Introduction
Dear Birthparent(s),
We are Karla and Dave and we had our first date on Halloween! A mutual friend met us separately and immediately knew the two of us were destined to be together. She quickly realized our personalities and senses of humor would flow well together. So, shortly before Halloween, she introduced us and we immediately clicked. That Halloween, we dressed up as a two person costume, and from then on we were a team. We knew we were meant to be together and each of us knew we had found the right person to start a family with. Our teamwork throughout life, our love of smiling and laughing, and our senses of belonging in one another’s family have, since day one, been vital parts of our relationship and have enabled us to continue growing stronger as a couple. In addition to all of these similarities, we are both elementary school educators, who hold the well-being, happiness, and education of all children near and dear to our hearts. Because of our careers, we both have extremely flexible schedules that will allow us an exorbitant amount of time, including around a year of maternity and paternity leave, to always be there to raise and love a child. This is where we are hoping you will come into our story!
Soon into our relationship, we knew we wanted to have a family together. While we were sad to learn we could not give birth to a child, due to infertility issues, we regained excitement about the hope of becoming a family when we started looking into and decided on adoption. While a baby cannot grow in Karla’s belly, our adoptive child has already started growing in our hearts. We feel that the strength and love it takes to be in both your and our roles as birthparent and adoptive parents is powerful, admirable, and ultimately vastly rewarding for the child involved. Our families, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and even our acquaintances are rooting for us to adopt, as they all believe we were meant to be parents.
We hope that you can grant us the opportunity to raise, nurture, and love your child as our own. We have so much love to give and there is so much room in our family for a child to grow to their fullest potential. It took a long time to find one another, but it was definitely worth the wait and now we would like to make up for the time we spent trying to find each other and pursuing IVF to try to conceive a child, by adopting. We cannot wait to begin this next chapter of our lives, so we can grow as a family and make a child’s life one full of joy, laughter, and love.
Karla (by Karla)
I have been chosen as a godmother to my friends’ children three times and, now, I hope you will choose me to be an adoptive mom as well. Being asked to be a godmother was the biggest honor I could have imagined each time. All three of my godchildren are beautiful, smart, fun, unique little individuals, and they all strive to play and learn about the world through a strong sense of family. One of my nine year old goddaughters currently lives in Ethiopia, as her dad works for a non-profit group aimed at evading famine in various countries and her mom works at the international school wherever they are stationed. My other two goddaughters, who are seven and nine years old, live in the same town as me and are begging Dave and I to adopt a baby. I hope you choose us so we can fulfill this dream of all of ours.
Not only have I been chosen as family to these three girls, I am also the proud aunt of my sister’s children, my four-year-old niece and two-year-old nephew. I see them as often as I can and celebrate the beautiful characters they are with encouragement and love. Both children are kind, intelligent, adventurous, and silly and are excited to have a new baby cousin.
Aside from all of the children in my personal life, I have also been surrounded by children in my 20-year-long career as an elementary educator. I spent the beginning of my career teaching overseas and then moved back and have been at the same school for the past 18 years. My role has changed from kindergarten teacher, to 4th grade teacher, and now to school math coach. But, overall, my love of children has remained strong and my work with them has made me yearn to become a parent, myself.
While I have thoroughly enjoyed the trials and tribulations of teaching about 20 children a year, I am ready and eager for Dave and me to raise a child of our own. My experiences as a godmother, aunt, and teacher have undoubtedly prepared me for the various developmental stages our own child will go through in their early life. I also believe that whatever interacting with my students, goddaughters, niece, and nephew have not prepared me for, my desire to be a mom and instincts will help me navigate through.
Dave (by Dave)
I have always had a strong connection with children and they’ve always been drawn to me. I began my career in education in a Montessori elementary classroom, as I like to give children the freedom to follow their interests and the opportunities to learn by exploration. There is nothing more fulfilling to me than giving them support when they run into obstacles and celebrating their successes with them when they triumph. I currently spend my days working with kindergarten children, at the same diverse public school at which Karla works. I find joy in helping children of all ages as they navigate their way through the ups and downs of life and as they explore the world around them. For this reason, I cannot wait to become a father and help my son or daughter do the same.
