming a foster parent in a nation grappling with a staggering shortage. In this episode, we explore the critical issue of the national decline in foster parent numbers, intensified by a 60% drop since the onset of the pandemic. Arizona, mirroring this trend, has witnessed a drastic decrease from 5,559 licensed foster homes in 2019 to a mere 2,798 as of November 2023 – marking a nearly 50% loss.
Against this backdrop, our guests, Elisia and Jade from Step Stone Youth Agency, shed light on the challenges and rewards of foster parenting. At a time when Arizona is fervently working to address the shortage through extensive recruitment initiatives, this podcast provides a timely and insightful conversation. If you've ever wondered about the complexities, triumphs, and heartaches involved in fostering, join us as we explore the untold stories and experiences that shape the journey of these unsung heroes. The need for foster parents has never been more urgent, and this episode aims to inspire and inform, encouraging listeners to consider making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children.
Resource Links:
Foster - Step 1 and 2 - Let's Get to Know You | Arizona Department of Child Safety
Arizona - StepStone Family & Youth Services
Foster Arizona | Foster & Adobt
Foster Care: Avoiding Foster Parent Burnout | Justice Resource Institute
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Welcome to the Fostering Voices podcast with your host Kim! Join us as we shake things up in this episode by delving into some authentic mom talk. We've given Brian the boot for now to bring you a heartfelt discussion on the joys and challenges of parenting within the realms of foster care and adoption. As a mom personally touched by these experiences, connecting with others who share similar journeys has been both empowering and deeply meaningful. In today's episode, we're joined by the wonderful Elisia and Ally, fellow moms navigating the unique landscape of foster care and adoption. Tune in for an honest and relatable conversation that sheds light on the beauty and complexities of building families through love and compassion.
Resource Links:
MOMnation® AZ
Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents
Foster Cooperative
Three Precious Miracles
Connect With Us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:34 - Welcome!
01:13 - Elisia's Story
04:32 - Ally's Story
09:37 - What have you Learned
13:24 - Filling in the Gaps
15:28 - Momma Joy Moments
21:43 - Challenging Spaces
30:05 - Tag You're In!
32:47 - Tag You're Out!
34:11 - Keeping Your Sanity
39:47 - Filling Your Own Cup
41:26 - Saying No in Love
42:36 - Resources
45:11 - Connect with Us!
45:50 - ThankYou!
Summary:
Welcome back to the Fostering Voices podcast! Happy 2024, everyone! We're thrilled to kick off another year of heartfelt conversations and insightful stories. In today's episode, we have a special discussion with our 'bigs'—Maisey, Liesey, and Sam—sharing their unique perspectives on foster care and adoption. Join us as we delve into their experiences, gaining valuable insights into the world of fostering and adoption through their eyes. Thanks for tuning in, and let's embark on this journey of understanding and empathy together!
Resource Links:
Authentic Voices Video Series: Sharing Our Perspective - Center for States - Child Welfare Capacity Building Collaborative
Educate | Foster Arizona
Foster - Step 1 and 2 - Let's Get to Know You | Arizona Department of Child Safety
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
As we wrap up 2024, we're diving into the complexities of foster care planning. Unlike the conventional New Year's resolutions, the foster care journey is a unique landscape filled with uncertainties. In today's raw and unfiltered discussion, it's just the two of us sharing our personal experiences without any guests. We want to pull back the curtain on the challenges and emotions that come with navigating the foster care land between.
As we all contemplate what the coming year holds, those entrenched in foster care face a different set of considerations. Planning takes on a whole new meaning. Join us as we explore the intricacies of making decisions in the midst of uncertainty, reflecting on the hurdles, and finding the courage to move forward. Whether you're part of the foster care community or simply curious about the realities, this episode aims to resonate with you on a profound level. Tune in for an honest conversation about the uncharted territories of fostering, hoping it sparks a connection and provides insights into the often overlooked aspects of this journey.
Resource Links:
Foster Cooperative
National Foster Care & Adoption Directory | Child Welfare Information Gateway
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:09 - On Today's Episode
00:55 - Welcome!
01:32 - In the Thick of the Crazy
03:22 - What is the Land Between?
06:20 - Handling the Phases
08:10 - Managing Emotions
12:13 - Emotional Roller Coaster
15:05 - Being Fully Invested
17:09 - It Affects More than Just Us
20:48 - Bringing in the Family
22:17 - Pre Foster Training
23:04 - Us vs. Them
25:56 - It's not About the Socks
29:53 - Controlling what you Can
34:02 - Connect with Community
36:04 - Create a Memory
39:21 - Don't be Afraid to Connect
41:36 - Resources
42:11 - Connect with Us!
43:16 - Thank You!
Summary:
Welcome to a festive episode of our podcast, where we dive into the heartwarming world of holiday traditions and intentional joy. As we usher in the holiday season, we're joined by some special guests – the Vehon kids! In this intimate conversation, we explore how our family of 9 embraces the spirit of togetherness and crafts unique traditions that redefine the meaning of festive celebrations.
Discover the magic of intentional joy and connection as we unpack the Vehon family's approach to the holidays. From crazy traditions that spark laughter to thoughtful rituals that deepen family bonds, this episode offers a glimpse into the joyous tapestry we’ve woven. If you've ever been curious about what holiday festivities can look like in a bustling household, this is the perfect episode for you.
Join us in celebrating the season with the Vehon kids’ first-ever podcast recording. Whether you're seeking inspiration for your own festivities or just love a good holiday story, this episode is sure to fill your heart with warmth and festive cheer. Thanks for joining us as we unwrap the magic of intentional joy in this joyous holiday season!
Resource Links:
Swirled Mint Cookies Recipe
Rolo Pretzels Recipe - The Girl Who Ate Everything
Butterscotch yule log: A retro Christmas dessert recipe from the 60s - Click Americana
Christmas 2023: Phoenix holiday lights map
Foster Care & The Holidays
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode we peel back the curtain and take a look into tribal foster care. Joining us are Brad and Karin Dahlman, a remarkable couple who have dedicated themselves to fostering children for many years. Through tribal foster care, they've opened their hearts and homes to dozens of kids, making an immeasurable impact on our community. Karin sits on the board of Foster Arizona, and Brad is one of those people we can call to rally troops or step into a problem. We absolutely love them and are really grateful we all get to learn from them today. Tune in as we dive deep into their incredible journey as foster parents and explore the vital role of tribal foster care in the lives of children. Join us for an inspiring and informative conversation that sheds light on the challenges and rewards of this vital work.
Resource Links:
The Importance of ICWA Foster Homes: A Personal Account | American Indian Policy Institute
For Families & Service Providers » NICWA
Foster a Future for American Indian Children | Arizona Department of Child Safety
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:09 - On Today's Episod
00:43 - Welcome
01:17 - Brad and Karin Dahlman
01:38 - Life Before Foster Care
02:27 - Deciding to Foster
04:01 - Answering the Call
04:21 - Adjusting to the Decision
06:17 - Tribal or Not?
08:27 - Overcoming Tribal Challenges
13:37 - Kill 'em with Kindness
15:07 - It's all About Relationships
16:45 - Let them Lead Us
18:29 - The Baby Book
19:59 - From Baby Book to Dad
20:16 - Packing the Children Up
22:28 - Losing a Child
24:17 - Can't do it for Yourself
24:55 - Stronger for It
25:55 - Never too Old
26:56 - Unexpected Blessings
28:11 - Being on the Same Page
30:15 - Changing Visions
31:57 - Misconceptions
32:58 - Starting Late
34:23 - 7 kids; 6 and Under
35:09 - You Can!
35:47 - The Takeaway
37:21 - Resources
38:52 - Connect with Us!
39:16 - Thank You!
Summary:
Welcome back to the Fostering Voices podcast with Kim and Brian! In celebration of Adoption Awareness Month this November, join us for a special episode dedicated to all things adoption. Our guest, Ed Johnson, a revered local attorney deeply embedded in foster and adoption circles, brings a wealth of experience to the discussion.
In this insightful episode, Ed shares his years of knowledge, shedding light on crucial aspects of the adoption journey. If you're on the path to adoption in Arizona, don't miss the opportunity to connect with Ed—his contact information will be in the resource notes. As advocates for informed parenting, we emphasize the importance of understanding the unique spaces of loss associated with adoption. Education is key, and the more you empower yourself with knowledge, the better equipped you'll be to support your children, present or future.
We hope today's conversation sparks valuable insights and encourages ongoing discussions about adoption. Tune in for a heartfelt exploration of this meaningful journey.
Resource Links:
Ed Johnson - adoptionlawaz@gmail.com, 480-209-2847
Families Considering Foster Care and Adoption
The Primal Wound by Nancy Newton Verrier
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:03 - Intro
00:53 - Welcome!
01:42 - Ed's Story and Work
02:25 - Having a Voice in the Court System
03:53 - Ed's Experience with Adoption
05:39 - Kids Need to be Remembered
06:09 - Appreciating RAD
07:54 - The Joy and Reality of Adoption
10:12 - FIrst Hand Experience with Trauma
12:18 - Relating to One Another
12:46 - Support Leads to Successful Adoptions
15:56 - Resilience Leads to Successful Adoptions
17:51 - Those who Stick Around
18:54 - It's a Family Affair
19:25 - Who's Your Favorite Child?
20:24 - Other People's Perceptions
23:08 - To Foster or To Adopt?
27:03 - Talking about Severence
28:24 - Talking about Cost
30:24 - Subsidies for Fostering
35:23 - The Practical Support of Subsidy
36:56 - The Courtroom Process
40:03 - After the Courtroom is Over
42:08 - The 30-dollar Staple
44:29 - Freedom After Adoption
46:39 - Extended Family
47:35 - The Takeaway
48:59 - Resources
51:01 - Connect with Us!
51:24 - Thank you!
Summary:
In this episode, we dive deep into the crucial topic of mental health and finding a path forward when you're grappling with the question, "Where do I go from here?" Today, we are thrilled to have Carol Melim join our conversation. Carol is not only a Licensed Clinical Social Worker but also a specialist in trauma therapy, certified in EMDR and EMDRIA, with a unique perspective. She brings a wealth of book knowledge and invaluable lived experience to the table, making her exceptionally attuned to the distinctive challenges faced by foster and adopted children, as well as their families.
Throughout this episode, we'll explore the intersection of mental health and family dynamics, drawing on Carol's expertise and personal insights. Whether you're a parent seeking guidance, someone interested in mental health, or simply curious about the experiences of foster and adopted children, this conversation will provide valuable insights and practical advice. Join us as we navigate this important conversation, offering hope and understanding for those asking themselves, "Where do I go from here?"
Resource Links:
Lighthouse Psychiatry
Support Group & Retreats
Types of Trauma Therapy | Mental Health Treatment | California
Complementary & Alternative Techniques and Interventions used with Complex Trauma Clients
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters
00:22 - On Today's Episode
00:35 - Welcome Carol Melim
01:33 - Carol's Story
04:04 - RTC's, CFT's, Life Skills
04:55 - Making a Change to Help
05:48 - Respite
06:55 - Becoming a Therapist
07:57 - Unique Challenges
09:18 - Lacking Behavioral Support
11:47 - Having a Safe Space
12:53 - Navigating Therapy
15:18 - Maneuvering Within Therapy
16:57 - Knowing When Therapy is Needed
18:09 - Recognizing False Motivation
20:51 - Follow the Mama Duck
21:31 - The 'Why' Journal
23:02 - Changing Behavior
25:22 - You Don't Get Pie
27:41 - Fun in Parenting
28:58 - Identifying Urgent Scenarios
30:51 - Behavior Coaches
32:32 - When it's not just Trauma
33:55 - Beyond Therapy
35:14 - Leaving too Soon
36:38 - The Takeaway
37:20 - Resources
38:25 - Connect with Us!
38:46 - Thank You!
Summary:
Today, on our 20th wedding anniversary, we embark on a meaningful journey, delving deep into the intricate layers of marriages affected by trauma. Join us as we explore the profound impact that caring for children with special needs has on marital relationships, acknowledging the challenges without getting lost in statistics.
We are honored to be joined by Perry Emerick, an ordained minister and EMDR trained counselor and supervisor. With 26 years of marriage and three children under his belt, Perry brings a wealth of personal and professional experience to our discussion. Together, we unpack the complexities of trauma, relationships, and family dynamics, focusing on the ways past traumas can influence our present connections.
In this episode, Perry shares invaluable insights on how to strengthen marriages and families, especially when past traumas cast their shadows. His expertise and compassionate approach offer guidance on shoring up relationships, emphasizing the resilience and transformative power of love and understanding.
Tune in as we navigate the profound impact of trauma on marriages, discovering the resilience that lies within the bonds of love and commitment. Thank you for joining us on this heartfelt exploration.
Resource Links:
Perry Emerick LICENSED PROFESSIONAL COUNSELOR | PASTOR
Keeping a Marriage Together While Raising a Child with Special Needs
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Oprah Winfrey, Bruce D. Perry, et al.
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience Audible Logo Audible Audiobook – Unabridged
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this episode we delve into the transformative journey of becoming a foster parent. Join us as we sit down with Katie O’Dell, the passionate Executive Director of AZ127, a steadfast advocate for fostering life within a supportive community. AZ127 firmly believes that children require families, and families thrive with a strong support network. Together, we explore the profound steps, challenges, and rewards on the path to becoming a foster parent. Katie shares her invaluable insights, highlighting the vital role that community plays in this process. Tune in as we embark on this inspiring journey, discovering the power of love, compassion, and unity in building a brighter future for children in need.
Resource Links:
https://az127.org/
Foster & Adopt
Foster Cooperative
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:08 - On Today's Episode
00:35 - Welcome Katie O'Dell!
01:03 - Katie's Story
04:12 - Invisibility in Our Own Community
05:58 - What Happens to the Invisible?
07:23 - Advocating for the Invisible
09:15 - The Stereotype of The Invisible
10:03 - Mobilizing Faith Communities
11:27 - Families Need Communities
13:51 - Fostering is Hard
14:59 - Wrap Around Care Community
17:10 - Lonliness in America
18:05 - Offering Care
19:08 - We are "Judgy" People
21:28 - We can Change our Communities
22:44 - Walking the Talk
26:55 - Foster Parents are Real People
28:00 - Take the Next Step
30:03 - Anyone can Step Up
31:14 - It will Change Your Life!
31:58 - Every Little Thing Counts!
33:31 - The Takeaway
33:48 - Step Into Caring for the Vulnerable
34:31 - Resources
35:19 - Start Asking Questions
36:02 - Join the Conversation!
36:30 - Thank You!
Summary:
Today is all about celebration as Foster Arizona turns 10 years old. Join us as we take a delightful trip down memory lane, reflecting on the invaluable lessons and heartwarming joys we've encountered throughout this incredible journey.
In this special episode, we're honored to have Al Moore, one of our founding board members and the current board chair, as well as Ashley Shick, one of our earliest lead team volunteers and a dedicated board member. Their stories and insights will inspire you as we share our love and gratitude for these incredible individuals. Get ready for a heartfelt and enlightening conversation as we celebrate a decade of fostering hope and change. Stay tuned!
Resource Links:
https://fosterarizona.org/get-involved/#events
Please submit your story (and photos if you’d like) to: development@fosteraz.org
Register for the celebration event!: https://rock.fosterarizona.org/registration/10YearBash
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:10 - On Today's Episode
00:36 - Welcome Ashley and Al
00:59 - How did you get Involved?
04:01 - Ashley Getting the Call
04:30 - And then there's Al!
06:00 - Foster Care Becomes Personal
07:36 - The Kids Change Your Life
08:28 - What Keeps You Coming Back?
11:33 - It Takes a Village
12:03 - The System's Numbers are Skewed
13:38 - What Brings them Back?
15:04 - It's not all Sunshine and Roses
18:53 - Pivot, Flex, Adapt, Grow
20:10 - The Human Challenge
25:20 - Meeting People Where They Are
26:51 - Mountain Top Moments
31:02 - Reminiscing on the Beginning
33:35 - Celebrating Today and the Future
34:59 - The Magic Sauce
37:11 - There's a Surprise Drawing!
39:04 - The Takeaway
41:18 - Big Birthday Bash Event Coming Up!
41:56 - Submit Your Story Please!
42:31 - Connect with Us!
43:08 - Thank You!
Summary:
As we continue exploring the return to school season, today's discussion delves into a crucial topic. Join us as we sit down with Amanda Glass, an esteemed legal professional with a passion for advocating for children's rights.
Amanda's journey, post-graduation from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, led her to a groundbreaking Equal Justice Works fellowship at the Arizona Center for Disability Law, supported by Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Her impactful project focuses on enhancing accessibility to special education and mental health services for children with invisible disabilities within Arizona's child welfare system. Through legal expertise, community education, and collaborative efforts with existing organizations, Amanda strives to uplift children facing emotional or unseen challenges.
In this insightful conversation, Amanda sheds light on the invaluable role collaboration and connection play in ensuring every child's needs are met. If you're a parent or guardian encountering roadblocks, frustration, or uncertainty in securing the necessary support for your child, this episode offers guidance and hope. Join us as we explore the transformative power of collective action and empathy in advocating for the future of our children. Thank you, Amanda, for gracing us with your expertise and perspective today. Tune in and empower yourself with knowledge!
Resource Links:
Archived: Guide to the Individualized Education Program
Learn The Law - NCLD
Resources - Arizona Center for Disability Law
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:04 - On Today's Episode
00:46 - Meet Amanda Glass
01:29 - Amanda's Work
03:23 - What Disparities are There?
05:05 - What Draws you to Child Welfare?
07:08 - Dukes Up!
10:04 - Options for Parents in Dispute
11:58 - Options for Filing Complaints
13:39 - Ordering Corrective Action
16:23 - Timeline for Due Process
19:06 - Broken Systems
23:21 - Restraint and Seclusion
27:00 - What can a Parent Do?
29:26 - Follow the Plan with Fidelity
31:41 - Accountability
32:37 - Public Records of Accountability
34:38 - Least Restrictive Placement
35:56 - Change of Placement
37:10 - Knowledge is Power
38:18 - Procedural Safeguards Notice
39:22 - Don't go it Alone!
40:00 - The Takeaway
40:57 - Resource Links
42:56 - Thank You!
Summary:
Join us in celebrating the return to school as we dive into an enlightening discussion on IEPs and 504s with the incredible Nancy Williams. Our guest, Nancy, brings a wealth of expertise to the table as the Executive Director of the Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents, an organization that has personally touched our lives. With a remarkable 30-year career in education, including roles as a special education teacher and administrator, Nancy's insights are invaluable.
As a volunteer Surrogate Parent through the Department of Education, Nancy advocates passionately for youth in group homes who require special education services. She's a dedicated champion for families navigating the complex school system and fighting for their children's rights. In this episode, we'll delve into the intricacies of Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) and 504 plans, gaining essential knowledge and strategies for supporting children with diverse needs.
Nancy's dedication and expertise shine through as we discuss fostering inclusive and supportive educational environments. Tune in as we engage in a dynamic conversation that empowers parents and educators alike. We're thrilled to welcome Nancy into our podcast space today.
Resource Links:
Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents
A Guide to the Individualized Education Program
National Center for Learning Disabilities
Arizona Center for Disability Law
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
In this thought-provoking podcast episode, we delve into the world of adoption through the eyes of Mea Han Fajardo, an extraordinary international adoptee and the visionary behind FostAdopt Connections. Join us as we explore Mea's deeply personal journey and how she has transformed her experiences into a powerful platform, fostering meaningful opportunities and connections for children in foster care and group homes.
Throughout the conversation, Mea opens up about the unique challenges and joys of being an adoptee, offering valuable insights that shed light on the intricacies of the adoption process. Her heartfelt reflections inspire empathy and understanding, as we gain a profound appreciation for the resilience and strength of those touched by adoption. Mea's passion for making a positive impact in the lives of vulnerable kids shines through, and we express our sincerest gratitude for her willingness to share her remarkable story with our listeners.
So tune in and join us in this moving discussion as we celebrate the power of human connection and the transformative influence of compassion and love in the world of adoption.
Resource Links:
FostAdopt Connections
20 Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew - Nightlight
Link to book:
Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew: Eldridge, Sherrie: 9780440508380: Amazon.com
Connect with us!
Email: info@fosteraz.org
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
Instagram: @FosteringVoices
Web: www.fosterarizona.org
Chapter Markers:
00:01 - Open
00:04 - On Today's Episode
00:33 - Welcome Mea Han Fajardo
01:33 - Mea's Story - Adopted at 10
02:58 - The Life-Long Experience
03:48 - We don't talk About it
04:01 - Gratitude and Lonliness
05:34 - The Space to Grieve
07:01 - Grieving with Intent
08:02 - How to Grieve
09:41 - Being Allowed to Grieve
10:32 - Normalizing Grief
11:29 - Breaking Open
12:50 - Grieving with Others
14:31 - Unlocking Grief
17:09 - The Mystery of Being an Adoptee
18:17 - Sympathizing with Adoptees
20:45 - Sharing my Adoption Story
22:38 - Reflection for Compassion
23:59 - An Adult Relationship with Parents
25:13 - Searching for Relationship
26:50 - Don't Hold on so Tightly
27:01 - Being Prepared when your Kid Starts Searching
27:44 - We Accept Your Family
29:42 - Loving Myself
31:26 - The Takeaway
32:27 - On Behalf of Adoptive Parents
33:25 - Resources
35:04 - Closing
Summary:
Matthew Blades is a familiar and friendly voice known to many in Arizona from the successful Matthew and Priscilla in the Morning show on Mix 96.9 FM. Matthew's own journey of battling physical and mental health challenges led him to step away from broadcasting and embark on a healing journey. Now, he sits in front of the podcast mic, hosting the insightful "Learn From Those Who Lived It" podcast, where he engages in conversations with individuals who have overcome unimaginable circumstances and found their path to healing.
Matthew's commitment to spreading joy continues with his new podcast, "I Needed That," co-hosted with Fitness Expert Chris Powell. Drawing from his personal experiences, Matthew shares valuable lessons in his workshops and speaking engagements, touching the lives of others. Today, we dive into an important topic: self-care. This discussion resonates with everyone, particularly those involved in the foster care world. Get ready to join us as we explore the significance of self-care and welcome Matthew Blades to the podcast. Prepare to be inspired and uplifted!
Resource Links:
Learn From People Who Lived It - Podcast
2021 Top 10 Self-Care Resources - PDF
Caregivers Guide to Wellbeing - PDF
Connect with us!
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
IG: @FosteringVoices
www.fosterarizona.org
Chapter Markers:
00:04 - On Today's Episode
00:34 - Welcome Matthew Blades!
02:25 - Matthew's Story
04:40 - Your Super Power
05:12 - 3 Ways to Screw up Your Kids
07:10 - I am a Human FIrst!
07:41 - Shame, Fear, and Guilt
11:06 - The Recordings in our Heads
12:33 - Moving Forward
13:49 - Spinning the Plates
15:52 - It's not Control; It's Fear
16:59 - Letting Go
18:44 - You're a Transitional Character
20:44 - Speaking it Out Loud
21:47 - Redefining Success
23:59 - Your Real Life - Personal Inventory
26:43 - The Value of Self
27:51 - Having a Self Care Strategy
30:03 - Kim's Weekend
31:31 - Being Selfish
33:36 - The Blame Game
35:00 - Giving Yourself Permission
38:02 - The Takeaway
40:04 - Resources - Closing Thoughts
43:16 - You are not Broken
44:05 - Wrap Up
45:00 - Thank You!
Summary:
At just 25 years old, Lindsey found herself pregnant and the parent of two children in the custody of the Department of Child Safety. She endured a heartbreaking struggle with homelessness, residing in motels and even living on the streets, surrounded by others in similar desperate circumstances. Desperate for change, Lindsey discovered a lifeline—a housing program for pregnant women with substance use disorders. This pivotal moment led her to the Family Involvement Center, igniting her path to healing and the reunion of her fractured family.
Now, Lindsey is an active force in her city, advocating for change through various organizations such as the Parent Advisory Board, the Prevention Advisory Collaborative, and the Family Navigation Action Team. Her passion for improving child welfare has brought her before community audiences, the governor's office, and dependency judges. Lindsey's dedication to serving her community is truly inspiring.
Join us as we delve into Lindsey's extraordinary journey, her triumphs, and her unwavering commitment to making a positive impact and becoming a beacon of hope and change in foster care.
Resource Links:
Family Involvement Center
Birth-Foster Family Connections • Bright Spots
RiseIssue_35_Parent-Advocacy.pdf
Connect with us!
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast
IG: @FosteringVoices
www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
00:01 - Open
00:34 - Welcome Lindsey Shine
02:09 - Lindsey's Story
03:47 - Going to the Wrong Attorney
04:21 - Leaving with Nothing
06:21 - Getting Help
07:05 - 5 Months and 3 Years
08:00 - Keeping Hope Alive
09:11 - Homelessness
10:27 - A Fork in the Road
12:19 - One More Shot
14:06 - Severance Trial
15:51 - Transition from Visitation
16:54 - A Traumatic Space
17:54 - A Glorified Babysitter?
19:11 - Being Friends with the Fosters
19:53 - A Broken System Challenge
22:13 - Choosing a Solution
23:38 - Choosing Responsibility
25:07 - Advocating in a Meaningful Way
27:18 - Normalizing Relational Support
28:28 - Deficiencies are Opportunities
30:45 - The Takeaway
32:30 - Being the Change
32:54 - Resources
34:25 - Wrap Up
34:56 - Thank You!
Summary:
In honor of national reunification month, in this episode we have a conversation with Judge Colleen McNally about what reunification means for kids and their families. Before retiring, Judge McNally served the people of Arizona for over 16 years in the Maricopa County Superior Court of Arizona. Since retiring, she has devoted her time and efforts to supporting families that have experienced the foster care system and continues to advocate for better systems in Arizona.
Resource Links:
How did Cradle to Crayons adapt the Safe Babies Court Team™ approach in Maricopa County, Arizona?
On the Road to Reunification: Experiencing Foster Care with My Sister by My Side By D'Artagnan Caliman
American Bar Association - Celebrating Reunification Month
Foster Cooperative
Prevent Child Abuse Arizona
Foster Arizona
PO Box 20787
Mesa, AZ 85277
Connect with us!
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast IG: @FosteringVoices
www.fosterarizona.org
Chapters:
0:00 - Open
0:33 - Intro
1:32 - Who is Judge McNally?
