IAC PICNIC

On June 7th we attended the IAC southern California picnic. Mom and our niece, Amber came too. It was actually our first event that we attended with the IAC. Even though we never completed an adoption through them,( and still have an entirely paid for adoption just waiting for us), we wanted to go and experience the community of families who have adopted. It was a great June day in so.cal. gloomy yet warm enough to be pleasant. They had hot dogs with the fixins', and everyone brought a side dish or dessert, or drinks. I must say the new potato salad recipe was a hit , it was totally gone by the first hour.

It was at a park in Long Beach. So there was plenty of places for the kids to explore, like the pond(lake), playground and swings, they even had a bouncy house, but Aedyn is still too small. We got to see some of the people who helped us along our journey like Jennifer bliss who did our homestudy, Lane Mashal who was our coordinator, and Kathleen, the last counselor we spoke with before going on HOLD. It was great! They were shocked to see we had another baby, and that we didn't adopt through them, haha! Of course we told them I delivered Connor.

It was a great experience getting to talk to other adoptive families about their journeys. Everyone has a story, every story is different, and every family is unique and special! Open adoption is truly a beautiful experience and it touched my heart to see so many happy families!