What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting
The Go-to Podcast for Christian Women Who Want to Grow Their Family through Foster Care or Adoption: Do you struggle with constant overwhelm or have way more questions than answers while navigating the foster care system? Are you feeling like you’re losing yourself while trying to help your foster child or heal your adopted children? Do you feel completely ill-equipped with the needs of the kiddos in your home or that you took on more than you should have? What if there was a way that you could navigate the complexities of the foster care system, gain powerful insights into the adoption journey and find more peace and less chaos while balancing it all? Hi new friend, I’m Christine Marie, Christian Biblical Mindset coach, Mom of 4- Adoptive Mom of 2 and previous foster parent of 77 children. I can’t wait to share with you everything I have learned in my 10 year journey as a Foster Mom… and now adoptive mom. On this podcast, we are going to cover- -How to grow your family through foster care and adoption while fully trusting in Gods’ plan, timing and provision. -How to navigate a complicated foster care system without losing yourself or your mind in the process. -How to balance the needs of your birth children, foster kiddos and adoptive children. -How to balance your marriage, family, career and mental health. -How I found my own personal healing through all the brokenness. I am thankful you are here and can’t wait to get started. So, go grab your cup of coffee, make sure to reheat it and let’s jump in! XO, Christine Connect with me personally in our Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/fostercareandadoptionforchristianwomen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cortisol_coach Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thechristinemarieofficial Email: cmhartmann@fulhart.org
Episodes
Welcome to the What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting podcast! I’m Christine Marie, adoptive mom, former foster parent, and biblical mindset coach. Whether you’re considering foster care, navigating adoption, supporting birth families, or trying to hold it all together in the middle of the unknown, you’re in the right place.
In today’s episode, I sit down with Jeremy Walden, foster and adoptive dad, college professor, ministry...
Welcome to Season Two of the What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting podcast!
I’m Christine Marie — adoptive mom, former foster parent, and biblical mindset coach. Whether you're navigating foster care, adoption, or parenting a child with trauma or mental health challenges — you’re in the right place.
In this season premiere, I’m joined by Donna Kirkwood — former special education teacher, adoptive mom, author, and woman of dee...
Welcome to the What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting podcast. I’m Christine Marie — adoptive mom, former foster parent, and biblical mindset coach. Whether you’re in the early stages of foster care, navigating adoption, or standing in a season of unknowns — this space was created for you.
Today’s episode is different.
It’s not polished or perfectly planned — it’s real. It’s raw. It’s what I’m walking through right now.
Last n...
This week’s episode is one I hope every adoptive and foster parent listens to - and listens with an open heart.
I’m honored to sit down with Sydney Curtin - birth mom, author of Courageous Considerations, speaker, life coach, and founder of Curtin Call - as she shares the raw and painful truth about her adoption story, and why she’s now advocating for ethical reform across the entire industry.
In 2019, Sydney made what she believed...
If the college admissions process feels overwhelming… you’re not alone.
And if you’re a foster or adoptive parent? There are even more layers to navigate.
This week on What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting, I had the absolute honor of sitting down with Cynthia Nash, a college admissions and financial aid coach with over 20 years of experience at top-tier universities like Northwestern and Vanderbilt- and friend, this conversa...
This week on What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting, I had the absolute honor of sitting down with April Ficklin, a TBRI® Practitioner, adoptive mom, and the Director of Family Support Services for Flourishing Families of South Carolina.
April brings both professional wisdom and personal experience to this conversation. Her work is centered on helping adoptive families find real connection, healing, and hope through Trust-Base...
In this episode of What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting, I’m sitting down with my friend Rebecca Del Pozo- an adoptee, an adoptive mom, and a fierce advocate for families who’ve walked this road from every angle.
This conversation is honest, vulnerable, and deeply encouraging.
Rebecca doesn’t just talk about adoption- she’s lived it in every form. From the unexpected twists and tender moments to the hard decisions and holy p...
Welcome back to the What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting podcast! I’m Christine Marie — adoptive mom, former foster parent, and biblical mindset coach — and today’s guest is someone whose voice and impact in the foster care space cannot be overstated.
