Dear New Friend,
Our names are Al and Adrienne. We are honored you are considering us for placement of your baby. While we can never know the feelings you are have as you read this letter, we have great respect for you and your decision. Additionally, our thoughts and prayers are with you as we take this journey together.
We would like you to get to know us – we are a husband and wife team who have spent many years trying to build our family. Unfortunately, infertility has been an ongoing issue for us. After numerous miscarriages, we decided that a baby does not have to grow in our belly to be loved – he or she can grow just as easily in our hearts.
Together for eight years, we live in a large home purchased specifically for the family we hope to raise. We have a backyard that Al cares for filled with trees, flowers and shrubs, a basketball court and mountain views. We have a friendly neighborhood with lots of children as well.
The inside of our home is cozy, filled with comfortable furniture, souvenirs from our travels and photographs of extended family and dear friends. The smell of great cooking is often the first thing you will encounter, thanks to Al’s talents in the kitchen. Adrienne’s mark is felt throughout the house by the many quilts, afghans, cards and scrapbook pages she has designed. We are both readers and have loads of books for pleasure and education.
Al is a 6’1, Caucasian man. He has a medium/large build with twinkly brown eyes. and salt and pepper hair. He has a smile that engulfs his whole face. Al has the posture of a gentle giant and makes people feel welcome. Al identifies his paternal cultural heritage as being Scottish and English. To this end, he can trace his paternal lineage to the 1500’s. Al has a family tartan and has his own kilt. His maternal ancestry is German. Al is a calm, patient, friendly person who puts people at ease and can teach anyone anything. He is known for being loyal, resourceful, honest, gentle, forgiving, curious, considerate, cheerful, responsible, fair and steady. Al makes people feel safe and is open to learning and sharing new ideas and experiences. Al loves the great outdoors, growing up hunting, fishing, camping and skiing. He continues to enjoy these pursuits. Al is also an avid hockey fan who played as a youth and now enjoys from the stands.
Adrienne is a 5’6, African American woman. She has a medium/large build with brown hair and chocolate brown eyes that radiate warmth. She smiles often and listens intently. Adrienne is known for her reassuring demeanor and ability to facilitate difficult conversations and resolve conflicts. Adrienne identifies her family’s cultural heritage as African American. Ancestry documents describe her paternal lineage as African, Scottish and Japanese. Her maternal ancestry is also varied including African, Caucasian, Native American and other ethnic heritages. Adrienne loves to laugh and make people smile. She is loving, creative and reassuring. People tell her she is intelligent, gracious, empathetic, warm, compassionate, articulate, confident, hardworking, artistic and kind. She easily engages people and makes them feel valued and important. Adrienne gives compliments that are honest and specific. Adrienne is creative and enjoys all sorts of arts and crafts from knitting to quilting to stamping and then some! Any child who comes into our family will find themselves with beautiful hand knit clothing, memory albums and quilts made with love.
Together, we are compassionate, supportive and engaging with each other and those in our circle. We are an outwardly focused couple who seeks to do good in the world together through service, activity and being good stewards of the earth.
Al completed a bachelor’s degree in math and attended a graduate program in geology. He was a competitive skier and played hockey. A lover of nature, he has participated in many outdoor and recreation programs from his youth to today. During this time, Al discovered a passion for fly-fishing. Al worked in the field of outdoor recreation and environmental sustainability for many years. Al is currently a stay-at-home husband who tutors children and adults of various ages in math.
Adrienne completed two bachelor’s degrees – one in behavioral science, the other in arts and humanities. She has two master’s degrees; both are in social and behavioral sciences. Adrienne has completed certification in conflict resolution and mediation. She is completing a doctorate in education. Adrienne works in the education field and consults for towns, cities and universities.
Al has one sister, Laura who is married to Greg, with two children, Lauren and Teddy. His parents divorced when he was a teenager. Al’s father later remarried. Al’s mother has remained single. All of Al’s family lives out of state. However, we regularly speak to each of his family members and participate in vacations and celebrations whenever possible – which has consistently been at least four times a year over the last five years. Al’s family is delighted that we are adopting to grow our family. They are supportive and encouraging as well. Al’s extended family consists of one aunt and uncle (plus cousins) on his father’s side and two uncles and an aunt (plus cousins) on his mother’s side. All live out of state but engage in occasional connection.
Adrienne has two sisters – one, Jamii, is married to Kelly and has a daughter, Hana. Missy, the oldest sister, is single and lives out of state. Her parents just celebrate their 50th anniversary. All are incredibly excited for us to adopt a child to expand our extended family. Because the bulk of Adrienne’s family lives near, we are able to spend a great deal of time with them on a regular basis. Adrienne’s extended family consists of two aunts and three uncles (plus cousins) on her mother’s side and six aunts and five uncles (plus cousins) on her father’s side. More than half of both sides of the family live locally. We have annual family reunions and holiday parties that bring us all together. There are many cousins of all ages.
Al and Adrienne’s families are both thrilled with their adoption plans. Each side see a new child as a positive expansion of the family. Cousins on both sides are eager to play with and babysit a new cousin. Our siblings are all excited for our chance to parent together and build our family. Additionally, family members on both Adrienne’s father’s and mother’s sides have had positive adoption experiences. As a family with a history of placements, everyone is thoughtful to the process, feelings of the birth parent(s) and delight in welcoming a new addition. Finally, there is great ethnic diversity in Adrienne’s family with people who identify as African-American, Caucasian, Japanese, Caribbean and Native American. We are delighted to say that all are welcome here!
