Be the umbrella
in someone else's storm!
Become a foster parent!
Become a mentor, become an advocate... so many ways to engage, but first you must step out of your comfort zone and into the storm where others are struggling.
Raini Bowles RPM, RPAT, Trauma Mama, Life Coach, Trainer, Speaker, Homeschooler, Wife, Daughter, Mom and Nana
Weathering Life's Storms and Living to SHINE ON!
My life has always been filled with unique trials and obstacles from a very young age to the present, and I knew early on that I could use these for good, or for bad. Yes, there have been storms in my life, but I have chosen to be positive and to SHINE ON!
I was so fortunate and blessed to have support, love and encouragement,and I believe every child should have that.
In 2015 I was challenged to live out what I believe! Due to circumstances out of my control six of my grandkids were taken into custody. We immediately answered the call and currently we are raising 5 of our grandkids as our own, we are Mom and Dad all over again. We have 9 grown children who range in age from 29 to 39. Five were born to other families but ended up as part of ours! In fact we have had numerous children, teens and young adults call our home their home, even if for a short time.
It was March of 2015, when we received custody of two of our young grandsons, and then a year later three of their siblings were placed with us through the foster care system and an interstate compact (ICPC). Three more long years and these three were placed with us permanently. During this time I became very involved with the process and eventually began to work for Eastern Washington University's Family Resource Training Center. The FRTC works to train, mentor, support and build up the foster parents and kinship providers in Idaho who are under the Idaho Department of Children and Family Services providing care for children in the Foster Care System.
At the time I had just begun speaking full time and spreading my wings as an empty nester and Nana to my then 11 grandbabies. Oh how quickly our plans can change in wild and wacky ways! Gone are the days of the empty nest!!!! Gone are the days of only being Nana, and gone are the days of have a schedule free enough to take off for a weekend retreat or week long camp or conference! Things are much different today, but now I wear a few fun NEW hats!
I am an Associate Trainer/Co-Trainer of PRIDE, This is the course new foster parents and Kinship providers must take to comply with the initial training requirements of IDHW. It is a 27 hour course broken down into 9 - 3 hour sessions, and it is so incredible to be a part of! I love meeting the new families, and helping to equip them for this rewarding and challenging journey.
I am a Resource Peer Mentor to Foster Parents, Quite simply I come alongside those assigned to me, and I help them navigate their journey from interested in being a foster parent, through the applications process, PRIDE training, and then once licensed through the first placement and beyond. On occasion I may also help with difficulties and transitions that can occur.
I am a homeschooler to the 5 we have at home! Never thought I would be a homeschooler! It was not on my bucket list, I had no intentions or desires to follow this path, but after having 4 of the five kids in the public school setting, and seeing how their particular journeys, given their backgrounds and histories, were made more difficult by the setting of the brick and mortar school, we felt our only choice was to try to homeschool. The difference was HUGE for these kids, and the choice then was obvious. They NEEDED to be homeschooled! It is crazy, challenging, stretching, rewarding, fun, exhausting and humbling!
I am an entrepreneur! My husband owns his own business, Bowles Enterprises, LLC, which I manage, along with my now minimal speaking/coaching business, Raini's Place. I am also very happily involved in one of our grown sons business ventures, he is an inventor with a full PATENT! You can check his invention out at Ozzki Backpack Covers! (Happy mama moment)
If you have found this page then somehow we have connected, or you were led here for a purpose! Please look around! I am currently working on having a page on Foster Care, Trauma and kids from hard places, Resources for Parents, Kinship Families & Foster Families, My public Speaking and My Coaching. This will take a bit of time, but check back often to see what has been updated!
My life has always been filled with unique trials and obstacles from a very young age to the present, and I knew early on that I could use these for good, or for bad. Yes, there have been storms in my life, but I have chosen to be positive and to SHINE ON!
I was so fortunate and blessed to have support, love and encouragement,and I believe every child should have that.
In 2015 I was challenged to live out what I believe! Due to circumstances out of my control six of my grandkids were taken into custody. We immediately answered the call and currently we are raising 5 of our grandkids as our own, we are Mom and Dad all over again. We have 9 grown children who range in age from 29 to 39. Five were born to other families but ended up as part of ours! In fact we have had numerous children, teens and young adults call our home their home, even if for a short time.
It was March of 2015, when we received custody of two of our young grandsons, and then a year later three of their siblings were placed with us through the foster care system and an interstate compact (ICPC). Three more long years and these three were placed with us permanently. During this time I became very involved with the process and eventually began to work for Eastern Washington University's Family Resource Training Center. The FRTC works to train, mentor, support and build up the foster parents and kinship providers in Idaho who are under the Idaho Department of Children and Family Services providing care for children in the Foster Care System.
At the time I had just begun speaking full time and spreading my wings as an empty nester and Nana to my then 11 grandbabies. Oh how quickly our plans can change in wild and wacky ways! Gone are the days of the empty nest!!!! Gone are the days of only being Nana, and gone are the days of have a schedule free enough to take off for a weekend retreat or week long camp or conference! Things are much different today, but now I wear a few fun NEW hats!
I am an Associate Trainer/Co-Trainer of PRIDE, This is the course new foster parents and Kinship providers must take to comply with the initial training requirements of IDHW. It is a 27 hour course broken down into 9 - 3 hour sessions, and it is so incredible to be a part of! I love meeting the new families, and helping to equip them for this rewarding and challenging journey.
I am a Resource Peer Mentor to Foster Parents, Quite simply I come alongside those assigned to me, and I help them navigate their journey from interested in being a foster parent, through the applications process, PRIDE training, and then once licensed through the first placement and beyond. On occasion I may also help with difficulties and transitions that can occur.
I am a homeschooler to the 5 we have at home! Never thought I would be a homeschooler! It was not on my bucket list, I had no intentions or desires to follow this path, but after having 4 of the five kids in the public school setting, and seeing how their particular journeys, given their backgrounds and histories, were made more difficult by the setting of the brick and mortar school, we felt our only choice was to try to homeschool. The difference was HUGE for these kids, and the choice then was obvious. They NEEDED to be homeschooled! It is crazy, challenging, stretching, rewarding, fun, exhausting and humbling!
I am an entrepreneur! My husband owns his own business, Bowles Enterprises, LLC, which I manage, along with my now minimal speaking/coaching business, Raini's Place. I am also very happily involved in one of our grown sons business ventures, he is an inventor with a full PATENT! You can check his invention out at Ozzki Backpack Covers! (Happy mama moment)
If you have found this page then somehow we have connected, or you were led here for a purpose! Please look around! I am currently working on having a page on Foster Care, Trauma and kids from hard places, Resources for Parents, Kinship Families & Foster Families, My public Speaking and My Coaching. This will take a bit of time, but check back often to see what has been updated!