Beauty Is Rising

In this series Bethany shares about her families intentional slow rhythms.  She talks about how not only does it create a opportunity for deeper connection but she also shares how she has seen her children really thrive.  Bethany and her husband really choose this way of living for their family, being gatekeepers of the things that take up their time and commitments before they even had children.  During this time of Quarantine their everyday lives do not look much different.  We all have a lot to learn about this season of less busy and Bethany shares why.     

In this Episode Kelli talks with Trans-racial Adoptee Hannah Matthews.  They explore the challenges of what it was like for Hannah to be black but raised in a white family.  Hannah challenges adoptive parents to put the needs of their children first when it comes to racial mirrors and offers a unique perspective for adoptive parents to get a glimpse of the challenges their children might be facing.

Connect with Hannah and her resources:

Cameron Lee Small, trans-racially adopted from Korea, is a licensed clinical counselor.  He is the face behind Therapy Redeemed and provides all his services online.  

Cam and I talk about his personal experience with adoption, his relationship with his adoptive mom and where that attachment began.  Cam is open about his struggle with loss of his birth culture and how his faith has empowered him to hope. 

My favorite part about our conversation is the empowerment and grace Cam offers to adoptive parents to be authentic in their connection to their adopted child.  He emphasizes that there are no checklists to what to say as a one size fits all but parents can recognize the values and characteristics of their own families to figure out what is best.  

He makes a strong case for destigmatizing counseling.  His online resources provide honest feedback, engagement, and support for adoptees and adoptive parents.  

Connect with Cam:

Instagram: @therapyredeemed

Website: Therapy Redeemedevery part of the adoption triad.  

Adoptee Workbooks

Online Workshop for Adoptive Parents: Campfire Workshop

Christa is a wife, mom through international adoption, total coffee snob, Disney obsessed, and believes most life lessons can be learned from Mary Poppins. She and her husband are both former social workers turned writers, and she’s doing all the things she said she never would like homeschooling, eating gluten and dairy free, and using essential oils like a total hippie.

Christa is the author of the workbook Before You Adopt: A Guide To The Questions You Should Be Asking, and is passionate about sharing the joy and pain of adoption and foster care.

She believes in sharing authentically, thinking holistically, and is a total introvert and processor through words. A born and raised Texan, she’ll never say no chips and salsa and will always pay extra for guac.

You can find her pouring more coffee and sharing spoonfuls of her life on

 Instagram

and going deeper on her blog at Spoonful of Jordan

Check out and share Christa's resource Before You Adopt.

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This week on Beauty Is Rising, Kelli speaks with Lindsay Leiviska.

Lindsay is a Christian wife, mom of three and an educator with a Masters degree in Teaching. She has been working with children for over 20+ years in a variety of capacities and has been homeschooling for almost 10 years.

Lindsay has served as a Large Group Communicator in Children’s Ministry for almost 15 years now and also has served in many other ministry roles leading & serving women in various groups including in MOPS Intl and Community Bible Study, Intl.

Six years ago, Lindsay and her husband adopted a newborn baby boy. The adoption of their son and his transition into their family radically changed their life. It is the painful journey of the past 6 years that has led Lindsay to start her organization, A Heart For All Students.

Lindsay is on a mission to empower the amazing children who think and process the world differently by equipping the mommas who raise them. She believes that God has created every child with gifts, passions and purpose. She longs to change the narrative of parenting & education so that these children can thrive as the people God has created them to be.

To learn more about Lindsay and her advocacy, please visit her website here.

Or to get in touch with Lindsay, please reach out to her via:

Facebook 

Instagram

Pinterest

This week on Beauty Is Rising, Kelli speaks with Astrid Castro. 

Astrid has a degree in sociology with an emphasis in adoption. For twenty plus years, she has traveled the country to lead youth groups, present workshops on transracial parenting, talking with children about adoption and various other workshops focusing on adoption. Prior to creating Adoption Mosaic, Astrid worked in both the private and public sectors of various adoption organizations such the Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (ORPARC), Holt International, Rocky Mountain Adoption Exchange to name just a few.

