About Us

Hi! Thanks for stopping by!

EthiopiaKids.com is designed for you! My wife and I completed our (first) Ethiopian adoption in November 2008. It’s been such an incredible blessing to our lives. Our daughter is such a gift to us, and we totally fell in love with Ethiopia during our 16 days there. It is a place we’ve only been to a short while but most definitely feels like home. We look forward to returning.

When we first started our adoption process, searching the internet found one of two things: adoption agency sites and family adoption blogs. Adoption agency sites are good…they serve their purpose. They tell you how, how much, how long and what’s required. It’s good information, but it’s not what moved us to adopt.

Reading other family blogs was what encouraged us to adopt. Seeing other normal families…a lot like us…doing international adoption helped us think that maybe we could adopt internationally, too. It was their stories of good news, of sad news, of good days, and of bad days that made us really believe we could do this. So, we started our own adoption from Ethiopia.

We have loved the connections we have made. The connection in the adoption community is strong and meaningful. It’s one of the unexpected blessings for us in the process. And it was that connection that led me to this site.

My hope is that this website can serve two purposes. The first is mainly achieved on the front end…and that’s to provide inspiration for those considering adopting from Ethiopia or just starting out. I’ve been forunate to have several people to agree to take part in our 10 Questions series. My goal is to have these stories serve as a condensed version of their individual stories. Instead of hopping from site to site looking for stories, start here. Read some great wisdom from a variety of families to learn more about the process.  Most have provided links to their blogs, so you can jump over and continue following their journey. 

I’ve also tried to give a brief overview of the process.  Each agency has different ways of doing things, so nothing will replace talking to your agency.  I hope, though, that the Adopting from Ethiopia story will give you some insight in a broad sense to how the process works.

Look for other articles on the front end of EthiopiaKids.com that will help both starting families and those already home.

My second purpose was to provide a place where adoptive families can connect.  There are definite challenges that face transracial adoptive families, and most Ethiopian adoptive families work to maintain connection to their child’s culture.  That’s what led to the Forum.  Click over, get registered, and start meeting people.  No telling who you might meet…it might be someone in your own town.  Our group grows by the day, and we hope you’ll join us.

Adopting from Ethiopia is awesome.  And scarey.  And emotionally taxing.  And rewarding.  And life-changing.  I hope this site can encourage you to start your own journey.

Thanks again for stopping by…

Ethiopia Dad