Hello from Kate and Paul,
Thank you for reading our letter and considering us as parents for your child. We admire your courage and strength as you make this important decision. We hope as you learn more about us you can see the strong desire that we have to raise a child and provide a happy and secure home, support and encouragement for his or her growth, with unconditional love.
About Us
We are Kate and Paul and we live in the Sierra Foothills of California with our two dogs Cooper and Kayla. In 1999, we met at work at the state department of health. We were drawn to each other because of our similar values and beliefs and because we liked to laugh and we soon found that we had the same dry and quirky sense of humor. 
We quickly and easily fell in love, spending all our time together doing what we both loved – enjoying the outdoors. It is because of our mutual interest in the outdoors that we moved from the Bay Area to the mountains in 2000, and ended up in this small rural community north of Sacramento. We were married in 2002 and bought our house in 2003. In the summers we spend time at nearby lakes, streams and mountains going kayaking, hiking, fly-fishing, and camping, and in the winters we go cross-country skiing. We enjoy traveling and often go to the east coast where Paul is from, explore the Western United States especially New Mexico, and often head north to Canada. Between us we have been to England and Scotland, as well as many western European countries, Japan, Korea, India, Nepal, Mexico and Guatemala. We enjoy learning about other cultures often with our friends who are from the Asian and Hispanic communities.
Our Home
Paul found our house on the internet and the minute we drove up to it we knew it was right for us. It is set to the back of the fenced one acre lot with lots of grass/lawn space, a seasonal stream, lots of trees which will be great fun for a child to climb and make tree forts! We love our home and land as well as our neighborhood that includes families with new babies, an excellent elementary school nearby, and it is in a community where everyone raises cows, sheep, goats, chickens and some have horses. We both enjoy gardening and grow a variety of vegetables, pumpkins, herbs, garlic and flowers. We both “fight” over who gets to cook and often create delicious dishes from what we have grown in the garden. This year we also made blackberry jam and dill pickles.
Our Family
Most of our immediate family members live within two hours of us. Kate’s Mom recently moved to Sacramento and is just down the street from Kate’s sister, her husband and their two young children. Kate keeps up with her aunts, uncles and many cousins that live between the Bay Area and Sacramento and everyone is looking forward to a new cousin. One of Paul’s sons lives on the East Coast and the other lives in the Bay Area; and last year Paul’s parents moved to our town from Connecticut where Paul grew up, so our child will be able to know their grandparents better.
Kate on Paul
What drew me to Paul were the things that we had in common, but what I grew to admire even more were the things that are different about us. Paul is a continuous self learner. He loves all music especially classical and has a great ear for nuances in instruments. Paul is always reading up on music, outdoor areas to fish and hike, gardening techniques, recipes to cook, and everything electronic (computers, cameras, iPods). I love watching Paul do the things he enjoys most, like being in the great outdoors, making a complicated meal for friends, or simply relaxing in a campsite. Paul is my rock; he is thorough in his decision making; helpful and caring of others; and he jumps in when challenges come his way. Paul is a wonderful parent and I have watched how unconditionally loving and generous he is when it comes to his sons, even while having a simple conversation with them. I appreciate the fact that Paul is an experienced father and he is so excited to be a dad again.
Paul on Kate
I was attracted to Kate because she’s funny, caring, and always up for an adventure. Kate let me know early on that she wanted a family, and even though I already had two sons, I was excited at the thought of being parents together. I am in awe of Kate’s commitment to people and the reward she gets from it. 
In her free time Kate checks that car seats are properly installed in our community and started a Safe Kids Chapter with some good friends. Kate also loves animals especially dogs and she volunteers to walks dogs every week at our local animal shelter. Kate is a real people person but finds quiet time to knit and make jewelry -- both which she taught herself.
Our Work
We both are public servants - Paul works for the in state as a fiscal analyst and evaluates the effectiveness of social programs and Kate is the coordinator of the child passenger safety program in public health. We are both college educated and Kate has a Master’s degree from the University of North Carolina. We both have plenty of time “on the books” to initially stay home and welcome a child into our lives. Thereafter, Kate will reduce her work schedule and our child will attend onsite childcare at Kate’s work.
Our Parenting Values and Goals
We were unable to have children biologically but knew in our hearts that our goal of a family was the highest priority and are grateful to become parents through adoption. Since we have planned on having a family for so long we have spent a lot of time talking about how we will raise a child. A child will grow up with the values that we have already built into our marriage and family. We believe in being respectful and honest, having good communication, being trust worthy, while striving to enjoy life with some humor and at the same time, setting and achieving goals. 
We plan to expose a child to nature, music, travel, different cultures, sports, but also ground him or her with an understanding of respect, hard work and educational achievement. We believe that our role as parents is to be supportive and offer guidance but to allow a child an opportunity to explore and challenge him or herself. We are fortunate to draw on Paul’s parental experience so that our child will grow to be confident, successful and happy.
We hope that this letter gives you a snapshot of who we are and what we enjoy to do! We feel fortunate and appreciate our lives of going to work, maintaining our home, reading, doing hobbies, spending time with families and friends as well as traveling and going on vacation when we can. We are eager to welcome a child into our lives through adoption and are committed to being open and honest with our daughter/son about the love and care that was involved in your decision. We look forward to meeting you so we can learn about you, and your hopes and dreams for your child.
If you would like to contact us directly, please feel free to call us at 1-888-251-7011 Pin #0532 or email us at kfbernacki@yahoo.com. You can also call our friendly adoption attorney, Susan Romer, at 1.800.U.Adopt.Us or email at adamsromer@aol.com.
Warmly, Kate and Paul