Astrid co-authored Adoption in the Movies, which takes the reader on a guided tour of 27 movies and documentaries that are ‘dripping with adoption’ asking questions that encourage the viewer to engage in ongoing dialogue and discussion. She also developed an innovative, evidence-based, 27-minute training DVD titled, Adoptive Parent Training: Developing Communication Skills. The training demonstrates how adoptive parents can communicate openly and honestly with family, friends and especially children.

Astrid’s personal experiences as an adoptee, a woman of color, and growing up in a white family and community, fuel her professional path to helping others. Astrid is aware of the benefits of post-adoption services for individuals and their families and seeks to bring these services to the adoption community. Her life-long interest in adoption is rooted in her own adoption at the age of four from Colombia (along with her older sister). Astrid has been in reunion since December 2012 with her birth family in Colombia. Read the Oregonian article on Astrid!

When Astrid is not working she loves to spend time with family, friends and enjoying the adventures of life as the mama of an amazing teenage daughter.

If you enjoyed this episode, please take the time to visit her website here

or to get in touch with Astrid, please reach out to her via e-mail: [email protected]

CONNECT WITH KELLI

Kelli’s Website

Instagram

This week on Beauty Is Rising, Kelli speaks with Michelle Madrid-Branch.

Michelle is an author, speaker, international adoptee, and global advocate for women and children; specializing in the areas of adoption, foster care, abandonment recovery, and identity reconciliation. Her mission is to ensure that the adoption community is heard, seen, valued, respected, and understood.  She is also the Host of The Greater Than Podcast. 

She has been referred to as a “world-wide voice on adoption” by Adoption Australia. Michelle never steps down when it’s time to speak up on behalf of others, and does so with a natural poise, genuine curiosity, and deep respect for whomever is in front of her. Her international upbringing allows her to feel at home anywhere in the world. With a shared passion for adventure and service, Michelle and her family live and travel worldwide.

According to her, adoption has touched every part of her life. She relays,”As an adoptee, I think it's important to understand that adoption is a life-long journey. Adoptive parents really need to understand this. There will be many twists and turns along the journey, for their child, many entries and exits and it's vital that children of adoption feel supported and safe to share their feelings and ask their questions”. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please check out her website here!

Or to get in touch with Michelle, you may reach out to her on Instagram here.

This week on Beauty Is Rising, Kelli speaks with Monique Scrip. 

Monique is a wife and adoptive mom of three boys. Having adopted 3 boys from foster care, she says her kids have been a blessing to that is far more than she could ever bless them. They allow her to see Jesus through them every day. 

Monique is a certified Enneagram coach and owner of Monique Scrip Coaching. On her day job, she helps people become the best version of themselves by uncovering the roadblocks that are holding them back. She makes mistakes as a mom daily but tries to put one foot in front of the other and hopes of leaving a legacy for her family.

If you enjoyed this episode, you may go ahead and check her website, or follow her on Instagram, and get in touch on Facebook.

You may also want to invest in her services as an Enneagram coach as she offers consultations for $27, however if you mention that you heard about her from the Beauty is Rising podcast, Monique will provide the consultation for free!

This week on Beauty Is Rising, Kelli speaks with Karissa Barber. 

Karissa is an award-winning professional actress, emcee and playwright. She married her college sweetheart and they celebrated their 15th year of marriage recently. They live in Central Florida with their 4 children. On her Instagram account, she shares about sustainable fashion, her theatre endeavors, and parenting. A nacho lover and book reader, laughter is her hobby and The Office is always on repeat.

As a transracial adoptive parent, Karissa is passionate about racial reconciliation and encouraging parents who choose to adopt outside of their race to fully-learn, engage, and advocate for the race, ethnicity and culture of their adopted child. 

If you enjoyed this episode, please check out her website here and follow her on Instagram!

This week on Beauty is Rising, Kelli speaks with Melissa Smallwood. 

Melissa is a foster/adoption advocate, wife to Mike, mom to seven children, five of whom have been part of their family through adoption or foster care.

Using her professional experience, time in foster care as a child and over 20 years of being an adoptive parent, Melissa offers support and encouragement to foster and adoptive moms through an online support group and coaching services. 

She likes to instill in fellow foster and adoptive parents the belief that it is not our job to fix our child, nor look at them as a project. Rather, our job is to love our child the way they deserve to be loved, no matter what is going on.

Learn more by visiting MelissaSmallwood.com  on FB @melissasmallwoodwriter, instagram: @melissasmallwood