Hello and thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about us. We appreciate your openness and courage in choosing adoption, and we realize that this is a very important decision for you, your child and your family. We hope that this letter helps you to understand our strong desire to grow our family through open adoption.
When we decided that we were ready to be parents we found ourselves struggling with unexpected fertility problems. After some medical treatment, we ultimately were not able to have a biological child. We had always talked about adopting a child so it felt very natural and positive for us to turn to adoption.
Our connection to adoption begins with Marna being adopted, as well as two of Scott's cousins. Our families and dear friends whole-heartedly supported our decision to adopt our daughter Emma in 2008. We have always wanted two children and know that Emma will be a great big sister because she has lots of love to give. Should you choose to let us bring your child into our family, he or she will feel unconditional love from us and also from our entire family and all our friends.
About Us
Our love of nature brought us together in 2004 when we became hiking buddies. We shared a fun filled year of dating and realized we both wanted to make our relationship permanent. We became engaged and were married a year later in May of 2006. We have become best friends, enjoy sharing our hopes and dreams, and have each other to lean on. We have the same sense of humor and find ourselves laughing often. When making decisions, we talk things out between the two of us so that we are both on the same page.
Marna describes Scott
Scott grew up in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. He enlisted in the Air Force as an electronics technician and eventually retired in 2003 after 21 years of faithful service. Scott is a college graduate and now works for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) where he maintains the communications equipment that allows air traffic controllers to keep us safe while flying. His job is challenging, but it is very secure and provides lots of paid time off for family activities and vacations.
Scott enjoys following football and formula one auto racing, and reading science fiction and history books. He is a very kind, caring and patient man who has a great sense of humor and who loves camping and being outdoors. He is intelligent, thoughtful and loving and he brings out the best in me. Scott is great with Emma and loves to read to her, play with her, and take her to the park. He can't wait to be a Dad for the second time, and show your child all the fun in the world around us.
Scott describes Marna
Marna grew up in Berkeley, California. She graduated from college with a degree in Therapeutic Recreation and has worked with children and adults with different types of disabilities. She later went on to earn the certificates necessary to become a certified massage therapist, and worked in that field for eight years before becoming a stay-at-home mom.
Marna spent a lot of time on her father's farm while growing up and has an appreciation for nature. She also enjoys hiking, camping, reading, cooking, music and going to baseball games with her father. She is an avid swimmer and enjoys taking Emma to mommy and toddler swim classes. Marna is a friendly and outgoing person who cares deeply about people. She has the courage to stand up for what she believes in; and is always up for a challenge. She is a wonderful friend, is fun to be with, and helps me to keep things in perspective. Marna is great at engaging children in fun activities that help them learn, as well as to just relax and enjoy the simple pleasures of being a kid. Marna has always wanted to be a mother and she has been terrific in that role.
Our daughter Emma
Emma was born in California in August of 2008. She is a very happy and healthy toddler, and has fun playing with her cousins and friends. She enjoys walking to our neighborhood parks and playing on our backyard slide. Emma explores our backyard while we do our gardening, indulging her curious nature while collecting leaves, searching for bugs, and watching the birds fly overhead. She loves doing puzzles, reading her lift-the-flap books and being read to. Listening to a variety of music while making up her own silly dances makes her smile and giggle. Emma is an outgoing, sweet and loving child who always enjoys a good belly laugh.
Our family
Scott is the youngest of three children. His parents have been married for over fifty years and reside in the same house where he grew up. Scott's sister lives in Florida and is married and has a college age son. Scott's older brother lives in Colorado and is also married with two children. Marna has two older brothers. Her parents divorced when she was seven years of age, yet the whole family remains close and lives in our area. Marna's father has since remarried and resides on his farm in Sonoma County. Marna has three stepsisters. We each grew up with the influence of our grandparents, and feel that close family and exposure to many generations has been a positive influence on us. Our parents are very eager to become grandparents again.
Our home and our community
Our home is filled with love, fun times, music, and laughter. We own a nice home in the family friendly suburb of Livermore, just east of San Francisco. Our neighborhood is safe and quiet and we have wonderful neighbors. Our house has four bedrooms and a big backyard with a fun play structure. We live three blocks from an excellent elementary school and look forward to walking our children to school. There are numerous activities for kids, and Marna has joined a mother's club where the kids get to play and the moms can share parenting experiences. We share our home with Mia, our ten year old kitty, who keeps us laughing with her silly, cuddly and sweet personality.
Our values
We were both raised to be kind and accepting of people, and to treat others with respect.
Both of our families raised us with sound morals and good character, yet kept religion as a low key part of their life. We both value the serenity of nature because it helps us to feel rejuvenated and gives us balance. We hope to give these values and enjoyment of nature to your child.
We are a close and caring family, and hope to raise children who will be confident and happy. We will do our very best to make our home life supportive, educational, loving, fun, and safe. We will help your child to become an independent, considerate and kind adult who will care for others and contribute to our community. Your child will have many opportunities for creating their own successes in life.
Our thoughts about open adoption
A child who becomes a part of our family will be accepted for who they are and who they will become, and we will honor the amount of contact that you desire. Marna was adopted when adoptions were through agencies and were closed. She found her birthmother while in her early 20's to thank her for making such a monumental decision and to find out what she could about her family history. We hope that an open adoption will provide the kind of communication and relationship that will meet the needs of your growing child, and that can have a positive effect on his or her identity and self-esteem.
We thank you again for taking the time to read our letter and we hope that it has given you a sense of who we are, and the kind of life we can provide for your child. We want you to know that if you choose us to raise your child as our own, that we will do exactly that. We will raise your child with the whole hearted feeling that he or she is our own, and deserving of all the devotion and support that comes with that precious parent-child relationship. You will be giving us the most precious gift of all and we will be eternally grateful for the chance to become the parents you are seeking.
Please feel free to contact us any time by calling 1-877-386-1805 or by sending email to scottandmarna@comcast.net. You can also call our friendly and supportive adoption attorney, Susan Romer, at 1-800-UADOPTUS (1-800-823-6788) or email her at adamsromer@aol.com.
