Wednesday, July 01, 2009

adoptive families camping trip

We just returned from a camping weekend with several families who have adopted or are in process of adopting kids from Ethiopia. What a blast. Fifteen families camped, and about 15-20 other families came for an all-day picnic/beach day on Saturday. This group has been a huge and unexpected blessing to us. We have met some wonderful families, many of which I am now regularly in a prayer group with, and do the occasional playdate thing with a few others. We humans are so relational and crave connectedness. I believe that Farmboy and I connect with these families in a deep way because we understand each other without exhausting ourselves and others trying to explain our lives. The attachment, the struggles, the questions, the joys, the passion, the frustration, the fears, the hope -- we connect.

Oh, a sweet moment -- a woman pulled me aside and thanked me for our encouraging blog. They are in the process of adopting an HIV+ child, and were encouraged by some of my words. Hey, I am thrilled if these words do more than just fill a computer screen. This family has not told their family or friends about their decision yet and I hopefully had a chance to encourage her some more that day.

One family in particular my kids adored -- all of them. This family has 6 kids, 2 of them being twin 4 yr old girls recently adopted from Ethiopia. On the way home, each of my kids had paired themselves up for marriage with the kids from this family. Li'l B has no idea what she is in for....


The family minus Farmboy, our photographer. And, yeah, we still have the dog. Anyone want a Beagle?



A glimpse of a few of the families at the gathering.



Kume and one of the twins getting more connected.


Kume and a twin goofing around, maybe....or wrestling vehemently for a place in the jumprope line.


The jumprope line has disintegrated....now it's 4 at a time. Yup, all of the 14 pictures we took were blurry, so this is all you get.


One of the "pairs" working on a creation. Hey, I would be thrilled SOME day.

14 comments:

Amanda said...

What a wonderful bonding experience. I saw the Z family there with you. Adorable! :)

Laurel said...

What fun! Wish we had an adoption group to connect with.

We'll be heading to CA for a camping trip next week. Your pictures got me excited!

Laurel :)

HollyMarie said...

Looks like a ball was had by all! I hope we can make it one of these years. :) Isn't it great to just connect with those who GET IT? :)

Jen said...

What a nice way to connect. Little B will be a nice addition to the fun : )

mama becca said...

awesome buttercup! i'm very certain that your blog has blessed MANY people and has helped banish fear and inspire people to follow the CALL to adopt the lease of these. you are a HUGE encouragement!!!
i SO wish i lived near you... what's new.. how many times have i said that???
love!!
becca

Tanya said...

What a blessing to have that connection! I have to admit I am extremely jealous of this! Wish we could be part of something similar......maybe someday. Utah is behind the times in MANY ways. Maybe we'll start a trend, however. Looks like you had a BLAST!!

Nikki said...

Looks like so much fun. We, too, have been amazingly encouraged by the adoptive families that live around the state. I never expected the bonds that have grown among AP's. Very cool!

J, A, T and Y said...

Oh that looks like a great time...such a wonderful way to connect!!

jonna said...

Thanks for chatting with me at Meijer. I enjoy getting a glimpse into your lives post-adoption and as you prepare to adopt Little B as well.

Tara said...

praying for you guys and the lovely TB thing, congrats on one more and she's a sibling, wonderful!!!!!

Shelly Roberts said...

JEALOUS! :) Miss you!!! ... how are you, sweet friend? Cannot wait to see ALL your fam together. Praying for court and med stuff. Love ya!

emily said...

So much fun!!

Jen said...

praying for you after yesterday's news.

Jill said...

Wish we could have seen you more there...it was a great time. Sorry about court...argh, adoption is hard!