3:39 - We all have Trauma
5:36 - The Courtroom Experience
7:00 - How can the System be Supportive?
8:44 - It's the Simple Things
10:32 - A Drink of Water
10:50 - The Challenge of Severance
12:42 - The Reality of Reunification
14:04 - And Now What?
16:00 - What is your Wish for Change?
18:43 - Reunification Day
20:53 - Kid Initiatives
22:06 - How can the Community Support?
22:35 - ACE Questionnaires
23:55 - Love for a Child vs. Love for an Adult
25:55 - Fear
27:54 - Send an Encouraging Note
29:26 - Reflections on the First Reunification Day
30:59 - Ways for the Community to Connect
33:17 - The Takeaway
34:34 - Get Involved
35:23 - Resources
37:21 - Thank You
Summary:
What comes to mind when you think about Recovery and Recovery spaces? Often the images that come to mind are uncomfortable and we think of these spaces as the last place we would ever want to be, but what if we told you that Recovery…Is For Everybody!
Join us in a conversation as we talk to Jillian about her journey into recovery and why the room of recovery can be the most freeing, accepting. and healing space around.
Resource Links:
Celebrate Recovery
Grief Share
Mending the Soul
Alcoholics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
Chapter Markers:
00:01 - On Today's Episode 00:34 - Introduction 01:20 - Jillian's Story 05:19 - Enter Celebrate Recovery 05:47 - It Stuck 07:34 - A Journey of Recovery 11:22 - Being a Leader in Recovery 14:05 - What are the Misconceptions? 16:45 - Recovery is for Everyone 18:48 - More than Just a Meeting 19:16 - The First Steps 20:34 - The Fellowship of Recovery 23:08 - It's Also About Your Loved Ones 24:08 - The Hardest Part 25:20 - It's an Ongoing Process 25:54 - What's Brought you the Most Joy? 26:57 - Who is Welcome? 28:21 - The Takeaway 28:54 - Resources 30:13 - Call to Action 32:15 - Wrap Up 32:39 - Outro
Connect with us!
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast IG: @FosteringVoices
www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Today's Episode is one that is a hot topic with both youth and adults alike. We are going to have some real talk about substance use with one of our favorite people - Mark Gill.
Chapters:
0:00 - Start
0:48 - Introduction
1:03 - Today's Topic
1:07 - Introduce Today's Guest Mark Gill
1:42 - Set Up Today's Topic
1:58 - Mark's Testimony
5:53 - The Denial
6:37 - Peer Pressure
8:18 - The Next Level
8:38 - The Big Moment
10:56 - The Wake Up
11:50 - The Aftermath
12:31 - Becoming Something Else
14:15 - The Next Phase
15:31 - Coming Home
16:27 - One More Option
21:01 - Three Questions
24:08 - An Impactful Story
25:33 - What Breaks Your Heart?
28:45 - Understanding the Story
30:31 - Being a Better Community
33:49 - Advice for Parents
36:07 - It's Too Easy
37:22 - The Takeaway
41:32 - Closing
44:01 - Outro
Links:
https://drugabusestatistics.org/teen-drug-use/
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/bulletins_youthsud.pdf
https://www.celebraterecovery.com/
https://alcoholicsanonymous.com/
https://na.org/
Connect with us!
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast IG: @FosteringVoices
www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
What happens when you choose to put your comfort space aside and open up your heart and home to a child in foster care? Spoiler alert, it can be humbling, messy, and chaotic at times, but it can also be the most rewarding experience that will change your life and the life of another, forever.
Join us as we have a conversation with Stacy Bradley on Fighting the Fear of Stigma in Foster Care and Adoption. Stacy is an adoptive mom and former foster parent who has gone on the journey, advocated hard for her kiddos, and is a pretty cool person to boot!
Chapters:
0:02 - Introduction
0:31 - Welcome
0:45 - Introduce Stacy Bradley
1:22 - Get to Know Stacy Bradley
3:08 - Learning Experiences
4:40 - Sharing the Journey
5:25 - Learning to Compromise
7:01 - Fear Associated with Stigmas
8:57 - Getting the Wrong Impression
11:28 - The Response to the Wrong Impression
13:09 - What are the Different Stigmas?
14:48 - There's Something Wrong with these Kids
16:59 - Birth Families are Scary
19:48 - These Kids are Lucky
20:38 - The Emotional Journey
22:37 - These Kids are Orphans
23:42 - It's a Learning Experience Every Day
24:35 - When the Answer is Found on Pinterest
25:30 - It's a True Partnership
26:42 - Getting Fired by a 5-year Old
28:56 - Stepping Through the Fear
31:52 - It's not About Being Brave
33:04 - Be Willing to do Something
36:27 - A Smile Goes a Long Way
36:59 - Episode Takeaway
37:35 - The Hope
38:08 - Resources
38:22 - Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey
38:39 - SAGE Journal
39:41 - Poverty by America by Matthew Dezmond
41:12 - Outro
Links: What Happened to You : Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
Hardcover – April 27, 2021
by Oprah Winfrey (Author), Bruce D. Perry (Author)
https://a.co/d/hke5wqN
Keeping secrets: how children in foster care manage stigma
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0308575918823436
Poverty, by America
Hardcover – March 21, 2023
by Matthew Desmond (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0593239911?aaxitk=73e15f98719317c85bc0256cb8f76c56&pd_rd_plhdr=t∣=ATVPDKIKX0DER&ref=dacx_dp_577378484348386487_580878620785794769
Connect with us!
Facebook: @FosteringVoicesPodcast IG: @FosteringVoices
www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Truth…Parenting is hard, but those little moments of sweetness can make the tough days bearable. But what happens when those moments feel few and far between?
Often in our foster care and adoption journeys the struggle to connect with our children can be an all too frequent reality. Join us as we welcome Chris and Caitlin and have a real conversation about connecting when connection is hard. It’s a tough conversation to have, but one that many of us need to face.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
1:15 – A Beginning in the World of Foster Care
4:12 – The First Experience with a Placement
8:35 – The Beginning of the Real Journey
9:35 – The Mixed Emotions of Adoption Day
10:40 – An Amazing Creative Beginning
11:25 – Day One of 'Now I'm Mom' to this Amazing Person
17:17 – Managing School Life and Home Life
21:04 – Connecting With Teachers and Making Them Part of the Team
23:09 – Setting Expectation as a Parent
34:58 – Let's Have a Little Fun With This!
35:56 – Understanding in the Community
36:25 – Tactics That Work
41:18 – Continuing the Conversation with Resources
43:10 – Connect With Us!
Links:
The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to Your Adoptive Family:
- Great Quote From the Book
- Buy the Book Here
What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing
- Great Quote from the Book
- Buy the Book Here
Foster Cooperative
Connect With Us!
www.fosterarizona.org
Summary:
Life can be tough sometimes, but for a young adult aging out of foster care the transition can be life altering and either set them up for success or leave them without a connection or direction. Join us as we have a conversation with Zack, a young adult with lived experience, and how connection and having a community changed his trajectory in life.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
0:26 – Welcome, Zack!
1:10 – What Brought Zack To Foster Arizona
3:43 – Becoming An Adult In Foster Care
5:38 – Embracing A New Situation
9:52 – Having Pride And Satisfaction In Accomplishments
11:16 – Showing The Way To Those Struggling Through
18:18 – Excitement Moving Forward
29:55 – One Takeaway
27:06 – Connect With Us!
Links:
Aging Out Institute
Foster Arizona Housing Project
ChildWelfare.gov
https://fosterarizona.org/get-involved/
Connect With Us!
www.fosterarizona.org
Summary: Community is what gets us through life. In today's conversation we talk with Anika Robinson about finding your people and the importance of community and connection in our everyday lives.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
0:26 – Welcome Anika!
1:44 – Advocacy for Children
3:10 – Establishing Connections
8:38 – ASA Now
14:04 – Finding Hope in Dark Times
20:39 – The Powerful Impacts of Community
27:50 – The Need For Community
29:55 – One Takeaway
33:27 – Community Connections
37:02 – Connect With Us!
Links:
Supporting Infants, Toddlers and Families Impacted by Caregiver Mental Health Problems, Substance Abuse, and Trauma – A Community Action Guide PDF
Foster Cooperative
ASA Now
Connect With Us!
Foster Arizona
Episode 152 - Interracial Adoption and Finding Your Identity
Summary: A personal look into an adoptees story involving interracial adoption and her journey to discover her personal identity along the way.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
0:52 – Welcome Ann!
1:32 – Ann's Work and Focus
12:00 – A Position of Learning
16:44 – Ann's Journey
24:33 – Wanting Kids to Experience More Individuals Like Themselves
32:00 – Accepting a Child With Hands Open
35:01 – One Takeaway
37:21 – Kids at Risk
38:18 – Links in the Show Notes
41:36 – Connect With Us!
Links:
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/racial_disproportionality.pdf
https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoenix-metro/central-phoenix/study-finds-extreme-racial-disparities-in-dcs-cases-phoenix-family-says-they-were-stereotyped
Connect With Us!
www.fosterarizona.org
Meet your new hosts, Kim and Brian Vehon and learn a little bit about the heart behind their why and their vision for the Fostering Voices podcast.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
0:25 – Welcome Back In!!
1:43 – Creation of Foster Arizona and Community
21:34 – Our Mission at Foster AZ
27:19 – Thank you!!!
Links:
https://fosterarizona.org/
https://www.aecf.org/blog/child-welfare-and-foster-care-statistics
https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/trafficking_caseworkers.pdf
https://www.law.georgetown.edu/poverty-journal/blog/child-welfare-and-the-criminal-system-impact-overlap-potential-solutions/
https://www.samhsa.gov/homelessness-programs-resources/hpr-resources/supporting-teen-mothers
Friends, as we FINALLY wrap up season 8, we are also wrapping up our time as your hosts of the Fostering Voices Podcast. We have loved the 5 years that we were the hosts, but we are so excited for your new hosts to take over, Brian and Kim Vehon of Foster Arizona! Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 13:54 – Good Word of the Day!!! Good Word of the Day!!! Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 NIV 1 There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes!
This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This episode features an interview with an AMAZING foster mama who happens to be single. Lina Bublys thought life would look differently than it does now, but she is still so grateful and so active in blessing those around her, especially her foster babes. We salute all you foster parents out there, but you single foster parents take the cake!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
8:46 – What's Been Helping Chris This Week?
14:15 – How Lina Came To The Fostering World
18:18 – Examples of Challenges of Fostering Children
24:51 – Examples of Beauty in Fostering
26:09 – Advice for Anyone Thinking About or In Foster Care
32:26 – Good Word of the Day!!!
33:17 – What Has Lina Been Doing For Her Health?
Links:
Lina on IG
Good Word of the Day!!!
Reinvent
- to invent again or anew, especially without knowing that the invention already exists.
- to remake or make over, as in a different form
Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes!
This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
We are so often triggered by negative things that happen, but what about the positive things? This episode features a story of our son and the time we picked up a homeless lady on our way to McDonald's, and how that left a serious impression on his soul. Our call to action - take a chance. Say kind things, do kind things for others. And also, don't discount foster kids as broken and bad. They are not castaways of people who don't want them. They are humans who are able to accomplish great things and to be great. We just need to take a chance on them.
Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 1:13 – Being Open and Honest About Adoption 9:01 – A Story About Birthdays and Imprints 22:303 – Good Word of the Day!!! Links: The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk M.D. Good Word of the Day!!! Isaiah 43:19 NIV 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes!
This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This episode features an episode with host, Jihae! Join us as Chris grills Jihae on life's highs and lows. And you will even hear what Jihae's favorite physical attribute is of Chris'. It's very appropriate and clean.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:30 – Jihae Describes Growing Up in Her Parent's House
6:44 – What Has Been Your Biggest Challenge In Life?
9:19 – What Helped You Overcome That?
11:12 – What Time Did You Feel Most Fulfilled?
13:36 – What Advice Would You Give To Teenage Jihae?
19:58 – Good Word of the Day!!!
Links:
South Korea
Edmonton, Alberta
Good Word of the Day!!!
Joshua 1:9 NIV
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes!
This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
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This episode is a quick interview with your host, Chris Watson! Get to know Chris and what drives him to be a WINNER at all times. We hope you enjoy getting to know Chris a little better! Next week will be Chris interviewing Jihae.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
3:01 – Thank you, SHOWIT!!
4:27 – Story From This Week
5:12 – Showit EDM and Plank Challenge
10:07 – What Makes Chris a Winner?
12:00 – What is a Hard Thing That You Overcame During Childhood?
15:22 – What's One Thing People Do Not Know About Chris?
17:44 – Good Word of the Day!!!
Links:
Spark – A conference for Showit creatives
Chevy's Fresh Mex Restaurant
Good Word of the Day!!!
Romans 12:2 NIV
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Listen to us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes!
This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
In this episode we share some highs and lows of the last month. Highs include seeing our big kids become amazing big kids. Not without faults and failures, but as young people who are trying to figure out what it looks like to be a loyal, kind person who has integrity. Church camps and cousins are also very high on the list. And in the lows category, Chris' dad had a stroke, Chris and Jihae have been feeling disconnected, and a meet up with a bio family got cancelled at the last minute and basically the wheels fell off for a minute. But we are all trying to weather these storms together, with grace, open communication, and community. So we encourage you to do the same!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:14 – Thank you, SHOWIT!!
2:19 – Chris's Highs of the Week
9:20 – Jihae's Highs of the Week
11:52 – Chris's Lows of the Week
21:36 – Jihae's Lows of the Week
27:36 – Good Word of the Day!!!
Good Word of the Day!!!
Persevering
James 1:2-4 NIV
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Hebrews 12 NIV
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all.
Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes!
This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This episode features an incredible interview with Ben Malcolmson, author of Walk On: From Pee Wee Dropout to NFL Sidelines: My Unlikely Story of Football, Purpose, and Following an Amazing God. Ben has seen some major lows in his life, starting with having an alcoholic mom, and being thrust into college life a year early. But God was with him every step of the way, and brought him through so many dark days, to so many glorious days. You will learn so much from this former USC football player, and Pete Carrol's right hand man of 10 plus years on the Seattle Seahawks. If you have ever questioned your purpose in life, you will want to listen to this episode!
Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 1:13 – Welcome Ben! 2:45 – Ben's Journey 7:22 – Talking About Faith 12:10 – The Intersection of Journalism and Football 28:53 – The Bible Story – From the Book 44:39 – Good Word of the Day!!! Links: Ben Malcomson Walk On: From Pee Wee Dropout to NFL Sidelines: My Unlikely Story of Football, Purpose, and Following an Amazing God Clay Mathews Chunky Soup Commercial Good Word of the Day!!! Habakkuk 1:5 NIV The Lord’s Answer 5 “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told. Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
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This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This week we have a less than 5 minute episode! In light of the horrifying events of this last week, we just want to encourage you to talk to your kids about it. Cause they have heard about it. But they should hear about it from you and be able to talk about it with you. Cry together, pray together, and be prepared together. We don’t need to live lives of fear as parents, so let’s definitely make sure we are helping our kids to do the same.
Chapters: 0:00 - Talk to Your Kids 2:06 – Good Word of the Day!!! Good Word of the Day!!! Proverbs 1:33 NIV 33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes!
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This episode is for parents of teens and teens! We would LOVE for teenagers to listen to this episode, but it wasn't until midway through the recording that Jihae realized she was using her condescending 'mom voice', for which she is VERY SORRY. She tries to reserve that for exclusive use to the Watson children, so we are sorry you have to hear it during this episode. But, it's a serious one, and we have seen Tik Tok trends go the complete wrong way, and we want you to make better choices for yourself and those around you! We hope you learn something new and useful from this episode!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
3:02 - The Power of the Phone/Don't Follow the Trends
21:22 – Good Word of the Day!!!
24:44 – Reading Reviews Time!
Links:
"Complacency Kills"
Proverbs 1:32
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
Episode 141: Finding Health in Habits and Relationships with Bekah Tinter
Episode 116: Protecting Your Family From Tech with Some Tech
Good Word of the Day!!!
Proverbs 15:31-33
31 Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.
32 Those who disregard discipline despise themselves, but the one who heeds correction gains understanding.
33 Wisdom’s instruction is to fear the Lord, and humility comes before honor.
Thank you to our sponsor Showit!!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE
Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes!
This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This episode features and interview with Health and Lifestyle Coach, Bekah Tinter. She shares some truly simple tips and habits you can implement to enjoy a healthier, and more enjoyable lifestyle. Chapters: 0:00 - Intro 3:56 - Honest Stories in Adoption 10:27 – Health Tips from Bekah 20:32 – Good Word of the Day!!! Links: Bek and Kev Uncommon Freedom with Kevin Tinter Good Word of the Day!!! Release – releasing what we can't control and allow God to be God in our lives. Isaiah 40:29-30 New International Version 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; Thank you to our sponsor Showit Listen to Us on Spotify (and leave a review please)!! Connect with us! Fostering Voices on Instagram You can also email us! hello@fosteringvoices.com We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE AND please leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people! If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Grant Botma, author, business owner, and super family man! He gives us some great tips on having more harmony in our lives.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
1:19 – Welcome, Grant!
5:56 – Talking About a Unicorn
7:25 – Work-Life Harmony
13:09 – Tips on Harmonizing Your Life
25:55 – One More Thing to Do to Work Towards Harmony
31:40 – Good Word Of The Day!!!
32:48 – Focusing on Health
Links:
Grant Botma
Work-Life Harmony – Grant Botma
The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership – Tim Elmore
Episode 136 with Jodie Botma
Family Plan Calendar
Good Word of the Day!!!
Mark 10:45 NIV 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
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In this episode we talk about ‘Everyone Communicates, Few Connect’, a great book by John C. Maxwell. And we just want to encourage everyone (including ourselves) to always strive to connect with your loved ones, and those around you!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
3:41 - "Everyone Communicates, Few Connect"
18:57 – Good Word Of The Day!!!
20:02 – Thank you to our sponsor, Showit!!
Links:
Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently
– John C. Maxwell
UHF – 1989
The Truman Show
Good Word of the Day!!!
"When you make a commitment you create hope and when you keep a commitment you create trust." – John C. Maxwell
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
hello@fosteringvoices.com
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE!
AND please leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This week’s episode is with the incredible Bethany Lauren. She loves the Bible and she wants you to learn how to read it, understand it, and love it as well. We hope this interview will encourage you to be more spiritually healthy!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
6:03 - Welcome, Bethany!!
7:55 – A Little About Bethany
12:16 – Bethany's Foster Care Journey
16:08 – Some Tips for Approaching Studying the Bible
23:26 – Taking the Next Steps of Study
29:02 – "The Heart Has to Come With You"
31:40 – Good Word Of The Day!!!
32:48 – Focusing on Health
Links:
Bethany on IG
Sharpie Highlighters at Target
Good Word of the Day!!!
Colossians 4:5-6 New International Version
5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
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Fostering Voices on Instagram
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hello@fosteringvoices.com
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AND please leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
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This episode talks about a bit of a funk that Chris had been in recently, and he realized it was stemming from his need to control things, which also caused him to feel less empathetic towards others. Might you be in the same boat? Check out this episode!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:14 - What We Are Reading
3:20 – That Thing Where You DM Us
9:12 – Being in a Bit of a Funk
22:00 – Getting Out of the Funk
24:00 – Good Word Of The Day!!!
Books:
The Gospel Comes With a House Key – Rosario Champagne Butterfield
The Context Marketing Revolution – Matthew Sweezey
Permission Marketing – Seth Godin
Good Word of the Day!!!
Hebrews 4:16 NIV
16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Next week's guest, Bethany
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
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hello@fosteringvoices.com
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AND please leave us a review on Apple Podcasts! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
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This episode features my sweet friend, Jodie Botma, who on the outside may look like she has a pretty darn good life! And she does! But she has also just come out of such a dark and hard season, and she shares with us how she survived the longest and darkest year of her life. And she has gone through many hard things in her life already, so that is actually saying a lot! Even though we may not have the tools to help you get out of your winter season, we believe this episode can help you through it!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
7:05 - Different Seasons of Life
11:31 – Winter as a Season of Life
21:28 – Word of Advice
26:33 – Jodie's Turning Point
33:16 – A Word of Encouragement
34:17 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Links:
Oil Pulling Description at National Library of Medicine:
Megan Fate Marshman Sermon talking about seasons and Jesus as our Wonderful Counselor.
The Problem Isn't Their Paycheck – Grant Botma
Work-Life Harmony – Grant Botma:
2 Timothy 4:17:
17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.
Good Word of the Day:
Psalms 40:1-3
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.
Jodie on Instagram
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE
AND please leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This episode features my sweet friend, Jodie Botma, who on the outside may look like she has a pretty darn good life! And she does! But she has also just come out of such a dark and hard season, and she shares with us how she survived the longest and darkest year of her life. And she has gone through many hard things in her life already, so that is actually saying a lot! Even though we may not have the tools to help you get out of your winter season, we believe this episode can help you through it!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
7:05 - Different Seasons of Life
11:31 – Winter as a Season of Life
21:28 – Word of Advice
26:33 – Jodie's Turning Point
33:16 – A Word of Encouragement
34:17 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Links:
Oil Pulling Description at National Library of Medicine:
Megan Fate Marshman Sermon talking about seasons and Jesus as our Wonderful Counselor.
The Problem Isn't Their Paycheck – Grant Botma
Work-Life Harmony – Grant Botma:
2 Timothy 4:17:
17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.
Good Word of the Day:
Psalms 40:1-3
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.
Jodie on Instagram
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE
AND please leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
The amazing Robert T Watson went to be with the Lord on February 15th, and what an amazing grandfather he was to Chris, and I, and all of our many children and cousins! This episode is in memory of this phenomenal man of God, who chose to live his life with great intentionality and love and prayer. We would truly not be who we are without him. We hope you enjoy this episode, and that it inspires you to love each other well, and to stay sharp, and hug your grandparents while you still can!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:32 - High and Low from Last Few Weeks
25:14 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Links:
Grandpa's Obituary
Fostering Voices – Episode 43 – Wes Watson
Good Word of the Day!!!
A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children,
but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE
AND please leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
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This week we are so pleased to have Dr. Dayna Harris - a Child Psychologist, with us on the podcast! She has an Educational Specialist Degree and a Doctor of Education Degree, and she truly loves to work with kids. In fact we met because she was the Child Psychologist at our kids' school! And her son is one of my son's best friends! Dr. Harris shares with us how to help our kids to think about what they are thinking about, and encourages us as parents to do the same!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:39 - Dr. Dayna's Background
4:19 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
6:21 - Functioning in Dysfunction
13:38 - Tailoring the Conversation to the Age of the Child
19:57 – Thinking About What You Are Thinking About
23:55 – Things Parents Should Strive to Modify
37:30 - Keeping Oneself Healthy
Good Word of the Day:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Jeremiah 1:5
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This week we are so pleased to have Dr. Dayna Harris - a Child Psychologist, with us on the podcast! She has an Educational Specialist Degree and a Doctor of Education Degree, and she truly loves to work with kids. In fact we met because she was the Child Psychologist at our kids' school! And her son is one of my son's best friends! Dr. Harris shares with us how to help our kids to think about what they are thinking about, and encourages us as parents to do the same!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:39 - Dr. Dayna's Background
4:19 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
6:21 - Functioning in Dysfunction
13:38 - Tailoring the Conversation to the Age of the Child
19:57 – Thinking About What You Are Thinking About
23:55 – Things Parents Should Strive to Modify
37:30 - Keeping Oneself Healthy
Good Word of the Day:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Jeremiah 1:5
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This week we are so pleased to have Dr. Dayna Harris - a Child Psychologist, with us on the podcast! She has an Educational Specialist Degree and a Doctor of Education Degree, and she truly loves to work with kids. In fact we met because she was the Child Psychologist at our kids' school! And her son is one of my son's best friends! Dr. Harris shares with us how to help our kids to think about what they are thinking about, and encourages us as parents to do the same!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:39 - Dr. Dayna's Background
4:19 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
6:21 - Functioning in Dysfunction
13:38 - Tailoring the Conversation to the Age of the Child
19:57 – Thinking About What You Are Thinking About
23:55 – Things Parents Should Strive to Modify
37:30 - Keeping Oneself Healthy
Good Word of the Day:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Jeremiah 1:5
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This week we are so pleased to have Dr. Dayna Harris - a Child Psychologist, with us on the podcast! She has an Educational Specialist Degree and a Doctor of Education Degree, and she truly loves to work with kids. In fact we met because she was the Child Psychologist at our kids' school! And her son is one of my son's best friends! Dr. Harris shares with us how to help our kids to think about what they are thinking about, and encourages us as parents to do the same!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:39 - Dr. Dayna's Background
4:19 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
6:21 - Functioning in Dysfunction
13:38 - Tailoring the Conversation to the Age of the Child
19:57 – Thinking About What You Are Thinking About
23:55 – Things Parents Should Strive to Modify
37:30 - Keeping Oneself Healthy
Good Word of the Day:
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- Jeremiah 1:5
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Marriage is something we love to talk about, because it truly does help foster kids, and adoptive kids, and your bio kids to feel like they are in a safe and healthy home. The things that make marriages awesome are great communication and even great community!
We are happy to have been able to host a Marriage Shower for Cate and Josh this week, and that’s what prompted this episode. We start with why we have showers and gatherings, then we get into the advice that was shared at the shower.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:13 - Today's Topic – Marriage
10:42 - Bits of Wisdom Shared at Wedding Shower
18:40 - Our Sponsor – Showit!
19:00 - More Marriage Wisdom
28:48 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Marriage:
Marriage is something we love to talk about, because it truly does help foster kids, and adoptive kids, and your bio kids to feel like they are in a safe and healthy home. The things that make marriages awesome are great communication and even great community!
We are happy to have been able to host a Marriage Shower for Cate and Josh this week, and that’s what prompted this episode. We start with why we have showers and gatherings, then we get into the advice that was shared at the shower.
The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker “This book will forever alter the way you look at your next meeting, industry conference, dinner party, and backyard barbecue—and how you host and attend them.”
Advice:
Don’t think you are competing or deserve something for serving your spouse. You are on the same team, not keeping score of stuff that doesn’t exist, so set your spouse up for success. Have grace.
Envisioning your spouse in the other team’s jersey is not healthy. Referenced Outward Mindset again, by the Arbinger Institute. Very important to have a healthy mindset in marriage!
