New FSA Website

FSA Member,

Greetings from the National Families Supporting Adoption Board! We are excited to announce that the Families Supporting Adoption website is live at familiessupportingadoption.org. In order to see the contents of the web site, you will be prompted to register, and to create a username and password for future use. The following are just a few of the many features you will find on this site:

*Calendar of upcoming FSA events

*FSA Chapter newsletters across the country

*Items for sale at the FSA store

*Detailed information on FSA's core efforts and activities

*FSA National Newsletter

*Presentations from national and regional FSA conferences

*Official FSA Handbook

*And Much More!

Please visit the site soon and tell us what you think and how it can be improved. Thank you for keeping the spirit and practice of adoption alive!

Florida FSA Conference

Mark your calendars!

Our Florida FSA Conference is just around the corner!

Date:
Saturday, November 8, 2008

Time:
Approximately 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Place:
Orlando South Stake Center (across from the temple)

We have some exciting things planned, and hope to see everyone there!
Watch for more information to come soon.

Adoption Clubhouse

I recently stumbled upon this excellent website about adoption:

www.adoptionclubhouse.org

It's full of information for both kids and parents, and covers a wide variety of topics. Check it out!

What You Can Do

Call Washington!

Ask your Senators to act

NOW

to reauthorize the

Adoption Incentive Program

to promote adoption

for children in foster care!

Today, more than 129,000 children and young people in foster care are waiting to leave the system – for good – to join permanent families. Every day without a permanent family feels like a lifetime to a child.

The bipartisan Adoption Incentive Program has helped more than 443,000 children leave the uncertainty of foster care to join adoptive families – but unless Congress acts now, it will expire on September 30, 2008. The House acted unanimously to improve and reauthorize the Adoption Incentive Program in late June. Please join us in urging the Senate to act before August recess begins.

Senators on the Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over the nation’s foster care system, will play a key role in promoting safe, permanent families for our most vulnerable children.

Please call your senators if you are from one of the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Utah, Washington.

FREE CALL IN LINE OPEN Monday and Tuesday, July 28 and 29: 1-888-686-8191. Simply follow the prompts, enter your ZIP code, and you will be connected directly to your Senator’s office.

Urge the Senate to reauthorize and improve the Adoption Incentive Program to promote adoption for children in foster care!

Please help spread the word by forwarding this e-mail to your friends, family, colleagues, and networks and encourage others to take action today!

Click here to see a downloadable flier.

Birth Mothers & Other Things

Birth Mother Stories

While surfing various adoption websites, I came across these stories shared by birth mothers. They are wonderful stories. If you have some time, click here to read them. There is also a link to iChooseAdoption.org on the sidebar of this blog. iChooseAdoption has a wealth of information for birth mothers who are contemplating adoption, and provides answers to many questions that birth mothers (and adoptive families) may have.

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FSA National Conference/Georgia Regional Conference

Are you planning to attend the FSA Regional Conference on August 8-9 in Atlanta? We have included lots of information for you in previous posts. We (the Middletons) are planning to attend, and we are also going to be presenting the class on trans-racial adoption. We'd love to see some familiar faces there! When we reserved our hotel room using the special FSA group rate, the woman on the phone was very excited about adoption, and extremely accommodating.

If you are going to attend, leave a comment and let us know. Or, you can email us at florida.fsa@gmail.com.

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Getting to Know You

We are spread far and wide across the state of Florida, which makes it hard for us to get to know each other. We thought it would be fun to use this site as a way to introduce FSA members to each other. Do you have a blog or a website? Would you like us to post a link on our FSA blog? Leave a comment with the address of your site, or email us at florida.fsa@gmail.com, and we will start a list of links. We can't wait to meet you!

Hotel and Registration Information for FSA Conference

Atlanta Temple

We hope you have reserved the weekend of August 8-9 for a weekend getaway to the FSA Southeast Regional Conference, being held in conjunction with the FSA National Conference. It promises to be a fantastic experience.

Click here for the registration form for the FSA Conference. This form provides more information than the previous link provided. It will enable you to sign up for childcare, order a t-shirt, and indicate which events you will be at. We strongly recommend you sign up early if you need childcare! Spaces fill quickly.

Click here for hotel information if you are planning to travel to the FSA Conference in Georgia on August 8-9.

Click here to see the official FSA Conference flier for the Southeast Region.

FSA National Conference August 8-9, 2008

One Miracle at a Time

August 8-9, 2008
Atlanta, Georgia

We hope you have already marked your calendars and planned your weekend getaway to Atlanta, Georgia for our first-ever opportunity to participate in the FSA National Conference. If not, we have received some additional information that we hope will entice you.

We will be participating in the Southeast Regional Conference, which will include a live broadcast from the National Conference in Salt Lake.

While not everything is completely set in stone, here is the most recent list of planned courses:

Loss in Adoption- how to process and overcome grief. Includes discussion on infertility, failed adoption, and loss of biological connection

Networking- ideas for networking and finding an adoption situation.

Trans-racial Adoption- Discussion of how to prepare yourself for a transracial adoption, how to overcome challenges. Includes a presentation and question/answer with panel.

Open Adoption- Take the fear out of open adoption. Discuss the ways open adoption will benefit you, your child, and the birthfamily. Ideas for setting boundaries and overcoming challenges.

Birthparent Relationships- How to establish and navigate a relationship with the birthfamily. Ideas for letters, gifts, and visits. How to help your birthmother heal.

Adult Adoptee- Adult adoptees will share their experience and answer questions.

Birthmother- A birthmother who has worked with LDSFS will share her experiences.