Al and Adrienne also have a fur family! Yellow Sally and Charlee are our spunky, funny, balls of fluff that love us unconditionally. They currently have full run of the house and look forward to have a little person to play with. Both cats are child safe and fully vaccinated.
Adrienne and Al prioritize family time with regular phone calls, visits and activities to our parents, grandparent, siblings, nieces and nephew. Time with our nieces and nephew are very important to us and include vacations, skiing, attending sporting or performing art events as well as over holidays and long vacations.
Al and Adrienne enjoy playing board games with family and friends in addition to playing Backgammon and Cribbage with each other. We often have marathon game matches with Adrienne’s family during holidays and for anniversaries and birthdays. Adrienne and Al also enjoy putting puzzles together over long weekends. Sometimes the puzzles are silly or have funny themes while others are works of art. All are wonderful because they provide us with quality time together. We began our puzzle interest one winter night with Al’s Dad and have established puzzles as a part of our family tradition.
Al and Adrienne enjoy visiting their cabin in the mountains for rest and relaxation, often with extended family and friends. While here, we do puzzles, take long walks, hike, fish, read, play games, stargaze, watch wildlife, craft and visit neighbors. We also enjoy cooking food while conversing about current events whether at the cabin or at home. Al and Adrienne enjoy attending outdoor concerts, farmer’s markets, art and craft fairs and community gatherings on evenings and weekends. Time together outdoors is important for us and we work to find time to be in public spaces as an active part of our community.
Adrienne and Al enjoy taking walks as well as staying in to watch a movie in front of the fire. Al and Adrienne enjoy snowshoeing and sledding in the winter. This is another family tradition we look forward to sharing with a little person. As world travelers, we hope to share our love of the world’s history and cultural traditions with our family. Al and Adrienne have completed extensive travel in the United States for business and pleasure, often extending stays in different places to learn more about the people, local history and food of an area.
Al has experienced international travel to Belize, Chile, Costa Rica, Bahamas, United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Austria, Latvia, Jamaica and Australia, to name a few of the places he has seen throughout his adventures. Adrienne’s love of the globe has taken her to Israel, Italy, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Morocco, Brazil, Spain, Estonia, Russia, the Caribbean and Mexico. Together, Al and Adrienne have learned about the world through direct experiences in India, Thailand, Japan, Bhutan and Nepal. Through these experiences, we have continued to develop a deeper appreciation of culture, history, language and identity. Our travels have helped us to expand our understandings of each other and ourselves. We look forward to sharing these opportunities with our family as it grows.
Al and Adrienne are practicing Presbyterians who regularly attend a local congregation. Adrienne belongs to the women’s auxiliary at our church and participates in service and outreach efforts. Al is a volunteer with the church’s youth group. Adrienne and Al regularly provide meals for sick and infirmed congregants and friends of the congregation. Al and Adrienne participate in the activities of the congregation including spiritual development, holidays and celebrations. Adrienne and Al pray together each night before bed. We often pray with and for others as members of the congregational pray chain. Al and Adrienne read the Bible together on a weekly basis and discuss the sermons of our pastor. We actively contribute to the finances of our congregation and make regular donations. As children, we were both raised as Christians, taking absence as young adults. We returned to our faith roots together before marriage.
Adrienne and Al have several family goals which include: being best friends; to build a family including at least one child that we can love and nurture, providing the love and opportunities we have both benefited from in our own families and together; to respect each other; to remain loyal and committed to each other, supporting each other’s dreams and ambitions; to be civically and socially aware, participating in community building and relationship development; to share encouraging words and pray together; to share quality time together; to maintain open lines of communication; to sustain financial stability; and to find reasons to smile.
Al and Adrienne belong to many civic organizations and serve as volunteers for numerous community events. Adrienne and Al regularly attend community discussions and participate in opportunities to raise money for those in need of resource support and education. Al and Adrienne regularly cook meals for the sick and infirm in their community.
Adrienne and Al have many things to offer a child for example, they will have two sets of living grandparents, one of whom has been married for 50 years. They will have grandparents, an aunt, uncle and cousin who live ten minutes away and extended family who live in a variety of states, increasing travel and connection.
As you can see, we feel strongly that adopting is the best way to build our family. We have a great deal of energy and resources to share, more importantly; we have an abundance of love to give. We believe that a child that is placed with us will be the right child for us. Because we were unable to have biological children, we realize that what we may have seen as a “Plan A” was not God’s plan. Instead, His “Plan A” was for us to adopt all along. We are ready and willing to hear that call.
A child placed with us will always know their adoption story. How fortunate to have so many people who love you and want the best for you! As we learn more about you, birth Mom, we will share those details with our little baby. They will always know that you love and care for them and only want the best for them. You will not be a secret in our family, instead, our story will converge with yours. This story will be told from the beginning so that there is no confusion and that all family and friends recognize your special role in our lives.
We are confident that we will find a post adoption contact schedule that will work for us all. To this end, we would like to begin with photos and letters several times a year for the first few years. As you are able and willing, we would love to receive letters, photos and updates about your life, saving them all for baby to read and know that you have been there with us, supporting our family.
Al and Adrienne have experienced a great deal of what life has to offer through family relationships, educational experiences, travel and professional development. We are both in a place in our lives where building our family is a priority. Adrienne’s work life has balance and will support her new role as a mother. Al’s role as a stay-at-home husband will intensify as his role becomes full-time daddy. Both of us will actively engage our baby with love, time and attention.
New friend, thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We hope that you can see how much love we have to share with a baby. Our hearts and minds are open. We are hopeful that you will reach out to us to share more about yourself. We will continue to pray for you and your baby as you navigate your path and hope that we can connect on this journey.
With Respect,
Al and Adrienne