Surround yourself with great community in every season that will point you to Jesus. Desperate need for Jesus to make your marriage work - humility is necessary. And ask for help. Steadiness, and pointing others to truth. Be a safe place to confess things to each other and confess everything to each other.
When you feel like things are coasting, that’s when things fall apart. Communicate frustrations so they don’t pile up. God created us with emotions. Part of emotion is connection. Learn how to understand what emotions are happening helps build intimacy. Untangling Emotions is a good book.
Allow yourself to go to bed angry. Think of marriage as a team sport- be willing to shift to cover. Go to bed at the same time- it’s hard to have sex in different rooms. Decide roles (who is in charge of finances), decide how you will communicate about money.
Of course, since this is a wedding shower, we talked about sex:
Communicate desires and drives ahead of time.
And “tiredness is the enemy of sex”, which is a good word from Grandma Watson
Good Word of the Day:
Say what you mean. 'It's fine', is never fine.
– From Cate and Josh’s Wedding Shower
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE
AND please leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Good word of the day:
“It’s fine” is never fine.
Establish common communication habits. Say what you mean. Truth and love in communication.
This is a great episode featuring an interview with our sweet friend, Dee Lavigne, of Queen Dee Fitness, and The Lavigne life on YouTube and beyond. She shares some simple tips for us all to stay fit and healthy! Give her a follow on social media and YouTube to be entertained, and inspired!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
5:15 - Welcome To The Pod, Dee!!
10:11 - How Long Have The LaVignes Been YouTubers?
11:04 - Let's Talk Some Fitness
21:18 - Accountability and Community
25:50 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Links:
Dee LaVigne and family on These Four Walls YouTube
Queen Dee Fitness
Even more LaVigne-ness!!
The LaVignes on Tik Tok
Good Word of the Day!!!:
Balance!
Our Sponsor:
Showit Create an incredible website for your creative small business!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Starting off the new year with goal setting is our favorite way to start the year! This helps us to set up ourselves, and our kids, to accomplish things! Accountability is a big piece of the goal setting puzzle, especially because it helps us to remind the kids of the work they need to put in to make sure they accomplish their goals too. We also use the goal setting time to pause and reflect on the great, and hard things, from the year before. We are able to give thanks to God for answering specific prayers, which is always a great thing!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:03 - Watsy's 2022 Goals For The Year
8:42 - Here Is Where We Actually Talk 2022 Goals!!
18:06 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Show Notes:
Dave Ramsey Goal Sheet
Bek and Kev goal setting with kids
Financial Goals
Give a higher percent every year
And stick to personal allowance
Spiritual
Read paper Bible - the beautiful book Jihae talked about is this one
Chris is going to refocus on men’s group - learn more about the one he goes to here.
Prioritize accountability
Intellectual
Reading more books - but especially rereading books! Which goes back to the Good Word of the Day last week, where we want to be more effective, not just more efficient.
Family
Becoming a family of service and creating memories
GOOD WORD OF THE DAY
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Starting off the new year with goal setting is our favorite way to start the year! This helps us to set up ourselves, and our kids, to accomplish things! Accountability is a big piece of the goal setting puzzle, especially because it helps us to remind the kids of the work they need to put in to make sure they accomplish their goals too. We also use the goal setting time to pause and reflect on the great, and hard things, from the year before. We are able to give thanks to God for answering specific prayers, which is always a great thing!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:03 - Watsy's 2022 Goals For The Year
8:42 - Here Is Where We Actually Talk 2022 Goals!!
18:06 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Show Notes:
Dave Ramsey Goal Sheet
Bek and Kev goal setting with kids
Financial Goals
Give a higher percent every year
And stick to personal allowance
Spiritual
Read paper Bible - the beautiful book Jihae talked about is this one
Chris is going to refocus on men’s group - learn more about the one he goes to here.
Prioritize accountability
Intellectual
Reading more books - but especially rereading books! Which goes back to the Good Word of the Day last week, where we want to be more effective, not just more efficient.
Family
Becoming a family of service and creating memories
GOOD WORD OF THE DAY
“Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and streams in the wasteland.”
Isaiah 43:18-19
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Here are our top 5 books from 2021 with honorable mentions of the other 40+ books we read this year. We love to read as a way to grow our minds to different ideas and perspectives and we hope you enjoy these books as much as we do!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:46 - Intro to High and Low from 2021
6:47 - Actual(!) High and Low from 2021
11:44 - The Books of 2021
13:28 - Quick Thank You to Our Sponsors
14:06 - The Books of 2021 cont.
31:09 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
33:21 - Continued Focus on Health
Gigantic 2021 Book Review
Jihae Books
- 1 The Madness of Crowds by Douglas Murray
- 2 Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
- 3 Daring Greatly by Brene Brown
- 4 No Greater Love by AW Tozer
- 5 The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World John Mark Comer
- 6 Business Made Simple: 60 Days to Master Leadership, Sales, Marketing, Execution, Management, Personal Productivity and More Don Miller
- 7 The Tanning of America: How Hip-Hop Created a Culture That Rewrote the Rules of the New Economy Steve Stoute
- 8 The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World Rosaria Butterfiled
- 9 Crying in H Mart: A Memoir Michelle Zauner
- 10 Never Lose a Customer Again: Turn Any Sale into Lifelong Loyalty in 100 Days Joseph Coleman
- 11 I Am Here: The Journey from Fear to Freedom Ashley Lemieux
- 12 Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life CS Lewis
- 13 Eat a Peach David Chang
- 14 Fortitude: American Resilience in the Era of Outrage Dan Crenshaw
- 15 Real Artists Don't Starve: Timeless Strategies for Thriving in the New Creative Age By: Jeff Goins
- 16 Come As You Are: Revised and Updated: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life By: Emily Nagoski PhD
- 17 The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom
Re-Read Books
- 18 For Women Only by Shauti Feldhahn
- 19 Essentialism by Greg McKeown
- 20 Love Does by Bob Goff
Chris’s Books
- 1 Wizard's First Rule: Sword of Truth, Book 1 Terry Goodkind
- 2 What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful Marshall Goldsmith
- 3 His Needs, Her Needs: Building a Marriage That Lasts By: Dr. Willard F. Harley Jr.
- 4 Nonviolent Communication: Create Your Life, Your Relationships, and Your World in Harmony with Your Values Marshall Rosenberg PhD
- 5 Public Speaking for Success Jim Rohn
- 6 It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership – Colin Powell
- 7 Twelve Pillars – By: Jim Rohn , Chris Widener
- 8 More Than a Carpenter Josh McDowell
- 9 Tangled Up in Blue: Policing the American City – Rosa Brooks
- 10 Re-read The Compound Effect
Read Together
- 11 Feeding the Mouth That Bites You: A Complete Guide to Parenting Adolescents and Launching Them into the World Kenneth Wilgus PhD
- 12 Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew By: Sherrie Eldridge
- 13 The Anatomy of Peace, Expanded Second Edition: Resolving the Heart of Conflict The Arbinger Institute
- 14 The Outward Mindset: Seeing Beyond Ourselves The Arbinger Institute
- 15 Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box The Arbinger Institute
- 16 A Promised Land by Barack Obama
- 17 How To Have Your Best Year Ever Jim Rohn
- 18 Your Turn: How to Be an Adult by Julie Lythcott Haims
- 19 Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – By: Craig Groeschel
Keeping Score:
Jihae - 29 Books
Chris - 19 Books
Jihae is the 2021 FV Pod Book Reading Champion!!
Other Links:
Lily’s devo she did on the Bible App - Growing Your Faith
Patrick Lencioni 5 Dysfunctions of a Team
At The Table with Patrick Lencioni: The Five Dysfunctions …
Dave Ramsey Goal Sheet
Bek and Kev goal setting with kids
Good Word of the Day
“Don’t ask yourself how you can be more efficient, ask yourself how you can be more effective.” – Carey Nieuwhof
Wishing you all a great new year of healthy bodies, spirits, and minds!
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Becky Goodson, Nurse Practitioner extraordinaire shares with us the 3 things that she tells almost every single one of her patients to be healthy and to operate at their best. Listen in to see how you are faring with these 3 simple things you can be doing every single day!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:56 - It's 'Gee-Hey!!'
1:14 - Health and Wellness
2:39 - Three Health Recommendations – Vitamin D,
8:57 - Gut Health
13:54 - Omega 3s
18:49 - Talking About Weight
25:24 - Ways To Improve Your Health
29:58 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Links:
Activated Health and Wellness is the Practice, owned by the amazing Dr. Rodarte, where you can find Becky!
100 Days challenge was by Michelle Poler on Fearing Less & Doing More
Get in touch with Becky
We didn't find any fish with the skin on recipes in time for publication this week. Apologies!
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
Follow us on YouTube!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
We know misery loves company - so join us as we talk about some of the challenges we have been facing in the parenting front lately. Let us commiserate together, but also encourage one another - cause we are all in this together!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:16 - Talking About The B-Word....Balance
6:09 - The Current Season of Life
10:38 - The One Device-Related Rule
26:09 - Reasons For Serving
31:39 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Links:
Sun Valley Community Church on YouTube
Feeding The Mouth That Bites You
The Good Word Of The Day
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
Elf (2003)
Let’s Connect!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
We know misery loves company - so join us as we talk about some of the challenges we have been facing in the parenting front lately. Let us commiserate together, but also encourage one another - cause we are all in this together!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:16 - Talking About The B-Word....Balance
6:09 - The Current Season of Life
10:38 - The One Device-Related Rule
26:09 - Reasons For Serving
31:39 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Links:
Sun Valley Community Church on YouTube
Feeding The Mouth That Bites You
The Good Word Of The Day
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
Elf (2003)
Let’s Connect!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
We know misery loves company - so join us as we talk about some of the challenges we have been facing in the parenting front lately. Let us commiserate together, but also encourage one another - cause we are all in this together!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
2:16 - Talking About The B-Word....Balance
6:09 - The Current Season of Life
10:38 - The One Device-Related Rule
26:09 - Reasons For Serving
31:39 - Good Word Of The Day!!!
Links:
Sun Valley Community Church on YouTube
Feeding The Mouth That Bites You
The Good Word Of The Day
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
Elf (2003)
Let’s Connect!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Cindy Branton is a teacher, mom, wife, church worker, Jesus lover, friend, sister, daughter, bunny-owner, sugar inhaler, and now Author. She shares her new book 'Words to Jesus: Children's Litanies to Pray as a Family' with us in this episode. This is an incredible resource to have to help you and your family to draw nearer to God's truths and goodness, in a way that is simple enough for your kids! This would make an amazing gift as the holiday season is upon us!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
3:13 - Welcome Cindy!!
9:01 - Cindy's Book – Words To Jesus
12:41 - More About The Book
17:27 - Good Word Of The Day!!
20:14 - Focusing On Health
Links:
The Book!
https://smile.amazon.com/Words-Jesus-Childrens-Litanies-Family/dp/B09B4VWGBS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=35XP2W3PYV52W&keywords=words+to+jesus+cindy+branton&qid=1638555259&sprefix=words+to+Jes%2Caps%2C196&sr=8-1
Young Adults Group at Sun Valley
https://www.sunvalleycc.com/young-adults?gclid=Cj0KCQiAnaeNBhCUARIsABEee8WUiFpWDMp6i2SHtPI7IbLHwrhbpZqI1VfsyBXP28eg95rqhTsInsIaAs5BEALw_wcB
Connect with Cindy on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/cindy_branton_writes/
Connect with us!!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
In this episode, we share some simple tips that have been helping us to be more successful in the Watson household of 9. From making the bed to doing the cross crawl, we think you will be encouraged to do little things that will make a big impact. Our kids have already been experiencing some bigs wins at school because of these exercises!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
3:30 - Thank you to our Sponsors!!
4:15 - The Importance of Habits
4:44 - Exercising Every Day
7:11 - Compound Effect
10:39 - At Dinner Talk About Kindness
16:12 - Cross Crawl
21:10 - Tapping
30:04 - Good Word Of The Day!!
Links
Showit United
Naval Officer we talked about who tells you why you should make your bed.
Compound Effect one of our top 10 books! Read this and feel motivated to keep making small decisions that lead to big results.
At Dinner Talk About Kindness!
Cross Crawl This is the new exercise we have been doing at home, and it has already helped out kids to connect the right and left sides of their brains, and has helped them to focus better!
Tapping is a powerful exercise you and your kids can do to relieve stress and sync the 2 hemispheres of your brain.
Power of High Five Ed Mylett and Mel Robbins talk about the power of the High Five! Another great thing you can do with your kids!
Thanks to our Sponsors
Showit
Bek and Kev
Let’s Connect!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Join us for a great interview with Rayetta Sanchez, the Department of Child Safety's Community Liaison. She shares all the ways that we can all be involved in helping kids in foster care here in Arizona. We also discuss the big initiative they are working on right now called The Giving Tree. If you are a business, church, organization, or even a very generous person, you can get involved to make a big impact on many of Arizona's kids.
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
9:00 - Welcome Rayetta Sanchez!!
12:16 - What Are Some Ways We Can Help Kids?
16:36 - Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents
18:07 DCS's Giving Tree Program
21:20 - Get In Touch With Rayetta and DCS
22:07 - Supporting DCS
28:32 - Good Word Of The Day!!
34:00 - Thank Yous and Skinny Vanilla Lattes!
Links
Feeding The Mouth That Bites You: A Complete Guide to Parenting Adolescents and Launching Them Into the World
by Kenneth Wilgus
Get in touch with Rayetta Sanchez - engage@azdcs.gov
You can email her to get more info, to help out, or to get your FREE Arizona State Parks pass (if you are a current foster family!)
To find a DCS office near you, go here!
Visit Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents to join, connect with other families, and receive free bikes and shoes as a foster and adoptive family, and so much more!
Good Word Of The Day
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18
Thanks to our Sponsors
Showit
Bek and Kev
Let's Connect!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
This episode touches upon staying up on your mental, spiritual, and physical health - especially when things don’t go as planned! But set backs don’t need to be that serious if you can get back on track as soon as possible!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:24 - Lesson Of The Day
6:50 - "Sometimes You Just Can't Trust Your Toots" - Chris Watson
7:04 - Trusting Yourself to Not Overanalyze
9:56 - Best Laid Plans
12:54 - Good Word Of The Day!!
18:36 - Episode Wrap-up
Links
Good Word of the Day Isaiah 26:3
Fostering Voice on IG
Sponsors
Showit
Bek and Kev
This episode touches upon staying up on your mental, spiritual, and physical health - especially when things don’t go as planned! But set backs don’t need to be that serious if you can get back on track as soon as possible!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:24 - Lesson Of The Day
6:50 - "Sometimes You Just Can't Trust Your Toots" - Chris Watson
7:04 - Trusting Yourself to Not Overanalyze
9:56 - Best Laid Plans
12:54 - Good Word Of The Day!!
18:36 - Episode Wrap-up
Links
Good Word of the Day Isaiah 26:3
Fostering Voice on IG
Sponsors
Showit
Bek and Kev
This episode features an interview with Kate Somerville, the founder of Kate Somerville Skin Health Experts, and Maggie Lin, co-founder of Foster Nation. These two powerful women have overcome hard beginnings and started their own companies, all in the name of being able to help others. Especially foster youth. We hope you are inspired by this interview as much as we were!
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
7:46 - Welcome Kate and Maggie!
8:50 - Kate's Background
12:34 - Maggie's Background
16:00 - The Vulnerability Hangover
19:54 - Foster Nation x Kate Sommerville Skin Care
22:58 - Guardian Angels
27:50 - More on the Kate Sommerville and Foster Nation Collaboration
32:48 - Ways To Support Foster Nation
37:58 - Giving Back As A Mentor
40:48 - Learn About Kate's Company
42:04 - Good Word Of The Day!!
46:24 - Reminder to Focus on Health!
50:26 - Thank You For Listening Please Check Out The Show Notes!
Links
https://www.katesomerville.com/us/en/
https://www.fosternation.org
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/kate-somerville-skincare-announces-partnership-130000036.html
https://www.instagram.com/fosteringvoices/
Episode 122 features an interview with Ryan Moore, director of Community Partnerships at Ohana. Ohana is an organization here in Arizona that creates safe, faith-based and loving family environments for foster youth and adults with special needs. They strive to create dignified environments through love and family.
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome to our guest, Ryan Moore!
1:29 - Ryan's 2-minute....no, 5-minute(!) Bio
4:45 - How Ryan and His Wife Met
6:19 - What is Ohana and What Do They Do?
14:45 - What Are Some Ways To Support Ohana?
17:57 - What Has Been Ryan's Biggest Surprise in The Foster Care Community?
22:44 - Donations and Sponsors
24:08 - Good Word Of The Day!!
27:08 - Thank You For Listening And Please Check Out Ohanaaz
Let's Connect!
Ohana AZ
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Episode 122 features an interview with Ryan Moore, director of Community Partnerships at Ohana. Ohana is an organization here in Arizona that creates safe, faith-based and loving family environments for foster youth and adults with special needs. They strive to create dignified environments through love and family.
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome to our guest, Ryan Moore!
1:29 - Ryan's 2-minute....no, 5-minute(!) Bio
4:45 - How Ryan and His Wife Met
6:19 - What is Ohana and What Do They Do?
14:45 - What Are Some Ways To Support Ohana?
17:57 - What Has Been Ryan's Biggest Surprise in The Foster Care Community?
22:44 - Donations and Sponsors
24:08 - Good Word Of The Day!!
27:08 - Thank You For Listening And Please Check Out Ohanaaz
Let's Connect!
Ohana AZ
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Episode 122 features an interview with Ryan Moore, director of Community Partnerships at Ohana. Ohana is an organization here in Arizona that creates safe, faith-based and loving family environments for foster youth and adults with special needs. They strive to create dignified environments through love and family.
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome to our guest, Ryan Moore!
1:29 - Ryan's 2-minute....no, 5-minute(!) Bio
4:45 - How Ryan and His Wife Met
6:19 - What is Ohana and What Do They Do?
14:45 - What Are Some Ways To Support Ohana?
17:57 - What Has Been Ryan's Biggest Surprise in The Foster Care Community?
22:44 - Donations and Sponsors
24:08 - Good Word Of The Day!!
27:08 - Thank You For Listening And Please Check Out Ohanaaz
Let's Connect!
Ohana AZ
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Episode 122 features an interview with Ryan Moore, director of Community Partnerships at Ohana. Ohana is an organization here in Arizona that creates safe, faith-based and loving family environments for foster youth and adults with special needs. They strive to create dignified environments through love and family.
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome to our guest, Ryan Moore!
1:29 - Ryan's 2-minute....no, 5-minute(!) Bio
4:45 - How Ryan and His Wife Met
6:19 - What is Ohana and What Do They Do?
14:45 - What Are Some Ways To Support Ohana?
17:57 - What Has Been Ryan's Biggest Surprise in The Foster Care Community?
22:44 - Donations and Sponsors
24:08 - Good Word Of The Day!!
27:08 - Thank You For Listening And Please Check Out Ohanaaz
Let's Connect!
Ohana AZ
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Episode 122 features an interview with Ryan Moore, director of Community Partnerships at Ohana. Ohana is an organization here in Arizona that creates safe, faith-based and loving family environments for foster youth and adults with special needs. They strive to create dignified environments through love and family.
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome to our guest, Ryan Moore!
1:29 - Ryan's 2-minute....no, 5-minute(!) Bio
4:45 - How Ryan and His Wife Met
6:19 - What is Ohana and What Do They Do?
14:45 - What Are Some Ways To Support Ohana?
17:57 - What Has Been Ryan's Biggest Surprise in The Foster Care Community?
22:44 - Donations and Sponsors
24:08 - Good Word Of The Day!!
27:08 - Thank You For Listening And Please Check Out Ohanaaz
Let's Connect!
Ohana AZ
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Episode 122 features an interview with Ryan Moore, director of Community Partnerships at Ohana. Ohana is an organization here in Arizona that creates safe, faith-based and loving family environments for foster youth and adults with special needs. They strive to create dignified environments through love and family.
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome to our guest, Ryan Moore!
1:29 - Ryan's 2-minute....no, 5-minute(!) Bio
4:45 - How Ryan and His Wife Met
6:19 - What is Ohana and What Do They Do?
14:45 - What Are Some Ways To Support Ohana?
17:57 - What Has Been Ryan's Biggest Surprise in The Foster Care Community?
22:44 - Donations and Sponsors
24:08 - Good Word Of The Day!!
27:08 - Thank You For Listening And Please Check Out Ohanaaz
Let's Connect!
Ohana AZ
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Episode 122 features an interview with Ryan Moore, director of Community Partnerships at Ohana. Ohana is an organization here in Arizona that creates safe, faith-based and loving family environments for foster youth and adults with special needs. They strive to create dignified environments through love and family.
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome to our guest, Ryan Moore!
1:29 - Ryan's 2-minute....no, 5-minute(!) Bio
4:45 - How Ryan and His Wife Met
6:19 - What is Ohana and What Do They Do?
14:45 - What Are Some Ways To Support Ohana?
17:57 - What Has Been Ryan's Biggest Surprise in The Foster Care Community?
22:44 - Donations and Sponsors
24:08 - Good Word Of The Day!!
27:08 - Thank You For Listening And Please Check Out Ohanaaz
Let's Connect!
Ohana AZ
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Welcome to Season 8 of Fostering Voices. We are thrilled you are here for this season opening episode. Jihae and Chris talk all about their highs and lows of the summer, including how some of our kids learned to fly - metaphorically and literally.
Welcome to Season 8 of Fostering Voices. We are thrilled you are here for this season opening episode. Jihae and Chris talk all about their highs and lows of the summer, including some fantastic flying Topher that you will not want to miss out on. Also this summer is 100 days of sustained effort, at exercise, or walking, or even yes, flossing!. We hope you enjoy this episode!
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome Back!!!
1:50 - Review of the Week!
3:20 - Thank You Sponsors!!
8:04 - Summer Tales and Catching Up
10:01 - Topher Flying Away!!
12:02 - More Summer Tales and Catching Up
19:52 - The Anatomy of Peace
24:31 - Good Word of the Day!
29:18 - Commit to 100 Days
30:38 - 100 Days of Flossing...LET'S GO!!!!!
Links
The Anatomy of Peace - Resolving the Heart of Conflict
Andy our producer’s music on Apple Music
Andy our producer’s music on Spotify
Showit
Dr Charles and Grace
Bekah and Kevin Tinter
Peter on YouTube
Topher Flying Away!!
Pickleball
Let's Connect!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Welcome to Season 8 of Fostering Voices. We are thrilled you are here for this season opening episode. Jihae and Chris talk all about their highs and lows of the summer, including how some of our kids learned to fly - metaphorically and literally.
Welcome to Season 8 of Fostering Voices. We are thrilled you are here for this season opening episode. Jihae and Chris talk all about their highs and lows of the summer, including some fantastic flying Topher that you will not want to miss out on. Also this summer is 100 days of sustained effort, at exercise, or walking, or even yes, flossing!. We hope you enjoy this episode!
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome Back!!!
1:50 - Review of the Week!
3:20 - Thank You Sponsors!!
8:04 - Summer Tales and Catching Up
10:01 - Topher Flying Away!!
12:02 - More Summer Tales and Catching Up
19:52 - The Anatomy of Peace
24:31 - Good Word of the Day!
29:18 - Commit to 100 Days
30:38 - 100 Days of Flossing...LET'S GO!!!!!
Links
The Anatomy of Peace - Resolving the Heart of Conflict
Andy our producer’s music on Apple Music
Andy our producer’s music on Spotify
Showit
Dr Charles and Grace
Bekah and Kevin Tinter
Peter on YouTube
Topher Flying Away!!
Pickleball
Let's Connect!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
In the final episode of the season Jihae has a deep, insightful, and powerful conversation with Peter Mutabazi. Peter is a single fostering dad who is an advocate for children. he is incredibly active and terrific on social media. His YouTube channel and IG feed are especially active and terrific. We can't wait for you to hear from Peter and hear his passion and commitment to fostering children.
Chapters:
1:19 - Finding Joy In This Season
1:39 - DECLUTTER!!!!
3:14 - Chris's Beautiful (Sometimes) Yard
7:59 - Reminder: Please Donate to Foster Care Initiative
9:46 - Chick-Fil-A!!!!
10:36 - Introducing Peter Mutabazi - Foster Dad Flipper
23:35 - How Peter Decided to Become a Foster Parent
37:16 - What Have Been The Challenges As An Adopted Dad?
40:42 - Now You Are Known
51:15 - What Is Bringing You Joy?
Links:
From Episode 119 - Foster Care Initiatives
Please consider donating by the end of July!
Peter's Website - Now I Am Known
Peter on YouTube
Peter on IG
Fostering Voices on IG
This week we are interviewing the lovely Hitomi Mewhinney the Director of the Birth Parent Program at Foster Care Initiatives. She shares how she has been partnering with birth moms to walk with them through their journey. It is beautiful work, and you can join them!
This week we are interviewing the lovely Hitomi Mewhinney the Director of the Birth Parent Program at Foster Care Initiatives. She shares how she has been partnering with birth moms to walk with them through their journey. It is beautiful work, and you can join them!
It is easy to discard kindness as just a suggestion, but not something that actually makes a difference. And we beg to differ on that. We think that kindness is a big piece of what is missing in society at large. Don't overthink it. Just be kind. Give people the benefit of the doubt. Listen to understand, not just to respond.
Show Notes:
-
Other podcasts we have been on recently:
-
The Forgotten Initiative. Our episode isn't out yet, but there are so many beautiful lives to learn from! You will definitely want to subscribe to this podcast!
-
The CFC Learning Podcast. This one has YouTube videos as well! And is in 2 parts. You can watch here and listen here!
CFC is Christian Family Care, and they are the agency we got licensed through (and where Jihae works as a foster parent trainer!) Find out more about them at CFCare.org
- Loving God Loving People Podcast. Chris was on this podcast hosted by our bro, Robert Watson! It's the podcast for our church Sun Valley Community Church. Watch it here and listen to it here.
