Dear Expectant Mother,
We are Lloyd and Alice. Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and to get to know us. We understand what a difficult time this must be for you and can only imagine the emotions you might be experiencing. We respect you for your courage in trying to make the best decision for your child. We adopted our daughter from Vietnam and she has been the most amazing blessing. Being a family gives us so much happiness that we can’t wait to bring another baby into our family and hearts. We would like to share a little about ourselves so you have an idea of who we are.
About Us
We met when we were in high school, but we were only friends until years later when we saw each other again at a mutual friend’s wedding. We instantly felt connected, and dated for five years while going to school, starting our careers, and saving enough money for our wedding. We have been happily married for seven years.
We both really love to travel and always made it a priority to take trips to different places. We have seen toucans and monkeys in the wild in Belize and Guatemala, visited sacred ancient temples in Bali, slept in hammocks in Mexico and visited many more fun and interesting places in the United States and abroad. We love visiting other cultures and learning about how other people live. We feel that it opens our minds to new ideas and possibilities.
About Alice
I am the youngest of five and grew up in a small town in Northern California with a very large and loving extended family. My grandmothers, great aunts, friends, school and local town were all within walking distance of the house I grew up in. I was always surrounded by my family, which is probably why I am a very social person. I have always loved being around kids and luckily I have nine nieces and nephews.
Despite treasuring my small town roots, I moved to the Bay Area to attend UC Berkeley, majoring in English with a minor in Scandinavian studies. I fell in love with the area. It was so exciting to experience new people from interesting places, try new foods, and learn new ideas. I eventually started working at UC Berkeley, first as an administrator and then later a programmer. I worked there for nine years until we decided to start a family. When we adopted Fiona, I became a stay at home mom and I absolutely love it. Every day we try to find something new to do: digging for worms in the back yard, going to the zoo, or exploring neighborhood parks.
I also enjoy taking time to go for long hikes with our dog, Moneypenny, or catching up with friends over coffee. I am a skilled skier and synchronized swimmer and even swam synchro in college. My parents always encouraged me to pursue a variety of interests, and I look forward to helping my children do the same.
About Lloyd
I was born in Great Britain and moved to the United States with my family when I was eleven. Growing up in Wales, I loved playing and watching soccer. My parents were very supportive, taking me to all my soccer matches, and to professional games. Today I am still passionate about soccer. I play on a local league, and I even started Fiona on her first little kickers team. I also enjoy many outdoor activities such as camping, backpacking, skiing, surfing and cycling. I am the happiest when I am outdoors or hanging out with friends and family.
My parents stressed the importance of education while growing up. I graduated from a university in San Diego and medical school in Philadelphia. I then finished five more years of training in Head and Neck Surgery, and joined a private practice. I feel very fortunate because my field is very specialized, interesting and diverse. Sometimes I remove beads, batteries, or other objects from children’s noses, operate on patient ears to restore their hearing, or remove cancer from the throat and neck. I work hard but I only work from nine to five and I take eight weeks off every year to vacation with family. I feel education is important and will be supportive in whatever direction a child's heart and mind takes them.
Being a loving father and husband are roles I cherish. Each day is so exciting as a parent; whether it noticing her new vocabulary, seeing her take pride in her potty training, or playing make believe with her new toy kitchen. Creating a safe, happy, loving home is very important to me, and brings me such joy.
About Fiona
In 2006, we adopted our daughter, Fiona, who was 4 months old from Vietnam. We couldn’t believe how lucky we were to be able to become her parents. Fiona is a very easygoing little girl who has a really big belly laugh. She is very happy and likes to just dig in and play with whatever seems like the most fun, whether it be sand, paint or play dough. She loves make-believe princesses and dragons and is very gentle and fun loving. She is friendly, affectionate, and loves to giggle. We love her more than words can describe and know we have much more love to share. Fiona will be an amazing big sister.
Home & Family
We live in Oakland, California, in a small village nestled up in the hills surrounded by trees and several huge, beautiful parks. We are minutes away from the ocean and San Francisco, and only a few hours away from Lake Tahoe. Our house has a big back yard with lots of trees and sunshine. We are steps away from a park, elementary school, library, and local village. Our community is incredibly diverse and offers a large variety of fun activities for kids.
We love the fact that our families are multi-cultural. Within both our families we have members that are African American and Asian. Our families embrace all cultures and will welcome another child in with open arms. Luckily, our home is close to both of our families. We make frequent trips with our families up to our Lake Tahoe family cabin for winter and summer fun. During the holiday season, we all get together with Alice family for Christmas and Easter. At the Christmas party, Santa comes to visit the kids and at Easter, there is a big Easter egg hunt for all the relatives. We can wait to share these traditions. They are eagerly awaiting the arrival of a new family member.
Our Values
Our family is the most important thing to us. We love being parents and completely savor every minute. We appreciate all the things children bring into our lives -- their curiosity, playfulness and their love. We want to raise our children to be loving, kind and respectful to others and to be open-minded about life. We want them to have the opportunity to have a great education and most importantly, to enjoy the world and people around them.
We are both physically active and value good nutrition but we don take it too seriously since we both have a pretty big sweet tooth. We both value a good sense of humor and consequently there is a lot of laughter in our household.
Our parents taught us to maintain a good balance between enjoying life while at the same time working hard toward our goals. We want our children to grow up having the confidence and freedom to know that they can pursue whatever they are passionate about and that they are loved no matter what they choose.
In Closing
More than anything, we want you to know how much your child will be loved. We would be so excited to hear from you and learn about you. Please feel free to call us if there is anything you would like to talk with us about at 1-888-350-3254 or email us at lloydandalice@gmail.com or call our adoption attorney, Susan Romer, at 1-800-U-ADOPT-US (1-800-823- 6788) or e-mail her at adamsromer@aol.com.
Sincerely,
Lloyd, Alice and Fiona
