Fostering Voices Podcast

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 flamboyance is a group of 6 flamingos. And our guest this week, Anna Saunders, loves flamingos, and happens to be a part of a family of 6! Anna and her husband Woody, have been fostering for about 3 years now, and have had the privilege of caring for 11 children in that time! Some things we mentioned in our discussion: Something that Anna learned the hard way, is that sometimes kids will enter f...

This week's topic of discussion is to remember to be kind when communicating with others -whether it's your spouse, your foster kids, your coworkers, anyone you interact with! Everyone has things going on beneath the surface that you may know nothing about.     We need to understand that behind every behavior is a need. That need might be food, or sleep, or understanding, or connection. We need co...

This episode is near and dear to our hearts as we have Kevin and Bekah Tinter joining us on the podcast! The Tinters are GREAT supporters of our podcast, as they listen every week, and have sponsored two $100 Amazon gift card giveaways this season! But more than that - the Tinters are the amazing family that has adopted one of our sweet foster babes! You have to listen to hear how the entire proce...

We are finally able to talk about life after our sweet Winston Churchill! We had such a ridiculously sweet transition, and his current foster/hopeful forever family just blessed us like crazy. But we couldn't talk about it without crying, so now that it's been over a month - we are able to talk! We had Winston with us for 10 months, and it was a glorious, and tough, but joy-filled time for all of...

What is a GaL? Not just a cute name for a girl. A Guardian ad Litem is a lawyer, who is assigned to a child in foster care, and their job is to represent the best interest of the children they serve. If a child in foster care is 12 and older, they are legally able to request another attorney. The other lawyer advocates for what that child wants. The lighthearted example that Kim Turner shared with...

Do you think your kids may be abusing drugs? Do you know what signs to look for? This week's episode will help you to learn basic signs and symptoms of drug abuse. We have a great interview with the hottest law enforcement officer around. My hubs. Everyone's lives have been touched by drugs in some way, whether you have been a victim of a property crime, or maybe you have a relative who have becom...

People often ask us questions when they are thinking about starting their foster care journey, and we love to answer them! So, when Nati and Misael Estrada asked to meet with us, we recorded the conversation so that you can hear their important questions, and our semi-important answers! Some questions that we cover in this episode: How is it, dealing with bio parents of the foster child? What road...

Dr. Carol Dweck wrote a great book called Mindset: The Psychology of Success , and we talk about it in this episode. Everyone talks about having a growth mindset, but how do you do that? What does that look like? And why is this so vital, especially for foster kids? Developing a growth mindset, which is not easy, or natural. But with effort and the right attitude, it can happen. In this episode, o...

This episode features our precious eldest child, Lily, who is almost 12, and has been a foster sibling since she was 7! Some of her favorite things to do are: playing Gaga Ball (What is Gaga Ball ??), hanging out with her cousins, and running with her dad. Basically, she is an angel sent from heaven, especially since Jihae hates to run. In this episode, we also talked about: Electives. We complete...

This week's episode is a book review of 'The Boy Crisis: Why our boys are struggling and what we can do about it' by Warren Farrell, PhD, and John Gray, PhD. This book was LONG and really informative. Definitely worth the time to go through. And it was written in 2018, so it is fresh and relevant, and hopefully in the next few years, we can make it irrelevant! General Synopsis: We are presently li...

We just jumped over a massive hurdle in our fostering journey, and it took a lot of prayer, a lot of patience, and a lot of communicating. And you know this is a big deal for us, especially as we are both pleasers! (Check out episode 26) So how do you resolve conflicts with your spouse? It is important to deal with your conflicts with your spouse, no matter how hard they are. Pretending they don't...

This week's episode is full of goodness! We are so thankful to have our sweet friend, Grace Sharp, on the podcast with us. She is a new foster mom (3 months in!) but previously worked as a Group Home Manager.  For those who don't know what a Group Home is, it is a house (in a regular old neighborhood like yours and ours), where they usually have about 10 foster kids living in this home. Some peopl...

