I want my baby!

We went to a picnic this weekend for families who have adopted or are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. We have all met through a google group. There were about 15 families there while we were there though I know more came later. It was such an incredible experience. I stepped out of the car as another family showed up. They started getting their kids out the car and out stepped this gorgeous little boy. I started tearing up. This actually happens. We will be doing the same very soon. There were several families there who already had one, two, three, four...adopted children. And there were some like us still in the process. Many already had biological children of their own before they adopted, just like us. It is difficult to put into words how amazing it was to gather with other people who have been through what we are doing right now and to see the results. It was encouraging to say the least. We got some great advice for traveling, finalizing the adoption here in the States, the state of the orphanages, etc.

Z had a pretty good time. I think it was just a bit overwhelming for him. He's just not used to that big of a group of people. They did have a great playground, jumping castle, and lots of bikes to play with. I think the children of different races scared him a bit. It was almost like their color was frightening too him but I know that will get better with more exposure. It's pretty normal. We tried explaining to him that his little brother or sister would look a lot like these kids but he was too distracted to listen.

We ran into a couple from our prior church in Wash Park at the picnic. They just recently returned with their three old daughter. We did not know them very well while we attended DCC and had no idea they were adopting. So that was really neat. It is so valuable to have connections like these while in the process and after.

There will probably be another picnic in August for more opportunities to connect and get to know people. We will also begin attending the monthly group meetings soon. These meetings cover things about adoption and about Ethiopia itself. The last meeting was on Ethiopian cooking but we were unable to go. Yeah for GOOGLE.