{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"The Best For Your Nest: Owl Roofing Podcast","title":"Embracing the Unexpected: Motherhood, Adoption & Faith with Gina Schmidt","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":3279,"description":"Life doesn’t always follow the plan we imagined—but sometimes the unexpected leads us exactly where we are meant to be.\nIn this heartfelt episode, Gina Schmidt shares her journey through motherhood, military life, Down syndrome, adoption, faith, and the many experiences that shaped her family.\nGina opens up about raising her first child while her husband was deployed with the U.S. Air Force and how military life taught her resilience, independence, and the importance of asking for support. She also reflects on healing from an eating disorder and discovering a healthier relationship with her body through motherhood.\nDuring her second pregnancy, Gina learned that her son, Gunner, had Down syndrome and Ebstein’s anomaly, a congenital heart condition. She shares how her family navigated the unexpected diagnosis, found strength through faith and community, and learned that different does not mean bad.\nGunner’s life later inspired Gina and her husband to explore adoption. Their journey led them to Layla, who joined their family through an interstate adoption during COVID-19. Gina discusses the challenges of navigating the NICU, traveling with a premature newborn, and building a loving open adoption with Layla’s birth mother.\nThe conversation also explores transracial adoption, raising a neurodiverse family, inclusive education, homeschooling, marriage, vulnerability, and creating a home where every child feels valued, understood, and fully accepted.\nIn this episode:\n• Life as an Air Force wife and military spouse\n• Parenting during military deployments\n• Healing from an eating disorder and body-image struggles\n• Receiving an unexpected Down syndrome diagnosis\n• Raising a child with Down syndrome\n• Ebstein’s anomaly and congenital heart conditions\n• Domestic and transracial adoption\n• Open adoption and relationships with birth families\n• Adopting a premature baby during COVID-19\n• NICU experiences and interstate adoption\n• Raising a neurodiverse family\n• Homeschooling...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/j6FzRSJiLZA47oyZ3wMUm9KwyHCayhwwZjfLuRH6PLI/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mZGIy/Zjg0MGZlM2I5NjRk/Yjc3NWRhYjg2OTM1/ZTBmNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}