So once again, I am late to the party. In the midst of contractors, realtors, renters, work and kids we found a little bit of time to help put together the 4th Annual Adoption Picnic. But I have found it difficult to find the time to actually write about what an awesome experience it was.
When Jenn and I were going through the Adoption Classes (seems like a lifetime ago), I remember thinking how cool would it be if they asked us to come back and maybe speak to a future class. When they first asked, I was beyond excited, so needless to say I am thrilled anytime that we can potentially help and share our stories. Continue reading »
A few months ago Jenn & I received an exciting call from Catholic Charities the organization that helped us adopt Nolin. No it was not to add another member to our family, but it was to see if we wouldn’t mind helping organize the 3rd Annual Adoption Picnic.
It was exciting because we were so blessed and fortunate with everything that led us to Nolin, that I personally feel it is my responsibility to give back, support and help out anyone and anytime that I can. Not to mention that I have never minded putting together a party. Continue reading »
I have been excited for this past Saturday for a while now. It was our first second. What I mean by that, is that Saturday’s 2nd Annual Adoption Picnic was the first event to come back around for us since Nolin was born.
To be fair, they moved the picnic up to April because last summer it was unbearably hot, but it was still our first repeat event. I remember last year being very excited to meet other families that had been through the process as well as hopefully see some familiar faces from our class. While the event was a lot of fun last year, it definitely put into perspective just how lucky our family has been because we were the only ones from our class with a child in attendance.
This year we couldn’t wait to see who else was there. Jenn and I loaded up the car with supplies for the picnic, the baby bag, camera, super cool flip video camera, Nolin and of course Don (who I think was equally as excited about the picnic). When we got there, we immediately saw some familiar faces and began to catch up. Jenn was also greeted with a big hug from a lady who was in our class. We came to find out that they had matched before our classes were over and their daughter Erika was 14 months old and may have had a little crush on Nolin.
Jenn, Erika and Nolin
We waited, but no one else from our class ever showed up. Erika’s mother told us that she had heard there was one other couple from our group that had matched and were not able to make it. I keep my fingers crossed that more of our friends have also become parents that we are just not aware of, but again it was a stark reminder of exactly how lucky we have been.
This year’s picnic was also neat because as the kids get older, they are able to set up more activities for entertainment. This year, they had a bounce house, pictures with the Easter Bunny (who had to be hot in the 90 degree heat) and an Easter Egg Hunt.
With the Easter theme, they also had a lot of decorations and toys. Nolin was a big fan of chasing the wind-up chickens. He quickly drew a crowd and soon Jenn became the chicken master. Kids would walk up to her hand her a chicken and wait for her to wind them up so they could crawl around and chase them. It was quite the scene.
Nolin actually caught on to how the Easter Egg Hunt worked and would put the eggs in his basket, but he seemed to be more excited about crawling around in the woods, looking at the trees, playing in the dirt and eating leaves. He didn’t even mind sharing his eggs with a few of the other kids.
Before we got ready to leave, Erika came over to try and get Nolin to walk towards the car with her. She didn’t fully understand that Nolin wasn’t walking like her, so she grabbed his hand and started to pull him with her. That’s when they had their moment. Nolin looked at her and she looked at Nolin and seemed to communicate with their eyes that they weren’t going to be able to walk together, so she held Nolin’s hands, he grabbed her face and kissed her…
In a bit of shock and amusement we all started to laugh at which point Nolin looked at us as if we had just ruined his mojo. Both parents agreed that maybe when they are 25 they can rekindle their relationship, but for now it was like the ending of summer camp (Summer lovin’ had me a blast).
We said goodbye to the other families and as each of us began to head back to our own lives, I know we are all looking forward to next year to see how the kids continue to grow and to find out who else will be there.
Summer is the time for picnics and family reunions and last week Jenn, Nolin and I attended two. Both of which highlighted the fact that we are truly blessed to be adoptive parents.
On Tuesday, we met with Nolin’s birth mother for the second time since bringing him home from the hospital. In an open adoption, this can be scary for people, but for us it seems to work. It is always nice to see her and see that she is doing well. I also know it helps to reinforce the fact that her decision to create an adoption plan for Nolin was the right one, when she sees how well he is doing.
This time we had a surprise. We finally had a chance to meet Nolin’s birth father. For both Jenn and I, it was very exciting to have the opportunity to meet him and spend some time with him. I don’t know if he was anything like I expected him to be, but I can say that I was happy to meet him. He is an incredibly nice man, and it was nice to be a part of his reunion with Nolin. He is a few years older than me, but looks significantly younger (a fact that Jenn didn’t mind pointing out later…awesome).
He walked into the room a bit nervous to meet us, but that went away pretty quickly and I can say it was a very nice experience. It meant a lot to us to have a chance to be able to meet him and thank him, but I also think it meant a lot to Nolin’s birth mother that he was able to see that Nolin is in good hands.
On Sunday, we had the adoption reunion picnic that Jenn & I have been eagerly awaiting to go to for several weeks. I will say it was nice and disappointing all at the same time. There were probably about 20 adopted children at the picnic. The children ranged in age from over 4 years old (Catholic Charities first placement since they started the adoption program back up) to Nolin at 10 weeks.
When we went through our adoption classes there were 13 couples and we were excited to see everyone again. We were also excited to see who had been fortunate enough to start families.
Only three couples from our class attended, and we were the only couple who had placed. I am not sure if some of the other couples may have matched and just were not able to make it, but it did remind Jenn and I just how lucky we have been.
We had a chance to meet a lot of the other families who have adopted before us and their children. It was fantastic to hear all of their stories and to see just how different each experience has been. We found out that not too many of them had the same opportunities to meet their birth parents as we have had. Some felt more comfortable that way. Others wish they could at least have the opportunity to thank their birth parents for the amazing gift they had been given.
We left the picnic feeling blessed that our story was written the way it has been because it is perfect for us. We were also excited because we were asked to speak to the upcoming group of adoptive parents in September (something I think Jenn and I have been secretly hoping for since Nolin came into our lives).
Finally we experienced one other reunion that may not be quite as important or long-lasting, but Jenn and I have been reunited with sleep. Nolin has decided to start sleeping pretty much through the night. Not sure if this will continue, but we’ll enjoy this reunion while we can…
So once again, I am late to the party. In the midst of contractors, realtors, renters, work and kids we found a little bit of time to help put together the 4th Annual Adoption Picnic. But I have found it difficult to find the time to actually write about what an awesome experience it was.