Kindness Matters:
- We mentioned a few books we are reading that talk about being kind, which now takes a lot of bravery and intentionality. Check out Fortitude by Dan Crenshaw and Your Turn by Julie Lythcott-Haims
Good Word of the Day
Back in 2019, Ellen Degeneres was at an NFL game with George Bush. And people lost their minds. You can read this article about it. But Ellen's response was so beautiful, and still so applicable to us today:
"I’m friends with George Bush... In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. But just because I don’t agree with someone on everything doesn’t mean that I’m not going to be friends with them... When I say, ‘be kind to one another,’ I don’t only mean the people that think the same way that you do. I mean be kind to everyone.”
Dear Ellen, Thank you. Let's be kind to everyone my friends.
Show Summary:
A wonderful and deep conversation with Rita Soronen, President & CEO of the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption.
Chapters:
0:00 - Welcome, Rita!!
1:24 - Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption(Yes, that Dave Thomas!)
3:34 - Raising Awareness for Foster Care and Adoption
5:53 - Wendy’s Wonderful Kids
13:44 - The Birthright of Every Child Is To Have a Home - Beginner’s Guide to Adoption
17:48 - How Can You Get Involved or Support These Kids?
22:15 - "These Children Are Not Someone Else's Responsibility, They Are Our Responsibility"
23:01 - Good Word of The Day!!
25:13 - Something Simple Bringing You Joy Right Now
Show Notes:
Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption
Wendy’s Wonderful Kids
Beginner’s Guide to Adoption
DTFA on Instagram
Our Website
Find us on IG
Technology is great and terrible for our families. Millions upon millions of families have come before us with little to no technology. And they did pretty well for themselves. But here we are with too much technology and what are we supposed to do now?
Todd Watson, CEO of Showit (the sponsor of our podcast!) and Chris' cousin, is on the podcast! This interview is packed with so much incredible info on how to keep our families safe in this technological world.
Where to start
We cannot expect to protect our kids from everything. That is a truth pill we have to swallow, right off the bat. But let's also remember that as adults, a lot of us need this info, whether we have kids or not. A lot of us grown ups are just as bad, if not worse, than kids with their devices!
In episode 31, we talked with Robert Watson about porn and sex. One thing that he told us was that your kids are not always looking for porn, but porn is looking for them! So teach them that there are just so many things they should not click on. And talk to them about staying safe online.
Todd also mentioned that simply having a phone, and having texting capabilities is a form of social media. So even if your kids are not on social media (which we strongly recommend that they avoid it til they are at least 16, if not longer!), you still have to check up on them! If they can text, they are not getting a break from school life, or social life. When we were younger, when we left school for the day, that was it. We didn't bring the drama home with us. Make sure your kids are doing ok with who is texting them, and what people are texting them. Even deleted texts can haunt you forever - so be careful. And tell your kids to be careful.
Some tools
Here are some of the apps and tools that Todd mentioned in this episode
-
qustodio.com
-
bark.com
-
Griffin Wifi router
-
set pins on Netflix
Best parenting advice
As always, our biggest pieces of advice for having a healthy home are to eat meals together and build your relationships! If eating dinner every night together is out of the question, then eat bowls of cereal together in the morning. Just make sure you have time to look each other in the eyeballs and say "how was your day? how is your heart?"
Good Word of the Day
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
-Proverbs 22:6
Todd talked a lot about training our kids for character! SO GOOD! We can't control our kids and their actions. We can try to help them make better choices, and we can try to protect them from certain things. But if we train them to have good character, they will make a lot of those good choices for themselves!
We mentioned that Rules Without Relationship Lead to Rebellion. Work on your relationship with your kids and your loved ones. Help them to understand the rules, and even have ownership in them! Hopefully this will mitigate some of the rebellion! Friends, none of us are going to get this right 100% of the time. Our kids will slip up. And so will we! So let's have grace, AND wisdom!
Connect with Todd
You can hear more about Todd's journey as a foster family in episode 6!
You can connect with him on social media, even though he is rarely on it. (So, good luck!)
Connect with Us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us here!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Technology is great and terrible for our families. Millions upon millions of families have come before us with little to no technology. And they did pretty well for themselves. But here we are with too much technology and what are we supposed to do now?
Todd Watson, CEO of Showit (the sponsor of our podcast!) and Chris' cousin, is on the podcast! This interview is packed with so much incredible info on how to keep our families safe in this technological world.
Where to start
We cannot expect to protect our kids from everything. That is a truth pill we have to swallow, right off the bat. But let's also remember that as adults, a lot of us need this info, whether we have kids or not. A lot of us grown ups are just as bad, if not worse, than kids with their devices!
In episode 31, we talked with Robert Watson about porn and sex. One thing that he told us was that your kids are not always looking for porn, but porn is looking for them! So teach them that there are just so many things they should not click on. And talk to them about staying safe online.
Todd also mentioned that simply having a phone, and having texting capabilities is a form of social media. So even if your kids are not on social media (which we strongly recommend that they avoid it til they are at least 16, if not longer!), you still have to check up on them! If they can text, they are not getting a break from school life, or social life. When we were younger, when we left school for the day, that was it. We didn't bring the drama home with us. Make sure your kids are doing ok with who is texting them, and what people are texting them. Even deleted texts can haunt you forever - so be careful. And tell your kids to be careful.
Some tools
Here are some of the apps and tools that Todd mentioned in this episode
-
qustodio.com
-
bark.com
-
Griffin Wifi router
-
set pins on Netflix
Best parenting advice
As always, our biggest pieces of advice for having a healthy home are to eat meals together and build your relationships! If eating dinner every night together is out of the question, then eat bowls of cereal together in the morning. Just make sure you have time to look each other in the eyeballs and say "how was your day? how is your heart?"
Good Word of the Day
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
-Proverbs 22:6
Todd talked a lot about training our kids for character! SO GOOD! We can't control our kids and their actions. We can try to help them make better choices, and we can try to protect them from certain things. But if we train them to have good character, they will make a lot of those good choices for themselves!
We mentioned that Rules Without Relationship Lead to Rebellion. Work on your relationship with your kids and your loved ones. Help them to understand the rules, and even have ownership in them! Hopefully this will mitigate some of the rebellion! Friends, none of us are going to get this right 100% of the time. Our kids will slip up. And so will we! So let's have grace, AND wisdom!
Connect with Todd
You can hear more about Todd's journey as a foster family in episode 6!
You can connect with him on social media, even though he is rarely on it. (So, good luck!)
Connect with Us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us here!
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Parenting fails are always fun to hear, but less fun to live through - especially if you are the parent (or the child of that parent!) We have 7 kids, which doesn't make us parenting experts. It just makes us a couple that has more parenting fails than normal!
Chapters:
0:00 - Opening - Welcome Back!!
0:58 - Parenting and Epic Fails
4:28 - Parenting Fail #1
6:46 - Parenting Fail #2
9:40 - Parenting Fail #3
13:00 - Parenting Fail #4
18:10 - Good Word of the Day
19:48 - Book Time!!
22:46 - We Are All in This Together
24:28 - The Review That Inspired This Episode
25:38 - Find Us On Socials
Show Notes:
The Connected Child By Dr Karyn Purvis
The Whole Brain Child By Siegel and Bryson
How to Raise an Adult By Julie Lythcott Haims
Check out Episode 110 and our interview with the author Julie Lythcott Haims
Safe House by Joshua Straub
Coddling of the American Mind by Haidt and Lukianoff
Mindset by Carol Dweck
How We Love by Kay and Milan Yerkovich
Sun Valley Church Parenting Course
Episode 113 with Jason Johnson
Thanks for tuning in!
Thankful to say that this podcast is brought to you by Showit! If you need a professional website for your creative website, Showit is the website platform for you!
Connect with us!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Guys! We apologize for being such slackers! We have lots of excuses as to why we missed posting a new episode last week, but we will keep MOST of those excuses to ourselves... one of the reasons is that I was in Virginia visiting my sweet friend/work wife, Cassandra! (This is Jihae, not Chris. He does NOT have a work wife!)
Here are some things we talked about in this episode:
Do Not Use Authorized Vehicle for U-Turn on Interstate
Episode 99 - Davey Jones
Bible App on iOS
Good Word of the Day
14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.a]">[a] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
We all struggle with doing stuff that we don't want to do. If you are struggling - you are not alone! But just cause you don't want to do something is not reason enough to NOT do it!
Leave Us a Review
Contact Link
Find us on IG
We could not be more delighted to present this interview with THE Jason Johnson! He is the author of the incredible book "Reframing Foster Care", and he is also the Director of Church Ministry Initiatives with Christian Alliance for Orphans. He has an incredible blog that is a fantastic resource for families, individuals, and churches alike.
We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we did! You can also watch it on YouTube if you prefer to see faces, or you want to listen to it again, with a visual component!
You can learn more about Jason's books here. And the book club that we mentioned in the episode can be found here on YouTube, or on Jason's Facebook page.
Let's Connect!
You can also follow Jason on Instagram.
Fostering Voices on Instagram
You can also email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Too many of us prioritize big events as major milestones. Like a family trip to Disneyland. Or a romantic getaway to Hawaii. If this is you - then this last year of not being able to travel and experience monumental wins must have really sucked, eh?
What if we found as much joy in washing our face at home every day, as we did in having a spa day? Cause who has time for spa days??? But we do have to wash our face every day (unless you are a man, and then you might accidentally wash your face in the shower on occassion.) But this episode talks about choosing simple little things that bring you great joy in your everyday life.
Jihae's picks:
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Aveeno facewash! It smells like a fresh new day of possibilities. Washing my face with this stuff every morning rejuvenates me and pumps me up for a new day. Then washing my face with it at night brings me peace and calm and helps me to remember the good from the day I just had. And it's only $6!
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Waterpik water flosser. A new purchase as recommended by our dental hygienist, this thing has brought us some great joy! It's fun and it's good for you. And it's about $35. WHo knew the bathroom could bring so much joy to a person.
Chris' picks:
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Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer. Chris is basically a real life elf, and he drinks this stuff EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. He loves coffee, and he really loves this creamer. It's insane. But it brings him great joy on the daily.
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Playing pick up basketball. Yay for physical activity. All the better if you can do this with some friends. Fellowship and physical activity are so powerful in helping you to feel joy, and to clear your mind, and to keep your body healthy. We make too many excuses as to why we are too busy to be healthy, but that just makes us more and more unhealthy!
Good Word of the Day
"Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to him, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty's hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
Daniel 3:16-18
We heard this great sermon by Megan Fate Marshman last week and it was so powerful and so full of hope! She reminded us that it is FAR BETTER to serve than to be served, and to stop making an idol of ourselves! You can listen to the sermon right here.
Friends! There is still so much out there that we cannot control. But we urge you to take control of what you can! That includes yourself, your thoughts, your hygiene, your friends, your family (to a degree), your health (also to a degree). But don't feel so overwhelmed by the outside world. Find peace in knowing that you are more powerful than you think! And God is even more so!
Some other books we mentioned that have helped us find great joy in our daily lives is Mindset by Carol Dweck, and the Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor.
Holler at us if you want to connect! hello@fosteringvoices.com.
Happy 2021!
We recorded this episode on December 30th, 2020, with the intentions of releasing it the next day... Well, here we are almost 3 weeks later! Gotta love those good intentions!
So welcome to season 7.
We had an absolutely incredible season 6, and we are so thankful for all of the new listeners who joined us on our journey this last year.
This episode talks about some of our favorite books and episodes from this year. We hope you enjoy it!
Some things we mentioned in this episode:
-
We LOVED reading/listening to these biographies this year - "Greenlight" by Matthew McConaughey, "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah, "That Mean Old Yesterday" by Stacey Patton (by a former foster youth), "Real American" by Julie Lythcott Haims, and "Becoming" by Michelle Obama.
-
Basically every podcast episode we recorded this year were our faves for different reasons! We met Gaelin Elmore and his wife this year, and he was on episodes 86 and 87, and he shared about his journey as a former foster youth. As did my friends, Monica, in episode 107, and Wendy in Episode 100.
-
We loved interviewing Justice James Beene in episode 108, and Davey Jones on episode 99, and Dr. Ray Branton on episodes 97 and 98, our sister Lindsay on building community in your neighborhood in episode 104.
-
Some of our highs from this year were that we officially became a family of 9 through adoption. Chris was promoted at work, and Jihae delivered a good talk at United Apart (that you can watch on our YouTube Channel!)
-
We are so thankful for our sponsors from this year - Showit, and Charles and Grace, and Keller-Gibbs Realty Team!
Happy 2021!
We recorded this episode on December 30th, 2020, with the intentions of releasing it the next day... Well, here we are almost 3 weeks later! Gotta love those good intentions!
So welcome to season 7.
We had an absolutely incredible season 6, and we are so thankful for all of the new listeners who joined us on our journey this last year.
This episode talks about some of our favorite books and episodes from this year. We hope you enjoy it!
Some things we mentioned in this episode:
-
We LOVED reading/listening to these biographies this year - "Greenlight" by Matthew McConaughey, "Born a Crime" by Trevor Noah, "That Mean Old Yesterday" by Stacey Patton (by a former foster youth), "Real American" by Julie Lythcott Haims, and "Becoming" by Michelle Obama.
-
Basically every podcast episode we recorded this year were our faves for different reasons! We met Gaelin Elmore and his wife this year, and he was on episodes 86 and 87, and he shared about his journey as a former foster youth. As did my friends, Monica, in episode 107, and Wendy in Episode 100.
-
We loved interviewing Justice James Beene in episode 108, and Davey Jones on episode 99, and Dr. Ray Branton on episodes 97 and 98, our sister Lindsay on building community in your neighborhood in episode 104.
-
Some of our highs from this year were that we officially became a family of 9 through adoption. Chris was promoted at work, and Jihae delivered a good talk at United Apart (that you can watch on our YouTube Channel!)
-
We are so thankful for our sponsors from this year - Showit, and Charles and Grace, and Keller-Gibbs Realty Team!
None of us know what we are doing as parents and are always looking for solid parenting advice. Julie Lythcott-Haims has some strong suggestions. She may possibly be the most quoted author on our podcast. She is the New York Times Best Selling Author of "How to Raise an Adult: Break free of the overparenting trap and prepare your kid for success", our most recommended book on parenting. Julie has a TedTalk on the same subject that has been watched over 6 MILLION times on YouTube and Ted.com combined.
Through Julie's amazing graciousness - she is ON THE PODCAST in this episode about parenting, and becoming, and kindness! I died a million deaths of joy and awe before, during, and after the interview. Julie is WISE, and such a strong communicator, and full of kindness and empathy (as evidenced when she started crying within the first 5 minutes of our interview!) For a tiny piece of Julie's resume, she is a Stanford, and Harvard Law grad, and she was the Dean of Freshmen for a decade at Stanford. Which is the kind of resume my parents wish I had! :)
Parenting and more * Obviously we talked about parenting. Julie drew a graph of the 4 kinds of parenting styles. In the red are: Authoritarian, Neglectful, Indulgent. The one we are all supposed to strive for is Authoritative. This parenting style has the right mix of relationship and rules. The others have incorrect, or missing elements of relationship and rules.
- The ARC of Becoming: this is an arc that takes you from being a baby to adulthood. A is for Agency. R is for Resilience. C is for Character. We need to develop this arc for ourselves, and for our kids!
- Two massive factors in raising successful adults: chores and unconditional love!
- Julie has a heart for the foster and adoptive community because she found out at the age of 10 that she had a half brother that her mom did not tell her about.
- A question she asks herself and her friends often: "What are you working on in yourself? Where are your edges? Who are you becoming?"
- Treating others with Kindness and Dignity will go further than you can ever imagine.
More resources This episode is on YouTube! Once I get it up, there will be a link here!! Definitely worth watching so you can see Julie, and all of her illustrations! She's such a teacher. :)
You can also listen to this episode we did as a review of "How to Raise an Adult" after we read it! This is another popular parenting episode. And you can check out all of our parenting episodes on our website!
The Good Word of the Day
"We are all just walking each other home."
-Ram Dass "Be Love Now"
When you get to this part of the podcast, you will hear the cheesiest and most sincere sigh from Chris and I! What a beautiful word. And truly something we need to remember: we are all on a journey. Let's walk each other home with kindness and empathy!
If you read 'Real American', Julie's memoir, there are chapters that are SO PAINFUL to read. But if you stopped on a page without reading the next one, you would make a judgment call which is not complete or accurate. That's how it is with everyone you encounter. You are meeting them at a certain chapter of their life. Stick around for the next, and possibly help them to write that next chapter better. And YOU are on a journey as well. You are on a page, in a chapter. The book is not complete yet. Be kind to yourself. Be kind to others. Let's walk each other home.
Connect with Julie! (She loves connecting!) On her amazing website
She has great resources on Race. Her memoir is a MUST READ.
Her most recommended online Bookstore (no, it's not Amazon). Buying from Bookstore.org actually supports small, local bookstores!
On Instagram. That's how we started our conversation!
Don't forget to PreOrder her new book: Your Turn
Her books are available on Audible. And she narrates them! So it's definitely worth pursuing this option, cause it feels like you are sitting with a friend.
**If you would like to connect with us:** Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram and Chris on Facebook
You can also email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to see how to leave a review, check out this handy little video!
Leadership is something we talk about a lot on the podcast, because we are all leaders! It is your choice if you are going to be a good one, or not. Parenting is some of the hardest kind of leadership, because you are maxed out in your pay grade, because oh yeah - you don't make any money doing it!
We talk about 2 books that we are reading and have read, but that came to our attention via podcasts we listened to.
The first one is called "The Motive" by Patrick Lencioni, and we became aware of it when Lencioni was on The Andy Stanley Leadership Podcast.
You have to ask yourself if you are a Reward of Responsibility-centered leader. A reward-centered leader has worked hard to become a leader, and now that they are one - they feel like this is the end of their journey. They don't do hard or unpleasant work, and have the mindset that others should be serving them, and they have 'arrived'.
A responsibility-centered leader sees their leadership role as the beginning of their journey. Now that they have gotten their new role - they have to work hard to be the best leader for their team and organization.
So again - which leader are you? And again - this kind of thinking applies to parenthood. There are reward-centered parents, and responsibility-centered parents.
The second podcast we listened to is the Storybrand Podcast with Donald Miller, and he interviewed Dan Heath who wrote "Upstream: The Quest to Solve Problems Before They Happen." This book was such an inspiration and filled with so many positive victories!
Problems and solutions start on a micro-level, and they can in turn be changed to macro-level results. An example that Heath gave was how one city more or less eradicated homelessness! They started off with recognizing the problem, mobilizing a team of power players (city officials, police, hospitals, mental health providers) and basically writing a list of the homeless people in their area, knowing them each By Name, and providing homes for them. Amazing!
Both episodes are great, and we just started reading 'The Motive' and finished reading 'Upstream' and we recommend them both!
The Good Word of the Day
"He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God."
- 1 Corinthians 4:5b
That's a good word! Check your heart and make sure you are the kind of leader that your team and family need!
Thanks so much for tuning in this week. Next week we have an amazing interview with Julie Lythcott-Haims!!!!! She is the author of How To Raise an Adult! You do not want to miss this episode!
And we are SO thankful for our amazing sponsors! Thanks to our newest sponsor - The Keller Gibbs Realty Team ! We have used them for every house we have ever bought - which is strangely quite a few! (Arizona has had so many ups and downs in the real estate world in the last 15 years! We have bought 4 different homes with Keller Gibbs team!)
And if you would like to connect, check us out at fosteringvoices.com and feel free to email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com , and hit us up on social media!
We are beyond honored to have The Honorable Justice James Beene on our podcast! Justice Beene, aka Jim, has served on the supreme court in Arizona for the last year, and had served in Family and Juvenile court for over 4 years, here in Arizona.
There is just SO much great stuff in this podcast, and we hope you enjoy this fantastic interview with a wise, and kind guest who truly cares for the futures of the young people in foster care, as well as their bio families, and the families who choose to foster.
We had Kim Turner, a GAL, on our podcast on episode 53. If you want to learn more about the court system for foster kids, check out that episode as well.
The Good Word of the Day
"Persistence".
That's a great word that Justice Beene's mother often reminded him of. And it's a great word for all of us to lean into in times of trouble and hardship. There is always great reward on the other side of hard work and persistence!
If you have any questions for Justice Beene, we can pass them along to him. You can email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com . We would love to connect with you there, or on social media!
And if you are enjoying our podcast, we would love for you to leave a 5 star review, and a blurb about what you enjoy most about the podcast!
We are so thankful for you, sweet listeners!!! WE hope you have a great week and that you will tune in again next week!
We are beyond honored to have The Honorable Justice James Beene on our podcast! Justice Beene, aka Jim, has served on the supreme court in Arizona for the last year, and had served in Family and Juvenile court for over 4 years, here in Arizona.
There is just SO much great stuff in this podcast, and we hope you enjoy this fantastic interview with a wise, and kind guest who truly cares for the futures of the young people in foster care, as well as their bio families, and the families who choose to foster.
We had Kim Turner, a GAL, on our podcast on episode 53. If you want to learn more about the court system for foster kids, check out that episode as well.
The Good Word of the Day
"Persistence".
That's a great word that Justice Beene's mother often reminded him of. And it's a great word for all of us to lean into in times of trouble and hardship. There is always great reward on the other side of hard work and persistence!
If you have any questions for Justice Beene, we can pass them along to him. You can email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com . We would love to connect with you there, or on social media!
And if you are enjoying our podcast, we would love for you to leave a 5 star review, and a blurb about what you enjoy most about the podcast!
We are so thankful for you, sweet listeners!!! WE hope you have a great week and that you will tune in again next week!
Trauma is something that is common to all humans. But trauma and abuse are not a part of everyone's story, but it is for this week's guest. Monica was put into foster care as a baby, and was soon adopted by an abusive family. She was actually put back into foster care a few years later, but then returned to the previous adoptive family. Talk about a traumatic childhood!
But Monica is not defined by her trauma and pain, and she encourages others to get over their pain to fully heal, and fully understand how to receive love and give it away as an adult.
Tune in to hear how she rose above her difficult past, and how she is pressing forward with great love, and great hope and joy for the future.
The Good Word of the Day:
Honestly - we had too many! Monica dropped so many great nuggets of truth and wisdom on us! Our favorites are:
"Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."
- John 13:7
"It's not about perfection, it's progression." Author Unknown. BUT Joyce Meyers did say "Strive for excellence, not perfection, because we don't live in a perfect world." And Meyers is one of Monica's favorite authors.
"Look how far you have come."
- Bob Goff
We are SO thankful for Monica and her heart! She is going through therapy and doing SO MUCH hard work to get herself to a place of healing and peace. We all need help and healing, so we just want to encourage everyone to get the help that they need!
We are especially thankful for Showit - the sponsors of our podcast, and also the place where Monica and I both work! We are a small team of 32, but SO MANY people have been interviewed on our podcast as their lives have been touched by either foster care, adoption, or both!
You can check out Elisa Watson's foster care journey here. And Parker's journey about being adopted, here. Kara Lackey created the Know and Love Quiz to help parents to know and love their kids - especially their foster kids! JT and Ashley Pals share about their journey with adoption. Reggie Sheffield, an Amazing DCS worker for over a decade deserves a medal, but instead just got to be on our podcast. And Shamesha was kind enough to make a video on our YouTube channel about caring for ethnic hair. And just this week, our other coworker, Eddie, adopted his son through the state. And Nathan and Heather Griffy, have been foster and adoptive parents for a few years now, and we need to get these two families on the podcast soon!
But that's 9 out of 32 people who are in this space! How amazing is that?!?!?
If you would like to connect, feel free to email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com . We always love to hear from our listeners! We would also really appreciate if you would subscribe to the podcast and leave a review! Thank you!
Go do great things with great love, and we will be back with a brand new episode next week!
Foster care according to our 8 year old bio daughter, who has been a foster sibling for over 6 years, and our 10 year old daughter who we adopted out of foster care.
This week's interview is sweet and short, but still has lots of great nuggets to encourage you and your family on your personal journey.
The Good Word of the Day
"Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to tread on the heights."
- Habakkuk 3:18-19
We hope you have a great week, and tune in again next week for another great interview!
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram and Chris on Facebook
You can also email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
It's easy to forget why we are fostering, or why it's important to be involved in foster care. And this week, I (Jihae) became a licensed foster care trainer. Which means I will start teaching prospective foster parents to get licensed. And having to go through Foster Parent College as part of my training, helped me to remember the trials and tribulations that come with foster care. But not for the foster parent, but for the foster kids.
So in this episode, we go through an exercise that reminds us of all that our kids are facing. This is an exercise that we invite you to do with us. And this is also a great exercise that you can do as a family as you prepare to have foster children join your family.
Grab 5 post its, or pieces of paper for each person, and then write 5 things you absolutely love and that are a part of your daily life. Don't write 5 individual people's names, you can cluster those into 'family', 'friends', etc. And then, one by one, drop one of those things in order of priority to you. And chances are, you have family as the last thing you are hanging on to - and then drop that too. Foster children are taken away from everything they know - their schools, neighborhoods, friends, possessions, AND family. This exercise should remind us all and create more empathy for what our foster children are dealing with.
We were also reminded to have grace for bio families, and how important it is to be kind and gracious to bio families. When you can have a good relationship with bio families - everyone wins! Especially the kids. How great is it for our foster and adoptive kids to feel like they have two sets of parents who love them and support them, and support each other?
So we just want to continue to encourage you all to keep playing a role in supporting foster children. Whether you are an educator, a foster parent, a neighbor to a foster family, or anything in between, we all can play a role in supporting kids in foster care.
The Good Word of the Day
“We can't let the fear of loving a child that might leave deter us; we must let the fear of a child never knowing our love drive us.”
- Jason Johnson 'Reframing Foster Care'.
We have so many fears before, and even during our foster care journey. But none of those fears should trump the fact that we can still get involved in the lives of these at-risk-youth.
Let's Connect!
We are so thankful for you wonderful listeners! If you have any questions or want to email us, please do so at hello@fosteringvoices.com .
Have a great week and tune back in next week for a new episode!
This week's episode focuses on building community in your actual neighborhood! We talk about the importance of community all the time. But it's easier to build community at work, or at church, maybe in a foster support group, or sports' team. But how about where you actually live?
Do you know your neighbors' names?
All of us want to help out people in need - like if your neighbor was going through cancer treatments, you would want to help them, right? But how would you know they have cancer if you don't even know their names??
Lindsay Watson, our sister-in-law and next-door neighbor, shares how she started our neighborhood's monthly meetings and Group Me text thread. Our neighborhood is THE best. And maybe yours is too, you just don't know it yet!
