Introduction
Dear Expectant Mother & Father,
Thank you so much for considering us as potential adoptive parents for your child.
We would like you to know how incredibly courageous we think you are, and what a wonderful thing the decision you are considering does for families like ours. We would love nothing more than to complete our family with a second child – we have always hoped to be parents to two children. At the same time, we understand that this may very well be a time of great sadness and difficult choices for you. Please know that, while we may not fully understand what you are experiencing, we are mindful of the importance of your experience too. We would like to ensure you of our complete dedication to our family, the safety, love and needs of our children and the openness of our hearts.
This is Us!
Christina:
I am a full time at-home mom and will continue to be when a second child joins our family. During the day, Eli and I spend our time with our family and friends. We play outside as much as possible. This year Eli and I grew our first garden and he was very helpful! He loved being out in the dirt. He helped me weed and water and then when it was ready we canned all our vegetables. It was a great learning experience for us. We have also just got a brand new swing set/jungle gym for our backyard which will be so much fun. In the winter, we like to go sledding; I pull Eli in his sled on our trails while I snowshoe. We also went ice skating for the first time this year. We are very involved in our community and, as a family, we like attending all the local festivals and fairs. There are tons of activities for the kids like Old McDonald’s farm, live music, and bouncy houses. Our favorite things to do, as a family, are seasonal activities. We go on the “Polar Express” to the North Pole every Christmas, and, in the fall, we go through corn mazes and take horse drawn rides to the pumpkin patch! On a normal day, Eli and I love to read books, go for walks and visit Grammy and Grampy, as well as our aunts, uncles and cousins.
Josh:
I love being a very actively involved dad and can’t wait until we are blessed with a second child. One of my favorite experiences as a dad are those times when I watch Eli learn new things. It means so much to me to teach him something new and have him be so excited about it. The sense of pride he has in himself at such a young age amazes me. I work as a Marine Engineer which involves a number of weeks of focused hard work followed by the same number of weeks when I can be at home with Christina, Eli and our next child. It’s a schedule that affords me the opportunity to be a very active dad and to build memories with our children that will last a lifetime.
Our families are incredibly strong and live close to us in Maine – we look forward to many years of family warmth. We would sincerely welcome ongoing connection with you in the years ahead if this is something you’d like too. We consider it such a great blessing to be chosen, and entrusted with the safety and love of another mother and father’s child. We also know that children do well knowing everyone who loves and cares about them.
Christina:
Our children will know parents who love each other dearly. We met through friends and soon thereafter began dating. I am from a small town in northern Maine and Josh is from the southern part of the state. We are each other’s priority and Eli is our collective reason for everything, as will be our future son or daughter. We truly love one another and believe that we have found our one person we were meant to be with in this life. We are each other’s rock, best friend, shoulder to cry on, and biggest fan. If there is such a thing as soulmates, we believe we have found them in each other. Our children will grow up in a warm and loving home.
Josh always puts my feelings and needs first; he knows what is important to me and has always made effort to show he cares about that. It’s a million little things every day that he does that shows this to me, but sometimes it’s the surprises as well. When my mom was laid up after having had surgery, Josh was home full-time for a few weeks. Josh went to spend his days with my mom and helped her. No one asked him to do this. He just showed up, lifted her spirits and took care of what she needed. When I asked what he had done with himself for the day, he simply said he had visited my mom. She told me later that he was there pretty much every day helping her with a long list of needs as well as keeping her company while my father was at work. It meant the world to me that he thought of helping my mother without ever being asked.
Why We Chose Adoption
Christina:
We have known, from the beginning of our relationship, that we would likely grow our family through adoption. I had learned in adolescence that my ovaries were not working as expected and that I would be unlikely to be able to carry a child. Early in our relationship I let Josh know that having a child with me would be difficult or potentially impossible. Thankfully, he was very supportive and understanding. Although we did try to conceive with the help of infertility doctors, Josh shared with me that he didn’t care how we had a family as long as we were one together. My sister and brother-in-law are also parents by adoption so we have already known the blessings of adoption and how to listen carefully for the needs of children who are adopted.
