Dear Birthmother,
We are Emily and Francis, two college professors. We live by the beach, about an hour and a half south of San Francisco in Santa Cruz, California. We are casual, outdoors people who love to explore and travel the world. Emily is originally from New York and Francis from England. We've been together for 9 years, married for the last 6, and are ready to build our family.
We are both active and look forward to devoting that type of energy and enthusiasm to parenting. We relax by cooking, hiking, and often just hanging out together in our yard reading.
The college where we both work has a style that matches us exactly. Teaching college is a very flexible work life which makes it family-friendly, with lots of time for us both to parent. We are lucky to have jobs that we also enjoy so much. As teachers of Earth Science, we study the planet around us, so we love to travel and take vacations all over the world. One of the joys of being parents will be helping a child explore their world, and our planet.
About Emily (by Francis)
Emily is a warm loving person who adores taking on new challenges. Emily meets new people wherever she goes and is full of enthusiasm. Her energy seems limitless — which is one reason I know why she'll make a great parent. In her free time, she often is cooking or baking, using recipes and experimenting with new tastes. Emily is a positive person who loves life and faces it with curiosity and a sense of humor.
Emily was born, raised and attended school in the same small town outside New York, so she graduated high school with a lot of the same friends she started kindergarten with. Emily still stays in close touch with her two college roommates who've moved to the Bay Area, one of whom has four small children.
Emily's love of acting as a small child turned into a life long love of theater. Emily started working behind the stage in high school, and if science had not caught her, she'd be working in the theater today. Emily, her brother and their grandmother had birthdays that are less two weeks apart, so Emily's parents started an annual tradition with the whole family seeing a Broadway show as a birthday celebration.
Emily's close-knit extended family get together every Thanksgiving for the annual reunion, and Emily's brother has 3 children. We went to Yellowstone National Park with her brother and his family, and explored the geysers like Old Faithful, hiked the mountains, and enjoyed seeing the buffalo and bison, and singing campfire songs together.
About Francis (by Emily)
Francis is a tall and gentle guy. He loves hiking, running and biking, and will be the kind of Dad who is running around with his kid or playing together on the beach. He enjoys making silly faces with our friends' children, and is really looking forward to sharing his love of sports and of the outdoors. So it's no surprise that our nieces and nephews run to Francis when they get together, and often they cry when it is time to say good bye and go home ... until their next visit.
Francis was born and raised in a small town in the countryside in England, and still speaks with his charming English accent. While his family lives in Europe, Francis is still the person his younger brother and sister call when they need a sympathetic ear. Family has always been very important to Francis and his siblings. His sister travels to California twice a year, and Francis is the guardian for his brother's 2 year old daughter Kaye, should the need ever arise. With this background, I know Francis will be a great Dad.
Francis grew up in a converted barn with a big yard, where his parents kept chickens, geese, and a goat (named Emily). The children all went on hikes, complete with miniature boots and backpacks. This is probably where Francis developed his long-lasting interest in rocks and the outdoors.
Our home...
We live in Santa Cruz, a small, friendly college town on the Monterey Bay surrounded by state parks and farms. We are about a block from the elementary school and every morning there is a steady parade of children past our door. We know several adoptive families who live nearby.
Our Victorian house is about a five-minute bike ride away from the ocean. We look forward to biking to the beach as a family, to build sand castles, play in the waves and explore the tide pools. Our backyard has plenty of space for a sandbox, and a porch with a hammock for summer afternoon naps. Our cat Sally guards our yard from her window perch, though we most often find her fast asleep on the job.
Our values...
We value compassion, humor and honesty. These are among the values we will pass along to a child. We will mix those values with a sense of adventure. And we will also give a child the confidence and knowledge that we will always be there for him or her when help is needed, or a tear needs to be wiped away, or someone just needs to be held.
Nothing in our lives is more important than raising a happy child. We both had parents who loved us unconditionally, supported us in all our endeavors, and allowed us to follow our dreams. So when Emily developed her love of theater, her family was right there when she got, or more importantly didn't get a part. Our aim as parents is to do the same.
Our marriage is a partnership of love and mutual respect, and we feel very lucky to have found each other. We have worked through challenges together, shared many laughs together, and are ready to face that biggest challenge — the love, and work, of raising a child together.
Thank you for taking the time to get to know us in this letter. We are deeply touched that you are thinking about entrusting us with the greatest responsibility we can have. We look forward to learning more about you. You can contact us any time through our San Francisco lawyers at Adams & Romer (phone: 1-800-U-ADOPT-US, e-mail: adamsromer@aol.com) or contact us directly at 1-888-500-2459 or by email to seasidesc@gmail.com. We want to be there for and with you, as you make these courageous decisions. We hope we hear from you.
Take care and be well always,
Francis and Emily
