Find the Good Mamahood

Friends, did you know that November is Foster Care and Adoption Awareness Month and National Adoption Month? A couple years ago I didn't know anything about these, or November's annual Stand Sunday observed by many American churches either. Honestly, I didn't know much about foster care at all.

All that changed when several of my friends became foster parents, and I have been on a journey to learn more and support this community ever since.

Listen in as I learn from my friend Mandi, a foster and adoptive mom who now works to support foster and adoptive families through an organization called Foster the Family. I can't wait for you to hear about the beauty and hardship weaved into foster care and Mandi's deep compassion and wisdom.

Here are some highlights: foster care 101, Mandi's experiences with 18 foster children and 4 adoptions, relationships with foster kids' biological families, and ways you can support and join the foster care community.

Mamas, you and I have a unique light to bring to the world to our children and also to other children around us. Some of them may come into our homes for a time or even stay forever. I invite you to think of the children and parents in the foster care world and consider, "How can I share this light that I have with others?"

Extra Stuff:

TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) is a “training method which offers a way to build attachment as you parent kids from hard places.” Learn more here: Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development⁠.

Foster The Family: support groups map, Foster the Family Founder Jamie Flinn @fosterthefamilyblog

Books: Foster the Family, Filled: 60 Devotions for the Foster Parent's Heart, The Connected Parent: Real Life Strategies for Building Trust and Attachment, The Connected Child: Bring Hope and Healing to your Adoptive Family, The A-Z of Therapeutic Parenting: Strategies and Solutions, Honestly Adoption: Answers to 101 Questions About Adoption and Foster Care

Podcasts: The Resilient Caregiver Podcast (Mike and Kristin Berry), The Forgotten Podcast, FTGM episode on creating meaningful traditions

Check out Project Belong, an amazing organization equipping Northern Virginia churches to support foster, adoptive, kinship and struggling biological families.

Happy holidays, friends! You're going to absolutely love this episode featuring my talk with a special family friend of mine, Mary O’Donnell. Mary's daughter is actually a good friend of mine who has inherited her gift for making people feel at home. I absolutely loved being at their house when I was younger, and counted it as a second home. And I wasn't alone - dozens of people from different ages and stages found refuge and even a long-term home with Mary and her family.

Listen in as we discuss Mary's international upbringing, how the art of welcome became a major part of her life, stories from her famously full house, and essential elements to communicating genuine care to the people who enter your life and your threshold. I know I’ll be reflecting on this conversation for a while to come. It’s easy to let excuses like not having the perfect home or the perfect time prevent us from inviting others in, but often that's not where we start.

I hope this episode encourages you (as it has for me!) to invite others into wherever you are and to share whatever you have this holiday season and new year.

As Mary said, "It was all worth it; it was all wonderful because we were sowing care into different people’s lives."

Extra Stuff:

This is my church's sermon series on the early Christian church's culture of deep care and connection which I highly recommend:

https://www.newcityfellowship.net/sermonlist/tag/acts

Welcome to episode #23 where my friend Rachel shares with us her deeply trying mama journey, one of infertility and in vitro fertilization (IVF). *Trigger warning: Our conversation does include the IVF process and miscarriage.*

After giving a great IVF 101, Rachel shares the physical and emotional difficulties she faced along the way. I appreciated hearing what was helpful and unhelpful for her, from resources to interactions with friends and family to Bible verses. As an outsider to the world of IVF, I got a glimpse of what it's like to go through infertility and how we can come alongside loved ones who are in the process of receiving fertility treatments. It is an honor to be able to share Rachel's (and little Mylo's!) story with you.

(Note: Occasional shrieks and squawks courtesy of Lyla, my almost 1-year old baby girl who co-hosted her first episode with me!)

Extra Stuff:

Here are the fertility treatment grants Rachel mentioned:

https://giftofparenthood.org/grant-giveaways/

https://www.hopeforfertility.org/

https://starfishinfertilityfoundation.org/

Here is the Shady Grove Fertility website: https://www.shadygrovefertility.com/.