Josh:
For both of us, it makes no difference as to whether a child is conceived through our own love or chosen for us through another kind of love. We did explore reproductive technology (e.g. IVF and donor eggs). We had one failed IVF and one successful pregnancy which ended in miscarriage at nine weeks. Christina had prepared me, long before our marriage, that we would not be likely to bring a child to term. I worried more about her than me. Ultimately, when we were not able to safely conceive and bear a child together, we felt very comfortable turning our attention to the more hopeful process of adoption. We decided that adoption was much more likely to be a successful path to parenthood. We are glad to have the opportunity to love and meet the needs of a child who needs a home. I love Eli and can’t wait to be a dad to a second child as well. I know Eli will adore a younger sister or brother.
We purchased our home five years ago. It is a three bedroom, two full bathroom cape-style home with a finished basement that was used as a large playroom by the original owners. They had a large family and every room was filled with children. We still have their children’s growth chart on the frame of the basement door; we have since added Eli’s and can’t wait to add another.
Our Home
Our home is set in the country with a large, private yard on two and a half acres of forest and streams; we are close to a beautiful lake and have immediate access to the snow trails. The trails serve as a great spot for snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing. Though we are in the country and have a beautiful private location, there are many other homes on our road and we are a part of community of families with young children. We have kids playing outside on all sides and frequently out with their pets enjoying a walk.
We love living amidst nature. We get to see all types of wildlife and the views are beautiful. It is a very safe place to live where we count our neighbors as our friends. Everyone is very nice, and we all look out for everyone’s common interest which is keeping our neighborhood safe and beautiful. If we ever needed help we wouldn’t have to look much farther than the house next door. We have what we consider to be the perfect setting; we enjoy the country but are only a ten minute drive from a larger city where our kids will have the opportunity for many activities. Our home is only about seven miles from the larger, neighboring community where Christina was born and grew up and where much of her family still lives.
Education is very important to us and our children will have the benefit of schools with an excellent reputation for education. Our school system has won many awards and the students’ test scores are among the best in the state. Our town shares a school system with the larger community for its middle and high school programs but is large enough to have its own elementary school which our children will attend. It is a beautiful school that has been kept in excellent condition. It has a large playground with all of the most up-to-date safety measures in place. We hope our children choose to further their education. We have already set up a Next/Gen account to save for Eli’s college or vocational education of his choice and plan to do so for our future son or daughter.
We have many close friends with small children who live in our community. Our closest friends have two boys, ages 4 and 6 months, who will attend school and ride the bus with our children. There are also two other couples with whom we are close, whose children range in age from 1-3 years. Our children will be in good company. The surrounding communities offer recreation center sports, dance classes, youth groups, and art centers. Children in our community also participate in many activities offered by our schools and libraries.
Our Family
We are so blessed to have such a large, loving, and involved family. We make it a priority to spend as much time with them as possible. Christina’s family lives in the same town as we do so visiting is easy. Christina’s parents, Jim and Ann, are both retired and love having free time to spend with their grandchildren. Grampy can’t wait to bring his kids into the outdoors for adventures! Tonya, Christina’s sister and her family live right next door and this makes visiting with the whole family a daily event. We have suppers and gatherings all the time which also include friends and their small children. Both Eli and his first cousin Olivia are adopted; Christina’s parents couldn’t be more in love with their grandchildren.
Josh’s family lives a couple hours south but this doesn’t stop them from seeing their grandchild. We travel as least every three weeks with Josh’s schedule and stay with Grammy and Grampy Place and Grammy and Grampy Olsen on a regular basis. They never want us to leave! We love spending time at the lake having BBQ’ s! There are many young cousins who love Eli to pieces and can’t wait for more adventures with him! Eli has a special cousin named Jaxon who is only 9 months younger than he is. The antics have already started. We are all in for it with these two!
Our families are so excited to welcome another child. The love shown to Eli by our whole extended family moves me almost to tears. This family has so much love to give. We can’t wait to welcome a second child into our hearts and home.
Conclusion
Again we would like to thank you for taking the time to get to know us and learn about our family. Please know we would welcome connecting by phone, skype/facetime or an in person meeting. We understand that this must be a very challenging time in your life and the decision you are considering is not easy. Please know that wish to be supportive and will always listen for anything we can do that might be reassuring and comforting as you consider your options and potential choices Please call Full Circle Adoptions at 1-800-452-3678 if you would like to learn more about us or speak with us.
Warmly,