Helping Loved Ones Become Adoption Fluent- How to talk to others about adoption, how to promote positive adoption language. How to maintain privacy when asked questions.

Talking with your child about adoption- How to discuss adoption with your child. Includes discussion on developmental understanding of adoption, and how to answer questions. Also includes how to prepare a sibling for an upcoming adoption.

Process of Adoption- Understanding the legal aspects of adoption, includes timeline, expectations, and each person’s role. Includes approval, selection, birth, and finalization.

Adoption Tax Credit- A tax professional will give a presentation about the adoption tax credit. There will be time for questions.

1^st 3 weeks at home- What to expect after placement. Includes newborn care, communicating with birth family, post adoption depression.

Advocating for Adoption in School- How to talk to teachers and other professionals about adoption. Ideas for introducing adoption to your child’s class. How to help your child answer questions from peers.

Funding Adoption- How to find the money to pay for your adoption. Ideas given.

“He’s all mine”- How to promote attachment and bonding with your child. Includes discussion of adoptive breast feeding, reactive attachment disorder, and infant massage.

Foster Adoption- A discussion of how to adopt from the foster care system, and how to overcome challenges of older child adoption.

International Adoption- A discussion of how to adopt internationally, an overview of different countries to adopt from and benefits to each.

Special Needs Adoption- discuss adopting a child with special needs.

Strengthen Your Marriage- Ideas for strengthening and improving the marriage relationship. Ideas given for handling the stress of adoption, the frustration of waiting, and the roller coaster of new parenthood. How to help and understand each other through this process.

To register for this fantastic event, click HERE.

The registration for has the address of the church in Atlanta (actually Sandy Springs), as well as maps and fee information.

If you have any questions, please email Kim at florida.fsa@gmail.com.

Finding vs. Waiting

FIND vs. WAIT

WAIT
Waiting is passive. It is being idle and is extremely unfulfilling.

W – “WHAT IF?”

As we wait, we may stay in a constant state of “what if?”
We may put off plans and not take full advantage of our
present opportunities while we sit by the phone
waiting for that important call.

A – ANXIOUS

As we wait we may get restless and uneasy.
We may feel a lot of anxiety and worry about things
over which we have no control.

I – INSECURE

As we wait we may feel insecure
and doubt our capacity to parent.
We may feel unworthy and have a sense of low self-esteem.

T – TENSE

As we wait the tension may grow.
If we are not careful contention can easily enter the home
and we may begin to blame and easily hurt each other’s feelings.


FIND

Finding is active. It is being proactive in the search for your child. It is following the principle of doing all that we can and then relying on the Lord to help all things work together for our good.

F – FAITH

It takes faith to search for your child:
faith in prayer that Heavenly Father will guide us
and place us in the right places;
faith through fasting that we will encounter
the birthmother carrying our child;
faith that the Lord will direct our paths
and help us find our children.

I – INSPIRATION

The Spirit can inspire us to talk with those around us
about our desire to adopt.
As we listen to promptings and live close to the Spirit,
we can be divinely guided in our efforts.

N – NETWORKING

It is beneficial to talk to everyone.
Using every possible channel to get the word out
can expand our voice and can
increase the likelihood of finding our child.

D – DIVINE INTERVENTION

Once we have done all that we can do,
we can rely on the Lord to intervene in our behalf.
It is only through Him that all things are possible.
The Lord will direct our paths.


Taken from "Someone's Missing: Making Your Adoption Happen."
You can find the entire document here.

If you have trouble with the link, please send an email to florida.fsa @gmail.com.

Do you have suggestions for ways to be proactive?
Please leave a comment!

Mark Your Calendars!

National Families Supporting Adoption Conference

“One Miracle at a Time”

August 8-9, 2008

This year, for the first time, we are going to be able to participate in the National Families Supporting Adoption by going to Atlanta, Georgia. Previously, this conference has been held in Utah only, but this year, parts of the conference are going to be broadcast from Utah to other regional locations throughout the world. The southeast region, which includes Florida, will meet in Atlanta.

The conference will being on Friday, August 8^th with a temple session in the Atlanta temple. Following the temple, there will be a dinner and evening speaker. On Saturday, August 9th, the keynote address and commissioner’s message will be broadcast from Salt Lake, followed by workshops in the afternoon. The conference will take place at the LDS Church by the Atlanta Temple, and there are hotel accommodations very nearby as well.

Registration for this event will be done online through the Georgia LDS Family Services office, and we will provide for information about that as it become available. Watch your email for updates! They will also send hotel information. At this time there is no plan for group accommodation rates, so you may wish to make your own arrangements. Daycare will be provided for both days of the conference.

We hope you will plan to attend this Families Supporting Adoption conference in Georgia. It would be exciting to see as many Florida FSA members as possible at this historic event!

Welcome to the Florida FSA Blog!

Dear FSA Family,

We are excited to introduce our brand new blog! We think that it will be another way to provide information about the Florida chapter of Families Supporting Adoption, as well as a place to present articles, ideas, and inspiration about adoption. Check back often for new posts, and please feel free to comment on the things that you see.

A special thanks goes out to the Michigan, West Valley, and Boise chapters of FSA who have been very helpful in getting us started on our own blog here in Florida. To check out what these chapters are doing, check out the "Links" section on the side of the screen. We will be adding more links as the blog grows. It's exciting to have such a great support network, both in Florida and around the world!

Our love and support goes out to everyone in our Florida chapter. May all of your adoption dreams come true!

Sincerely,

Kimberly and Charles Middleton
Florida FSA Co-chairs