I look forward to starting a family of my own and feel that I have found the perfect match to achieve this dream in Karla. Early on in our relationship, we discussed how we both wanted children. Although I was disappointed that our efforts to conceive a child naturally or through IVF were unsuccessful, I consider myself extremely fortunate to have the chance to build a family through adoption with your help. I love playing with Karla’s niece, nephew, and godchildren, whether this involves dressing up, playing robots, or just making silly faces with them and I am excited for the chance to spend time with my own child the way I spend time with all the other children in my life.
One other thing that you should know about me is, along with enjoying working with children, I also love working with my hands and am usually involved in some type of home improvement project. I also enjoy building model wooden ships in my spare time. I am excited by the idea that someday I will be able to use my skills to build our child a swing-set or a doll house. I have also recently renewed my love of cooking and baking and am excited to, one day, teach our child how to bake a cake for a birthday or make to-die-for biscuits for breakfast.
Karla (by Dave)
When meeting Karla, people are often struck by her sense of humor, passion for life, tenaciousness, honesty, and strong sense of right and wrong. She has an infectious personality and she makes people feel uplifted and light-hearted. Karla is excited and passionate about creating peace and beauty in her home, work, and surroundings, which are traits that will make her an amazing mother. She loves to create order out of chaos and feels happy when everything has a place. Karla is one of the most honest, straightforward people I have ever met. She considers accountability and integrity amongst the most critical traits for a person to have and I have no doubt she will help instill these beautiful values in our adoption child one day.
Along with being an all-around amazing person, Karla has spent her life following her passion of helping children along their life paths. Karla has been an elementary teacher for almost 20 years now and I have had the good fortune to work in the same school with her for the past three. After years of seeing her interact with children I have learned that she is a passionate advocate for every child in the school and that she has earned a reputation of being tough, but fair, in the classroom. She holds everyone (staff and students) to the highest standards, both academically and socially, but she is always there to encourage and assist anyone who asks for help. She teaches positivity, integrity, and collaboration. This same attitude translates equally to the relationships she has with children in her personal life and is one of the many reasons I hope you select us as your child’s adoptive parents.
From the very beginning, children have played an important role in our relationship. It was a priority to Karla that I meet the kids in her life and be given the stamp of approval by them early on. As she has said, she is the godmother of three young girls and has a niece and a nephew, all to whom she is absolutely devoted. In addition to visiting them on a day-to-day basis and taking random trips with them to the beach, Karla goes above and beyond in her efforts to go to their every birthday, recital, and holiday celebration. Close friends of ours recently had a newborn baby and Karla delights in holding and comforting her any chance she gets. I am excited to see her be able to hold and cherish a child we can call our own someday soon.
Dave (by Karla)
People are naturally drawn to Dave. He has a kind, light-hearted, helpful, and positive demeanor that is unmatched by anyone I have ever met. I have never once heard Dave be negative about a situation; instead, he is always hopeful and encourages positive thinking in those around him. His sense of humor is intelligent, fun, yet always tasteful, and will make for the great type of “Dad Jokes” that will make our child belly-laugh with him when they are little and laugh at him when they are a teen.
As Dave has said, he teaches kindergarteners at the same school for which I work. I can honestly say there is nothing more sweet than walking by the classroom and seeing him sitting in a way too small chair to assist a five year old write a story or solve a math problem. I have often seen him partaking in a make believe dinner time in the play kitchen, wearing some costume or another, and sipping from a tiny tea cup. As he leads his students to lunch, he is in constant communication with them. He highlights their successes, while also supporting them in recognizing what they can do to become more successful in other areas. His students love him and crave his clear expectations. He will make an amazing father.
Dave cherishes the mountains and peaceful walks in the woods. I cannot wait to see him strap on the Baby Bjorn carrier and head to the woods for a hike. Overall, I admire his temperament, his positive thinking, and his well-balanced lifestyle. It helps that he is quite the handyman around the house as well! Watching him baby-proof the house was a sneak preview into the care and diligence he will put into future tasks, from assembling bicycles the night before a birthday, to building a child sized desk for our child to lean on while coloring. Oh, and he is in charge of most meals as he is a fantastic cook and can bake up a storm. I can just imagine Dave and our child making a fun mess of the kitchen while producing something scrumptious like cookies or holiday pies.
Most importantly, however, Dave is kind; he is compassionate for everyone and everything. He says acceptance is a characteristic he wants to make sure we model for and instill in our child and I cannot wait to raise a child with him.
