Thriving Adoptees - Let's Thrive

 Jenna feels blessed and is thankful that she was adopted and this really comes across as she shares her insights as an adoptee, someone who's worked in adoption since 1994 and adopted in 2013. She and her husband also have four biological sons.

Here's what Jenna says:

"I have always had a heart for adoption. As an adoptee and an adoptive parent, I know the blessing that adoption has been in my life. I love helping families experience that same blessing with their adoption journeys. I've been involved in the adoption field since 1994,and my work experience has included birth mother counseling, completion of home studies for both domestic and international adoption, and adoption education. Currently, I enjoy my role as Director of American Adoptions of Texas. I earned my Bachelor's in Psychology from Abilene Christian University and my Master's in Social Work from the University of Texas at Arlington. I have my LMSW with Independent Practice Recognition and my Licensed Child Placing Agency Administrator license. My husband and I have four sons and a daughter."

To connect with Jenna visit

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenna-howard-4bb9a4b2/

American Adoptions is currently one of the largest domestic adoption agencies of its kind in the United States, completing more than 300 domestic adoptions per year. They are a fully licensed, non-profit domestic adoption agency that works with both pregnant women and adoptive families across the nation.

For more about her agency visit

https://www.americanadoptions.com/

https://www.facebook.com/americanadoptions

https://twitter.com/adoptions

https://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanAdoptions

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

When I came across the Parra family on Youtube I just had to get them on the show. Their kids exude the kind of positivity that warms my heart in a world where most of what we hear is talk about trauma. 

Jenny and Cesar share the story behind their family - a biological daughter, a son from a private domestic adoption and a boy and girl from the adoption system. They talk about giving their kids the  support and understanding of who they are so they have the positivity and confidence to give them the best shot at life.

I hope you enjoy listening to the show as much I loved meeting this incredible couple.

You can find out more about them at:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/ourfamilyvine/

https://linktr.ee/ourfamilyvine

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwW80aaR1-BgTcIeVnAkXFQ

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Jason and his wife Trisha first gained a passion for children in foster care while living and working in the inner city.  Many of the kids and families they encountered in their neighborhood had experienced foster care at some point in their lives.  Partially as a result of this experience, Jason and Trisha became foster parents and have been caring for and adopting children from U.S. foster care since 2001. They have had the privilege of adopting their five children from foster care. 

Jason has helped to produce and write several books, bible studies, and other tools all created to serve the Church as it cares for hurting kids.  He eagerly anticipates the day when God, through his Church, provides more than enough for kids and families in foster care.   Jason serves as the National Director of Foster Care Initiatives for the Christian Alliance for Orphans and currently lives in Plano, Texas. 

The Christian Alliance for Orphans unites 190+ respected organizations and over 650 church members.  Our joint initiatives inspire and equip Christians to live out effectively the Bible’s call to care for orphans and vulnerable children.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-weber-2696233b/

https://twitter.com/OrphanAlliance

https://www.facebook.com/ChristianAllianceforOrphans

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7H96krBO57bDauTCHMQXxg

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Karl created Adopt Ed. to educate those who know an adoptee, adoptees and biological families who have an adopted child in the world.

Here's what he says about himself

"I am an adoptee. I lived my life dealing with the usual ups and downs that everyone faces; hopes and dreams, some met, some lost. I had a good a life. I knew I was adopted, but never thought it had much impact on my life. I was (and am) grateful to have been adopted by such a great family. 

Then, in 2009 I began to research adoption for a reason entirely unrelated to my own. I opened Pandora’s box. I didn’t realize that my lifetime of insecurity, fear of being rejected and inability to fully connect in relationships was because I was adopted.

 Let’s be clear, it wasn’t being adopted, it was being relinquished for adoption that caused the wound I didn’t know I needed to heal. After shifting gears, completing my Master’s Degree in Adoption Studies and a lot of therapeutic work, I wondered, “Why didn’t I know any of this?” 

I committed myself and my new profession as a Post-Adoption Specialist to helping families like mine, people like me and adoptive parents get the answers to questions they didn’t know they needed to ask."

For more Karl and to connect with him:

https://www.adopt-ed.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karl-stenske-020559b/

https://www.facebook.com/Karl-Stenske-Post-Adoption-Specialist-419370648157725

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

With the age of 60 on the horizon filmmaker David Bynum set out on a journey of discovery to find his biological family. After 58 years of not knowing where his true roots were or any family history, the need to search became overpowering and prompted him to begin his journey.

