Category Archives: Random

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How Families Can Eliminate Debt And Save More Money.

The Honestly Adoption Podcast - Season 9, Episode 79

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Stressed out about finances again?  Wish you could save more money and eliminate debt?  Is that even possible for families who have many children and are in debt from adoption, cars, or other major expenses?

Welcome Back!  We are kicking off Season 9 of the Honestly Adoption Podcast with an incredible episode! Brian and Cherie Lowe join our hosts, Mike and Kristin Berry, to talk about why eliminating debt can help bring peace to your home, your heart, and your marriage and share some practical strategies for how you can do this even in a large foster or adoptive family.

Listen Now:

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We’re Proud Of Our High School Daughter For “Walking Out” And Here’s Why:

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There’s so much debate and fighting going on over Walking Out versus Walking Up. And, there are many who feel that high school students who walk out of class in silent protest and support for the victims of the Parkland, Florida shooting, are wrong for doing so. Here’s what we think…

We’re proud of our daughter for standing up, and walking out with her classmates this past Wednesday.

We’re proud that she didn’t hesitate to do what we’ve raised her to do: stand for a worthy cause. Stand for injustice. Stand to make a difference in this world. Stand for something that directly impacts her and the world around her.

She walked out to take a stand for a worthy cause.

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How To Love A Child Who Won’t Love You Back

The Honestly Adoption Podcast- Season 8, Episode 77

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As we continue to produce new content for Honestly Adoption, we wanted to share another Encore Podcast episode from Season 2. In this episode we discuss practical insights to parenting children who constantly push you away.

That first real hug. Hearing “I love you mom,” and knowing she means it. Watching him participate peacefully with the rest of your family. Having her not melt down when dad puts a gentle hand on her shoulder to guide her on an afternoon walk through the neighborhood.

Listen to the podcast.

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How To Take Better Care Of You In The New Year.

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You’ll often hear us say that self-care isn’t selfish, and self-care isn’t hard. In fact, it’s quite simple. Our community manager, Michelle McKinney (who went to college for fitness), and is now on the adoption journey, breaks it down for us…

It’s January. You might be saying, “Ugh.” Or you might be saying, “Praise Jesus!” All depends on what happened the previous year to either give you hope for moving on or angst of the inevitable. For adoptive parents, it’s probably both. We feel hope because our kids are older and maturing. But then there’s the fact that they are older and maturing…bringing bigger, more life-altering consequences. If you’re like me, because of the above struggle, I rarely if ever make the common New Year’s resolutions. Honestly, I don’t have time for that silliness. I only have time to survive is what I usually think.

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Could You Help Us Improve In 2018?

Take our 2018 reader survey today!

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We are always striving to make Confessions Of An Adoptive Parent a better blog that helps you on your journey. That’s why we greatly value your opinion and feedback. Could you help us out by filling out our 2018 reader survey? It takes about 10 minutes to complete…

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I’d love to help! Take me to the survey.

Two-thousand-seventeen was an amazing year with many new milestones and accomplishments. We traveled to more than 30 states around the country speaking to foster and adoptive parenting groups, our podcast, The Honestly Adoption Podcast averaged over 12,000 downloads a month, and our monthly readership grew from 75,000 to more than 100,000 readers a month.

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6 Things We’re Thankful For This Thanksgiving

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As our family reflects on this year’s Thanksgiving holiday, we have so much to be thankful for. Through the ups and downs of this past year, we stand amazed at the unexpected blessings we’ve received.

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Give thanks in all circumstances.

I was up early a few mornings ago reading when these words flashed across the page. I thought for a moment about the ‘circumstances’ our family has faced in the past year. And then I gave thanks. Because that’s what you need to do. It’s the only way to make it through adversity. Be grateful. Give thanks in all circumstances.

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Because, I’m Not Ready To Talk About My Child’s Story.

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Sometimes you feel that you owe the world an explanation. You don’t! You feel your child’s choices, behavior, or lack of social interaction, warrant a full-blown summary. They don’t. Here’s why…

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I’m going to do my best to give you, foster and adoptive parent who feels isolated, a voice right now. You who’ve grown tired of fielding question after question after question about your child’s special need, recent public outburst, suspension, arrest or social shortcomings. I’m going to do everything in my power to walk in your shoes and let you know you are not alone. I want you to know, as we begin, that your family’s business is nobody else’s business on the face of God’s green earth!

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10 Reasons You Don’t Want To Steal My Van

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We’re proud of our big family. We’re equally as proud of our big 12-passenger van. It’s helped us cart our beautiful family all over the U.S. But recently, something interesting happened…

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This is NOT our van. This is what our van SHOULD look like.

A few weeks ago I went into a local coffee shop, grabbed a cup of Jo and returned to my van. I unlocked the door and climbed into the driver’s seat. I wrinkled my nose at the smell of stale smoke. It was not the smell of a fresh cigarette; it was the leftover lingering stench of a chain smoker’s clothes. A chill ran through me and I placed my bag on the floor and my coffee in the cup holder. I climbed across all the rows of seats to the very back to make sure there wasn’t a person connected to that odor. No one was there. I climbed back to the front and looked all around the parking lot.