Just a little over a week ago, on Saturday June 18, Adoptions From The Heart hosted their Annual Family Picnic. It was held at Fort Washington State Park in Flourtown Pennsylvania. Lots of people came out to the picnic to celebrate all the different types of family created through adoption. Many attendees reunited with the birth parents of their child. This was not only due to their commitment to open adoption. It also allowed their child to connect with and begin to understand their roots. Adoptions From the Heart and many AFTH Families are advocates for openness in the adoption triad because it benefits the emotional well-being of all parties. Adoptive parents, birth parents and adoptees gathering together for a day of fun in the park can make for a beautiful reunion and can take some of the pressure away!
Picnic Fun
Between the two food trucks, an ice cream truck, snacks under the pavilion, hot dogs grilling by AFTH board members, a lot of full and happy tummies enjoyed the picnic! Children and adults alike also enjoyed dancing to live music from Egalitarian & Dinkendo Family Band and playing soccer and volleyball in the park.
There were also tigers, fairies, and super heroes at the event thanks to our wonderful face painters! Children attending could also spend time at the craft table making trinkets to bring home. They would bring more than that home though! A full candy bar and table of giveaways was the first thing families saw when they entered the park. Kids filled bags of candy and picked out one or two toys to remember this wonderful day with their families.
Of course, raffles were available to enter so adults attending could potentially bring home a prize too! With a 50-50 raffle, family fun baskets, restaurant baskets, kids baskets, and pet baskets, there were plenty of fun opportunities to win with all proceeds going to the AFTH Expecting & Birthmother Fund! There was even a vacation basket that gave the lucky winner a week-long stay at their choice from a list of over 100 relaxing destinations!
A Beautiful Picnic Reunion
Adoptions From The Heart was able to talk to one family at the picnic who had a pretty exciting week.
Kristin and Eric, currently residing in New Jersey, met in Indiana during high school where they both swam. The dated for a while but as life goes, they went separate ways. Fifteen years later they reconnected and started a life together. From there they wanted to grow their family.
Colette was born on December 3, 2015 and just three days later, she was placed with her future parents, Kristin and Eric. This past Wednesday, just days before the AFTH Annual Family Picnic, Kristin and Eric finalized the adoption of their daughter!
The family was excited to head to the picnic. They would not only to celebrate the growth of their family, but reunite with Colette’s birth mother. The family, including Kristin, Eric, Colette, her birthmother, and Kristin’s parents, spent the day picnicking, catching up, and bouncing baby Colette to see her beautiful smile.
Kristin and Eric have had an exciting journey through adoption and admit that it is an extremely eye opening experience. They want to continue as members of the adoption community by advocating and educating people about adoption. They hope to help people understand how to be supportive and how to talk about adoption.
Until AFTH Picnic 2017…
The Adoptions From The Heart Annual Family Picnic was a success and we are already excited for next year. After talking with many attendees, we found that it was a lot of families’ first year attending the event. We hope even more new families grown through adoption can join us in 2017 for food, music, games, and fun. All if this in the name of reunions, family, openness, and love.
