Fostering Voices Podcast

Season 2 of the Fostering Voices Podcast is here! Back after a 5 week hiatus, we are pumped for a brand new season!

In this episode we talk about our summer, and the movie Lion, and the book Essentialism.

Tune in for our thoughts on issues surrounding adoption, as well as trying to live with less.

Happy Father's Day weekend! And happy Episode 20! This episode is dedicated to Chris, the father of my children and the man of my dreams. You are such a great father, husband, and human, and I am very thankful for you! And to all the dads out there listening - thanks for all that you do, to raise this next generation to be full of awesome little humans. I believe the thing that sets great dads apart from bad ones is a spirit of humility, and not of pride. The best dads are the ones who meet their kids where they are, and try to get on the same level as them. They are also fun dad, who have great friends, and relationships with those around them.

Show Notes

This is a short episode, so the only foster related note I have is about AASK, a great agency that allows you a little more flexibility if you are interested in becoming a respite provider. You can learn more here. Let's also be mindful of the battles that out foster and adoptive kids may be going through during this celebration weekend. They may be feeling hurt or resentful or angry towards their bio dads, and not feeling up to celebrating their adoptive or foster dads. Giving them a voice, and allowing them to talk about those feelings, will help them to trust you and love you more, and celebrate you more in the long run. So give them time and space to process, and support them in their struggles.

The Good Word of the Day A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. God sets the lonely in families, he leads out the prisoners with singing; Psalm 68: 5-6

God is the best of all the dads, as he has set the example of being a father who meets his kids where they are - He sent Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners. We need to make sure that we ever lose sight of how incredible that truly is. God also cares for the fatherless, and he sets them in families, and I have seen him do this over and over and over again. We are thankful he did this for us, as we cannot imagine life without our sweet Wesley boy.

This episode is for all the awesome dads out there. It isn't easy to work hard, play hard, and love well, and have a spirit of humility, but so many of you dads out there do that every day! So Happy Father's Day to all you rad dads out there.

Today's episode is a special treat my friends! I am joined by Kim Vehon, a former foster mom, and current adoptive mom and bio mom to 7 kids. This woman is a serious piece of work who dreams big, but also is able to make those dreams into reality as well. She also happens to be the founder and CEO of Foster Arizona. Their mission statement is educating, encouraging, and empowering Arizonans to get involved in Arizona's foster care crisis, and they do this in so many amazing ways. I have been fortunate enough to be able to volunteer at one of their events this year, where we went to the Science Center with hundreds of kids from group homes, and just spent a few hours with them, letting them remember what it's like to be a kid. They are always looking for more volunteers! The event I went to was a Kid Connection events. With school coming up, Foster Arizona is teaming up with Cornerstone Church, and it's their huge Kid Ready Event, and they are in need of hair stylists, and families to come and serve and join these deserving youth in need. Something to look for in the future is the Foster Cooperative - a portal for foster families, professionals, etc., to find resources and to connect. And my personal favorite thing that FA is doing right now is 'Keys to Success', a program that allows aged out teens to have an affordable apartment to live in , where they will be able to learn valuable life skills to become successful adults.

Connect with Foster Arizona

Their Website On Facebook On Instagram And you can find Kim on Facebook!

In this episode, we mentioned:

Arizona Children's Association - one of the state's first foster care organizations. Providing a wide range of services, from licensing foster and adoptive families, to behavioral health services for kids in care. To learn more, visit https://www.arizonaschildren.org/about/ CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocates, CASA strives to ensure that society is fulfilling its most fundamental obligation to children in need. CASA trains and supports qualified, compassionate adults that will fight for and protect a child's right to be safe, to be treated with dignity and respect, and to learn and grow in the security of a loving family. To find out more, visit: http://www.azcourts.gov/CASA

The (Good) Word of the Day "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Be strong and courageous in all the you do, my friends! Whether that's raising your bio kids, foster kids, or adoptive kids. It all takes courage (and a thick skin!), but don't forget that you are not alone. We are all in this together. Friends, thanks so much for tuning in to another week of our podcast.Your continued support and encouragement help to keep us going! Don't forget to connect with us in between episodes on social media: On Facebook and on Instagram as Fostering Voices and Jihae Watson

Kim Vehon is on the podcast today, talking about her personal experiences in foster care and adoption. She has seven kids in a 6 year range. It's straight up crazy. Or 'eccentric' as she likes to say.

Kim is also the CEO of Foster Arizona, and they are doing incredible things to empower and educate others to get involved in foster care. In fact, her first two videos were part of our journey into foster care. Thanks a lot Kim. (Dripping sarcasm... JK...)

Today's Show Notes are going to be very simple and straight forward.

We answered the random question: "What was your favorite Saturday Morning Cartoon?"

Jihae said "Bo Knows", which apparently was just a commercial. What she meant was "ProStars" with Bo Jackson, Wayne Gretzky, and Michael Jordan.

Chris said Bugs Bunny, and Fraggle Rock, but his all time favorite show was "Saved By The Bell". And his new current obsession is Zach Morris is Trash.

So, our FIVE TIPS:

- HEDGES. We read this book and it was fantastic. You should read it too. Some examples in the book may seem extreme, but we think marriage is worth taking the extra steps to protect it and make it the best and strongest that it can be.

- Pray together. Every night.

