You decide whether you would like to let them adopt your baby.
We are here for you to help make the decision that best suits your needs.
Alan and Justin
Dear Expectant Mother,
Thank you for taking the time to read our letter. We are Justin and Alan and we live in Laguna Beach, California. We have been partners for 6 years and are very committed to each other. Even in the early days of our relationship, we talked about someday raising a child together. We decided on open adoption because we welcome ongoing contact if that’s important to you. We want to say how much we admire your courage and strength as you face a difficult decision. We hope we can meet you someday.
Our Beliefs
We strongly believe that each child has unique talents and interests. We look forward to discovering what they are and helping to develop them both mentally and physically. We are excited about exploring with a child all the activities and adventures that life has to offer and encouraging a sense of discovery and curiosity. We truly love being in the outdoors and can’t wait to walk our kid down to the beach to look for dolphins, build sand castles or play on the jungle gym. We plan to visit Yosemite to see the waterfalls, wildflowers and deer and learn about the people who have lived there for thousands of years. We believe it’s so important for kids to learn about and appreciate the world and care about what happens to it. We also think it’s important for a child to develop self awareness, confidence and a moral compass so that she or he can make good decisions and become a secure and happy adult with healthy, loving and supportive relationships. We hope our nurturing will help our child do well in school, sports, the arts or anything else. We have so much love, energy, resources and time to devote to a child that we feel we will make great parents.
About Us
Alan is the perfect yin to Justin’s yang, (or is it the other way around?) Alan is analytical, level headed and organized. Justin lives more by intuition and feeling. However you may see our personalities, the one thing that is certain is that we make a great team and are completely in love. We both share a love for the outdoors and a respect for the environment. Our hobbies include both watching and playing sports. We actually met through mutual friends at a softball tournament in which we were both playing. We are also huge baseball and football fans. Our weekends are often spent hiking, biking, skiing, surfing or kayaking. We both share a passion for travel and like to learn about the history and cultures of the different areas of the U.S. and beyond. We like to work in our garden and enjoy the fruits of our labor when we harvest oranges, lemons, grapefruit, avocados, and other fresh herbs, fruits and vegetables. We love having guests in our home and often have friends and family staying with us. We also like to go to movies, concerts, plays and dance performances. We are thrilled by the thought of someday being able to share these activities with a child.
About Justin
Justin enjoys life by living in the moment and not taking things too seriously. He is an elementary school teacher, although right now he is taking time off to be a stay at home dad. He enjoys teaching because he can turn almost anything into a fun learning experience. He loves seeing the look on a kid’s face when they figure out something they hadn’t known before. In all settings, kids always gravitate toward him. Justin has fun gardening, cooking for family and friends, fixing up the house, and watching movies at home. He stays healthy by running, cycling and kayaking in the ocean and enjoys several backpacking trips each year. Justin grew up in Toledo, Ohio, the youngest of three boys. He spent his formative years splashing in creeks, climbing trees, building forts, and playing little league baseball. He also liked to visit the art museum, zoo, the riverfront shops and ethnic neighborhoods with tasty restaurants. Justin’s parents still live in his childhood home in Toledo and Justin and Alan get together with his family several times a year. They love Alan. Justin is close to his niece and nephew, and likes talking with them about their friends and experiences in high school. While working his way through college in San Diego, Justin learned Spanish by listening to and practicing with friends and co-workers. This is also when he discovered his love for travel after a trip to Mexico and has since visited many beautiful and interesting places.
About Alan
Alan is very family oriented and has always known that he wanted to raise children. He is very close to his two brothers, their wives and kids, and sees them frequently. He has a very positive attitude about life and is not easily discouraged by obstacles or setbacks. Originally raised in Detroit, Michigan, Alan lived in Chicago for many years before moving to California in 1998. He misses his Midwestern roots, but enjoys the benefits of living on the West Coast. Alan was the youngest of three boys and grew up playing sports, going on fishing trips with his dad and focusing on school. Growing up in a Christian family, he was very involved in his church’s youth group. He has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Michigan and is working in business and real estate. Alan enjoys many hobbies including mountain biking, softball, surfing, kayaking and home improvement projects. With two nieces and a nephew, Alan is a favorite uncle and has been an active participant in their lives since they were born. Alan got his first taste of caring for a newborn at age 13 when he helped care for his niece, Stacy, during a summer vacation. This was a rewarding experience that gave him respect for the challenges of raising a kid and exposed him to the joys of watching a child grow. More recently, “Uncle Alan” has a very close relationship with his 13 year old nephew Miles who visits Alan and Justin from his home in New York during Miles’ school breaks. Alan looks forward to someday sharing all that he has learned from his nieces and nephew with a child of his own.
Our Families
Both of us have two loving parents who are an important part of our lives. Both sets of parents have been together for many years, (Justin’s for 47 years and Alan’s for 57), and serve as role models for enduring and loving relationships. Alan’s parents have decided to move to California from Florida so they can be closer to us. Justin’s parents are very excited to have another grandchild. We were both very close to our grandparents growing up, and want a child who knows a grandparent’s love and caring. Our brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews have all been very supportive of our decision to adopt. They are excited and will be enthusiastically involved in the baby’s life. We also have many friends who we consider family including several close female friends who look forward to being role models for our children. Justin’s friend Alicia already called dibs on having the baby shower.
Our Home
We have a good sized home in Southern California, with a large yard in a safe neighborhood and are walking distance from the beach. The baby will have a bright, cozy nursery next to our bedroom which will be filled with books, stuffed animals and colorful pictures. We live on a small, quiet street with only eight homes on it. We know all of our neighbors and there are several potential playmates on the street who have not started school yet. There is a fantastic park just around the corner with jungle gyms, swings, slides, and a sand box. We live in a cute little beach town surrounded by protected canyon lands, yet we’re within an hour or less of L.A, San Diego, Disneyland and much more. In addition to the beautiful natural settings and a thriving artistic community, our town has outstanding schools with a great reputation for learning in a safe, diverse and supportive environment. Our house is shouting distance from the high school so we live with the sounds of the marching band and cheers from the crowd and hope to one day hear our own child’s name over the loudspeaker.
In Closing
We are very patient, mature individuals who have come together as a family. We look forward to sharing our lives, values and love with a child. We are also open to having an ongoing relationship with you as the child’s biological mother. We believe that it is important for the child to know the story of his or her origin. Hopefully this letter lets you know what we’re like and assures you that we will make good parents. Thank you for taking the time to consider us as potential parents for your child. We understand the difficult decision that you face and want you to know how much we admire you for considering adoption.
You can reach us at our toll free number 800-931-6992 or send us an e-mail at: connect@justinandalan.com. If you would like to see more pictures and learn more about us you are welcome to visit our website at: http://justinandalan.com/index.html. You may also feel free to call our friendly adoption attorney, Susan Romer at 1-800-U-Adopt-Us. You can also e-mail Susan at adamsromer@aol.com.
Take Care and Best Wishes to You,
Justin and Alan