Adoption Wise

Have you experienced a lot of change in your life since entering the world of foster care and/or adoption?

There is beauty in this journey, but parents are often surprised by the sense of loss. The changes may be so great that the life you once lived seems to have disappeared.

In this episode, we talk honestly about grief surrounding foster care and adoption through the lens of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross's Five Stages of Grief, plus an additional sixth stage.

Links Relevant to this episode:

5 Stage of Grief

Episode 20: The Bitter and Sweet of Foster Care Reunification with Jamie Finn

Episode 31: 7 Ways for Parents to Relieve a Stressed-Out Brain

How to join 30 Days of Hope in April

* Order Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents. 

* Join The Adoption Connection Facebook Group.

This post includes affiliate links.

Are you trying to figure out how to juggle parenting your children while also pursuing your dreams? Do you even know what your passions are anymore?

In this episode, Lisa sits down with her friend, Sharon Hujik, to talk about balancing being a mom of kids from "hard places" and a business coach. We discuss the importance of doing something that gives you joy in the midst of intense therapeutic parenting.

Links Relevant to this episode:

Connect with Sharon at her website

Connect with Sharon on Facebook

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents

The Adoption Connection Facebook group

Mentor Moments:

This week Lisa and Melissa answer the question:

"We adopted internationally from a country that doesn't keep great birth records. There may be a discrepancy in age. Is there a benefit to changing our child's age?"

Are you trying to figure out how to juggle parenting your children while also pursuing your dreams? Do you even know what your passions are anymore?

In this episode, Lisa sits down with her friend, Sharon Hujik, to talk about balancing being a mom of kids from "hard places" and a business coach. We discuss the importance of doing something that gives you joy in the midst of intense therapeutic parenting.

Links Relevant to this episode:

Connect with Sharon at her website

Connect with Sharon on Facebook

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents

The Adoption Connection Facebook group

Mentor Moments:

This week Lisa and Melissa answer the question:

"We adopted internationally from a country that doesn't keep great birth records. There may be a discrepancy in age. Is there a benefit to changing our child's age?"

 

Five Steps to Start Your First Side Hustle

Sharon loves helping women discover their gifts and she's created a free download to help you find ways to use them and bring joy to your life.

*If you're already on our email list, you automatically receive each week's download in our Quick Connection email.

Are you trying to figure out how to juggle parenting your children while also pursuing your dreams? Do you even know what your passions are anymore?

In this episode, Lisa sits down with her friend, Sharon Hujik, to talk about balancing being a mom of kids from "hard places" and a business coach. We discuss the importance of doing something that gives you joy in the midst of intense therapeutic parenting.

Links Relevant to this episode:

Connect with Sharon at her website

Connect with Sharon on Facebook

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents

The Adoption Connection Facebook group

Mentor Moments:

This week Lisa and Melissa answer the question:

"We adopted internationally from a country that doesn't keep great birth records. There may be a discrepancy in age. Is there a benefit to changing our child's age?"

*If you're already on our email list, you automatically receive each week's download in our Quick Connection email.

Are you trying to figure out how to juggle parenting your children while also pursuing your dreams? Do you even know what your passions are anymore?

In this episode, Lisa sits down with her friend, Sharon Hujik, to talk about balancing being a mom of kids from "hard places" and a business coach. We discuss the importance of doing something that gives you joy in the midst of intense therapeutic parenting.

Links Relevant to this episode:

Connect with Sharon at her website

Connect with Sharon on Facebook

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents

The Adoption Connection Facebook group

Mentor Moments:

This week Lisa and Melissa answer the question:

"We adopted internationally from a country that doesn't keep great birth records. There may be a discrepancy in age. Is there a benefit to changing our child's age?"

*If you're already on our email list, you automatically receive each week's download in our Quick Connection email.

Do you ever feel stressed-out and unable to think clearly as a parent? Do you find yourself losing your desire to connect with your kids and even manage their behaviors?

We get it because we've both parented with stressed-out brains, and it's a hard place to be.