- Invest in your marriage - with time and money. This is a daily task, which will make the date nights, and vacations that much more exciting and wonderful. We shell out a good amount of $ for date nights. So don't think that just because you don't have free babysitters around, you can't go out. And remember, you just need a responsible and wonderful 18+ year old to watch your foster kids. You don't have to find other licensed people to watch your foster babes.

- This great book, Boundaries, talks about Togetherness and Separateness. This point is fantastic, and you and your spouse might need to see how you guys divvy up those points. This is hardest for stay-at-home moms I think, but even more necessary then, to figure out.

- And finally, cheer each other on! Be each other's greatest cheerleaders.

The Good Word of the Day:

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of 3 stands is not quickly broken." -Ecclesiastes 4:12

We truly believe that our marriage, plus Jesus, is a strong, and unstoppable force! Take the time necessary to invest in your marriage! If you are in a VERY rough season of your marriage, and you are fostering, we would advise that you stop as soon as possible. Then pause and work on your marriage, and come back healthier and stronger than ever.

Thanks for supporting our podcast (what?!? You want to leave a review on iTunes? So great!) and we will be back with another new episode next week!

We've been married for 12.5 years and we share 5 simple tips that keep us connected, communicating, and content (that's an understatement - but it started with a 'C').

This episode is choc full of talking. And laughing. And thinking. And movie talking. And being 48 minutes long, this is our longest episode to date, I believe. So today I will be with you as you finish any and every chore you possibly have to do!

Our guest this week is Eric Epperson, who is a good friend and co-worker of our friends of our hearts - Mike and Cindy Branton. Eric is in the movie making business, or in the social justice documentaries making business. His role at CIY has allowed him to make several incredible films that revolve around serious world wide issues, in glorious fashion. His films have taken him to Iraq, Ireland, India, and now - Arizona.

In hopes to immerse himself in foster care life, he stayed at our crazy house for 2 days, and met with different people for his project. And so we asked him to join us on the podcast to share about his upcoming film that should be out next year.

Eric brought up a great point that we started fostering, in response to several videos that were shown at our church. Hopefully this film about foster care will awaken something, even just conversation to start off with. As Eric puts it: "Films open our minds to what's possible."

We talked about A LOT of stuff and there were some classic quotes!

• "Allegiant - the Kmart of the Skies."
• To learn more about CIY: Christ In Youth
• Get on Amazon Prime to watch 3 of CIY Aeffect's films: Aullido, Love Costs Everything, Unseen
• To download for free: Unseenfilm.org Mental Health and Suicide film
• Primary shirts and Secondary Shirts. They are important and make you look respectable in case of emergency, or the opposite.
• CAMMIES. Not Camis. Chris mentioned that in the Marine Corps, they talked about getting your Cammies. But I was picturing them saying 'Get your spaghetti strapped tank tops/camis'. A fellow Marine texted and stood by his military brother and told me that Chris was right and I was wrong. Whatevs.
• If you have NO IDEA what Tornado we are talking about (I did not know about this tornado until I went to Joplin, 3 years ago), you can find out more here. The fact that Eric and his family (his wife hid in a basement with their 4 week old daughter!) survived that thing makes them some of the most incredible people in the world

Missouri vs Arizona

Missouri Population: 6.1 million

#of kids in foster care: 19,400 kids in care

Arizona Population: 7.2 million

# of kids in foster: 15,000

The (Good) Word of the Day

" If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father."

Philippians 2:1-11 The Message (emphasis added)

SO GOOD. Read it again my friends, and let it all soak in to your hearts and minds.

Special thanks to Eric for joining us on the podcast today. We will be praying for your journey in making this film, and we hope that it makes people move to compassion and action.

We hope you enjoyed it, and that it made you think of different ways that you can get involved in the foster care crisis that spans the entire country, and world that we live in. Wherever you are, foster kids are there too. And they need your help.

To connect with Eric:

Eric's Work Bio

Eric on Instagram

Eric on Facebook

Movies make us wonder, and dream, but sometimes they also change the way we live. Eric Epperson is making a movie, which will be more of a narrative of a fictional character who is aging out of foster care. It is set to be released next year.

Today's episode is a different, and special one. You listeners are in for a treat - it's one where there is no Jihae. So that means no hyena, high pitched laughs. Life got in the way of the podcast, but fortunately, Chris is always up for a new challenge, so he took the reins as the host of this episode, and interviewed our good friend Marc Gagnon. Marc is a great friend of ours, and he is an awesome husband, and awesome dad to two incredible girls. His youngest daughter was adopted out of foster care when she was 2 years old. This interview is insightful, and honest, and we hope you learn a lot from this episode.

Things to note:

Marc mentioned that they adopted through RISE. This is a fantastic agency to consider whether you are going to foster or adopt. Marc is also a soccer coach, and you can find him at East Valley Soccer Academy, on Instagram. He does private lessons, as well as coaching whatever teams his girls are on. Marc and his wife, Karah, are both successful bankers. I love all the different varieties of family dynamics on this podcast. You do not have to be a stay-at-home parent in order to foster or adopt.

The (Good) Word of the Day: Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall, he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us, the God of Jason is our fortress. Psalm 46:6-7

That's a good Word people! So apt for the kind of day that we had at the Watson household. Fortunately God is in control of absolutely everything. He is our fortress, and He is with us! Thanks for tuning in friends! Until next time - Bye!