These are the Youtube couple channels Rachel followed:

https://www.youtube.com/@RachelleandJustin

https://www.youtube.com/@PhilandAlex

These are the Bible verses that got Rachel through difficult times:

Matthew 19:26, "But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Philippians 4:6-7, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Check out Rachel’s personal Instagram account to watch her in-depth IVF journey highlight and to connect with her: @ralzajohnson.

This episode is near and dear to my heart since the topic is a huge part of our family and one of my major focuses as a mom: fostering bilingualism in our children! My friend Kaila is both an expert in this field and also a fellow mama raising a bilingual child. She shares some incredibly helpful advice, stories and frameworks to guide and inspire you in your journeys.

Although we reference raising bilingual Spanish-English-speaking kids specifically, we also discuss many super helpful strategies and tidbits that apply to any bilingual family. I loved learning lots of ways we can cultivate a love for our target languages in our kids: "Link it to things that are fun: play and people." While it is ultimately their choice to embrace it or not, we can lay a foundation and show them how the language is beautiful, meaningful and worth embracing.

Kaila reminded us there are many family language plans, even more than you typically find online. You can customize a language plan that’s just right for your family “that is attainable and sustainable.” Each family is unique, so don’t compare your bilingual journey to others. Any bilingual exposure you can give your little ones is a gift!

This episode is packed with top-notch content, so here are some time markers to guide you as you listen:

* 1:37 - Kaila's bio

* 11:30 - linking language learning to fun

* 15:15 - the importance of how we present target language (not shaming or forcing them)

* 18:08 - the evolution of my family's Family Language Plan

* 20:50 - strategies for encouraging kids to respond back in target language (not just listening and understanding)

* 33:29 - tips for parents starting a bilingual journey

* 36:56 - what to do if kids become indifferent or resistant to target language

* 38:23 - the danger of shaming and the power of positive feedback

* 41:51 - how to introduce early academic concepts

* 43:05 - the importance of teaching safety terms in majority language

* 46:22 - mention of several of the resources listed below

* 47:31 - encouragement for bilingual parents

Extra Stuff:

Here is Kaila's podcast (a great place to start, especially if you're new to this topic!): Bilingual Parenting Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bilingual-parenting-podcast/id1456193421)

You can find Kaila's company, Bilingüitos, at @bilinguitos on Instagram or the following website link for Spanish language immersion programs, playgroups, and online resources: https://bilinguitos.com/

This is Kaila's freebie! Ten methods of bilingual parenting with benefits & obstacles: ⁠https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TyVDvkNcUB-d92rvzgqafrq0sSRr6IIF/view?usp=drive_link⁠ 

MamaLlamaLinguist has free song playlists and fun printables: https://mamallamalinguist.com/

Here is the free virtual Spanish storytime I mentioned: @msroxanaspanish (Instagram) and https://www.facebook.com/MsRoxanaSpanish/

Viva Kids Bookstore: https://viva-kids-tiendita.myshopify.com/ 

Here is the book Kaila recommended: The Bilingual Edge (https://www.amazon.com/Bilingual-Edge-Teach-Second-Language/dp/0061246565)

Wow, I am so grateful to be sharing my conversation with my friend (and former landlord!) Stacey about parenting teens. Yep, she confirms those years can often be tough and trying. But she also shares the beauty that can be found in this raw and real stage of kids' lives and some rock solid practical advice on walking with them as they grow in independence.

I'll share some bytes to summarize and also whet your listener's appetite: Take a long-term view especially in hard seasons. Listen often. Keep lines of communication open even through conflicts. "You have to take the initiative sometimes… I think that’s our job as parents, to be the one that takes the initiative.” Show interest in their interests. Share your struggles and what you’re learning. “Normalize the fact that we all go through difficult things… but you’re never going to be alone, we’ll always be here for you.” Have a battle plan to prepare them for the worlds of technology and social media. Reinforce your love even when they push you away. “There will always be a safe place for them to come.”

Extra Stuff:

Here is my podcast episode I mentioned about creating family traditions: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/episode/5n2bik0GcUKltMR6CAvWw1?si=c319bbf12f0a40af

These are the Bible verses Stacey shared on the topics of persistently asking God for help and waiting for change to come: Luke 18:1-8, Lamentations 3:26.