This is the 'Thirst Buster' episode (44oz of sugary carbonated goodness!) Something that is as good as a thirst buster in our home is Cate! She has been living with us for 4 months, and things are just getting better and better. This is because we all have an attitude of trying to out-serve one another. I feed Cate, and she cleans and helps with the kids. It's a perfect symbiotic relationship! The...

Tax season is officially upon us, and so we decided to have the best tax preparer in all the land join us for an interview. We are thankful that Wes Watson (who happens to be Chris' dad) was able to make time for us, so he could share everything related to taxes for foster and adoptive families. In this episode we talked about: The Keymaster from Ghost Busters . This is what happens when Chris has...

This episode is all about heart change and the times we have seen God move and change hearts. We've experienced lots of examples of God changing hearts in Jihae's parents. Starting with being ok with Jihae and Chris getting married, to being excited to have adopted and foster grandchildren. This is not always something that is easy for everyone, but lots of prayer and patience helps! Often times w...

We are back from a 6 week break, and ready to dive into Season 3! We hope that everyone had a delightful Christmas break, and start to 2019. We ended off the year with 2 kids in diapers, and we are starting off the year with 1 kid in diapers, and 1 kid who pees and poos in his undies on occassion... small victories/failures. This episode starts off with us talking about how our 2018 goals went. Th...

Episode 39 is for you, Greg Ostertag , because you wore 39 on the Utah Jazz, and because when we first got our current foster baby, he looked like you. And then he evolved to look like Winston Churchill. Anyway, this week is a continuation of last week's interview with Christie Priem. If you have NOT listened to episode 38 yet, please go and do that, and then come back to this one! We are finishin...

Episode 38 is dedicated to you - Curt Schilling, of the World Series winning Diamondbacks, with your bloody sock and all. This week's episode features an interview with Christie Priem, an incredible Speech Language Pathologist (SLP). She is also the founder, owner, and genius mind, and loving heart behind Chirp  : an online resource to make churches welcoming for those with special needs. Christie...

Episode 37 is dedicated to Rodney Harrison of the New England Patriots (Reggie knew that off the top of his head), and Metta World Peace, aka Ron Artest.  Random fact:  'Metta' means loving kindness and friendliness towards all, and is a traditional Buddhist word. He chose this name 'to inspire and bring youth together all around the world." So special. Important facts about Reggie and DCS: - Regg...

Shaquille O'Neal wore number 36 when he was a newbie basketball player on the Orlando Magic. We love Shaq, especially when he was a Phoenix Suns for a brief moment in time. He wore 32 then, and he promised he would bring a championship to Phoenix. We are still waiting... This week we talk briefly about three tips for people who are thinking of embarking on their foster care journey, or have just c...

This is the Kevin Durant episode. Not because he was adopted or in foster care. Just because he is awesome and wears the number 35. And we love him. This week we interview the lovely Rhonda Labatt of Redemption Market , a stunning ethical boutique that literally changes people's lives. Maybe not so much the customer's, but definitely the artisans behind the products. Rhonda has a huge heart for se...

This week is Charles Barkley week. Since apparently we are just going to reference our favorite basketball player every week. Though seriously, we talk about "How to Raise and Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success" by Julie Lythcott- Haims. She has a great TedTalk that you can listen to here , or you can purchase the book here . It is a wonderful book that re...

Episode 33 is another great one, featuring an interview with the delightful and smart Maggie Zehring.  But before we dive into the goodness of that interview, Chris and I got stuck in the intro about the number 33, and what it has meant to Chris in his life. We referenced Larry Bird, who was in fact from French Lick, Indiana, as Chris mentioned. But he was actually born in West Baden Springs, Indi...

We went to Rocky Point, Mexico for Fall Break (something that happens here in Arizona. We get 2 weeks off in October, and it's the best!) We opted not to travel with our 5 month old, because - it's the beach. Not the best place for a fair skinned sand eater. So, we left him with two friends of ours - neither of whom are licensed foster parents. Although one of them is in the process. But this goes...