Jay and Craig

Dear Expectant Mother,

We are Jay and Craig. We know this must be a very difficult time for you and we can only imagine the thoughts and feelings you are experiencing as you consider adoption. Even though we have not yet met you, we respect you for your willingness to make this loving decision. We adopted our daughter Avery through open adoption, and it is our hope now to expand our family. We thank you for considering us as possible adoptive parents for your child.

About Us…
We met in Chicago over ten years ago and have been inseparable ever since. Over the past eight years we have lived in San Francisco and we love this city and consider it our home. San Francisco is a place of diversity and culture and we truly take time to enjoy all that the area has to offer, whether it is going to a film festival, eating at a neighborhood restaurant, or hiking in the redwoods.

Our career paths brought us out West to California. After practicing law for 11 years, Craig decided to leave the field and go into commercial real estate. He is now a senior executive at his firm. Jay has his own wellness consulting business – advising companies on ways to have healthier, happier employees. We are fortunate to be financially stable and work for ourselves, allowing flexibility in our schedules and time to spend with our child. Once we adopt again, Jay looks forward to staying home for the first year so our new child will have the constant love and attention that a baby needs.

We consider ourselves a married couple. When the City of San Francisco gave us an opportunity to get married, we were among the first to go to City Hall. It was a great day in our lives together, and a moment that our families celebrated along with us.

In August of 2005, we adopted Avery at birth through the process of open adoption. The experience was very special for all of us. Avery is a bright and beautiful little girl who loves to laugh and enjoys the company of other children. Going on three, she is already a great swimmer, and loves drawing and story time. Avery would make a wonderful older sister. We have been so blessed with her but we feel we still have so much more love to give, which is why we wish to have another child. We are also excited that the children will be able to share in the adoption experience.

About Jay…
I am from Asheville, North Carolina, and although I don’t have much of an accent, friends still say that I have a laid back Southern quality. My parents divorced when I was a child. Both have since remarried and are very happy, and having this extended family means that there is a lot of love to go around. I was raised with a sister who passed away as a teenager and she is with me in my heart every day. Having a sibling is something I deeply wish for our daughter.

As a corporate wellness consultant my career has recently gone in an interesting direction. This past year I started appearing regularly on local television and radio as an expert in my field, which has been a lot of fun. I hope to write a book sometime soon. Reading is also a passion of mine as is watching animated movies. We have copies of many films from The Little Mermaid to Ratatouille that we watch together a family.

I earned my undergraduate degree at Duke University and then moved to Chicago to get my Masters in Business at Northwestern. Ever since my college years at Duke, I have been a big college basketball fan and have a playful rivalry with friends and relatives who went to Carolina. Go Blue Devils!

About Craig…
I am originally from New York and my parents now live in Chicago. I come from a close family and two of my grandparents are still living and interested in what Jay and I are up to in California. After moving out to the Bay Area, I was fortunate to rediscover some wonderful cousins who live nearby and we are now close to them. Having the support of family around is really important to us as we build our family. Several of our cousins have toddlers so there will be fun little playmates for our children. I am also very close to my brother Brad who is two years older than I am and who works as a Professor of Social Work in New York. Our parents did a great job loving us equally and celebrating our individual interests – something I know is important when you have two children. The whole family enjoys coming out to visit several times a year.

I went to Vassar College and studied Art History, which is still an ongoing interest of mine. After college, I went to Law School at the University of Denver. I believe in the importance of education and being open to different ways of thinking. I love to cook and can lose track of time at the supermarket.

Our Home, Family and Friends…
We live in a charming and spacious Victorian home that has a sunny back yard and beautiful views of San Francisco, with a wonderful park and a playground only steps away. We have owned our home for eight years and have lovingly remodeled it. Our neighborhood is safe and culturally diverse and there are many children to play with. Several of our friends also have children through open adoption and their good example and support has inspired us to have a family of our own. We also share a love of animals and have two pets, Zoe our cat and a dog named Henry. Our pets are very gentle with people and they have been a great way to teach our daughter to be caring and responsible.

Our Values and Interests...
Our family means everything to us. We want to raise our children to approach life with confidence, compassion and an open mind. Most of all, we want them to know that our love for them is unconditional.

We are both very physically active and because of Jay’s work in wellness, we believe in a healthy diet and regular exercise. We have another side to us as well: we love getting hot-fudge sundaes - we live six blocks from the best ice cream place in the whole city. We also enjoy traveling, reading, and just having dinner with friends. We cherish the natural beauty which surrounds us every day, and we want our children to grow up to have respect for the world around them.

Out of everything we have told you about ourselves, the best thing is that we always appreciate a good sense of humor and love to laugh. We look forward to sharing our love for life with another child and helping him or her to discover the interests and passions that make them special.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and getting to know us better. Should you decide to choose us as the adoptive parents, we will provide a very healthy, happy and loving home for him or her. During this emotional time we wish you the strength to make whichever decision will bring you peace in your heart.

If you would like to meet us or get to know us better, please call us toll free at 1-800-280-0464 or email us at lovingdads@mac.com or contact our friendly adoption attorney, Susan Romer, at 1-800-U-ADOPT-US (1-800-823-6788). Thank you for considering us.

Jay and Craig