He shares his incredible story from a happy childhood knowing about being adopted to an overwhelming fear of rejection in his search for his birth parents to resolution.

For more about David 

https://fromaplaceoflovefilm.com/

https://twitter.com/coachbynum77?lang=en

https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bynum-0185642a

https://www.facebook.com/fromplaceoflovefilm/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BmMaQa1cY5g

https://www.instagram.com/fromaplaceoflovefilm/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Having worked with young people for over 25 years, Ruth has extensive experience in developing services to support young people who have had challenging backgrounds. She is passionate about young people benefitting from services to help them grow into adulthood and sees stable families as a key way to encourage them to reach their potential.

Families for Children Trust is a Specialist Voluntary Adoption Agency and charitable trust based in the South West of the UK.

Families for Children believe that the best place for a child to grow is with their birth families. However where this is not possible we endeavour to find new adoptive families who can offer them a stable and loving home.

For more about Ruth and her agency visit:

https://www.facebook.com/familiesforchildrenadoption

https://twitter.com/FFCAdoption

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp7yELL80kezTL6SURH1oRQ

https://familiesforchildren.org.uk/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Political turmoil stirred Jennifer to move away from her corporate role to do something to help society. This led her her into fostering and then advocacy.

She has been a foster parent for over 2 years. She currently has two children and is committed to creating efficiencies in the foster care system that allow to children to regain permanency, support relationships, and break the generational cycle of foster care.

Fostering The Community's Mission:

With the belief that children in our foster care system deserve the hope of a better tomorrow and that our community needs interventions that help break the generation cycle of foster care in families, we strive to be the leaders that will influence that change.

Fostering The Community exists to:

• Drive legislation, policy, and practices so that promote the current well-being and future security of children in the Connecticut foster care system.
• Educate and ignites the citizens of Connecticut in regards the community support needed for creating safe homes for children
• Recruit new foster parents.

More at:

https://www.fosteringthecommunity.org/

Connect with Jennifer at

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferfell27/#

https://www.facebook.com/Fostering-The-Community-111115277437877/

https://www.instagram.com/fosteringthecommunity/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Alex Ellis hosts a Nashville podcast community focused on supporting and discussing foster care, adoption and all things parenting - even the sticky stuff. She's passionate about sharing what she's learned through her parenting journey - and continues to learn - with others.

Listen in about coming from love, choosing who to listen to, staying curious and most importantly how we can help our adopted children see how special they are. It's all about curiosity, overcoming some of our own stuff and moving forward so our children have the very best lives they can.

You can listen to Alex's podcast here

https://www.spreaker.com/show/barely-braided

You can listen to Alex interviewing me here

https://www.spreaker.com/user/11933338/barely-braided-ep-27-edit-1

And connect with Alex here 

https://www.facebook.com/barelybraidedpodcast/

https://www.instagram.com/BarelyBraidedPodcast/

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

Satwinder is CEO of IAC – The Centre for Adoption. IAC’s mission is to place children from all parts of the world, both in the UK and overseas, in loving families and to work in a fair, transparent and professional manner with all individuals who need their services.

He is a qualified social worker with 26 years experience across the voluntary, statutory and independent sectors. Satwinder’s passion for a better future for all children is clear as  he shares what he's learned about helping adoptees navigate the ups and downs of life.

For more about his organisation  visit https://www.icacentre.org.uk/

To connect with Satwinder on social media 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/satwinder-sandhu-2192126b/?originalSubdomain=uk

https://www.instagram.com/satsandhu/?hl=en

https://mobile.twitter.com/SatSandhu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ0esYyBfJw

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.

When adoptees talk about the fog they're describing being unaware of the impact being adopted or relinquished has had on them.

If that's the case then I was in the fog for 40 years.

I was adopted at 5 weeks old, told about with the aid of a story book before my parents adopted a little girl before my second birthday.

We had a good life, lots of love and care. A good adoption.

At 40 I found out that my childhood teddy bear was a gift from my birth mother. My first reaction was curiosity. Sharing this story 4 months later, I flew into a fit of rage directed towards my birth mother.

Since then I've been trying to figure out how to be happy. 

Along the way I stumbled across this thing called fog.

My conclusion?

Fog isn't what most people think it is.

I share what I've learned about fog here.

Guests and the host are not (unless mentioned) licensed pscyho-therapists and speak from their own opinion only. Seek qualified advice if you need help.