First Mondays
This is a thing that Lindsay started where the neighborhood ladies gather on someone's driveway around 8pm. Kids are usually in bed. No one has to clean their house. You bring your own folding chair and beverage of choice (no judgement), and an open heart to meet your neighbors! There's a question of the night so that everyone can get to know one another, and so that no one person dominates all the talking time. It's GREAT! We have gotten to know so much about our neighbors through First Mondays.
Our neighbor, Tia, was on our podcast cause we got to hear about her story at a First Monday. She is incredible, and you should listen to her journey here. She has adopted her 3 nieces, and cares for her husband who has ALS. She is a vision of strength and servant leadership.
The Good Word of the Day
"We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. "
-Romans 12:6-8
We all have different gifts and talents. Maybe you aren't very extroverted, but you are yearning for community in your neighborhood. You may have to be the brave one who starts a First Monday. But once you get to know your neighbors, you can pass the 'leading' baton off to another neighbor who would enjoy leading it.
Podcasts we are listening to.
Lindsay listens to The Bible Binge, which is a fun podcast about looking at the Bible through a pop culture lens. It's pretty amazing.
Chris listens to The Financial Samurai, cause he loves financial podcasts! This episode talked about how your cars should value 10% of your income. Very interesting!
And Jihae listens to The Storybrand Podcast. This episode with Dan Heath was INCREDIBLE. They talked about looking at problems from an Upstream perspective, and we will definitely be reading, and discussing that book in a future episode!
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram and Chris on Facebook
You can also email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Let's try this again!
We are definitely going to give you some great tips and tricks on how to run a big (or small, or medium!) household efficiently. But, I just need you guys to know that this episode was a real pain to get out into the world! I posted it once - and it just disappeared. So I rewrote the show notes, much shorter than the first time; and then the audio was SO BAD that we had to take that episode down IMMEDIATELY. And so here I am, writing these shownotes for the THIRD TIME! And, we re-recorded the whole episode. So, enjoy! You would think that being on episode 103, we would know what we were doing... **palm to face.
Oraganization
So in this week's episode, we talk about the importance of being organized!
When we were a small family of 4 - we were super disorganized! Our house was a mess, as were our finances! But we have found that with each child we add to our home, the more we NEED order, schedules, routines, and a BUDGET!
We talked about this calendar and chores chart, which is definitely my most recommended Amazon purchase to date. Although I have also recommended these headphones with mic and share port, to quite a few early elementary parents who are doing online school. We even mentioned them in this episode.
The way we like to organize the Chores Chart is to add daily chores - which include emptying the dishwasher, setting the table, and clearing the table. We have 4 kids on rotation for those chores, so that makes sense for our family. If you have 2 kids, you may want to add another daily chore to make sure things are fair. :)
I also add what for lunch and dinner everyday, which helps me to meal plan, and also prevents the kids from asking me what we are eating for every single meal, every single day. And we also add what the monthly chores are, and who is in charge of what. The monthly chores are done every Sunday, but each kid sticks with the same chore for the month, and then we rotate. Those chores include cleaning the toilets, tubs, picking up dog and tortoise poop, cleaning sinks, vacuuming, and tidying up the car. It's pretty great!
We've heard people say that they can't get their kids to do chores. Well guess what? You don't give them a choice. You can get your kids to do chores, you just may not be able to get your kids to WANT to do chores. Those are different things, and also things that don't matter. Doing chores is an integral part of childhood, and launching into successful adulthood!
Another important part of our daily routine is that we do not allow the kids to be on any devices during the week. They can watch a bit of tv in the afternoon if all of their schoolwork is complete, but the kids are encouraged to get off their butts and MOVE AROUND. Especially in this time of online schooling, the kids do not need to keep sitting and staring at screens. And they need to interact with other humans!
Finances
We truly believe that financial freedom leads to freedom in so many more areas of life. Being stressed about finances causes you to be stressed about pretty much everything else in life.
If you don't have a budget yet - YOU NEED ONE! There are so many different budgeting spreadsheets to suit your needs. Whether you use Microsoft or Google Spreadsheets, there is something for everyone!
Chris recommends doing a Zero Budget. You start with all of your income, and you account for everything! The $0.89 you spent at the gas station on your debit card? There's a place in your budget for that! Account for how much you are saving, tithing and giving away, and spending everywhere you go.
And, it's a great idea to let your kids start having control of some of their money as well. This will help your kids to see how much they have in savings, and in checking, and they have their own little debit card too. We use Greenlight which is a handy app for everyone to use.
We love to listen to the Defining Stewardship Podcast because they make financial talk and practices so easy! This was Chris' podcast pick of the week, as he listened to this episode on whether to save or for your kids' college funds, or not.. Mine was this episode of The Storybrand Podcast, with an interview with Nicole Walters.
Darren Hardy talks about the Compound Effect, in his book of the same name. The 'Treat Yo' Self' moments you have now have a cumulative effect for the future. If you always 'deserve' a Starbucks treat, the compound effects are hundreds of dollars wasted, extra calories consumed, and... well, that's a lot of serious repercussions. That doesn't mean you can't enjoy a treat every now and again. But if you do it every day, it's not a treat, it's just a lifestyle. But is it a lifestyle you can afford??
The Good Word of the Day
“Kids develop their identity by getting clues from you about what you think about them, feel about them, and hope for them.”
Dr. Meg Meeker, Pediatrician
We have to trust our kids to do chores, to have some control of their finances, and to see that we think that they are smart and capable little humans!
Thanks for listening to another episode of our podcast.
We are so thankful for all of you. We hope that you will do great things with great love.
If you would like to connect:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram and Chris on Facebook
You can also email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Thanks for joining us for another episode of our podcast! This episode is a conversation about RACE, and why we need to check ourselves, and our thoughts on race.
Books on Race We read this great book called Why Are All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria by Beverly Daniel Tatum, PhD. She discusses race in such a way that makes you really try to understand the many issues faced by our Black and Brown brothers and sisters. We highly recommend this book for you to start thinking about your biases in race.
At Showit, we have been talking about race quite a bit. Showit is a sponsor of this podcast, and we are proud users, and supporters, and employees of Showit! Read this blog article that further discusses this book by Tatum. This article is very helpful in educating us about how to talk about race with our children, and having more books with diversity on our shelves.
This is SO IMPORTANT as foster and adoptive families. Not everyone in your family will ‘match’, and that’s a beautiful things! But can your kids find positive representations of themselves in the books and toys in your home? And even if everyone in your home is Caucasian, it is still a good idea to have books written by authors of color, and protagonists of color as well!
Hair Care for Ethnic Hair We would love for you to check out this YouTube video that we created with our friends Shamesha (her husband, Reggie, was on episode 37) and Shamara. They run us through how to care for hair of different textures. Especially multi-ethnic and ethnic hair. Did you know hair can be classified into 4 types? It’s important to know what hair types you and your children have, so that you can get the right products for each hair type!
The brands that Shamara and Shamesha love are Mielle, Aunt Jackie’s, and As I Am . The main thing to remember is to keep Type 2-4 hair (curly) very moisturized! We often hear people criticizing pics of little Black children in the care of non-Black parents, saying ‘that child’s hair is not being taken care of!’ But maybe you don’t know what Black, or curly, or any hair besides your own, is supposed to look like! That’s when it’s time to ask questions and seek out resources! (But also, can we stop criticizing so much, and try to start helping and educating??) Thanks SO MUCH to Shamesha and Shamara for their time and expertise in this area!
More Thoughts Can we out-serve one another? Let’s just give that a try and see how things go. When we are serving others with a good heart – we aren’t looking out for ourselves. We are looking out for others. And if you live your life this way, with boundaries and wisdom, but also faith and love – we promise that others will try to out-serve you! We got this idea from Francis and Lisa Chan’s book – You and Me Forever. You can download this book for free!
Don’t be color blind. Don’t be satisfied with being ‘not-racist’. Be anti-racist! Be an ally for our Black and Brown brothers and sisters who need our help and support!
And as adoptive and foster parents, Beverly Tatum challenges us all with this thought: “Do not let your child be your first friend of color.” She has a whole section on ‘Identity in Adoptive Families Considered’ in her book, pages 321-328. She very hopefully says: “Adults willing to do the personal work required to confront racism and stretch their own cultural boundaries increase the possibility that they will have the reward of watching their children emerge into adulthood with a positive sense of their identities intact.” (328)
Follow Therepy Redeemed for lots of great information on adoption and transracial adoption. As well as Hey TRA (transracial adoptee). The more we know, the more we can all grow – and support our adoptive and foster children of color.
I talked about how Kevinee Gilmore, of Hashtag Foster Care, and I had a rough beginning to our relationship. But I am very thankful for her, and her heart for foster youth! She has a shop that you can support, and be confident that you are supporting a true champion of foster kids in Ohio!
Podcasts We Listen To Chris is a member of the Footclan, because he listens to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. We are thankful for these 3 friends (they aren't Chris' friends. Chris is their friend, but they don't know that) who have helped Chris will tens of tens of dollars over the years. #hundredaire
Jihae listened to the Michelle Obama Podcast, which is only available on Spotify! The first episode with special guest – Barack Obama, was a real treat! If you care about community, and purpose, and people – you will enjoy this episode!
Michelle Obama, the Footballer guys, and other podcasters are not our competition! We love listening to podcasts, and are always thankful for anyone who listens to ours. Feel free to let us know which podcasts you guys are listening to!
The Good of the Day This is from Carlos Whittaker, an author we greatly admire. He wrote Kill The Spider, which we talked about in an episode, but can’t remember which one… He also has a new book called Enter Wild, which we are also big fans of. Follow him @loswhite on Instagram to learn more about how to talk about race, and be aware of the slight of our Black and Brown friends, as he himself is a Black and Brown man.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Ephesians 4:2-6
Be humble and gentle! And patient! Let us love and care for one another and be unified in the Spirit. I believe in us. I believe in Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit.
Let’s Connect! We hope you enjoyed this episode, and if you did – please leave us a review on iTunes! And feel free to email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com if you want to chat, or if have any questions or suggestions for us. Have a great week, friends!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram and Chris on Facebook
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Welcome back to our podcast, friends!
We took a few weeks off, and are so excited to be back with you all.
Over the last few weeks, we have:
-
Gone to San Diego for 48 hours (we live 6 hours away via car) and jammed 13 people into a 3 bedroom Air BnB.
-
Gone golfing 3 times! Two times it was 109 degrees, and therefore much more affordable, but also kind of miserable.
-
Did a 36 hour staycation while doing an online Marriage Conference with Don and Renee Worcester. You should call resorts near you to see what they are offering! We stayed here for $99 and with a $25 food and drink credit! When we booked online, it was over $250 with no food or drink credit.
-
Helped live stream a mini wedding. And almost got fired, because we aren't very good camera people... But congrats to Nick and Adria! They are one of our couples that we did Premarital Counseling with, this year. Our other couple - Devin and Keenan Murray, also got married during quarantine! Congrats cute couples! Check out this amazing wedding video of the Murrays if you want to see how to do a micro-wedding right!
-
Traded off babysitting with our friend, Kara Lackey (from episode 66) so that we could each have some time without our kids! Find a friend who you can trade time with!
-
Sent the kids to Nana Camp every Friday! SO THANKFUL for Barb, Chris' mom, for hanging out with the kids every single Friday, and giving us adults a break!
Season 6 news
We made the decision to move from doing 20 episodes a season, to 10. We are still committing to putting out episodes on Sunday mornings at 9am. We just don't think we can do it for 20 weeks in a row, with how crazy quarantine life still is.
We also gave away $100 in honor of our 100th episode! Congrats to Robbi-Anne Strauss for winning that, and leaving such a great review on our podcast. And thanks SO MUCH to Charles and Grace for sponsoring that giveaway! If you would like to be a sponsor of the podcast, or the giveaway. You can learn more on our website!
And this season we are also going to share other podcasts we are listening to every week!
This week, Chris talked about this amazingly heartfelt episode from the Stewardship Podcast. You can learn more about Dan on this website and you can download his book.
Jihae listened to this episode with Nancy Panza, a police pyschologist, on the Joe Rogan Experience. And finally, we also listened to episode 100 of the Brands that Book Podcast. A great listen for anyone running a business from home. Davey, the host of that podcast, was on our podcast for episode 99! Check it out if you want to learn how to start your own podcast!
The Good Word of the Day
“If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"
-Jeremiah 12:5
Such an appropriate word for 2020! Let us keep persevering through hard things. We will all come out stronger and more amazingly!
Thanks so much for being with us!
We hope you enjoyed this episode, and if you did - please leave us a review on iTunes! To see more episodes, check out our website! And feel free to email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com . Have a great week, friends!
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram and Chris on Facebook
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Welcome back to our podcast, friends!
We took a few weeks off, and are so excited to be back with you all.
Over the last few weeks, we have:
-
Gone to San Diego for 48 hours (we live 6 hours away via car) and jammed 13 people into a 3 bedroom Air BnB.
-
Gone golfing 3 times! Two times it was 109 degrees, and therefore much more affordable, but also kind of miserable.
-
Did a 36 hour staycation while doing an online Marriage Conference with Don and Renee Worcester. You should call resorts near you to see what they are offering! We stayed here for $99 and with a $25 food and drink credit! When we booked online, it was over $250 with no food or drink credit.
-
Helped live stream a mini wedding. And almost got fired, because we aren't very good camera people... But congrats to Nick and Adria! They are one of our couples that we did Premarital Counseling with, this year. Our other couple - Devin and Keenan Murray, also got married during quarantine! Congrats cute couples! Check out this amazing wedding video of the Murrays if you want to see how to do a micro-wedding right!
-
Traded off babysitting with our friend, Kara Lackey (from episode 66) so that we could each have some time without our kids! Find a friend who you can trade time with!
-
Sent the kids to Nana Camp every Friday! SO THANKFUL for Barb, Chris' mom, for hanging out with the kids every single Friday, and giving us adults a break!
Season 6 news
We made the decision to move from doing 20 episodes a season, to 10. We are still committing to putting out episodes on Sunday mornings at 9am. We just don't think we can do it for 20 weeks in a row, with how crazy quarantine life still is.
We also gave away $100 in honor of our 100th episode! Congrats to Robbi-Anne Strauss for winning that, and leaving such a great review on our podcast. And thanks SO MUCH to Charles and Grace for sponsoring that giveaway! If you would like to be a sponsor of the podcast, or the giveaway. You can learn more on our website!
And this season we are also going to share other podcasts we are listening to every week!
This week, Chris talked about this amazingly heartfelt episode from the Stewardship Podcast. You can learn more about Dan on this website and you can download his book.
Jihae listened to this episode with Nancy Panza, a police pyschologist, on the Joe Rogan Experience. And finally, we also listened to episode 100 of the Brands that Book Podcast. A great listen for anyone running a business from home. Davey, the host of that podcast, was on our podcast for episode 99! Check it out if you want to learn how to start your own podcast!
The Good Word of the Day
“If you have raced with men on foot
and they have worn you out,
how can you compete with horses?
If you stumble in safe country,
how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?"
-Jeremiah 12:5
Such an appropriate word for 2020! Let us keep persevering through hard things. We will all come out stronger and more amazingly!
Thanks so much for being with us!
We hope you enjoyed this episode, and if you did - please leave us a review on iTunes! To see more episodes, check out our website! And feel free to email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com . Have a great week, friends!
EPISODE 100!!!! We made it!
And we are so thankful to be able to bring you an absolutely incredible interview with our friend - Wendy Nguyen, of Wendy's Lookbook! Wendy has been a fashion blogger for about 10 years now, and maybe you know her because you are one of her 1.1 million followers on Instagram. But Wendy is so very much more than a pretty face, with incredible fashion sense.
Wendy found herself in foster care at the age of 15. She has been fending for herself ever since (and who am I kidding, before then too.) Wendy shares her powerful story with us - not to entertain or shock us - but to show us that grit will propel you!
To foster parents:
We speak to foster parents (moms especially), and those involved in the foster care system as workers, that we can, and all need to, do better. Showing up more consistently for those in need. Showing up whole heartedly for those in need. Not guarding ourselves from the pain of separation - but loving fiercely for the seasons that we are supposed to love fiercely.
To foster youth:
For foster youth who may be listening - there is hope for you! You are not a victim of your circumstances! You have been dealt a bad hand - whether by your parents, or society. You are not a foster child because you did anything wrong! As Wendy says in the interview: "The system wasn't built for us (the kids)." But keep your head up, follow the rules (they are there for a reason), and chase your dreams! Go to college! Be your own boss. Be whatever you are hoping to become. You have the grit to get you there.
The system is broken. Very. But let's not sit back and feel helpless. We can all work to make lives of foster youth better! We have to try very hard. But it's worth it. Very.
The Good Word of the Day
"Give me a place to stand,... and I will move the world."
- Archimedes
Thank you, Wendy, for sharing your heart with us on this episode. We hope everyone feels moved and motivated to do hard work and make a positive impact on someone else's life. You can connect with Wendy on Instagram, or on her website, or at her store! If you are in New York, please check out Artemis. And if you are not - find them on Instagram!
Thank you friends for being with us for ONE HUNDRED EPISODES! We are so thankful for you. Truly truly we are! We hope that you will check out our brand new website, to find more episodes and resources.
Feel free to connect with us:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram and Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on YouTube (you can find this interview on YouTube!)
You can also email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! (If you don't know how to do that, watch this quick little video!)
This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
If you want to start a podcast, this is the episode for you! We sat down for over an hour with Davey Jones, of Davey and Krista , The Brands that Book Podcast, and the Till Agency.
As you can see, we are on Episode 99, and the Brands that Book Podcast is at 96 episodes at the time of this episode going live. So, we definitely know a thing or two about starting a podcast, and maintaining it. The only thing that isn't amazing on this episode is that the audio isn't the best when Chris or I are speaking... This is admittedly the first remote interview that we are airing, and so we are still learning and expanding our podcast as well! But Davey sounds great! And this podcast is also available on YouTube in case you like to watch people talk about podcasts.
So, some advice:
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Don't get stuck on all the things you think you should do - and just do what you can do. If you have Wifi, a good phone, and a great idea for a podcast - you are basically ready to start podcasting!
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Think about your audience, and who they are, what they want to hear, when they want to hear it, and make a battle plan through that lens. Davey releases episodes every Wednesday, and we release episodes every Sunday, for 20 weeks straight. Then we take a 6-8 week break! Your audience will come to learn your schedule, and then come to expect episodes from you on those days! Even if it's once a month!
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Davey recommends having a website as the second thing to invest in when starting your podcast! Your podcast will live on a hosting platform (ours is Libsyn, Davey's is Fireside), and people will listen to it on iTunes, Spotify, and other places where you can listen to podcasts. BUT, if you don't have a website for yourself/your podcast, you don't really 'own' your podcast. If Libsyn disappeared tomorrow - we would still have our website, and our episodes on their own posts. If you need a website - you should check out Showit.co - our fantastic podcast sponsor!
Davey and Krista are also website designers who design on Showit. They also have a design template specifically for podcasters, and it is AMAZING! We are about to re-release our website using their new template!
Equipment
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A cell phone if you want to go very basic - but still good! on iPhones, there is an app called 'Voice Memo', and the quality of that mic is actually really great! And the mic that comes in your airpods, and even the ear buds that come with your phone are really great. A Kristen Friend, who was on episode 68, records and uploads her podcast completely from her phone. You can find out more at Anchor.
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Blue Yeti. This is the most popular, and easy-to-use mic. You just plug it right into your computer via the USB port. It's about $129 so it won't set you back very much at all.
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We use this mic. Well, 4 of them. But keep in mind that we are 3 years into our podcast, and we primarily do in-person, group interviews. And we have this mixer for the 4 mics, and headphones.
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Davey uses the Shure SM7B. This is the same kind of mic that Michael Jackson used to record Thriller. You're welcome for that piece of trivia.
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Davey mentioned the lavalier mic that plugs into your phone. We haven't used this before, but this appears to be a very affordable way to get a mic for your phone.
Services
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We mentioned earlier that you will need to find a podcasting host. Others include Zencast, and Blubrry. Most services range from $7-$20, depending on your storage/size needs.
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We upload our podcast onto Audacity, and that's where we edit it. Others use Garage Band on their Macs. This is FREE!!!!
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Davey uses We Edit Podcasts, to edit his podcasts and get transcripts. There are other services you can use at Fiverr for a little less, depending on your needs.
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Davey also mentioned that they use Fusebox to have a great podcast player on their website. This costs about $8/month .
You surely don't need ALL of these tools and services. It's best to start off with the most basic things, and add on as your podcast gains momentum.
Another great piece of advice for podcasters is to remain flexible enough to recognize that you can pivot at any moment. Maybe you will add more episodes per week/month. Or maybe you will add a cohost, or intro music, or who knows? But not feeling like you are trapped with one thing you thought you 'had to do' will help you to enjoy podcasting all the more.
You are going to want to upload your podcast onto iTunes, as it is one of the most popular platforms for consuming podcasts. To get ready for that, you will need to have at least one episode of your podcast recorded. Then you will also need art work (a little thumbnail), a title, a description for your podcast, and which category you want to be in (we are in family, Davey is in business.) Submitting to iTunes takes some time, so it will take 24-48 hours to connect and validate your podcast.
The Good Word of the Day
Davey encouraged all of us to think of just the next step. Whether in business, or in life, this is good advice! We can easily feel overwhelmed, or anxious about all that is out there to do, and deal with. But just think of the next thing you need to do: feed your kids, and yourself, get some work done.
We are SO THANKFUL for Davey and Krista and their time and support! Check out our new website next week! And feel free to connect with them at the above links we provided, as well as on social media!
Join us again next week for episode ONE HUNDRED!
We are so thankful to be able to welcome Dr. Ray Branton back to the podcast this week. If you missed it - we talked about marriage and relationships in Episode 97. You are definitely going to want to listen to that one as well!
This week we are talking about ANXIETY. Does that give you anxiety to just see the word? Well, something that you need to know is that anxiety is NORMAL. And it's beneficial. As long as it doesn't paralyze you and cause you to not be able to function properly. But we have overpathologized fear and worry, and that's why it seems like everyone is struggling with anxiety.
What many of us need is more balance in our lives. We don't need to be lawnmower parents - paving the way for our kids to have no trials or tribulation. We also shouldn't spend all of our time on social media, since that has been proven to cause users to feel less satisfied with their lives due to comparison analysis.
Instead, Dr. Branton encourages us to replace the word 'anxiety' with 'curiosity'. You may be anxious about the future, or you are curious about it. You may feel anxious about a relationship, or you are curious as to how you can improve it. Curiosity has many more positive connotations, and anxiety is negative, but the sentiments are similar.
Dr. Branton also sees anxiety as the beast we try to cage up, but that we keep on feeding. If we can find people that we trust - even if it's a licensed counselor - we will be able to keep anxiety at bay. In fact, the #1 change agent is RELATIONSHIP. This is true when someone who needs help goes to a counselor, and they trust their counselor, and the advice they are receiving. It's not the advice. It's the relationship. And so when we are in community with people that we love, trust, and are able to be vulnerable with - we will grow, we will change, we will thrive!
The Good Word of the Day
"Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed."
Proverbs 15:22
So find your community! You may have to be the person who reaches out and starts to build it! And that's great. You can hand pick the people you want to have in your inner circle. We are so thankful that people have let us into their worlds, and we are thankful for the people that we have in ours.
We hope you enjoyed today's episode. If you did, we would love for you to leave us a 5 star review on iTunes, and to subscribe! You can reach us at hello@fosteringvoices.com or on Instagram.
Have a great week and join us again next week for episode 99!
This week we are so thankful to be able to welcome our friend, Ray Branton to the podcast! He shares practical ways to have successful, and meaningful relationships - with your friends, but especially with your spouse!
Things that are important to remember in relationship is to empathize and listen. Feel what the other is feeling, and hear their hearts. Another major key is to remember that you are both on the same team! This is crucial to remembering that your spouse has good intentions, even if they may have done or said something negative. Empathy is the glue of good relationships.
Some signs of a healthy marriage is whether or not you can move through conflict quickly. Not in 10 minutes, but also not in 10 days. Or 10 months. Actually talking through your conflict, and both parties feeling like they have been heard and seen.
Another sign of a healthy marriage is that you have fun and you laugh together! But this can only be done when you create a safe place for everyone in the relationship to feel valued. You cannot live your lives in pursuit of fun, and high highs, cause the daily grind is difficult - but you can still make that fun. It just takes work and intentionality. Make time for daily deep connectedness.
And conflict and stress are not signs of a bad marriage. In fact, stress and pressure create meaning, growth, and depth in your relationship - and life!
And also make sure that you surround yourself with likeminded individuals, and couples who are striving for the same things as you! If you want to make an impact on this world, you have to surround yourself with others who are making an impact in this world. You need support, you need community. And then make sure you are being a support to those who want to be where you are! Find a mentor, be a mentor!
You can find out more about Ray and his practice, PCA Counselors at their website.
And feel free to connect with us as well via email or social media!
This is one of our shortest episodes - clocking in at just under 20 minutes! We wanted to do a nice light episode where our listeners could get to know us a bit better, without having to hear us retell our life stories. Which come up here and there over the last 95 episodes.
So, we answer these 3 questions, which are really great conversation starters. Use them as an ice breaker next time you are in a group!
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What is something difficult you overcame in your childhood?
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When is a time when you were very scared?
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What are your highs and lows of... (fill in the blank.) Ours was foster care.
The Good Word of the Day
"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."
- Ecclesiastes 4:12
There have been too many times throughout our lives when we have been weak and overpowered, but we are thankful for our marriage, and our relationship with our community, and with the Lord, that we are not broken or overtaken. Find your community. Let them hold you up when you are weak and weary. And when you are strong, then make sure you are helping to hold others up!
We hope you enjoy this episode, and we would love to hear your answers to these questions!
If you would like to connect, you can email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com . Or you can find us on social media on Instagram, and on Facebook.
Have a great week, friends!
In Arizona, foster parents need to complete 12 hours of training every year in order to keep their license open. Chris and I managed to get 9 in, and had to take 3 hours online. And when I say we did '3 hours', the trainings we picked gave us '3 hours', but it took us less than 1 hour to read through a long article, take a 20 question multiple choice test, and we were done. And by the way - Chris and I both got 100% on our tests. That's a not so humble brag right there!