I’m honored to sit down with Dr. John DeGarmo, founder and director of The Foster Care Institute, international speaker, best-selling author of 10 books, and foster/adoptive da...
This one is for the foster and adoptive parents carrying the weight no one sees—who keep showing up, even when it feels like everything is falling apart.
Today, I’m sitting down with Devin Schubert—an adoptive dad of three—for a conversation about the cost of obedience, the depth of trauma, and the God who restores what we thought was lost forever.
After adopting his son, Devin walked through five years of chaos: -Explosive trauma ...
Today, I’m joined by the incredible DJ Noble, a former radio host, teacher, and long-time foster parent with a powerful 15-year journey that spans across Virginia and Kansas. In this episode, we’re talking about the REAL side of foster care—the emotions, the relationships, the red tape, and the redemption.
Together, we unpack: ✨ What it’s like navigating two different state systems ✨ How to honor and embrace biological families ✨ T...
Welcome back to the What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting podcast — a Christ-centered space for foster and adoptive moms navigating the complex, beautiful, and often messy journey of parenting children from hard places. I’m Christine Marie, an adoptive mom and certified Biblical mindset coach, and I’m so thankful you’re here.
In this powerful episode, I’m joined by Nicole Barlow — fellow adoptive mama of six, Host of Foster P...
***SENSITIVE CONTENT WARNING.***
In this powerful episode of the What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting podcast, I sit down with Joseph Pedroza, a man whose story will leave you speechless. His journey is one of pain, resilience, and divine transformation—a true testimony to the power of God’s redemption.
Joseph’s childhood was marked by deep trauma—placed in foster care, experiencing horrific abuse after adoption, and facing ...
Welcome to the What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting podcast! I’m Christine Marie, an adoptive mom and former foster parent, and I’m so glad you’re here.
In today’s episode, I’m joined by James McLamb, the visionary founder and CEO of Generation Youth, known as America’s Youth Coach. With a background in Agricultural Education and Youth Development Leadership, James has dedicated his life to empowering and transforming the li...
Welcome to my latest episode of the "What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting" podcast.
I’m excited to share this heartwarming conversation with my special guest, Steve Wormer—a proven leader who embodies integrity, strength, and compassion in every area of his life.
Steve’s journey is nothing short of inspirational. He was a proven leader in corporate america, is the executive director of a nonprofit organization, and served ...
Welcome to the What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting podcast—a space created to provide guidance, encouragement, and real talk for foster and adoptive moms navigating the challenges of the system.
In this episode, we’re tackling one of the biggest struggles in this journey: fear. It’s so easy to let worry and uncertainty take over, but today, I’m sharing how to shift from a fear-based mindset to one grounded in love and trust...
Welcome to the "What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting" podcast!
I’m Christine Marie, your host. In addition to being a biblical mindset coach and a former foster parent of 10 years, I’m also an adoptive mom to our two beautiful daughters. I know firsthand the ups and downs of the foster care and adoption journey, and I’m here to help you navigate it with confidence and faith. Having cared for 77 foster children, I’m passionat...
In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Caroline Leaf, a communication pathologist, audiologist and clinical neuroscientist, to explore the powerful concept of neuroplasticity and its impact on healing trauma in children.
Dr. Leaf specializes in psychoneurobiology research, has published 19 bestselling books in 24 languages, has over 50 million downloads on her award winning podcast, "Cleaning up the mental mess," and over 9 million do...
Looking back there is a few very pivotal lessons I wish I didn't have to learn but I am so thankful to share them with you today.
These are the top 5:
1. How does your foster child's behavior reflect on your parenting.
2. Chronological age vs. emotional age.
3. Your feelings are valid.
4. Being authentically you.
5. Putting your family first.
There are so many more lessons that I learned but these five that are foundational to...
Welcome to the "What to Expect While Fostering and Adopting" podcast, hosted by Christine Marie, a biblical mindset coach, previous foster parent of 77 children and adoptive mom of 2. This episode dives into the complexities of adopting through the foster care system, addressing common concerns and providing insights into balancing the journey with grace and faith.
The topic today is if adopting a child through the foster care sys...
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