Hello,

We are Lisa and Greg. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our letter. We can only imagine how difficult the decision you face must be, and our thoughts and prayers are with you as you choose what you feel is best for both you and your baby. The love you are showing your baby simply overwhelms us, and we hope that we can continue that path of love with you.

We are a married couple living in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area in California. Lisa is originally from Indiana, and Greg is from upstate New York. We met during graduate school in Chicago; we first got to know each other in a church choir, where Lisa was the pianist and Greg played violin and sang. It took only a little bit of time -- and a little persistence from Greg - before we started dating, and even as busy grad students we found ourselves wanting to spend more and more time together. We were married two years later in the very same church where we met.

Our careers brought us to California 8 years ago. We love hanging out together, whether it's going for a run in the park, walking around the neighborhood, or just sitting on the couch reading, talking, or watching a movie. We are both runners (we ran a marathon together a few years ago), and we love to travel. Maintaining strong family ties is very important to us while living on the west coast, so most of our traveling these days is to visit our families.

We are very happy with the life we have made together, and for several years now we have felt the strong desire to expand our little family and share our happiness with children. Two years ago we realized that we were having trouble getting pregnant and as we learned more about adoption, we absolutely believe that we are meant to create our family through adoption.

Let us tell you a little about ourselves.

Lisa

I grew up in a small town in southern Indiana with my parents and younger brother and sister. My extended family and close family friends gave such a strong sense of community. We often traveled around the East, South, and Midwest to have fun and to experience other American cultures. I went to college in Indiana and then medical and graduate school in Chicago. We moved to San Francisco (finally got out West!) for Greg's job and for me to finish my medical training. I now work as a cardiologist and researcher, which is the best of all worlds to me. I truly enjoy and am honored to take care of patients, and my research gives me the opportunity to better understand the conditions I see in the hospital. As a researcher, my schedule is also extremely flexible, which will be a huge advantage so I can spend more time at home with our child.

Greg about Lisa

When I first met Lisa, the first thing I noticed about her was how quick she is to smile and laugh. Lisa is the sort of caring person that everyone loves immediately: her patients, her coworkers, our young nieces and nephews, and even strangers she meets on the street. She has a very positive outlook on life, which really helps when we face challenges. I can't wait to see what a great mother she'll be.

Greg

I grew up just outside of Buffalo, NY with my parents and two younger siblings. As a kid, my biggest interests outside of school were music (which I was good at) and baseball (which I was terrible at). I went away to college to Boston to study engineering, and later to graduate school in Chicago; that turned out to be a great decision, since it's where I met Lisa. I now work as a mechanical engineer at a research lab near San Francisco. It's the perfect job for me -- getting paid to solve interesting problems - but it's the type of job that allows for a lot of flexibility in schedule so that I can always put our family first. My spare time tends to be filled with a mix of the active (running, playing violin) and the more relaxing (reading, crossword puzzles), and most of all spending time with Lisa, who is my best friend.

About Greg, By Lisa

Greg is warm, kind, smart, and has a quick wit - I still remember how much he made me laugh the very first day I met him. Then he quickly blew me away with how beautifully he played violin and good he made me feel about myself. Greg is also a very supportive person who always listens and gives excellent advice. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have found Greg, and it will be such a joy to raise a child with him.

Our home and family

We own our 3-bedroom house in the hills in the East Bay, surrounded by trees and wildlife. Even though we live just a few miles from the city, we often see deer or wild turkeys wandering down our street, and our back deck looks out on a peaceful, tree-filled canyon. Our home is just a short drive from a number of parks and some of the best schools in the area. At the same time, we are very close to San Francisco and all of its great museums, culture, and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. The Bay area has so much to offer a child!

We each have two siblings, and six young nieces and nephews (with a seventh on the way). Our families are scattered around the country (Indiana, Buffalo, Chicago, Boston, Cincinnati) but we get together with everyone as often as we can, at holidays and throughout the year. Our family is very excited and supportive of our plans to start our family through adoption and a child will be very welcomed into this large, loving family. While our families live out of state, we are blessed with a rich support system: our faith community (especially within the choir), friends with children, co-workers, and our own parents have all offered to provide advice and hands-on help when we need it. Lisa's parents have flexible schedules and love to visit the Bay Area for extended periods. All in all, we have a great network.

Our hopes as parents

We are both practicing Catholics; we went to Catholic schools as children, and we hope to raise our own children in the same way. Music continues to be a very important part in our lives and we both continue to play instruments and sing in our church choir every week, which is still a very special shared activity for us. We are looking forward to sharing our love for music with a child. We will be supportive and encouraging to whatever unique talents or interests that they decide to pursue. Education is also something that is important to us, and we are both fortunate that we had the opportunity to take the long educational paths that brought us to our chosen careers. We plan to give our own child the same opportunities.

We also feel very strongly that a child knows how much he or she is loved by their birthmother. It is important to us that a child knows where they come from, and we will share their adoption story with love and openness.

If you would like, we would love talk with you and hopefully meet as well. Please feel free to call us toll free at 1-877-778-5175 or email us at lisa.and.greg.adoption@gmail.com. Or you can call our friendly adoption attorney at 1.800.U.ADOPT.US (1.800.823.6788) or email adamsromer@aol.com.

Sincerely,
Lisa and Greg