Training Cancelled

The adoptive family training workshop scheduled for Saturday, February 20, 2010, has been cancelled. If you have any questions about this or the required number of hours of training for adoptive families, please contact Family to Family.

November is National Adoption Month

National Adoption Month happens at the best time of year. As you near the holiday season with your child, remember your birth parents and the gift that they have given you. If you have not sent pictures to your child's biological parents, the holidays are the best time to do so. Your child's birth parents will be thinking of you and your child so what better way to thank them than to send pictures over the holidays. As usual if you are an adoptive family with Family to Family you can mail these to our office or send them to us via email and we will have them printed and mailed. Thank you in advance for thinking of your birth parents and the staff at Family to Family wishes you all a wonderful holiday season.

Placing a baby for Adoption

Are you faced with an unplanned pregnancy and considering placing your baby for adoption? Making the decision to place your child for adoption is a very hard one but also a very loving one. Family to Family's staff can help you through the process of finding the right home for your child. We have adoptive families that all have been carefully screened and are waiting to bring a child into their home. Visit our website or contact us and we can get you started in the process of placing your child for adoption. If you are considering placement but are not sure and would like someone to talk to give us a call and then you can make your decision. Whether you choose adoption or to parent your child we wish you the best of luck.

Training Dates for Adoptive Families for 2009 and 2010

The training dates for 2009 and 2010 have been scheduled. Space is limited at each training so please notify us if there is one that you would like to attend. Training is required for all new adoptive families that are signing on with Family to Family. The last training date for this year is December 5, 2009. The dates for 2010 are February 20, May 22, August 14, and November 13. If you are a new family signing on or are already an active family and would like to attend one of these trainings please contact us. All trainings are held at our office in Richmond, Texas.

Family to Family Conference

The next Family to Family conference will be held on September 19, 2009 from 10 AM to 3 PM. The conference will be at our office at 1000 Austin Street, Suite B, Richmond, TX 77469. The conference will be $10.00 per person and space is limited. Come and meet adoptive families and birthmothers and hear their adoption stories. To sign up please contact Maxine Seiler at 281-342-4042 or max@fam2fam.org.

The upcoming dates in 2010 for conferences are January 16, 2010; May 15, 2010; and September 18, 2010.

Annual Family to Family Picnic

Family to Family's annual adoptive family picnic will be held this year at Dewberry Farm in Brookshire, Texas on October 10, 2009. We will gather from 11 AM to 1 PM to eat together and have dessert. Food is sold at Dewberry Farm and no outside food is allowed to be brought in. Check out their website for directions (or click here for an interactive Google map), activities, and food selection and prices. If you have any questions or would like to RSVP for this event please contact us at 281-342-4042. Family to Family will cover the admission fee and wrist bands will be at the front gate. Hope to see everyone there.

Tapestry Books

Tapestry Books has information for all members of the adoption triad including children's books. The books are helpful for both adoptive families and for birthmothers and for domestic and international adoption. They even have books to help you get started on that Lifebook for your child. If you are looking for some more information on the adoption process, check them out online.

Upcoming Adoptive Family Trainings

The Adoptive Family Trainings have been scheduled for the remainder of the year. The last two dates for these trainings are August 8, 2009 and December 5, 2009. Please keep these dates in mind when signing on with Family to Family and let us know which of these required trainings you would like to attend. For questions regarding the trainings, please contact Jennifer O'Leary at jennifer@fam2fam.org.

Swine Flu Guidance for Adoptive Families

As many of you know there have been confirmed cases of Swine Flu in Texas and in other parts of the United States. There is useful information on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website for any concerns you have regarding Swine Flu. As a parent you should know the symptoms associated with Swine Flu and take precautions for your family.

Symptoms of the Swine Flu are similar to those of the regular or seasonal flu and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, and coughing. Some people have also reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. If anyone in your household experiences flu-like symptoms they should see a doctor right away. Please do not take a sick child to school or daycare.

To protect yourself, use good health habits including covering your mouth and nose when you cough, wash your hands often, and avoid close contact with people who are sick. Other good health habits to practice would be getting plenty of sleep, being physically active, managing your stress, drinking plenty of fluids, and eating nutritiously.

