2 Adoptive Mamas

The Main Thing:

Two words that can inflict some uncertainty --- parenting teens. Even more so, is parenting teens from hard places. But here's the thing, they need us and we have so much to learn from them. For Episode 078 Abby Keiser from COBYS Family Services is joining us for Part 1 of a mini-series on parenting your teen. We're starting with the basics and then getting even more specific as we identify what it takes in the day-to-day and how it impacts the big picture. 

Whether you have a blip on the radar with a foster placement or a lifetime through adoption, these years are tough --- but we have a profound opportunity to plant a seed, lean into our faith, and help guide the way for these kiddos that we love so much. 

Episode Resources:

COBYS has access to cutting-edge training and programming to equip teens to "look after their emotional well-being" --- it's called the "Blues Program," and you've got to check it out! Click HERE to learn more.
 
2 A.M. Connect:

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

Episode 077 is one that we could listen to over and over again. Ashley Mitchell is one of a kind. She's brought her heart, passion, and determination to tackle the tough stuff for this conversation and we're so thankful for it. Ashley is a birth mom, bio mom, wife, advocate, and so much more. Her story brings light to the parts of adoption that make us uncomfortable, and that's precisely why we invited her to be on the show.  

Take in her words, let this conversation settle in your soul, and allow it to challenge your thinking and what it means for you in your own foster or adoption journey. There is a lot of tough stuff to tackle, but Ashley takes the high-level complexities and brings it to a place where we can sit in the muck together with hope for the future and the children who we love so much.

Episode Resources:

Post-placement care for birth moms is essential, yet not universally accessible. Visit lifetimehealingfoundation.org for information and resources designed for birth moms on their journey of trauma and healing.
 
2 A.M. Connect:

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

Heidi Glick is so full of heart, and our conversation with her is like a warm hug from a fellow adoptive mama who has been in the trenches and holds so much hope for the future. She’s opening up about her family’s journey through adoption and embracing the promise of hope we have in Jesus amidst the heartbreak that accompanies any adoption journey. 

In addition to her personal story, for the first time we’re talking about ethical adoption, care for birth families, and what it looks like to navigate openness in an adoption relationship. Heidi’s honesty and compassion is refreshing, and we’re so thankful for her willingness to share with our listeners!

Episode Resources:

 We have a new resource page! It's prettier, easier to navigate, and has easy-access links so you can quickly add to your library while also supporting the Two Adoptive Mamas Podcast. Check it out HERE.
 
2 A.M. Connect:

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

We first welcomed Chelsea Sobolik during Season 2 to talk about her work in advocating for families at our nation’s capital. Her personal story of adoption, journey to international adoption with her husband, and her professional work allow Chelsea to share one-of-a-kind insight. During our conversation Chelsea addresses high-level matters in a way that meets us in our day-to-day and reminds us there is a role for everyone to play. She’s sharing some recent personal highlights, a book update, and joins us as we take a closer look at advocacy, policy, and what it means to live in a post Roe v. Wade world. Her compassion, faith in Jesus, and commitment to caring for families is unmatched, and we’re so grateful to have her joining us for another episode!

Episode Resources:

We love Chelsea's book, Longing for Motherhood. Check it out on our 2 Adoptive Mamas favorite book list!

2 A.M. Connect:

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

These stories are hard to share. They open wounds, challenge our faith, and test our hearts. There is nothing simple, easy, or brief when it comes to adoption and foster care. There is beauty and brokenness ---- healing and grief ---- and together we hold it all with the hopes that we can remain centered on one thing. Our heart for Him and our love for them. The children who need us most, and the stories that brought us together. The opportunity to reunify families, and the sacrifice and commitment it takes to make it happen. These stories are hard to share.

You might recognize Melinda from Season 2. She shared her heart and her family's experience as they welcomed their first foster placement --- a baby girl. For Episode 074 we have the honor and privilege of welcoming back Melinda along with Lindy. Together they have navigated difficult waters to be in a place where they can stand united in their love for a little girl who brought their families together. They're opening their hearts and sharing their story of reunification and openness in foster care. It's with humility and sincere gratitude that we share their story with you!

Episode Resources:

Looking for your next read? Click HERE to access our new and improved resource page!