If you are in need of training hours, you can google it for the state you live in. But your best bet is to ask your licensing worker from your agency, and they should have a list of trainings you can take in person, or online. Chris and I went through fosterparents.com/training. We were issued certificates once we were done, and then we emailed those to our case worker. It's very simple, and though the website is ugly, the trainings offered are pretty good!
Chris did his training on Feelings, and I did mine on Loss. They were very intermingled, so it worked well for us to do a podcast episode on them!
Some important things to remember about Feelings:
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Let your children talk openly about all of them. Do not bring shame, condemnation, annoyance, and other of your own negative feelings to the table when your child is trying to share with you! Don't say things like 'Boys don't cry' or 'go to your room and calm down'
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The 'go to your room and calm down' phrase is all too common in many parents' vocabularies. But it tells your kids that they need to deal with their feelings in isolation, and that you don't care to work out their problems with them
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Do not let 'I Don't Know' be the answer to questions. This is a simple way that we all choose not to engage with others, and we want to engage with our children, friends, humans. So only say it if you mean it. And teach your children to use this sparingly as well.
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Alexithymia is the feeling that no one else understands what you are saying or feeling. It is a heavy burden for kids to deal with, and we need to help our kids find the vocabulary for their feelings. Professional help is strongly advised for anyone who has Alexithymia.
Loss
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Children in foster care and adoptive homes deal with so many layers of loss. It's one thing to have your parents pass away. It's another thing to know your parents are alive and in some cases - living with some of your siblings, but not you. So many hard emotions and thoughts to grapple with.
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There is expected loss, which is still difficult, but at least some time to prepare for. And then there is sudden loss, which is much harder to deal with. And this is always the case for kids in care.
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The losses that everyone in care is dealing with, is manifold.
For the foster children: their families, homes, toys and clothes, schools, teachers, friends, etc
For foster families: normalcy, a degree of ease and comfort, probably having to share rooms/toys/parents/attention with more kids, etc
Everyone is sacrificing, and dealing with so much. Which is why we need more grace and compassion for everyone.
- We have to remember to let children feel their pain, and help them to walk through it. Sometimes we need to ask for professinonal help as well.
Some not important things we mentioned:
Adopting a desert tortoise through the Arizona Game and Fish organization. We got one, and our kids, and Chris, are SO HAPPY.
The Good Word of the Day
"Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted."
-Matthew 5:4
In this life - we will have trouble. God knows this. And we know this. Fortunately, we can find comfort. Through the Lord. And through those around us. Let's not suffer along. Let's not let kids mourn and struggle alone either.
Thanks for tuning in for another episode of our podcast!
If you have any questions, feel free to find us on social media or email us!
This week's episode is all about how to get licensed for foster care right now. We are still in the middle of a global pandemic, and so it is actually easier to get licensed right now, than ever before. Because all of the classes, and most of the requirements can be done online! And it's also easier - cause you have no where to go! No sports, or dinner commitments, or even work functions to go to. You are home. You can watch all the classes on your computer!
Kirsten Abiatti, a former foster mom, adoptive mom, and amazing director at Arizona127, shares just how simple it is to get licensed, and things we should expect along the way.
So go to Arizona 127 to see how you can get started today!
Go to DCS's official website to report any abuse or to learn more about becoming a foster parent today.
We also had Lindsay Stamm of Arizona 127 on the podcast before. She was on episode 59, and you should check that episode out as well!
The Good Word of the Day
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"God is more pleased by our willingness to be faithful along the journey of foster care than He is concerned about our ability to achieve a certain outcome through it."
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Jason Johnson. Reframing Foster Care
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"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."
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Galatians 6:9
So don't be concerned about outcomes - we can't control them anyway! And do not grow weary along this journey of foster care. There are so many hard things along the way, but we will reap a harvest at some point! What the harvest will be - who knows! But it will be something good. Just keep going, friends!
A few years ago, I read this book called 'Giftology' by John Ruhlin. John is the #1 Cutco salesman in the history of the company. He prides himself on getting to this position thanks to his ability to make a lasting impression, and understanding the fine art of giving gifts.
With Mother's Day around the corner - and even if you don't listen to this right when we release these episodes, there are always birthdays, Christmas, and other opportunities to buy thoughtful gifts for our loved ones. So we encourage you to listen to this episode to get some tips!
We also share our engagement story in this episode, as we are celebrating our 15 year engagement anniversary this week! But the other reason we share our story is because so often engagement stories are a great example of how it's easy to forget the desires and needs of the recipient of the gift, and to just focus on the needs and desires of the giver of the gift (that's you.) However - that is not the case in our story! Chris made an elaborate plan to propose, but it was still intimate and just involved he and I. And it was full of literal uphill battles, and hiccups, and that's been pretty consistent in our lives!
The Good Word of the Day
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."
- Ephesians 2:8
If there is a gift that is abundant - but that is not given away as freely as it should be - it's Grace. God has graciously poured out his love to us. We should also be gracious to those around us. And gracious to ourselves as well!
We hope you enjoy this episode! We are so thankful for all of you listeners! If you want to connect - feel free to email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com , or find us on Instagram!
A few years ago, I read this book called 'Giftology' by John Ruhlin. John is the #1 Cutco salesman in the history of the company. He prides himself on getting to this position thanks to his ability to make a lasting impression, and understanding the fine art of giving gifts.
With Mother's Day around the corner - and even if you don't listen to this right when we release these episodes, there are always birthdays, Christmas, and other opportunities to buy thoughtful gifts for our loved ones. So we encourage you to listen to this episode to get some tips!
We also share our engagement story in this episode, as we are celebrating our 15 year engagement anniversary this week! But the other reason we share our story is because so often engagement stories are a great example of how it's easy to forget the desires and needs of the recipient of the gift, and to just focus on the needs and desires of the giver of the gift (that's you.) However - that is not the case in our story! Chris made an elaborate plan to propose, but it was still intimate and just involved he and I. And it was full of literal uphill battles, and hiccups, and that's been pretty consistent in our lives!
The Good Word of the Day
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God."
- Ephesians 2:8
If there is a gift that is abundant - but that is not given away as freely as it should be - it's Grace. God has graciously poured out his love to us. We should also be gracious to those around us. And gracious to ourselves as well!
We hope you enjoy this episode! We are so thankful for all of you listeners! If you want to connect - feel free to email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com , or find us on Instagram!
How are you holding up friends?
This week's episode starts off with us talking about a rough day in the Watson household. Is it because of quarantine? Or PMS? Or just parenting? Maybe all of the above.
Then we get into the meat of the episode - which is about a great book we read - "Safe House" by Dr. Josh Straub. In this book, they talk about how EMOTIONAL SAFETY, more than any other factor is scientifically linked to raising kids who live, love, and lead well. So it's important as the parents to learn emotional safety, so we can provide that for our kids as well.
We mentioned that we went to Kids Blitz, here in Arizona. And it was a 6 hour training day for foster parents, and it was great! Chris and I learned about how kids organize, according to their surroundings - and to their guardians. If you are unstable as the guardian, children will not know how to organize and stay regulated around you.
This prompted us to add a new element to our nightly routine of book reading/devotionals and prayer - bedtime handshakes. Each kid has a unique handshake with each parent. And even after a very long day - the kids get their handshake. Even if there isn't much talking or snuggling besides that - the handshake helps everyone to go to bed knowing that things are ok, and their parents love them. Kids need stability. And sometimes we fail at giving it to them. But we are trying! We encourage everyone to MAKE TIME for what matters to you, and your family!
If you listen to episodes 38 and 39, we have interviews with Christie Priem, a speech language pathologist. She shares so many incredible tips on how to help your children to regulate themselves. She primarily talks about how to detect developmental delays in your children - but all of these tactics work for children, and adults alike!
And don't forget that children with trauma - even the ones who don't "look/act" traumatized - have carried a heavy burden in their lives. Their ACES scores are higher, just by being a ward of the state, and not living with their biological families. Let's remember this, especially if they struggle with learning, and doing things that we think 'should be easy'.
The Good Word of the Day
"In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety."
Psalm 4:8
Friends! Let's make sure we, as parents, are taking deep breaths, reading good books, are controlling the things that we can control. Then we can provide homes that provide for basic needs of children, and then some. When we are constantly angry, frustrated, upset - we shouldn't be surprised if our children are mirroring that behavior and attitude.
We hope you have a great week, and will be back to tune in for another new episode next week! Stay safe and sane!
How are you holding up friends?
This week's episode starts off with us talking about a rough day in the Watson household. Is it because of quarantine? Or PMS? Or just parenting? Maybe all of the above.
Then we get into the meat of the episode - which is about a great book we read - "Safe House" by Dr. Josh Straub. In this book, they talk about how EMOTIONAL SAFETY, more than any other factor is scientifically linked to raising kids who live, love, and lead well. So it's important as the parents to learn emotional safety, so we can provide that for our kids as well.
We mentioned that we went to Kids Blitz, here in Arizona. And it was a 6 hour training day for foster parents, and it was great! Chris and I learned about how kids organize, according to their surroundings - and to their guardians. If you are unstable as the guardian, children will not know how to organize and stay regulated around you.
This prompted us to add a new element to our nightly routine of book reading/devotionals and prayer - bedtime handshakes. Each kid has a unique handshake with each parent. And even after a very long day - the kids get their handshake. Even if there isn't much talking or snuggling besides that - the handshake helps everyone to go to bed knowing that things are ok, and their parents love them. Kids need stability. And sometimes we fail at giving it to them. But we are trying! We encourage everyone to MAKE TIME for what matters to you, and your family!
If you listen to episodes 38 and 39, we have interviews with Christie Priem, a speech language pathologist. She shares so many incredible tips on how to help your children to regulate themselves. She primarily talks about how to detect developmental delays in your children - but all of these tactics work for children, and adults alike!
And don't forget that children with trauma - even the ones who don't "look/act" traumatized - have carried a heavy burden in their lives. Their ACES scores are higher, just by being a ward of the state, and not living with their biological families. Let's remember this, especially if they struggle with learning, and doing things that we think 'should be easy'.
The Good Word of the Day
"In peace I will lie down and sleep,
for you alone, Lord,
make me dwell in safety."
Psalm 4:8
Friends! Let's make sure we, as parents, are taking deep breaths, reading good books, are controlling the things that we can control. Then we can provide homes that provide for basic needs of children, and then some. When we are constantly angry, frustrated, upset - we shouldn't be surprised if our children are mirroring that behavior and attitude.
We hope you have a great week, and will be back to tune in for another new episode next week! Stay safe and sane!
This week's episode features an interview with our son, Topher! He is 12 years old, and direct and brief with his answers! Which is why you get to enjoy a nice, short episode this week!
In this episode we talked about:
Baking! We made bagels from scratch and they were great! You can check out this recipe we used. But just a side note - she says to make 8 bagels - and I think we made about 12.
Foster kids sharing rooms. Here is a full article of requirements for parents who are considering foster care in Arizona. Different rules vary state to state, but they are very similar. In Arizona, children of opposite genders may share a room if they are under 6 years old. And foster parents may not share a room with their foster children. Just in case you were wondering.
The Good Word of the Day:
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
- Philippians 4:5-6
This is Topher's life verse and it's so appropriate for the situation we are in, as well as every day. There are hard times all around, but there is also much to be thankful for. Let us focus on the positive, and the things we can control, and not be anxious about all the stuff we cannot control!
We hope you all have an amazing week! If you would like to connect, feel free to email us, or find us at Fostering Voices on Instagram
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode features an interview with our son, Topher! He is 12 years old, and direct and brief with his answers! Which is why you get to enjoy a nice, short episode this week!
In this episode we talked about:
Baking! We made bagels from scratch and they were great! You can check out this recipe we used. But just a side note - she says to make 8 bagels - and I think we made about 12.
Foster kids sharing rooms. Here is a full article of requirements for parents who are considering foster care in Arizona. Different rules vary state to state, but they are very similar. In Arizona, children of opposite genders may share a room if they are under 6 years old. And foster parents may not share a room with their foster children. Just in case you were wondering.
The Good Word of the Day:
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
- Philippians 4:5-6
This is Topher's life verse and it's so appropriate for the situation we are in, as well as every day. There are hard times all around, but there is also much to be thankful for. Let us focus on the positive, and the things we can control, and not be anxious about all the stuff we cannot control!
We hope you all have an amazing week! If you would like to connect, feel free to email us, or find us at Fostering Voices on Instagram
We would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week we discuss the books that we have read for Quarter 1! Most of them came strongly recommended to us, and we enjoyed them - so we hope you enjoy them as well!
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
By Johnathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff .
Fantastic read of where we are in society with the children that we are raising, and who are currently in college and entering the work force. There are some parts that are VERY PAINFUL, but it all serves as a wake up call for us to really parent with intentionality and wisdom.
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
By Trevor Noah, and read by him in the Audible version. This book is one of our favorite biographies, and ranks up there with Kevin Hart's book that we read last year. It is heartfelt, funny, and thought provoking. As all good books should be!
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition
By Kerry Patterson. This book was good and gives you courage to go ahead and have those crucial conversations you have been avoiding.
"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. ”
The Infinite Game
By Simon Sinek, this book is another winner by this award winning author. It is similar to the ideas of having a fixed mindset vs a growth one. Still a great read to help you to see if you are playing a finite game or an infinite one - in business, and in life.
Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others
By Andrew Sobel, Jerold Panas. This was a great read as well. On the podcast we unintentionally gave the intro of this book a bad rap, but we confused the intro with a different book that we read.
This is a great book and definitely helps us to stop talking, to start listening, and asking direct and powerful questions that will help unlock doors to conversations.
We also mentioned that the power of questions and having crucial conversations really showed up in 'It's a Beatiful Day in the Neighborhood', the newer movie about Mr. Rogers, starring Tom Hanks. That movie is also worth watching!
Pachinko
By Min Jin Lee, I mentioned this in a previous podcast, but I highly recommend it. A great work of fiction set during Japanese occupation in Korea.
Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being
By Shawn Achor, this is another great book that we highly recommend by this author. Our favorite part was when Shawn talked about struggling with depression in the midst of teaching about happiness at Harvard. How did he get out of that depression? Letting others in!
The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle. Chris said this book was a bit too whimsical and didn't finish it. I will see if I get around to it.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
By Patrick Lencioni, this is one of Chris' all time favorite leadership books. Definitely worth checking out.
All Secure
By Tom Satterly, Chris also enjoyed this book about the author and his trials and successes as a military serviceman, who was a part of the Black Hawk Down mission.
Can’t Hurt Me
By David Goggins. Chris also recommends this book about David, who was a Navy Seal, but definitely did not start out as someone that you would think of as Seal material.
We hope you enjoy these books as much as we did. We are always open to hearing about your book recommendations!
Good Word of the Day
"From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes."
-Chief Justice John Roberts at his son's 9th grade graduation.
We are all kind of in a time where maybe we are feeling lonely, and like we are failing - but there are great lessons to be learned. So we encourage you to learn them! Make a schedule - for you. And then for your kids. Think about some things you want to achieve, change, overcome - and do those things!
Thank you for tuning in for another week of the podcast. We wish you a great week, and hope you will tune in again next week!
This week we discuss the books that we have read for Quarter 1! Most of them came strongly recommended to us, and we enjoyed them - so we hope you enjoy them as well!
The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting Up a Generation for Failure
By Johnathan Haidt, Greg Lukianoff .
Fantastic read of where we are in society with the children that we are raising, and who are currently in college and entering the work force. There are some parts that are VERY PAINFUL, but it all serves as a wake up call for us to really parent with intentionality and wisdom.
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
By Trevor Noah, and read by him in the Audible version. This book is one of our favorite biographies, and ranks up there with Kevin Hart's book that we read last year. It is heartfelt, funny, and thought provoking. As all good books should be!
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Second Edition
By Kerry Patterson. This book was good and gives you courage to go ahead and have those crucial conversations you have been avoiding.
"The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. ”
The Infinite Game
By Simon Sinek, this book is another winner by this award winning author. It is similar to the ideas of having a fixed mindset vs a growth one. Still a great read to help you to see if you are playing a finite game or an infinite one - in business, and in life.
Power Questions: Build Relationships, Win New Business, and Influence Others
By Andrew Sobel, Jerold Panas. This was a great read as well. On the podcast we unintentionally gave the intro of this book a bad rap, but we confused the intro with a different book that we read.
This is a great book and definitely helps us to stop talking, to start listening, and asking direct and powerful questions that will help unlock doors to conversations.
We also mentioned that the power of questions and having crucial conversations really showed up in 'It's a Beatiful Day in the Neighborhood', the newer movie about Mr. Rogers, starring Tom Hanks. That movie is also worth watching!
Pachinko
By Min Jin Lee, I mentioned this in a previous podcast, but I highly recommend it. A great work of fiction set during Japanese occupation in Korea.
Big Potential: How Transforming the Pursuit of Success Raises Our Achievement, Happiness, and Well-Being
By Shawn Achor, this is another great book that we highly recommend by this author. Our favorite part was when Shawn talked about struggling with depression in the midst of teaching about happiness at Harvard. How did he get out of that depression? Letting others in!
The Power of Now
By Eckhart Tolle. Chris said this book was a bit too whimsical and didn't finish it. I will see if I get around to it.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable
By Patrick Lencioni, this is one of Chris' all time favorite leadership books. Definitely worth checking out.
All Secure
By Tom Satterly, Chris also enjoyed this book about the author and his trials and successes as a military serviceman, who was a part of the Black Hawk Down mission.
Can’t Hurt Me
By David Goggins. Chris also recommends this book about David, who was a Navy Seal, but definitely did not start out as someone that you would think of as Seal material.
We hope you enjoy these books as much as we did. We are always open to hearing about your book recommendations!
Good Word of the Day
"From time to time in the years to come, I hope you will be treated unfairly, so that you will come to know the value of justice. I hope that you will suffer betrayal because that will teach you the importance of loyalty. Sorry to say, but I hope you will be lonely from time to time so that you don’t take friends for granted. I wish you bad luck, again, from time to time so that you will be conscious of the role of chance in life and understand that your success is not completely deserved and that the failure of others is not completely deserved either. And when you lose, as you will from time to time, I hope every now and then, your opponent will gloat over your failure. It is a way for you to understand the importance of sportsmanship. I hope you’ll be ignored so you know the importance of listening to others, and I hope you will have just enough pain to learn compassion. Whether I wish these things or not, they’re going to happen. And whether you benefit from them or not will depend upon your ability to see the message in your misfortunes."
-Chief Justice John Roberts at his son's 9th grade graduation.
We are all kind of in a time where maybe we are feeling lonely, and like we are failing - but there are great lessons to be learned. So we encourage you to learn them! Make a schedule - for you. And then for your kids. Think about some things you want to achieve, change, overcome - and do those things!
Thank you for tuning in for another week of the podcast. We wish you a great week, and hope you will tune in again next week!
This week we have a wonderful episode with our sweet friends - Brett and Jennifer Humphrey! They adopted their sweet daughter from China many years ago, and they share the beautiful ways that God was at work in their journey. It's amazing, and you are definitely going to want to hear all about it!
And Brett recently released his first two books of the Dragonborn series! We have been reading these out loud to our kids and they have been eating it up! This is a great read, that also has the theme of adoption in it! You, and your children will LOVE IT! You can purchase the books on Brett's website, as well as on Kindle and on Amazon. He is working on getting the Audible version out there!
The Good Word of the Day
"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had"
Philippians 2:5 NLT
Brett and Jennifer share a fun way that they have memorized this verse, and they call this an 'anchor verse', because it reminds them to humble themselves as Christ humbled himself.
Reach out! Let's chat!
You can connect with Jennifer and Brett on Facebook , or at Brett's website: BrettHumphreyAuthor.com
And you can always reach out to Jihae and Chris at:
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
Chris on Facebook
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
What is the kind of success you are looking for, for your family, and for yourself?
Our last 2 episodes with Gaelin Elmore really helped us to see what it looks like to walk alongside kids, and have them choose a different path then the one we had planned for them to be on. But is it a worse path?
We have talked before about how we once proclaimed we didn't want our kids to be 'punks/a-holes', and that was our mission. But our friends, Don and Renee Worcester, advised us to focus on what we wanted our kids to become, and not on the vast array of all the things we didn't want them to become. So we chose to focus on having children who were kind, compassionate, and forgiving instead.
In this time of having more time at home, for most folks (and hats off to all the medical professionals, and folks who are working hard to keep society functioning, and are daily putting themselves at risk!), we hope that we will all take FULL ADVANTAGE of the extra time we have together.
Make a plan to have time to get to the things you have always told yourself you don't have time for! Maybe that is exercising, or reading more, or teaching your children new things.
Here are some of the resources we mentioned in this episode:
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Mindset by Carol Dweck
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The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
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The Dragonborn Series by Brett Humphrey
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Queen Dee Fitness workouts
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Blogilates Workouts!
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Finding school districts that have meal programs for all kids 18 and under. Like this one in Arizona!
This also helps to remind us to be mindful of children who are home, and not at school, and school may have been the safest place for them! Let us all be vigilant as neighbors, of kids around us who may be in need.
The Good Word of the Day
"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently"
- Romans 8:24-25
May our hope be in the Lord always! Especially when we can clearly see that we cannot control the world, or people around us.
We hope you enjoyed this episode and that you are able to have an abundance mindset in this time of uncertainty. We are SO thankful for this community, and we hope that you will reach out if there is a way that we can support you in prayer, or possibly some toilet paper.
Until next week friends!
Last week we had Gaelin Elmore share the first part of his life's story with us. If you haven't heard it yet - go listen here!
In this episode, Gaelin tells us about high school life, his dad being imprisoned, and how he made it to the University of Minnesota (go Golden Gophers!), and East Carolina (go Pirates!) on football scholarships. And then he made it to the NFL, being contracted with the Cincinnati Bengals (even though he thought he was only going to make it to the CFL- the Canadian Football League - which Canadians don't even watch!) , and why he walked away from it all.
The Good Word of the Day
"Or do you have no regard for the wealth of His kindness and tolerance and patience [in withholding His wrath]? Are you [actually] unaware or ignorant [of the fact] that God’s kindness leads you to repentance [that is, to change your inner self, your old way of thinking—seek His purpose for your life]?"
- Romans 2:4
We are so thankful for Gaelin (and his beautiful wife Micaela!) for spending time with us, and sharing their story with us.
Gaelin, way to pour hope into teens who need it, and for changing your inner self, to reflect God's love to everyone you encounter!
If you want to connect with him, you can do so via his website, or on social media. And as always, you can contact us on social media and at hello@fosteringvoices.com . Thanks and have a great week, friends!
Also, feel free to leave us a review on iTunes if you haven't done so!
Gaelin Elmore is a young man who grew up in Illinois and Wisconsin, went to the University of Minnesota, and then signed with the Cincinnati Bengals. But in the midst of all that, were abusive years in foster care, and struggling with his family.
Tune in to hear all about Gaelin's journey.
Special shout out to Ms Karen, and Ms Barbara, and the janitors, and other fantastic educators and workers at the Montessori school that Gaelin was able to go to. Educators and adults have such a wonderful opportunity to speak words of life into the lives of children who may be going through really hard and dark days!
Something that made a giant impact on him, through the school, and all the amazing people that worked there, was that they saw the human in the individual. People didn't quite know what was going on behind the scenes, but they were so kind, and strict, and provided such a safe and healthy learning environment.
Good Word of the Day
"Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?"
- Romans 2:4
Thanks so much to Gaelin for sharing the beginning part of his story with us! Tune in again next week to hear the next 12 years!
You can connect with him on Instagram at Giv.Elmore , and on his website. And you can always connect with us on Instagram, or on our website!
Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes!
Arizona Association for Foster and Adoptive Parents (aka AZAFFAP) is a fantastic organization here in Arizona, that stands to create a community of support for foster and adoptive parents. They are for families, by families!
This interview is with the wonderful Kristi Sharp, the office administrator at AZAFFAP, and she is also a former foster parent. If you join AZAFFAP, Kristi will be your point of contact, and I am so thankful that she is so great at her job!
There are 2 levels of memberships - a basic one, which is FREE! And this membership comes with emails and resources to help you on your foster care journey. The next membership is $35 for a single adult, or $50 for a couple. This membership comes with extra perks that far exceed $50!
Some of those perks include:
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Annual Shoes Giveaway: Foster children, and any other children living in the home, are able to go to DSW or WSS to pick out a new pair of shoes!
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Recycle Your Bicycle: Foster children, and any other children living in the home, are able to come on an appointed day, to get a new or refurbished bicycle!
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Top Golf with Dad: A fun 3 hours to go to Top Golf with dad, and hang out with other foster families.
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Nutcracker Ballet: Free tickets to the Nutcracker ballet!
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Family Picnic with ASU: an event put on by ASU for foster families to come together and have a giant picnic.
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Staycation: This is a paid event, so it is also available for the basic members. But foster families are able to enjoy a staycation at a great resort (last year was at The Arizona Grand) in Phoenix, or in Tuscon, at a very discounted rate!
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Christmas in July: which is exactly what it sounds like!
Thanks so much to Kristi, for all that she does with AZAFFAP, and also to the fine folks behind this incredible organization! Fostering and adopting are not easy, but it is so wonderful to be able to be supported by amazing organizations like this one.
This episode features an interview with JT and Ashley Pals, new parents to their precious son, Case. Case is also on the podcast, which is why there are baby noises every now and again. He is a bit more vocal in the beginning, but keep on listening as he is enthralled with his own story for most of the rest of the podcast! We like to give voice to all members of the family, whenever possible. :)
So the Pals' journey to adopt started with their decision to adopt in 2017, after they babysat our sweet Evie for us a handful of times. Of course they had thought about it before, but the time finally felt right for them to move forward with this decision. Especially since they had waited for years to be able to have a family.
The process was long, filled with paper work and hurrying up and waiting. It wasn't until June 2019 that they finally got a call that they had been matched with a family! They brought Case home after he was born in July, and had to wait 72 hours for the birth family to legally and officially sign their rights over to the Pals'.
In other states, the wait is very different, so if you are interested in in-state infant adoption, please make sure you are aware of how long the signing process is. Also, there are many different costs that need to be paid to do this kind of adoption. The Pals' was about $25,000, which they raised in about 2 weeks! Talk about having a community around them that was eager to help and see the Pals become parents!
Their Good Word of the Day was PATIENCE. And you will know why after you listen to their episode. But we also talked about how 'You are Loved' is a logo that they created to symbolize every member of their adoption journey.
