For Ladies Only!

Recently I did a post for guys only so I thought it would only be fair to do for the ladies. So here we go:

A couple of years ago we started this up. It was great as we were putting out podcast regularly and one day we connected with Rethink Monthly Magazine. Bo Lane, who ran the magazine, asked if we would be interested in being a subsidiary of Rethink Monthly. We thought that would be a great connection. That December Rethink got hacked in a major way. It destroyed Rethink's website and our website.

Long story short a couple of years later with the help of Bo and a brand-new team we are back! The core team is still together Becca, Bex and I. We are the podcast crew. We have also added several others to the team. Several bloggers who each have a specialty area.

Jesse is our fitness blogger. (get ready to learn helpful tips to stay in shape)

Shawna is our food blogger. (want to learn how to make a good meal or even eat on a budget? Shawna has some seriously yummy recipes)

And Molly is our fashion blogger. (looking to stay fashionable and don't want to have to show so much skin? Molly knows her stuff)

Elise does all of the tech stuff for us and runs the website.

So what is this all about you ask? Basically it is a podcast and website for all things girl. Everything we talk about and write about deals with issues and conversations "chicks" would have.

You may also be asking what in the world is a guy doing in this program for girls. That's a great question. Initially I was asked to be the tech guy. Becca and I worked together as middle school pastors for several years and have a great relationship. It started out as a two of us but when we interviewed Bex and her dad it became quickly obvious to both of us that she needed to be part of the team!

Originally Becca wanted to do a radio program. I had some connections with an AM Christian radio station but I didn't think that was the right thing for us. I felt like going to where technology news today was going to be the best thing. Thus the podcast and website.

So now I get to bring the token guys perspective on the things that we talk about. We talk a lot about relationships and typical "chick" conversations and have great interviews with professionals in different fields including skincare, psychologists talking about body image, and health professionals.

We also like to talk about what's going on in pop culture that is relevant to girls. Anything that we believe would be encouraging and helpful to girls, that's where we are going to focus our attention. Honestly, it will largely be directed by listeners to the podcasts and readers of the blog who have questions about certain subjects. We are open to having discussions about anything and all things girl.

So, if you are a chick, please jump on chickchatpodcast.com.

Give us a listen and feel free to comment and even subscribe on iTunes. We would love your comments in iTunes too!

Home Study Classes

This past weekend we took a 3 hour class for our adoption home study. It was very informative, but also very basic. It is a great class to take if you are considering adoption. They give you tons of stuff to think about. Lead by 3 people from the Dove headquarters, we sat in with 6 other couples. Out of those 6 only 1 had actually turned in an application while the rest were all considering it. I love that these people came just to hear more and have their questions answered and fears talked about.

We have also taken 2 classes online. They have been very good. Conspicuous families was a good one. Basically it was all about multiracial families and how do we integrate our lives more to help our kids feel less like an outsider. I imagine there is some level of that feeling that will one day come to any adopted child just because they are adopted. Add to that the fact that they are black in a white family. Add to that the fact that they are from another country. We have a lot of work to do in order to be in a place where we have more "color" in our lives.

The exciting thing is that more and more people are popping up around us that are either in the process of adoption or considering it. That's exciting! I liken it to this: Ever buy a car and all of a sudden it seems like tons of other people around you have purchased the same exact car? It's kind of like that. All of a sudden we are connecting with people that are somewhere in the process. Even people who are asking, "What agency are you using? We are considering adoption, but feel like we have no idea where to start." It's fun! I would love to be part of a local "revolution" of people who suddenly begin to adopt and have some part in influencing that. I know that having conversations with people about adoption brings awareness to so many things. I love that.

Here's something crazy. A little over a year ago I started up a podcast called chickchat with 2 dear friends Becca and Bex. We host this podcast that is"an open and honest discussion all things girl." I know you may wonder what in the world am I doing as one of the hosts. Well, I am the token guy voice in all of this and I absolutely love it. You can read more about it at www.chickchatpodcast.com You may have to wait just a little bit because we got hacked in a major way and even one of our hosts got a virus as a result. Ugh! We are working on getting it up though. OK, back to the crazy part of all of this. When we started this, adoption was not really even an open topic. At this point now though ALL THREE OF US ARE IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS!!! Can you believe that? How crazy is that?

A few other updates for those who know the ins and outs of the adoption process and want more details of where we are at: We have mailed in our requests for copies of birth certificates (mine is more expensive and takes longer because I was born into a military family and out of the country...way to thank your military personnel, government...good job); I am getting the required physical (cough, cough) on Thursday so I can get a doctor's note saying I am ready to be a parent; We have gotten a ton of papers notarized; We are working on a bunch of questions, some of which I can type and many of which need to be hand written. It's a lot of work, but so well worth it.