2 A.M. Connect: 

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

They're the silent heroes behind the podcast, supporting us since day one and every step of the way. They're our other halves and have walked the joyful, painful, everyday moments with us. They're our beloved husbands, and they're taking over the podcast! We thought it was time for the dads to have a voice and bring their insight to the table. When Dan and Drew agreed to take over the show for a few episodes this season, we were thrilled!

So --- time to hand over the ear-buds to your partner in crime (or tune in yourself!) because the Dads are taking a deep dive into their shadow feelings, how they're finding community, and why moms AND dads need to talk about the "tough stuff" too. Enjoy!

Episode Resources:

This is one of our favorite reads as a family, check it out HERE!

2 A.M. Connect: 

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

This episode is terrific. That might sound very self-promoting, but it has nothing to do with us and EVERYTHING to do with Raquel's heart for adoption, kinship care, and transforming lives and families with her message. She is fantastic and joins us for a deep dive into shadow feelings, kinship care, and life as an adoptee and a birth mom. During our conversation, Raquel opens up about healthy boundaries, how to preserve your family's story, and what it looks like to thrive amidst kinship care. She's the real deal and so eloquently shares her heart and passion to equip families facing similar challenges.

Episode Resources:

Check out one of Racquel's books HERE - a great addition to your library!

2 A.M. Connect: 

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

There's nothing like a good book! But what about when you're looking for one to help tell your family's story, and you just can't seem to find the right narrative? Adoption is beautiful, messy, hard, complicated --- difficult to put into an appropriate amount of pages that won't take days to read.  But we're in luck! For Episode 071 we're hanging out with Allison Olson. She's an adoptee, adoptive mom, and now the author of the children's book, Surrounded By Love: An Open Adoption Story.

During our time together we had the privilege of learning more about her connection to the adoption community and how that not only inspired her book but the narrative she wants to help facilitate for so many families. She's fun, real, encouraging, and just the kind of friend you'd want to add to your book club!

Episode Resources:

Get your copy of Surrounded By Love  HERE.  For more with Allison, you can follow her on Instagram [@kidsbooksbyallisonolson].

2 A.M. Connect: 

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

Sometimes it's difficult to articulate the challenges we face as foster and adoptive parents. As we navigate the needs of our children, our own feelings, emotions, and needs often fall to the wayside and when we finally come up for air we might find ourselves feeling disconnected and deflated by our circumstances.

If this sounds familiar to you, you may be experiencing something called "blocked care." Experts Melissa and Lisa are joining us from The Adoption Connection to take a closer look at blocked care and how we can overcome it. Their professional and personal experiences, coupled with their heart to care for families through community, made for such a rich discussion for Episode 070!

Episode Resources:

Melissa and Lisa are gifting a link to get their video training for FREE to all our listeners!

Click HERE for access!

For more about The Adoption Connection, you can find them on Instagram (@postadoptionresources) or at www.theadoptionconnection.com.

2 A.M. Connect: 

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show

The Main Thing:

Can you believe it?! Season 4 is HERE! It's been 68 episodes since we introduced ourselves, so we figured for Episode 069 (and for all the new listeners!) we'd take a step back into our stories, our shadow feelings, and how we ended up in this space together.

Since day one, we have remained committed to creating a community centered around love, trust, and respect for the experience and opportunities that have made us families. Our children are precious, and their stories belong to them. However, we are making the space to acknowledge our journey to becoming mamas and the joy and challenges that have come with that privileged role. Wherever you are in your adoption journey, it is okay to feel what you feel, find a safe space to say what you need to say, and at the end of the day (or really any part of it), bring it all to Jesus.

Thanks for being here with us. We're honored to kick off Season 4 and grateful for the opportunity to share with you!

Episode Resources:

We have a new resource page! It's prettier, easier to navigate, and has easy-access links so you can quickly add to your library while also supporting the Two Adoptive Mamas Podcast. Check it out HERE.

2 A.M. Connect: 

If you enjoyed today’s episode, or know someone who could benefit from our show, the best thing you can do is leave us a rating and review wherever you listen to your podcasts. We’re grateful to host the Two Adoptive Mamas podcast for a fourth season!

Learn more about how you can support our ongoing work through our Patreon HERE.  As always, it’s been fun! Until we meet again, remember, you’ve got this mama.

Support the show