In this episode, we talk about seven ways to give our brains what they need in order to reduce stress. Our conversation is centered around the Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Siegel and David Rock which outlines seven mental activities for optimizing our brains and well-being:

Focus Time

Play Time

Connecting Time

Physical Time

Time In

Down Time

Sleep Time

Links Relevant to this episode:

Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Siegel and David Rock

The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

The Stress-Proof Brain: Mastering Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity by Melanie Greenberg PhD

Episode #25: Regulating Through Movement and Play with Robyn Gobbel

Episode #10: Why won’t my kids just go play?!?!

Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor

Mindful Breathing App (look for the breathing timer)

How to join 30 Days of Hope in April

Order Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents. 

Join The Adoption Connection Facebook Group.

This post includes affiliate links.

Do you ever feel stressed-out and unable to think clearly as a parent? Do you find yourself losing your desire to connect with your kids and even manage their behaviors?

We get it because we've both parented with stressed-out brains, and it's a hard place to be.

In this episode, we talk about seven ways to give our brains what they need in order to reduce stress. Our conversation is centered around the Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Siegel and David Rock which outlines seven mental activities for optimizing our brains and well-being:

* Focus Time

* Play Time

* Connecting Time

* Physical Time

* Time In

* Down Time

* Sleep Time

Links Relevant to this episode:

Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Siegel and David Rock

The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

The Stress-Proof Brain: Mastering Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity by Melanie Greenberg PhD

Episode #25: Regulating Through Movement and Play with Robyn Gobbel

Episode #10: Why won’t my kids just go play?!?!

Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor

Mindful Breathing App (look for the breathing timer)

How to join 30 Days of Hope in April

* Order Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents. 

* Join The Adoption Connection Facebook Group.

This post includes affiliate links.

Do you ever feel stressed-out and unable to think clearly as a parent? Do you find yourself losing your desire to connect with your kids and even manage their behaviors?

We get it because we've both parented with stressed-out brains, and it's a hard place to be.

In this episode, we talk about seven ways to give our brains what they need in order to reduce stress. Our conversation is centered around the Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Siegel and David Rock which outlines seven mental activities for optimizing our brains and well-being:

* Focus Time

* Play Time

* Connecting Time

* Physical Time

* Time In

* Down Time

* Sleep Time

Links Relevant to this episode:

Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Siegel and David Rock

The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

The Stress-Proof Brain: Mastering Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity by Melanie Greenberg PhD

Episode #25: Regulating Through Movement and Play with Robyn Gobbel

Episode #10: Why won’t my kids just go play?!?!

Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor

Mindful Breathing App (look for the breathing timer)

How to join 30 Days of Hope in April

* Order Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents. 

* Join The Adoption Connection Facebook Group.

This post includes affiliate links.

Do you ever feel stressed-out and unable to think clearly as a parent? Do you find yourself losing your desire to connect with your kids and even manage their behaviors?

We get it because we've both parented with stressed-out brains, and it's a hard place to be.

In this episode, we talk about seven ways to give our brains what they need in order to reduce stress. Our conversation is centered around the Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Siegel and David Rock which outlines seven mental activities for optimizing our brains and well-being:

* Focus Time

* Play Time

* Connecting Time

* Physical Time

* Time In

* Down Time

* Sleep Time

Links Relevant to this episode:

Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Siegel and David Rock

The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

No-Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Dan Siegel and Tina Bryson

The Stress-Proof Brain: Mastering Your Emotional Response to Stress Using Mindfulness and Neuroplasticity by Melanie Greenberg PhD

Episode #25: Regulating Through Movement and Play with Robyn Gobbel

Episode #10: Why won’t my kids just go play?!?!

Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor

Mindful Breathing App (look for the breathing timer)

How to join 30 Days of Hope in April

* Order Faith, Hope, & Connection: A 30-Day Devotional for Adoptive and Foster Parents. 

* Join The Adoption Connection Facebook Group.

This post includes affiliate links.

Imagine a foster or adopted child relating to a horse in a way that actually helps heal his brain.

Learn how equine therapy helps children's brains heal from trauma in this fascinating interview with Reccia Jobe about a trauma-focused equine-assisted psychotherapy, Natural Lifemanship.

Links Relevant to this episode:

Pecan Creek Ranch on Facebook

Pecan Creek Ranch on Instagram

Natural Lifemanship Website

Mentor Moments:

This week Lisa and Melissa answer the question:

"What if a child might say something that would get us investigated?"