Dear Expectant Mother,
Hello, we are Brian and Sarah from San Francisco. Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and to learn a little bit about us. We have great respect for you as you consider adoption, a plan we believe is very courageous and generous. We are excited to become parents and have reached the point in our lives that we can offer a child a loving, secure and wonderful life. Family is a very important part of our lives and we are eager to welcome a child into our loving family and community of friends. Sarah and her sister are adopted and we feel we have unique insight to offer our child.
About Us:
We met six years ago and have been married for four years. Our relationship is built on a solid foundation of love and trust. We respect each other's points of view, and if we disagree, we are able to talk through the difficult issues. Being outdoors is a big part of our lives and we often spend part of our weekends hiking, running, biking or hanging out in our garden soaking up some sunshine. We love having family and friends over and cooking a great meal. When we travel we like to snorkel at tropical beaches, visit friends, explore old European cities and eat like the locals in Mexico. We can't wait to share these adventures with our child.
About Sarah (by Brian)
I fell in love with Sarah because she is witty and intelligent, we laugh so easily together and she ensures that we focus on nurturing our relationship. Sarah will be a loving, involved and creative mom. I can't wait to share the challenges and the joys of parenting with her. Sarah grew up in Palo Alto, California, a town south of San Francisco. Sarah's parents separated when she was young, but she's always been close with both of them. She attended college in Los Angeles, earning her degree in history and theater. After graduating, Sarah lived in Paris, studying French and the art of pastry eating! She works as a family practice physician assistant, seeing patients daily. She is great at her job because she is compassionate, a good listener and her patients relate to her. Sarah plans to be a stay at home mom and, when the time is right, return to work part time. She is also passionate about yoga and traveling. She has fond memories of cooking with her mom (who is also a great cook) and looks forward to sharing time in the kitchen with our child making cookies, cakes and, knowing Sarah, some vegetables too.
Sarah's personal adoption story
I was adopted at birth, joining my sister, who was also adopted, and my parents, to complete our family. Adoption was very different when I was born. I never had the chance to meet my birth mother or father. I am thankful that my birth mother made the choice to give me a wonderful family and the best life she could. I have often reflected on the courage of her decision and she is not far from my thoughts as Brian and I begin our family through adoption. I am currently in the process of contacting my birth parents and look forward to learning more about where I come from. Brian and I will respect our child's birth history and speak openly and positively about it. We are excited by the idea of open adoption and the questions it will answer for our child as they grow and begin to understand about where they came from.
About Brian (by Sarah)
Brian is patient, very playful and children love him. I love watching Brian play peek-a-boo with our niece and engage in a mock sword fight with our friends' children. As a dad, he looks forward to singing and dancing with our child, playing outdoors and reading them bedtime stories. He is going to make a great father. Brian grew up in the Philadelphia area with his parents and older sister. His parents created a loving environment and encouraged him to try new things, to work hard and to always make time for the family. Brian attended college in upstate New York studying accounting. I love that Brian is dedicated and loyal. He started his career right after college and is now a partner at the same firm he started with. He continues to find his job challenging and rewarding. He loves music and after dinner I usually find him rocking out with his headphones on while he does the dishes. We recently bought a piano and he enjoys playing some of his old favorites. Brian loves to sail and has taken many classes to help master the technical aspects and keep us safe on the bay.
Our dream for our new family:
We both grew up with the tradition of always eating together as a family and we have great memories of the bonding that happens over nightly family dinners. We plan to carry on this tradition in our own family. We want to create a family where our child is supported in being creative, curious and unique. We value education and learning and will support a child's individual interests and abilities. It will be so exciting to watch a child discover something new, be it a bug, a different food or a new bedtime story. It will give us so much pleasure to watch them laugh, learn and thrive. We also love animals. Brian grew up with dogs and Sarah with cats. We plan on adding pets to our family in the near future. We look forward to family outings to parks, museums, the zoo and the ballpark.
Our Home:
We own our cute, three bedrooms, two story home on a quiet street in San Francisco. We love being in a family-oriented neighborhood while still enjoying all the wonderful parks, farmers' markets, beaches and cultural activities of San Francisco. We have a flower and vegetable garden off the kitchen and a sunny family room upstairs perfect for play time with our child. We recently remodeled our kitchen and have started our own family cookbook with our favorite recipes. We enjoy gardening and barbecuing in our back yard and look forward to some family time playing and digging in the dirt. There are many great options for schools close by, including public and private and language immersion programs.
Our families:
Most of Sarah's family lives close by. We get together often for big family meals and holidays. Sarah's sister and her husband live nearby and have a delightful two-year-old daughter who is looking forward to having a cousin. Sarah's parents are very active grandparents and love sleepovers and day trips with their grandchildren. Brian's family lives outside Philadelphia but visits often and can't wait to have their first grandchild. We have a big family - with cousins across the country - and lots of love to give!
Thank you for reading our letter. We look forward to meeting you and learning about what is important to you in your child's future. You may also feel free to contact us through our adoption attorney, Susan Romer at 1-800-U-ADOPT-US (1-800-823-6788) and adamsromer@aol.com. Susan would be happy to talk with you about all your adoption choices.