And the people that the Pals picked to play them if they were to make a movie of their life are:
Kiefer Southerland or Jesse Ferguson.
Julia Roberts.
And Frankie Munez!
What a cute family! Thank you Pals' for sharing your story with us, and for being a great example of WAITING, and doing hard things!
If you have any other questions, you can reach out to the Pals via Instagram. You can also connect with us on Social Media, or you can email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com
Also, if you enjoyed this episode, we would love for you to leave us a review on iTunes!
Thanks so much and have a great week!
Have you ever been under investigation as a foster family? We have! And we are here to share about it. Not the details of our investigation per se, but definitely what happened when we found out, and how it panned out. Listen to the episode to hear alllllll about it!
So, we have been a foster family for over 5 years now. And we made the decision to only foster babies for several reasons. A big reason - they can't talk. We have A LOT of talkers in this house, and we didn't feel like we needed to hear more words. Also, we are afraid of things like THIS. Having allegations made up about us. Not to say that is something that definitely happens when you have older kids. But We only fostered babies and never had this. Then we started fostering older kids and BLAMO! Investigation.
Our Investigation Story Last year we decided to take in older children - and 2 of them! And what a glorious decision that was. Unicorn and Mermaid have been great additions to our family, and we are thankful for them. But their mom made an allegation against our 4 year old, and all of a sudden we were being investigated! This came out of left field, especially since we felt really great about our relationship with their mom. And as our case worker aptly put it - we felt so betrayed. We are over here working our tails off to care for her girls, and we are trying so hard to operate in a way that is above reproach, and she still does this to us.
Apparently, if the investigation is an emergency, someone from the state will come out to see you within 48 hours. Someone came to see us about a month later. The investigator was very kind and talked to me, then each of the kids, and then our bio kids altogether. The process took about 2 hours. And then he called the other adults who live in this house, but weren't present. So, maybe make sure everyone who lives in the house is home when your investigator comes.
Everything came back unfounded. We are thankful that that ordeal is over. And we are aware that not everyone is so lucky to have an easy investigation. I am aware that foster kids can lie about your family, and that bio families can as well. We encourage you to get a call recording app to record phone calls (something we should have done but didn't), and making sure your family has rules - that you actually abide by, so that allegations made against you can't stand because everyone in the home already lives by those rules.
We are here for you if you should ever find yourself in this position. It is something that foster parent classes tell you to be prepared for - but this is not a guarantee, nor is it something that should prevent you from getting involved in foster care!
Additional resources We referred to a lot of past episodes within this episode. Please check out the episode with our Case Worker, Kelly Lewis. We also spoke with an amazing GAL who helped us to understand the legal side of things. And Kim Vehon of Foster Arizona is such a huge support to me. And she has so many resources for foster parents. Also, Grace Sharp, a dear friend, used to help manage a group home, and you should listen to her episode as well!
Even though we were not thankful for this investigation at the time, we are thankful that there are steps to find BAD foster families. We are aware that people who pose as safe homes, are anything but. We want those homes to be shut down! We do find it frustrating though, that good foster families who are truly trying to do right by kids in care, have zero legal representation. We hear there are several new bills and pieces of legislation that are emerging, so we are interested to see how that comes to play for foster families.
Good Word of the Day "Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." - Ecclesiastes 7:9
That was a word specifically for me! I definitely acted the fool that day (and a few days after) as I processed the investigation and the allegations made against our family.
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." - Ephesians 4:2
But THIS good word is how I should have acted, and how we all need to act, even in the face of anger and disappointment. We are not responsible for our first reaction to news and events. We are, however, responsible for our first actions, and subsequent actions afterwards.
If you would like to connect: Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Have you ever been under investigation as a foster family? We have! And we are here to share about it. Not the details of our investigation per se, but definitely what happened when we found out, and how it panned out. Listen to the episode to hear alllllll about it!
So, we have been a foster family for over 5 years now. And we made the decision to only foster babies for several reasons. A big reason - they can't talk. We have A LOT of talkers in this house, and we didn't feel like we needed to hear more words. Also, we are afraid of things like THIS. Having allegations made up about us. Not to say that is something that definitely happens when you have older kids. But We only fostered babies and never had this. Then we started fostering older kids and BLAMO! Investigation.
Our Investigation Story Last year we decided to take in older children - and 2 of them! And what a glorious decision that was. Unicorn and Mermaid have been great additions to our family, and we are thankful for them. But their mom made an allegation against our 4 year old, and all of a sudden we were being investigated! This came out of left field, especially since we felt really great about our relationship with their mom. And as our case worker aptly put it - we felt so betrayed. We are over here working our tails off to care for her girls, and we are trying so hard to operate in a way that is above reproach, and she still does this to us.
Apparently, if the investigation is an emergency, someone from the state will come out to see you within 48 hours. Someone came to see us about a month later. The investigator was very kind and talked to me, then each of the kids, and then our bio kids altogether. The process took about 2 hours. And then he called the other adults who live in this house, but weren't present. So, maybe make sure everyone who lives in the house is home when your investigator comes.
Everything came back unfounded. We are thankful that that ordeal is over. And we are aware that not everyone is so lucky to have an easy investigation. I am aware that foster kids can lie about your family, and that bio families can as well. We encourage you to get a call recording app to record phone calls (something we should have done but didn't), and making sure your family has rules - that you actually abide by, so that allegations made against you can't stand because everyone in the home already lives by those rules.
We are here for you if you should ever find yourself in this position. It is something that foster parent classes tell you to be prepared for - but this is not a guarantee, nor is it something that should prevent you from getting involved in foster care!
Additional resources We referred to a lot of past episodes within this episode. Please check out the episode with our Case Worker, Kelly Lewis. We also spoke with an amazing GAL who helped us to understand the legal side of things. And Kim Vehon of Foster Arizona is such a huge support to me. And she has so many resources for foster parents. Also, Grace Sharp, a dear friend, used to help manage a group home, and you should listen to her episode as well!
Even though we were not thankful for this investigation at the time, we are thankful that there are steps to find BAD foster families. We are aware that people who pose as safe homes, are anything but. We want those homes to be shut down! We do find it frustrating though, that good foster families who are truly trying to do right by kids in care, have zero legal representation. We hear there are several new bills and pieces of legislation that are emerging, so we are interested to see how that comes to play for foster families.
Good Word of the Day "Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools." - Ecclesiastes 7:9
That was a word specifically for me! I definitely acted the fool that day (and a few days after) as I processed the investigation and the allegations made against our family.
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." - Ephesians 4:2
But THIS good word is how I should have acted, and how we all need to act, even in the face of anger and disappointment. We are not responsible for our first reaction to news and events. We are, however, responsible for our first actions, and subsequent actions afterwards.
If you would like to connect: Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Jacob's Hope is an organization here in Arizona, that seeks to provide care, support, and education for newborns who have been substance exposed. It started from the hearts of Jo and Brian Jones, who adopted their son, Jacob, who was substance exposed.
This week we had the pleasure of interviewing Jo, the president and co-founder of Jacob's Hope, as well as Syria Watson, the community relations liaison. Syria also happens to be our aunt, and Jo is also a great friend of hers, and Chris' grandmother and Jo's mom have been best friends for over 40 years! Small world!
As foster parents, we can have our substance exposed children receive care and treatment at Jacob's Hope. You can call 480-398-7373. But the best thing for you to do is to take your baby to the pediatrician, or the hospital, to receive a diagnosis for your child.
To learn more about Jacob's Hope and their amazing team, and what they do, check out their website. Though they are currently not in need of volunteers to hold the babies, they are always open to taking newborn sized diapers, as well as these items from their wish list, and financial donations as well!
You can allocate your Amazon Smiles to Jacob's Hope, as well as your Fry's money. And if you search through United Ways list of organizations, you will find them there as well!
It is just about tax season, and if you are getting ready to file your taxes, you can listen to this episode to help you with that!
If you live in Arizona, there is a huge one-day conference going on called Kids Blitz. This is a great opportunity to get your education hours in to keep your foster care license up. This will be on Saturday, March 5th, 2020, and Jacob's Hope will be there!
Good Word of the Day
"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
Matthew 25:40
Thankful for the way that the Bible can convict us and move us to care for others the way Christ cares for us.
The random question of season 5 is 'Who would play you in the movie of your life?'
Syria said Diane Keaton, cause it's the only correct answer. And Jo went with Emma Thompson, which is also a great answer because they are both prevailing, resilient, classic women.
We hope you enjoyed this episode! Thank you for listening, and we hope that you will check out Jacob's Hope, and you can connect with them on Instagram .
And you can connect with us as well! On Instagram and on our website!
Episode 81 marks the first episode of Season 5, and we are so excited for a brand new season, featuring new episodes and new interviews! The biggest news from our off season is that we acquired a Podcast Sponsor! We are so very thankful for Showit for walking alongside our podcast, and foster care journey, and supporting us!
Showit is a premier website builder for photographers. Although admittedly- anyone who needs a website can benefit from the beautiful designs, and mobile-responsive layout of all Showit sites. Our website is powered by Showit! And one of our sweet co-workers at Showit - Josh Ahles, worked on some backend stuff on our site, so we are thankful that it is working better than before! So if you are looking for a website, check out Showit! If you need someone to help you with it, hit up Josh! We also know a ton of other website designers, so seriously, reach out if this is something you are interested in.
This episode talks about our 6 week break from the podcast, where we got to relax, and rest as a family of 9. We had a great Christmas, and worked on some things during our break. Namely goals for the new year! Our kids do this as well. The 4 years olds basically get to partake in some caffeine-free Starbucks, and they color. But all the other kids think of things they want to accomplish, and how they are going to do that. Many goals involved being more patient with siblings, and making better food choices (less Takis!).
Some of our inspiration for making our goals comes from Dave Ramsey, and this episode from the Storybrand podcast. Our friend Grant Botma is a great example of working out a life goal. His company, Stewardship, seeks to love people through their finances. So simple, yet you can see this in every aspect of Grant's business and life! He recently wrote a great book where he also talks about this called The Problem Isn't Their Paycheck. Definitely check all of those out!
One major takeaway from this episode for foster parents is to Check Your Email Junk Mail! We lost some valuable notices for free bicycles for foster kids before Christmas! Such a bummer. But we did hit up Goodwill after Christmas, and we scored some great bikes for $12! What a deal!
We are so thankful for all of you listeners, and we hope you enjoyed your holidays as well. Get ready for a new season of the podcast, and we hope to educate and empower you on the journey you are on!
We would love to connect with you, and now you can email us at hello@fosteringvoices.com !
If you are enjoying our podcast, please leave a review for us on whatever platform you listen to podcasts!
Hope you have a great week and join us again next Saturday!
Today is Chris' 40th birthday! And that's why we are releasing episode 80 on a Thursday, instead of a Saturday morning!
We actually had a really hard time getting this episode up, so we are just counting our blessings that this is finally happening. This week we recap this AhMazing year that we had, and leave you with words of encouragement for the year ahead!
Some of our highlights include our 2 former foster placements getting adopted (getting ready to be adopted). And all the fun travel we were able to squeeze into the year (Thailand as a family of 6 was a big one! You can hear more about it on this episode ).
And a big one that we haven't mentioned before, is that Chris has just led our family so beautifully and so powerfully this year. He actually donated his kidney last month, to a man who had been on dialysis for the last 14 months. We did not know that 20 people a day die while waiting for an organ transplant. And there are over 113,000 people waiting for an organ donation in the US. You can read more facts about organ donation here. But we just want to use our platform to raise awareness for these people who need our help!
Our new motto in life may be 'people are suffering, we can help.' There are so many things that prevent us from standing in the gap for people in need. Mostly it's fear. Often it's all of the 'What Ifs'. But what if we shut down fear, and the what ifs, and just ACTED, and helped, and changed someone else's life?
Will you do this???
The Good Word of the Day
"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."
- 2 John 1:6
Whatever obedience looks like for you. we pray that you would have the courage to take those steps! It may not be organ donation, it may noe ever be fostering or adopting. BUT it could be!!!!
We will be taking a little break here to enjoy the holiday with our family and friends, and we hope you will do the same. We are SO VERY thankful for you, sweet listeners! See you in January for another great season of the Fostering Voices podcast!
Bye for now!
This episode is gonna give you all the feels friends, so brew yourself a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy. Unless you are driving. Then stay focused and alert, but still enjoy this episode.
Jeremy was on the podcast on Episode 47: Interview with a Sharp Adoptee and Foster Dad back in March of this year. He mentioned that he had been gifted with an Ancestry.com gift from his wife, and he wanted to see if he had any siblings out there. WELP. He got what he was looking for. And he also got something he wasn't looking for - HIS BIO DAD!!!
We hope that you enjoy this episode. We know that not every adoption story has this outcome, and it can be devastating. We don't want to be insensitive to that. But we do want to celebrate with Jeremy who was able to be reunited with his birth dad - Papa Jeff.
We also want to always be respectful of our guests, so we didn't ask a ton of questions in this interview. We wanted to let Jeremy and Jeff tell their story! (Even though we did try to lay copyright claims on it so we could turn it into a Hallmark Christmas movie!)
But major kudos to every single member of Jeff and Jeremy's families for all the major changes they faced this year! The Adoption Triad is something that is SO important in helping Adoptees to feel supported, and that is comprised of the Adoptee, their bio family, and their adoptive family. Jeremy's entire family has just been such a beautiful example of what it looks like to lovingly embrace every new member of Jeremy's family. This takes so much humility and self-control, and we commend everyone who works hard to make the Adoption Triad work well for the sake of their child!
A little more on Jeremy: he is a good friend of ours. He is married to Grace, who was a guest on our podcast, on episode 45. Together they have 2 boys, and a little foster daughter. Jeremy works at Stewardship, the company that handles all of our insurance, mortgages, financial stuff! We were once guests on his podcast, The Defining Stewardship Podcast. We highly recommend Stewardship for any and every service they provide!
The Good Word of the Day: “For the revelation (vision) awaits an appointed time;
it speaks of the end
and will not prove false.
Though it linger, wait for it;
it will certainly come
and will not delay.”
-Habakkuk 2:3
This was actually Jeremy's verse that he shared back in March, and it's even more BEAUTIFUL in light of all that has happened this year!
If you would like to connect:
Jeremy at Stewardship
Jeremy on Instagram.
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Thanksgiving has come and gone, but we are truly in the thick of the holidays! We get this season can be SO STRESSFUL for so many people, but it doesn't have to be that way if we can plan appropriately (or as much as possible.)
Don't forget to create some margin for your family! It's easy to get wrapped up in all of the holiday parties and events, but don't forget to intentionally make time to be home, have dinner as a family, and REST. This is good for you as the parent, but also good for your kids!
It is also important to Over-Communicate with your kids! Tell them what is happening today, tomorrow, and what things are expected of them. Whether that's dress code, food choices, people they are going to encounter, etc.
Episodes 38 and 39 feature Christie Priem, a speech-language pathologist, and even though we spoke primarily on detecting developmental delays in children, she also gave so many great tips on avoiding, and dealing with behaviors in all children. So those episodes are definitely worth a listen if you have toddlers in the house!
Make sure you have BOUNDARIES around your time, relationships, expectations, and so on. We also spoke on those in episode 40, and we always highly recommend the book, Boundaries, by Henry Cloud and John Townsend.
Chris is passionate about people keeping boundaries on their MONEY, so make a budget for your holiday spending, and stick to it! Don't make emotional decisions based on what is on sale, and what other people are getting for their loved ones. Have a plan, stick to the plan, and if the things you were planning on happen to be on sale - that's a win!
Good Word of the Day
"But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth."
- 1 John 3:17-18
Let's also PLAN to GIVE! Donating to those in need during the holidays may seem even more stressful, or not possible. But if you plan to give, and make it a family activity, then it makes it possible, and even more rewarding.
We hope you enjoyed this episode, and if you want to connect, we are always happy to hear from you guys! Thank you for being the best listeners!
If you would like to connect:
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode talks about national adoption month and thanksgiving!
National Adoption Month and Day!
November 23rd 2019 is National Adoption Day, which is so exciting as we know this is a huge day for families who are adopting children out of foster care! And National Adoption Month was created to promote adoption via foster care.
We are thankful for all the families that we know who have adopted - whether locally or internationally. Adoption is a multi-faceted and emotionally-charged topic, but when done with grace and humility, that's when the adoption triad can really thrive!
Adoption Triad
We have spoken about the adoption triad in passing several times, and it involves the Adoptee (person who was adopted), the Bio family, and the Adoptive family. When each side of the triangle is strong, and willing to do what is best for the adoptee, the triangle can be successful!
Name Change?
In this episode, we also touched on whether or not adoptive families have changed their adopted children's given names. We found that more people who responded to our poll DID change names. Reasons varied from safety, to letting children choose their new names, and giving family names. And reasons for not changing names was to allow children to keep one of the things that their parents gave to them. (Another family said they kept their birth names as middle names). There is no wrong answer to this, and I am thankful that we have also had input from adoptees themselves. It is important to do what is right for your adoptee and your family.
The Good Word of the Day
"Gratitude is one of the greatest Christian virtues; ingratitude is one of the most destructive sins. Ask God to open your eyes to all the blessings He has given you, and ask for a fresh spirit of gratitude - not just at this season of the year, but always."
- Billy Graham, Hope For Each Day
We hope you will all take time this week, as well as everyday, to find something wonderful to be grateful for. We understand some seasons are easier to do this in than others, but it's still important nonetheless!
We talked about what an inspiration it was to hear Montel Williams talk about his battle with MS. He once said hat instead of focusing on foods he is no longer allowed to eat, he looks at the food he is able to eat (mostly veggies!) and thinks 'what a blessing that I have the privilege to eat this healthy food.' Focus on the positive and not the negatives!
And we also read this article that shared more about Motel and his amazing mindset: "These days, Montel tries to think of his disease as a gift. "This is what God gave me," he says.
Montel shares one of his calming techniques with Oprah, Dr. Oz and the audience.
* Close your eyes.
* Think back on a wonderful moment in your life.
* Take two deep breaths.
* Open your eyes.
"I go to that place of gratitude," he says. "I go to that place of fulfillment and taking advantage of the small things." " And when we can look at being foster and adoptive parents in the same light: that we have the privilege of taking care of these kids, instead of the burden, or inconvenience of the system, hopefully that will make this journey more enjoyable for everyone.
We hope you are able to enjoy great meals with great people this week (and every week)! We are so thankful for you listeners! If you would like to connect:
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Hey friends! Welcome back for another episode of the Fostering Voices podcast. This week we were late putting up this episode as we normally put them out on Saturday mornings before 9am. BUT, we did a keynote presentation at the Foster Arizona annual Gala, and that was on Saturday night, so we chose to release this episode a little later.
Word to the wise: we are actually really robotic sounding in this, and I can very safely say that we did not sound that was when we actually presented it! There were lots of tears, and lots of award laughter. An all around success... :)
There are technically 2 good words of the day in this episode:
The Good Word of the Day #1:
"Optimism for me isn't a passive expectation that things will get better; it's a conviction that we can make things better – that whatever suffering we see, no matter how bad it is, we can help people if we don't lose hope and we don't look away."
-Bill Gates
#2:
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
-Romans 15:13
There is a lot out there that is overwhelming and heart breaking. And it's easy to lose hope and succumb to the sadness. But we pray that you would choose hope. That you would choose to look people, who are suffering, in the eyes - and ask how you can help them. And we pray that the Holy Spirit would empower you to do great things, with great joy, courage, and love.
Thanks for being here. And listening, and supporting us. It means so much to us!
If you would like to connect:
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode is brought to you straight from the Showit United conference, on our very short lunch break! I met Devin and Kathryn Robinson last year at this conference for photographers, and have had the pleasure of watching their journey from afar via Instagram.
The Robinsons have been married for 7 years, full-time professional photographers for 4 years, and run an amazingly beautiful business called Anchor & Veil. They have been fostering for 7 months now, and have an 8 year old, 2 year old, and a 1 year old. They share very candidly, the highs and lows of their foster care journey.
Big thanks to:
-
ProLink Fence in North Carolina for providing the Robinsons with an INCREDIBLE new fence for their house.
-
Children's Home Society is the agency that the Robinsons are licensed through, and they are so thankful for them.
-
Big shout out to Hickory Grove Baptist Church for their kindness and care for the Robinsons!
Everyone can play a role in foster care, and we are thankful for the role all of these people have played in the Robinson's journey!
Good Word of the Day
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,a]">[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
-James 1:2-4
What a beautiful mindset that we need all of our trials to prepare us and make us complete!
If you want to connect:
Kathryn on Instagram
Anchor and Veil on Instagram
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode is brought to you straight from the Showit United conference, on our very short lunch break! I met Devin and Kathryn Robinson last year at this conference for photographers, and have had the pleasure of watching their journey from afar via Instagram.
The Robinsons have been married for 7 years, full-time professional photographers for 4 years, and run an amazingly beautiful business called Anchor & Veil. They have been fostering for 7 months now, and have an 8 year old, 2 year old, and a 1 year old. They share very candidly, the highs and lows of their foster care journey.
Big thanks to:
-
ProLink Fence in North Carolina for providing the Robinsons with an INCREDIBLE new fence for their house.
-
Children's Home Society is the agency that the Robinsons are licensed through, and they are so thankful for them.
-
Big shout out to Hickory Grove Baptist Church for their kindness and care for the Robinsons!
Everyone can play a role in foster care, and we are thankful for the role all of these people have played in the Robinson's journey!
Good Word of the Day
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,a]">[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
-James 1:2-4
What a beautiful mindset that we need all of our trials to prepare us and make us complete!
If you want to connect:
Kathryn on Instagram
Anchor and Veil on Instagram
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode is dedicated to the books we've read this year. We made goals to read more books this year, and we did! Jihae has a goal of 19 for 2019, and Chris has already surpassed that, and Jihae just has 1 more to go.
We apologize in advance for the audio issues. Not sure what happened, but it doesn't sound great, and we are sorry about that! 74 episodes in and we still aren't audio/technical wizards. We are actually replacing the original audio file, so if you listened to it before Friday the 8th of November, then you got the super crummy version of this episode. We are working on all these things!
So, here is Chris' list of books that he read. The asterisk denotes that Jihae also read that book:
Chris' books from 2019:
1- For Men Only- Jeff Feldhaun *
2 Team of Teams- General Stan McChrystal
3- Millionaire Next Door- Thomas J Stanley
4- Everyday millionaire - Chris Hogan
(We mentioned "Thou Shalt Prosper" by Daniel Lapin, a great book we both read last year.)
5- You Can’t Make This Up- by Kevin Hart * And one of our FAVORITE books from this year! Worth the listen, as Kevin narrates it on Audible.
6- Tech Wise Family by Andy Crouch * Very good read!
7- 12 rules for life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B Peterson *
8- Mindset by Carol Dweck * Both read this, and it is a MUST-READ in our opinion!
9, 10, 11- 3 Mitch Rapp books by Vince Flynn about an assassin.
"No thank you on any of those books" - Jihae
12- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fu&$ - by Mark Manson * Really good read!
13- The Great Courses, Art of war by Andrew Wilson
14- Great Courses- CBT
15- Leadership: Gain Confidence to Influence as a Leader Through Communication Skills and Coaching by Nathan Smart
16- The Connected Child by Karen Purvis * Both read this, and it's in the top 5, and is a Must Read for foster and adoptive families (and parents in general).
17- Garbage Bag Suitcase by Shenandoah Chefalo * Great book.
18- Talk like TED by Carmine Gallo * Great book if you want to improve your public speaking.
19- The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni
20- Good Leaders ask Great questions by John Maxwell
21- Upside Down Crown by Robert Watson * BEST BOOK EVER! :) You can hear from the author on Episode 62. Also the only book he has read with his eyes this year!
22- Essentialism by Greg Mc Keown * Read this book and it's a great one!
23- The 3 Day Effect by Florence Williams.
Jihae's books from 2019
(without the ones that overlap with Chris)
-
Epic Content Marketing by Joe Pulizzi
-
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Such a fun read! And read it in paperback! Yay for reading with your eyes!
-
Permission Marketing by Seth Godin
-
Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf
Not a great book. It's fine, but not great.
- None Like Him: 10 Ways God is Different From Us by Jen Wilkin
Another fine book, but not my favorite
- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
FINALLY read this, and in paperback! Definitely now know why it's a classic. First 3/4s of the book was very hard to get through! But worth pushing through.
- Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling
Also a paperback book that I read, and it was Amazing! So fun! And she does narrate the audio version, so I bet that is amazing. I will buy this next book on Audible!
- The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker
This is one of my top 5! Definitely worth the read!
- To The End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care by Cris Beam.
Very difficult in parts, but worth the read. And it's pretty long, and mostly looks at foster care in New York.
So, that's it! We truly believe that readers are leaders! But not all leaders are readers, but the best ones are.
If you would like to connect with us:
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode features our girl, Cate, who has been living with us for over a year! You can hear Cate's story on Episode 23, where she shares with the rough start that she had in life. Basic synopsis: Cate's parents dropped her and her 3 siblings off at her uncle's house, and never came back.
But Cate is a fighter, a hard worker, a grace-receiver and grace-giver, and she is not a victim of her circumstances, and she also happens to love mopping and sweeping, so she is basically the best person alive.
Tune in to hear more about this gem of a human.
The Good Word of the Day
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
-1 Thessalonians 5:12-17
SUCH A GREAT WORD! Perfect for our household, but also for all of us to remember as we try to live peaceably among each other!
We also heard an amazing sermon by Robert Watson and Sam Collie, and they spoke on Racism. It is absolutely worth a listen!
If you would like to connect:
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
We start off this episode with an apology and clarification! In episode 70, we talked about court, FCRBs, and TDMs. We completely forgot about CFTs! We have only been to one CFT and one TDM, and they were both for our 4th placement, and we just lumped them together. SO our apologies for our mistake, and thanks to Grace Sharp and Kristen Friend for lovingly pointing that out.
A CFT is a Child Family Team meeting. It usually happens near the beginning of a case, and it's purpose is to have all the team members discuss the family's strengths, needs, and problems. There is supposed to be discussion about how everyone will play a role in the lives of the children. We didn't get a lot out of our meeting, except that we were able to see some of the other team members (case workers, social workers), and also hear from other members on the phone (parents).
