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.

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.

Family to Family Cookbooks

Family to Family Cookbooks are now for sale. Please email Jennifer O'Leary at jennifer@fam2fam.org if you would like to purchase one or more of these as a fundraiser for the agency. All of the proceeds will benefit Family to Family Adoptions and our educational fund provided to help our birthmothers achieve a higher education. The cookbooks are $18.00 each. Thanks to Tami, one of our adoptive mothers, who created and published the cookbooks for us, and thank you in advance for your support of Family to Family.

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.

Focus on Birth Mothers

We at Family to Family have always prided ourselves on our attention to serving the needs of the birthmothers that we are associated with. We have a list of birthmother services that we provide to our clients and maintain a list of questions and answers of interest to birth families.

We are always gratified when our constituents recognize our efforts, and many of them mention us and our dedicated staff in their blogs describing ways that we have been supportive and helpful to them in their efforts to expand their families. One of our clients has written a personal note about his own experience as an adopted child and his sensitivity to issues that birth mothers have. His story points up how our approach serves birth families as well as adoptive families.

Open Adoptions Are Just So Normal

Hi Everyone, I received an update from one of our adoptive families who has a fully open adoption with their birth parents and their extended family and I have asked their permission to share it with you. This just proves that Open Adoption is Normal!!!

About 4 years ago, we helped a married couple in North Texas place their first born child. The couple wanted to place this child because the father did not want children. We placed the child with a childless couple from the Houston area. After placement, the birth mother's parents found out that she and her husband had placed the child and were heartsick they would not be able to share in their granddaughter's life, but fate was in their corner. The placement had been an open adoption and because of this, the adoptive parents were able to reach out to the birth grandparents in an open manner and thus began the saga of this wholly open and wonderful adoption. The adoptive mother recently sent me pictures of the baby and a quick update of their family. The following is word for word.

" I just wanted to update you and all the Family on how our very open adoption arrangement is working out. We really couldn't have asked for a better outcome, and 'Angel' s'(name has been changed for privacy) birth family feels the same way. We continue to see 'Lori' (name has been changed for privacy), her sister and her parents every few months. Her mom and I have become very good friends. it's weirdly amazing how similar we are. Her sister has a son close to Angel's age and Angel just loves him, as well as the rest of the family. Lori became pregnant again last year, moved to Houston and divorced her husband. She chose to keep the baby, 'Jenny' (name changed for privacy), who was born December 20, 2007, and she is engaged to be married in May. Her fiance loves Jenny like his own and his parents are very attached as well. Angel knows Jenny is her sister and adores her, but she isn't really old enough to ask "how can that be?". That will come in time, I suppose! Lori's parents kept Angel and her cousin last Saturday night and you've never seen such excited grandparents. They are just so thankful that we keep them in Angel's life, but after meeting them, we wouldn't think of doing it any other way."

"It seems so normal to us since we don't know any other way, but if I really stop and think about it, it probably sounds very unusual to most people. Angel's family just keeps growing and growing and I feel she is lucky to have so many people who love her."

How To Choose An Adoptive Family for My Baby?

All of our adoptive families have been carefully assessed and approved by a licensed social worker as an adoptive parent. Adoptive parents have been through a home assessment, criminal background checks, child abuse checks, and have also provided information about their medical, financial, and family backgrounds. Each adoptive family has applied to adopt a child and has been through all of the necessary steps to become approved as an adoptive parent. You get to choose the family for your baby and meet them. You will know by talking with them and asking them questions if they are the right family for your child. To learn more about this process, please visit the Common Questions by Birth Parents on our website.

Options When Facing an Unplanned Pregnancy

Most people have misconceptions about how adoption works. When you are facing an unplanned pregnancy alone and have very little information or resources, you need a place to get your questions answered in a no-nonsense way. We are here to explain your options, the processes, procedures and support you every step of the way. Our life-time post placement services include grief and loss counseling, vocational or educational counseling. Contact us today! 1-800-685-6301 or read our frequently asked questions. http://www.fam2fam.org/faqbm.html

Placing a Child for Adoption

Facing an unplanned pregnancy alone can be one of the most frightening experiences a woman can face. Expectant mothers have a lot to consider when looking to parent your child to to place it for adoption. You must consider your options. What are the reasons for or against placing a child for adoption? Are there resources available to help you parent your child? These are just some of the important questions you need to explore before deciding that placement is the right decision for you and your family. Websites like the following can help you to understand the process of adoption better.

Is Placing Your Baby for Adoption Right for You?

Considering placing your baby for adoption is fraught with high emotions and decisions that seem to be too hard to actually come to grips with at times. One of the ways of determining whether or not this is a decision that you can or should make is to speak to an adoption counselor, friend or spiritual advisor whom you trust. I know what you are going through and how hard it is to determine whether or not you can parent this child or if it is best for it and your other children to place it for adoption. We help birth parents understand their options and if they decide to place the child, we work with you to determine the adoption plan that is right for you and your family. See our Grief and Loss information http://www.fam2fam.org/articles/grief-loss.html and other information so you can make a realistic plan for yourself and your children. http://www.fam2fam.org/articles/choosing-adoption-agency.html
Maxine L. Seiler, LCSW