Chavie  Bruk is a Chabad shlucha (emissary) leading a Jewish community with her sushi loving husband while raising her five rambunctious kids (who are adopted). Chavie lives in the Wild West where it's winter ALWAYS (or so it feels) all the while seeking a bit of inner peace (ha, what's that?) and doing it while embracing the chaos and enjoying life. Chavie shares her thoughts and musings about motherhood on her blog Clear As Mud.   In this episode, we talk about Chavie's unusual path to motherhood. After discovering that having biological children would not be an option for her, Chavie and her husband embarked on the journey of adoption. We chat about what the process was like and how Chavie mentors other couples in similar situations. Chavie also talks about her experience as a white women of privilege raising her black son in middle of Montana. When talking about difficult topics with her son Menny, Chavie tries to use them as learning opportunities to discuss important themes around race, culture etc. A dedicated mom, Chavie shares some of her favorite parenting resources that  encourage mindful parenting. Favorites: Quote: "At any given moment we are doing the best that we can and we can do better." Book:  fiction: The  Giver of  Stars by Jojo Moyes non-fiction: The Journey of the Heroic Parent by Brad M. Reedy Easy Dinner: sushi bowls   Resources discussed in this episode: You can listen to Dr. Brad Reedy's podcast here.  You can listen to Brené Brown's episode with Harriet Lerner here. You can purchase Marc Brackett's book here. You can listen to Marc's interview here.