A TDM is a Team Decision-Making Meeting, and they are held for all decisions involving a child's removal, change of placement and permanency plan. The one we went to, was very intense and stressful. Maybe ones you go to will not be so.
As we mentioned earlier - we have only been to ONE of EACH of these meetings. So as much as there should be a CFT and a TDM for each of the cases you have - that's not what always happens. So, as always - just go with the flow! And it's going to be different every time!
We also discussed how Jihae got an endometrial ablation the day we recorded this podcast. If you want to read more about those (ladies...) then feel free to check this article out.
The meat of this episode talked about how Chris and Lily went on a week long mission trip to Nicaragua. Lily is 12, and Chris was scared. But it was a huge step of faith for everyone, and the thing CHris took away from the trip is to TAKE THE NEXT STEP.
So What does that look like for you?
For those looking to get involved in foster care, you can always offer to babysit for a foster family (for free!). There is a HUGE need for people who would be willing and able to help out with medically fragile children. These parents really need a break sometimes! And another amazing way you can get involved is to donate your old car to a bio family who is getting reunified with their children! Our friends, the Piepers and the Tinters (episodes 5 and 55 respectively), both did that this year, and what a massive blessing!
The Good Word of the Day
6 Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them.
Joshua 1:6.
So be bold! If there is something you feel led to do - just go ahead and try it out! Especially if it's for the benefit of others, not yourself.
We hope you enjoyed this episode!
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
You may remember Maggie from Episode 33. She is the crazy lady who likes to just be surrounded by cute baby boys! Well, here we are, a year and a half later - and Maggie is still surrounded by cute baby boys!
And in this year and a half, Maggie has grown a baby in her uterus, then a month before having this baby, she reunified her foster baby, Baby A, with his biological family, and had her final bio baby, and has gone to grief counseling to work through the hard parts of fostering!
She shares 3 great tools she has learned in her grief journey:
-
Document document document. Have official statements in emails, CC your significant other on those emails, choose wise times to discuss together - but don't let that dominate your marriage and world.
-
Journal! Whether it's a document on your computer, or even in an email to yourself, or on paper with pen or pencil! Writing your thoughts and feelings can be very healing!
-
Boundaries. They are so simple yet so important. We had a podcast episode (40) talking about the book Boundaries, which is a terrific read.
The Good Word of the Day
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” —Maya Angelou.
Man! That's a good word! Knowledge is power, but also useless unless you do something with the knowledge you have acquired. We all know so much, so let's do better with all that we know!
Thanks so much to Maggie for sharing so much of her heart, struggles, and journey with us. Foster care is not easy, and may have no happy endings. BUT, can we provide the best version of a child's new normal? Hopefully yes!
You can learn more about Maggie on her website. And find her on Instagram and Facebook.
If you want to connect with us on Social Media:
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
You may remember Maggie from Episode 33. She is the crazy lady who likes to just be surrounded by cute baby boys! Well, here we are, a year and a half later - and Maggie is still surrounded by cute baby boys!
And in this year and a half, Maggie has grown a baby in her uterus, then a month before having this baby, she reunified her foster baby, Baby A, with his biological family, and had her final bio baby, and has gone to grief counseling to work through the hard parts of fostering!
She shares 3 great tools she has learned in her grief journey:
-
Document document document. Have official statements in emails, CC your significant other on those emails, choose wise times to discuss together - but don't let that dominate your marriage and world.
-
Journal! Whether it's a document on your computer, or even in an email to yourself, or on paper with pen or pencil! Writing your thoughts and feelings can be very healing!
-
Boundaries. They are so simple yet so important. We had a podcast episode (40) talking about the book Boundaries, which is a terrific read.
The Good Word of the Day
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” —Maya Angelou.
Man! That's a good word! Knowledge is power, but also useless unless you do something with the knowledge you have acquired. We all know so much, so let's do better with all that we know!
Thanks so much to Maggie for sharing so much of her heart, struggles, and journey with us. Foster care is not easy, and may have no happy endings. BUT, can we provide the best version of a child's new normal? Hopefully yes!
You can learn more about Maggie on her website. And find her on Instagram and Facebook.
If you want to connect with us on Social Media:
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Court in foster care can seem like a scary, gigantic ordeal. But it isn't, especially when you realize how little say that foster parents have in their foster child's court case.
This episode goes through our 5 years of court cases - which pretty much means nothing to you - since court is so different for everyone! But what you basically need to know is this- if you can go, THEN GO! Even if you don't have a chance to speak, you usually learn more about the case, and about the children you are caring for. This is also a great opportunity to meet the bio family, and possibly forge a relationship with them.
FCRBs, aka Foster Care Review Boards, are an opportunity for foster parents to make a statement in front of a board of volunteers who work hard to get official statements in front of a judge. There is some debate whether these are given much weight or not, but that may depend on the judge. When given an opportunity to advocate for your foster child, we say to take it.
We thought FCRBs were just for foster parents, but it is also for bio parents. That's actually the first time we met Wesley's parents - at an FCRB. And it was interesting.
Which leads to another point we made, which is to be aware of how you are dressing for court, and other official meetings like an FCRB. You don't have to be dressed to the nines. Even nice jeans will do. But be aware that you may see bio families, and other people who may be judging you on first appearances.
TDMs are Team Decision Meetings, and are supposed to include all parties on a child's team - case managers, bio and foster parents, lawyers, etc. These are usually supposed to be pretty low key. But we did go to one, after parents' rights were severed, and it was INTENSE. So, again - anything can happen!
If you want to hear more about court, and especially about GALs (Guardian Ad Litems), you can check out episode 53 where we interview Kim Turner, an awesome lawyer for foster kids.
The Good Word of the Day:
"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."
-Psalm 9:9-10
God is a refuge for the oppressed - and sometimes that feels like us - the foster families. But no one is more oppressed than our foster kids. Sometimes all this court stuff, and meetings, and appointments feels like a major hassle, and a little inconvenient, but when we can remember the inconvenience and hassle of our foster babes' lives - I think we as the responsible adults can continue to endure, and advocate, and provide for these kids!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week we talk about a marriage conference we went to earlier this year.
We talk about punching our sharks in the face, whether our sharks are shame, as Kara talked about in episode 66. Or maybe your shark is negativity, or hopelessness. Whatever it is - identify it, and beat it!
We also learned about 'the edge effect' which happens in ecosystems where two edges meet each other: like water and land (aka beaches), or forest and desert. Or in marriage when one person joins another, or in foster care, where one family is joined by kids they don't know. The result can be messy, and chaotic, but also brimming with life and adventure!
The Good Word of the Day:
"so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us"
Ephesians 3:17, 19-20
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode hits on a ton of different topics, as we interview Kristen Friend, a foster mom of a little over a year.
In the intro though, we did get to hear from Chris, and he and Jihae shared their Highs and Lows. Having 9 people in the house is definitely starting to wear on everyone - but as we continue to have open conversations, and tweak what is working - and what is not, we are continuing to do well!
We did mention this great meme about 'Fairnesss':
A great visual to remember what we are trying to provide for every human in our house! WE just definitely do not have it figured out.
But on to the interview!
Kristen, and her husband Houston, are the Friends! That is their actual last name. They have been married for 7 years, and have been fostering a little over a year. They are currently with their 3rd placement.
We did hit on a vulnerable topic - and that is Infertility and Foster Care and what that has looked like for Kristen. Many people make assumptions that they are fostering so they can adopt children - but that's not the case. They have been able to reunify one of their foster children, and that has been a huge blessing for everyone.
A major issue that Kristen has dealt with, that we have heard from other foster families who don't have bio children, is the fear that they are not doing a good job parenting 'because they haven't had their own kids' - and we are going to claim and proclaim that THAT IS GARBAGE! No parents know what they are doing! Everyone experiences parenting 'for the first time' all the time (we are dealing with jr high for the first time, etc) - so that doesn't make anyone better than anyone else. As long as everyone is actually doing what is best for the children in their care - that's being a great parent. Let's support each other and not tear each other down. #graceforallpeople. Especially grace for yourself!
The Good Word of the Day
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
-Matthew 6:34
Major shout out to everyone who walks along all of us on our foster care journeys. Today does have enough trouble of its own - but it helps to spread the burden! Major props to Hope Bible Church for setting up meals for the Friends when they get new placements!!
Thanks for coming on the podcast and sharing your experience and heart with us all, Kristen!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Kristen aka @FollowtheFriends on Instagram
Jihae on Facebook
Chris on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode continues our conversation on how to really connect with your child.
Some food for thought: study your child(ren), and don't take everything they do so personally!!
Good word of the Day:
Shout for joy, you heavens; rejoice, you earth; burst into song, you mountains! For the Lord comforts his people and will have compassion on his afflicted ones.
Isaiah 49:13
God has compassion on us, and we are to have compassion on others.
Esther Wojcicki wrote this great article, talking about the importance of teaching our kids compassion.
She had this great quote: "Kids are growing up feeling like they’re the center of the universe. As young adults, they’re not only lacking grit and independence; they’re wholly unprepared to take on causes that could make the world a better place."
So let's all work at raising compassionate youth!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode features an interview with Kara Lackey, who with her husband, Jason, created the Know and Love Quiz! This quiz is a FREE resource for families to get to know and love their kids better, and to meet each child's unique needs. Although they started off on this journey to help themselves as parents, they instantly saw how great this would be for foster families, who may not know the history of the children who come into their homes - but they can still learn how to best speak to these kids' hearts.
Know and Love Visit knowandlove.com to do a free assessment of your kids and their unique personalities! This website is full of amazing resources to help you understand the different ways that your children are wired, and how you can talk to them, and interact with them, in a way that they feel known and loved!
This is a resource that is designed to help parents feel like they have some tools in their "emotional first aid kits" to help them understand their kids better. We as parents often, and unknowingly, shame our children - because we simply do not understand their behaviors.
More Resources for Parents Some other tools we think will be very helpful are The Connected Child, and The Whole Brain Child. Both are amazing books that help you to look at your children in a new light. Especially with having foster children in your home - we don't know everything they have been through, but we can know how to help them to deal with their baggage, and to help carry that burden with them. These are all tools that will help your kids to understand how to express themselves better now - and that will benefit them greatly into adulthood.
The (Good) Word of the Day "We create a space for creative, constructive interaction in our home, where most of our energy goes towards maintaining awareness of where shame is hiding. Jesus can overcome shame when it is brought to the light.
-Lackey Family Motto Jason and Kara have been on a journey to punch shame in the face! They have chosen to 'swim towards' the things that have brought them shame - in their finances, in the marriage, in their personal health journeys. They have done HARD things, and continue to do so, with a huge heart to help others on their journeys as well.
Shame wants to tell us that we are alone. But we are not. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it." There are so many out there who are suffering with the same things that you are! Bring your shame to the light, and you will find others who are struggling with the same things!
Romans 10:11 says that "anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame" , so let us, as a family of believers live confidently and lovingly with one another.
Thank you Kara, and Jason, for all the great work you guys have done, and continue to do for parents - especially foster parents. We hope that you enjoy this episode!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
You can find Kara at KaraLackey on Instagram, and at Know and Love on Instagram , and on Facebook. J
We missed Chris this week, but you can connect with him on facebook.
Connect with us at Fostering Voices on Instagram
And with Jihae on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week's episode is dedicated Chapter 1 of 'The Connected Child' by Dr. Karyn Purvis. This is a great book for all parents, but it is dedicated to the needs of kids who have come from hard places - so it is specifically for foster and adoptive parents. Over the course of Season 4, we will be going over different ideas from this amazing book.
This week we talked about Corrective vs Connective Behavior. The goal is to always connect with your children! They often need to connect, before they can understand what you want to correct.
Dr. Purvis also talked about the need to make a lifestyle commitment when choosing to foster and/or adopt. Kids need time to connect, and if your family is so busy running from one thing to another - there is no time to connect! SO, make time to connect with your family!
One great way to connect is by playing games together as a whole family. Our family has recently started playing the Heads Up game. Download it on your iPhone or Android device. It's a great game for all ages!
We also talked about life with 9 people in the house, so tune in to hear more about that!
The (Good) Word of the Day:
As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.
Psalm 55:16-17
Remember the perspective of kids in need. They are just kids, and they need simple things, and we can all play a role in providing for their needs.
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
We often get this question from concerned parents - "Will fostering be harmful to my bio kids?" And it's a legit question. There are bad situations out there where some foster families have experienced pain and hardship with their bio kids, because of a situation that occurred while fostering. So yes, there is always a possibility of that. But there is a possibility that living a totally safe and sheltered life could still possibly cause pain and hardship for your children.
This week, we invited our precious pre-teen son, Topher, to join us on the podcast! He shares his experiences and input on foster care, which he has been involved with since he was 6 years old. We are incredibly proud of him, as well as all of our kids! You can listen to Episode 49, where our eldest - Lily, shared her views on being a foster sibling.
We welcomed our new foster placements into our home this week, so we are officially a family of 9! For now! But we are so thankful for everyone who has supported us, and who continues to pray for us. Keep em coming, cause we sure need em.
Our girls came to us from a group home - which we have never experienced this before. For those who are wanting foster children who are living in congregate care (which is a great idea!), just know there is a LOT of waiting, and a lot of paperwork that needs to be signed by different people.
Also, if your foster placements are coming from a group home, it's a great idea to try to get a visit in before they come to live with you, so that you guys can meet, and so that you can prepare more for the children before their arrival. We were grateful to learn what size clothes and shoes our kids wear, and even what kinds of toys and snacks and meals they enjoyed, just so we could have those things in advance. And another thing that came up was the fact that the girls did NOT have anything to move all of their belongings in. To avoid any potential of things being moved around in TRASH BAGS, we bought these big storage totes at Walmart for less than $10, and they came in Unicorn and Mermaid styles - which the girls love!
The Good Word of the Day:
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Philippians 4:5-6
This is actually Topher's life verse, and we think it is such a great one for everyone to remember! God loves us, he is near, we need not fear or be anxious about anything.
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
We often get this question from concerned parents - "Will fostering be harmful to my bio kids?" And it's a legit question. There are bad situations out there where some foster families have experienced pain and hardship with their bio kids, because of a situation that occurred while fostering. So yes, there is always a possibility of that. But there is a possibility that living a totally safe and sheltered life could still possibly cause pain and hardship for your children.
This week, we invited our precious pre-teen son, Topher, to join us on the podcast! He shares his experiences and input on foster care, which he has been involved with since he was 6 years old. We are incredibly proud of him, as well as all of our kids! You can listen to Episode 49, where our eldest - Lily, shared her views on being a foster sibling.
We welcomed our new foster placements into our home this week, so we are officially a family of 9! For now! But we are so thankful for everyone who has supported us, and who continues to pray for us. Keep em coming, cause we sure need em.
Our girls came to us from a group home - which we have never experienced this before. For those who are wanting foster children who are living in congregate care (which is a great idea!), just know there is a LOT of waiting, and a lot of paperwork that needs to be signed by different people.
Also, if your foster placements are coming from a group home, it's a great idea to try to get a visit in before they come to live with you, so that you guys can meet, and so that you can prepare more for the children before their arrival. We were grateful to learn what size clothes and shoes our kids wear, and even what kinds of toys and snacks and meals they enjoyed, just so we could have those things in advance. And another thing that came up was the fact that the girls did NOT have anything to move all of their belongings in. To avoid any potential of things being moved around in TRASH BAGS, we bought these big storage totes at Walmart for less than $10, and they came in Unicorn and Mermaid styles - which the girls love!
The Good Word of the Day:
"Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
Philippians 4:5-6
This is actually Topher's life verse, and we think it is such a great one for everyone to remember! God loves us, he is near, we need not fear or be anxious about anything.
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week we just want to encourage our fellow foster families out there!
Encouragement 1:
Sometimes your family, and even friends, may not be on board with your journey in foster care. You aren't alone in this! We have run into different people who have not been supportive of our choices. That's ok! We are still very thankful for the people who continue to walk by us! And we are here to walk alongside YOU!
Encouragement 2:
If you are in need of supplies - like clothes, beds, cribs, mattresses, birthday presents - there are resources out there for you! For Free!
Check out your local Facebook Groups for foster and adoptive parents. We get lots of great stuff from various groups we are in. Also, we will throw out requests on our personal Facebook pages and we have gotten great things donated like bunk beds, an amazing trumpet, clothes, etc. Don't be afraid to ask others for help!
We also just discovered Arizona Helping Hands, and they are amazing! Check them out if you are in need of anything!
Encouragement 3:
Change your mindset if you are in a rut feeling like you are stuck in a cycle of dislike, head-butting, with someone in your family (or social circle) - you may need to change your attitude towards them.
We read 'The Connected Child' which has so many great tips to connect with your children. Open hand touch has been a great one for us and our kids.
Good Word of the Day:
"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe."
Proverbs 29:25
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week we are happy to have an interview with Robert Watson, pastor, and newly published author! He wrote 'Upside Down Crown' which is now available on Kindle and at most major bookstores.
The premise of the book is based on the only sermon that Jesus ever preached - which is the Sermon on the Mount (found in Matthew 5-7). There are so many lessons in it, and once applied to our lives, we find that we have peace and joy, instead of anxiety and disappointment.
You may remember that Robert was also on episode 31, where he talked about porn and sex, and this topic is also covered in this book, as Jesus refers to sexual purity in his sermon. This is such an important conversation to have with your pre-teen and older kids, and spouse! We know that you guys already know that, as episode 31 is in the top 3 most-listened to episodes we have!
So, we encourage all of you to look at your heart, and not just your behavior. Do you just cheer Jesus on, but then refuse to get your hands dirty and join in on what he is calling you to? And are you doing great things for him, or for yourself?
Good Word of the Day:
Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
-Revelation 21:1-5
This is another great reminder that as Christians, we are living for more than we can see here on earth. Sometimes it is too easy to trust Jesus with ALL OF ETERNITY, yet we refuse to trust him with simple things like relationships, finances, struggles, etc. God is Lord of all! And for all time. Salvation is a past, present, and future action. We are invited to receive the Lord's salvation today and every day!
You've Been Served:
- Most of our service actions involved LISTENING, and empathizing! We don't have to have the right words to say, but we do all have the right ears to listen! So let's listen to each other, hear each other, and serve one another in this simple way!
Thanks for joining us for another episode of our podcast. We hope you have an amazing week this week with your families!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Season 4 is here, and we are so excited to bring you 20 brand new episodes!
This week we talk about what our insane summer looked like, as we took 8 weeks off of the podcast.
It started with a marriage retreat with Don and Renee Worcester, who we have mentioned before. They are an amazing couple who really connect with people, and can encourage them in such a profound way. You can learn more about them on their website. We will share more about what we learned in an episode dedicated to the retreat!
Then we went to Thailand! But before that, we had to get new passports for 2 of our kids, because we lost their old ones (as in the new passports we renewed last year!) After countless phone calls to the national passport office, we went down to Tucson to visit the Western Passport Center, and you can go there too, to find out if you are eligible to get your passports made THAT DAY. You have to make an appointment and have all the correct documents. But these fine folks, who have my heart forever, were able to get us new passports - 12 hours before we left for Thailand!
Chris got upset with me during this episode for calling people 'incompetent', and now I owe him $1 for not speaking 'Words of Life' in our home. That's a new thing we started in our home, to help combat negative self talk, as well as negative talk and thinking about others as well.
After Thailand, Chris and I went to Cabo, Mexico for a work retreat with Showit. Basically, Showit is the BEST website platform for photographers, creative entrepreneurs, small businesses, people who need websites. We are SO thankful to be a part of the Showit team, and so thankful that our team building exercises happened at an all-inclusive resort.
Then I just got back from Minnesota this week (the day we recorded this podcast) after a work trip. We sponsored an event that was put on by Honeybook and the Rising Tide Society, and it was absolutely amazing. If you are a creative entrepreneur, you need to know about these two companies as well!
We are officially back on the list, and we have placement for two sisters! Exactly what we asked for! BUT there was an issue with our license, and so we will probably get to meet them next week. Oh red tape in foster care! It happens though, and you have to make the best of it. So right now, we are resting, and doing whatever we can to prepare for their arrival!
We ended up buying a 15 passenger van (kinda by accident). This is one way that we are preparing for life with 9 people in the house, though I have no intentions of filling it...
The (Good) Word of the Day:
"And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased." - Hebrews 13:16
This season, we are doing something new: we will talk about how we served or were served Because God loves to see sacrifice and service. Hopefully this will encourage all of us to find different ways to serve others around us, because that is the best form of self care out there! Serving others!
We hope you enjoy this episode, and we are so very thankful for all of you listeners! Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions, or if you need people in your village to support you through prayer and encouragement! We are here for YOU!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
You can also email us at jihaeandchris@yahoo.com
AND we would LOVE it if you would SUBSCRIBE and leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This is the last episode of Season 3!
We do a brief book review on 'Garbage Bag Suitcase' by Shenandoah Chefalo. It's a memoir of Shenandoah's life - filled with difficult years with her mother and a man she thought was her father, and difficult years in foster care, and aging out of the system. This book is Heavy, and made Jihae feel a bit depressed for a day or two. BUT, it's not all depressing.
Shenandoah shares her thoughts on how to improve the lives of kids in care, and they include boarding schools (like the Milton Hershey School and The Crossnore School), and fostering the whole family - mostly moms who are losing their kids to the system.
Another highlight of reading this memoir was seeing a successful woman who overcame the odds. The children in care are not doomed to be like their parents. Mental illness is not a definitive life sentence for the next generation, neither is drug addiction, or abuse, or any of the things that we are afraid that kids are 'definitely' going to be like.
Chris mentioned this teen, Hunter Beaton, from Texas who has started this company that provides great bags for children in foster care.
There are so many companies that you can support if you google 'garbage bags for foster kids' or look on social media.
The (Good) Word of the Day
Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
- Proverbs 16:24
Shenandoah had SO FEW people who spoke any words of hope or love to her in her first 20 years of life. We all need to speak words of kindness and hope to those around us - whether they are adults or children, whether they are foster kids, or kids you have borne.
Lightbulb moments:
Yay for the Toronto Raptors making it to the NBA Finals for the first time in history!
Foster care and adoption are HARD! Waiting, not knowing, caring, saying bye - IT'S ALL HARD! But it's all worth it! So, keep on keeping on fellow foster and adoptive friends.
Thanks SO MUCH for your support this season, friends! We will be back at the end of July with season 4!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
AND we would LOVE it if you would leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
This week we have a great interview with the lovely Lindsey Stamm, the Operations manager at Arizona127.
What is Arizona127?
This is an AMAZING organization that exists to recruit, develop, and sustain foster family through training and events. They want to help foster children, and support the families who foster them.
Follow them on Instagram to stay up to date on their trainings and events! (Lindsey manages this account and she does an amazing job!)
For those who choose not to be a foster family, they recommend checking out these important ways of getting involved:
-
becoming a CASA (court appointed special advocate) which requires you to take a polygraph test and training. But well worth the time as you get to spend time with children in care, and be a voice for them in their case!
-
becoming a Mentor through Arizonans for Children, which requires 2 hours a week of your time. They also have tutoring and craft volunteer options available!
The (Good) Word of the Day
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
- Psalm 73: 25-26
What a great and encouraging word! We talked about how broken this world is, and the foster care system especially. But, when God is our hope and our portion - we can take heart and have peace.
Lightbulb Moments:
-
At a TBRI training, Lindsey learned, and then reminded us that Hydration and Glucose levels are of the utmost importance and can greatly affect your child's (and your) attitude and disposition. Check your child's urine color to see if they are hydrated enough!
-
Sesame Street introduced a new muppet who is in Foster Care! And just in time for Foster Care Awareness month! It is so important for people to see others who represent them well in media. Last year, when Crazy Rich Asians came out, the Asian community was elated to see a full cast of people who looked just like them. There is a slew of movies and tv shows out there that have foster children in them, and we are so thankful that Instant Family is one of them, and now Sesame Street is too!
-
Make sure to check if you are at an Urgent Care or an Emergency Room. The difference is significant in terms of co-pay, and someone who hosts this podcast may have accidentally gone to an emergency room this week, only to be told he was constipated.
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of our podcast!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
AND we would LOVE it if you would leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!
Gotcha Day. This is common vernacular for adoptive families. We just celebrated Wesley's this last week. But then we got to thinking - is that ok to call it that? How do adoptees feel about the word and the spirit of Gotcha Day?
We opened this conversation up to Social Media, and we got a lot of really great responses. Most of our friends who have adopted like to celebrate this day as a family, as a means to lift up the culture that the adopted child has come from, and as a celebration of the great joy the adopted child has brought to the family.
But a perspective that a lot of adoptive families are missing is that of the adoptee - especially if they have adopted very young children. But speaking to adult adoptees who are able to voice their thoughts and opinions - we got some of those!
You can see the whole post here.
We, at the Watson home, have decided to no longer call Wesley's adoption day 'Gotcha Day'. We will continue to recognize it as a celebration day for our family, and we do love to celebrate with our friends who have adopted as well. We are mindful that it is a great day of celebration for us, but may cause sadness for Wesley, and other adoptees for missing their biological families. We want to be open to the many layers of emotions that surround most momentous occasions in an adoptees life.
We are always so thankful to be able to have communication with all parties involved in the adoption triad - the birth family, the adoptive family, and the adoptee. All these voices are so important, and when they are in communication with one another, it makes the triangle stronger! Thank you Arrow and Root (if you are looking for someone to create a beautiful and ethical adoption profile book, check her out!) and Alison Shiloh, and of our amazing followers for contributing to this conversation! We love having respectful, humble, and open-minded conversation with everyone who has something to share.
We have no judgment for people who have been using the term 'Gotcha Day', and continue to use it. We will try to educate people on the choice that we have made. But something to remember is that 'you don't know what you don't know', but it's important to have a spirit of wanting to learn, grow, and improve, every day. For the good of yourself, and especially your children.
The (Good) Word of the Day:
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen."
2 Peter 3:18
May we all be growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus! It will cause us all to be kinder, more compassionate, and more forgiving. This leads us to be able to understand others, and to seek to be understood afterwards. May we all try to grow in the grace and knowledge of one another, as well.
Thanks for tuning in to another week of the Fostering Voices Podcast!
If you want to connect on Social Media:
Jihae Watson on Facebook
Chris Watson on Facebook
Fostering Voices on Instagram
Jihae Watson on Instagram
AND we would LOVE it if you would leave us a review on iTunes! This helps others to find our podcast so we can share these voices from the foster care and adoption community with more people!