The hotel conference in Barcelona was terrific.  The attendance was much higher than I had anticipated.  As in Madrid, it was incredible to meet so many Couples who understood what Surrogacy is truly about.  They didn’t view it as a means to an end.  They were in awe of the Surrogate Mothers and had a genuine appreciation for them.  Imagine my encountering this with Couples who had not even started the Program much less have had their baby already.  It isn’t surprising really, because I have found in the many, many  years that I have worked with Spanish Couples that they have treated their Surrogate Moms and all of us at Building Families’ staff with nothing but great care and respect.  It is no wonder I look forward to my annual trip!!

Enjoy a few more photos from my trip to Madrid & Barcelona!!

Hello Everyone, I have been in Spain since late February enjoying the sites but mostly enjoying the many families I have seen.  It is a dream that I seem to be living and I love it!!  I saw Francisco & Hugo in the first few days.  You’ll see pictures of them.  Then  I saw Jorge, Marta and her little brothers. Alejandro & Alvaro and I met some excited kids that were anxiously awaiting the birth of their new brother or sister.  I met extended family too at several big reunions.  It was neat to see how the children were ready to speak English with me.  Jon Peter (Francisco’s cousin) was especially proud and you’ll see a picture of him and his new American friend (me of course!).

My trip to Madrid has confirmed the necessity of my traveling here to meet the Couples face to face so we can determine that my program is the right one for them.  It also helps me a great deal in the matching.  It is amazing how I can be sitting with them and a particular Surrogate Mom may come to my mind.

I’m off to Barcelona tomorrow and will update more after that trip.  In the meanwhile, enjoy the pictures!

God Bless,

Carol

I couldn’t believe it had been 3 years since I updated my Corner. Wow! So much has happened since then. We had reached 165 babies back then and now early next year we will be celebrating our 200th birth. Now I realize why Keith was hounding me so much about giving him an update:! But wait; there is something new on the horizon. A Building Families Blog! This is so new age for me, but I am excited about it. Check it out soon after the new year.

Well, where to begin? Building Families, Inc. closed the Egg Donor Program in early 2006. It was a wonderful project, but it required too much of my time which meant I was spending less time in my Surrogacy Program. I founded my Surrogacy Program with the mission to create and maintain bonds between the Surrogate Moms and their Couples and with all of us at Building Families. It became increasingly difficult to do this as I was stretched too thin between both programs. So, I made the decision to close the Egg Donor Program and locate a couple of good Egg Donor Agencies that I would feel comfortable sending my Couples to for help. Both decisions have worked out great!

Another big decision I made for Building Families is committing to travel to Spain on an annual basis. The purpose of the trip is to meet Couples throughout Europe that are interested in my program and give them a personal orientation of the process, commitment and experiences they would surely have. Although all Couples have always been psychologically screened before entering the program, I did not have the benefit of meeting the international Couples in person and gaining personal knowledge of them. This knowledge is so helpful in the matching process as well as offering them support in the beginning stages. Dr. Rad has made the same commitment and she also travels to Spain annually to conduct the psychological evaluation in person. We both have discovered that the information we receive during these visits is so valuable and greatly affects our work in a positive way.

This year, 2007, has been a great year. Breann’s contributions to the Program as a Case Manager have been tremendous. Early in the year I jokingly told her that she was a good luck charm for twins as we confirmed twins twice in a row. Little did I know that those two pregnancies were just the beginning of many more to come. We confirmed 8 sets of twins this year….and the year isn’t over yet! Nysia decided late last year that she had a strong desire to be a Surrogate Mom again so she left the program as a Case Manager and joined as a Surrogate Mom. She delivered twin girls in early November making her Couple doubly ecstatic!! Tracy has remained diligent in her recruiting of Surrogate Mothers. We have the best Surrogate Moms around and we owe Tracy a huge pat on the back for that!

I read in my last update that Jenny had left for college and Johnny was “already” in the 11th grade. That seems like a lifetime ago. Jenny will have her Bachelor’s degree in 2 weeks and will start the Teacher’s Credential Program in January. Johnny is in his second year of college. Yikes! These are the moments that we plan for when we have kids. We know that they are supposed to grow up, start their careers and one day have their own families too. But when it is happening you’re not ready. Every day prior to this moment, you think you are. But you are not. It is a strange feeling. I guess not everyone goes through the emotional process in the same way. But I can tell you from my experiences these last few years, your emotions change on a daily basis and sometimes more often. You are proud of your children as you have been their entire lives and are excited for their future as you know they are going to do great. Then you panic about not seeing them everyday and worry if they are eating right, getting enough sleep, etc. So, whoever said that parenting ends when the child turns 18 is so wrong! You are a parent for the rest of your life. But it is a role that I wouldn’t trade for the world.
We at Building Families wish you and your loved ones a beautiful Holiday Season and a wonderful New Year.

God Bless,

Carol Weathers