Monday, February 18, 2008

Our EthiopiaAdoptGA Family

Those of us in the Atlanta area with Ethiopian born children are incredibly blessed. We have such a loving and supportive group in the greater Atlanta area for families who have, or are in the process of adopting from Ethiopia. I can sincerely say that I LOVE interacting with these incredible people with whom I share the experience of adopting from Ethiopia. When this group was formed in January 2007, we had approximately ten families (and that's a generous count). Fast forward to February 2008, and this group has exploded with kids who have been adopted within the last few years and adults who have returned with children from Ethiopia, or are somewhere in the long process of waiting to parent an Ethiopian born child.

The people that I've met in our group hold such a special place in my heart. It's sort of weird how I often feel closer to some of these great individuals in our group than I do to friends I've known for many years. In many ways, I consider members of this group as my extended family. I know it's because we share a common bond of adopting from Ethiopia, but I believe it's also because of unspoken similar core values that just seem to bring people together in unexpected ways. Whatever it is, it works for me. It is my hope that Addison and all of "our" children will grow up together and find value in our little EthiopiaAdoptGA community. Here are a few pictures taken from our last event which took place in a play equipment showroom owned by members Stephanie and Jason. It's obvious from the photos that we had a blast!




6 comments:

Angela said...

It was so great to meet you, Pat. I so look forward to the next get-together!

whatever_heather said...

We love you guys!
Our group is amazing, and such a great gift for our families.
Hope to see you again soon!!

lcm0709 said...

What a blessing it is to know you and to create the friendship over time that will benefit us in years to come when we are officially in-laws.

XOXO
Laura

Anonymous said...

I'm so bummed that we had to miss this get together! Hopefully we will see everyone at the next one!

Renee Coffey

ErinM said...

We absolutely love our group also, and cannot wait to bring Melkamu with us to the gatherings in the future!

Drew Carey Show said...

Kind of makes me wish we lived in Atlanta =) So glad you guys are forming such a wonderful community. I totally understand the unique fellowship you all are enjoying and am so happy that your kids will be able to have each other growing up... XOXO Carey