If you suspect that yourself or someone close to you might have Swine Flu please seek immediate medical attention. Please take care of yourselves and your children.

Adoptive Family Training

The next Adoptive Family Training will be held at our office on May 16, 2009 from 10 AM to 2 PM. Please send questions or RSVP to jennifer@fam2fam.org if you would like to attend. This is a required class for all of our newly contracted adoptive families. Space is filling fast. Topics covered include establishing relationships with your birth parents, how to talk with your chid about adoption, Life Books, and other related adoption questions and information.

Cord Blood Registry and Adoption

Family to Family and Cord Blood Registry (CBR) are working together to ensure that our clients understand the benefits of cord blood banking. More and more of our adoptive families are choosing to bank their baby’s cord blood for several reasons. Banking cord blood has many benefits and has been used to treat many diseases such as leukemia, sickle cell, and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma to name just a few. Please visit the CBR website for a list of diseases treated with stem cells at www.cordblood.com.

Having peace of mind that these stem cells are available is one of the main reasons that adoptive families are making this important decision for their child’s future. Adoptive parents understand that if their child should need these stem cells it might not be possible to find their child’s biological family. Investing in this service gives them the assurance to know that they have done everything they could if their child should ever be in a situation where stem cells are needed.

More information about banking cord blood is available to all of our adoptive families and any assistance needed to help complete this process. We feel that it is important to give all of our families this option as part of their adoption plan. A complete list of our agencies partners is available on our website.

"Friends of Family to Family" Facebook

Family to Family now has a group on Facebook where adoptive families can join and have a support network and the agency can keep up with the families as well as the agency can share upcoming events and news related to our program. If you would like to join this group and you have a Facebook account look us up. If you do not have a Facebook account and would like to join, message me and I can send you the invite to join. Hope to see you soon on Facebook.

Share Our Information on Facebook!

Many of our friends maintain blogs and have been kind enough to mention their appreciation of our services to adoptive and birth families on their blogs. We know that others are active on Facebook and might want to let their friends know about us as well. To make this process easier, we have added a "Share on Facebook" link to the right side of this page.

The process is simple. If you have a Facebook account, just click the link and a message will be posted to your "wall". You will have an opportunity to add your own comment to the posting before it goes up.

This is a very easy way to let your friends know about what you are doing, and to tell them about our services if they have any need for them. We appreciate all the support and kind words that we receive from our many happy clients, both parents of newly adopted children and birth families who have successfully placed children in loving homes.

Children's Fashion Show and Fair was a Success

Family to Family Adoptions hosted their First Annual Children’s Fashion Show and Fair on March 1, 2009. Many adoptive families and their adopted children were in attendance. A portion of the proceeds went to benefit Family to Family Adoptions and the adoption services the agency provides. The event was successful and we are looking forward to having the fashion show becoming an annual event and fundraiser. Thank you to all of those that participated and for the support of the adoptive families who attended as well as a special thanks to all of our volunteers at this event. If you would like to participate or volunteer for this event next year please contact us.

Children are God's gift: Our Adoption Agency

"We drove 27 hours straight through to get from our Midwest home to Texas and arrived at the hospital when our beautiful baby was 22 hours old!"

Another testimonial from one of our adoptive families tells us again that the work we do here has an impact on people's lives. We always appreciate these kinds of stories because they remind us over and over again that our efforts are meaningful (and appreciated).

Visit our web site to learn more about the adoptive process and see how we might be of service to you in your efforts to build your family!

Children and Plastics

Caring for our children's safety and health is a matter of concern to all our parents, adoptive or natural. Recently published information draws attention to hazards posed to our children by commonly used products.

A widely used additive to plastic products has been identified as having potential health risks to children, particularly infants, who want to put everything into their mouths. This additive, bisphenol-a, also known as BPA, is used to make plastic products harder. It can be found in baby bottles as well as in many children's toys. Is is also used in the liners of food containers.

We have posted a short article to our web site about plastics in our baby products where you can find more information and references.