Karla’s Family
I come from a solid, tight-knit family. My immediate family lives in the same state and visits are often and always desired. My mom spends a lot of time with her two grandchildren and is eager to spread her love and good energy to another grandchild when we adopt a child. As soon as she heard we were adopting, she got out her knitting needles to make a pair of booties, little sweaters, a crib blanket, and some hats for her future grandchild-to-be. She is thrilled to have her family grow with the addition of another child, hopefully your child. My sister and her family also live close to us, on a local island, and have an open door policy for family visits. Her young children are excited to have a new cousin and already have ideas for things they can teach and share with him or her.
Aside from my biological relatives, I also have a very special family that has been blending and growing into my immediate family since 1974. They are family by choice and are every bit as loved and cared about as my mom, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew. I grew up next door to a family with three boys, all who were around my sister and my age. As we grew up, our families grew closer together. Holidays were, and still are, spent all together as one big family. Their support for Dave and my adopting is 110% and they are even more excited to share their generosity and love with our future child. Dave and I spend quite a bit of time up at their northern New England farm, complete with a swimming hole, horses, and a filmmaker son, who manages to get every child who visits in a weekend movie role. This individual will be our child’s uncle, and that alone brings me excitement for a child to become part of our family.
My mom came from England and her mother, brother, and his family still live there. My English cousin works as an adoption agent in England and is over the moon with our decision to adopt. The next time we visit them, over in England, it is my hope that we are stepping off the plane with an infant in my arms to show off.
My mom is already a grandmother, and an energetic, creative, playful one at that. She has so much energy and love to give to her grandchildren and is eager to share even more of that love with our child. Her home, near the ocean, is set in a small village with a mini-golf course, an ice cream parlor, and weekend family music. I know she cannot wait to put our child in her arms and dance on that stage to lively tunes, showing off her newest grandchild in her fun fashion.
As for my dad, he was born and raised in Minnesota (ironically where Dave lived for many years before I knew him). His four sisters were a bit older than him and adored him. As a young man, he joined the Airforce and pursued his education. My dad passed away from cancer when I was 22 years old and I have lived my life hoping to be a person he would be proud of and would admire. His morals were impeccable. His nature was understanding, accepting, kind, humorous, and motivated. While I know he would have been extremely proud of me for adopting your child, I am also happy to know he will be watching over our family with a heavenly smile.
Dave’s Family
My entire family is excited for the chance to welcome a child into their lives. My parents, Tom and Gerlinde, are fully prepared to assume their role as grandparents by spoiling them completely. Our child will be their first grandchild and they are happy to see our family move into the next generation. My whole family lives in Massachusetts, which is great because we are close and enjoy spending time together. We often get together for Sunday meals, which are filled with dogs, smiles, and laughter. We also celebrate momentous birthdays, anniversaries and other family events by vacationing together. These trips are reminders of our own childhood summer vacations spent camping or visiting relatives. We spent many summers packed into the family station wagon (dogs included) driving cross country. Many of our favorite memories (and most embarrassing photos) come from these trips. I look forward to bringing a child, hopefully your child, on our family vacations in the future.
My father, Tom, is a retired college physics professor and computer engineer. He was raised in the Midwest, which influenced his sense of hard work and honesty. He often cracks us up with stories of our childhoods, as well as our own. In his retirement, he has become a fantastic furniture maker. His work is scattered throughout his house as well as his kids and I am excited to see the pieces he builds to add to our child’s nursery.
My mother, Gerlinde, worked in the Physical Therapy Department at a university, before she retired. She was born and raised in Germany and often visits her family there. She has a hilarious sense of humor and laughs at herself as much as anything, but she also jumps into everything with both feet and with the confidence that things will work out in the end. I think she is the most excited of anyone at the prospect of Karla and me adopting a child. She has been waiting for some time to become a grandma and cannot wait to teach a child about her heritage and swaddle them in love.
Deb and Mike Smith are my sister and brother-in-law. They are both working professionals, who also play the role of “Aunt” and “Uncle” to many of their friends’ children, and thrive in it. They are both also fantastic cooks and (fortunately for us) often host our family meals. Mike likes to smoke his own meats and it is a treat to go home from a family gathering with a side of his home-smoked bacon or rack of ribs. To go along with that treat is one of Deb’s homemade desserts. She is a wonderful baker, who hosts a holiday cookie baking party. This cookie party is always highly anticipated and I can just picture Karla and me baking batches of cookies with our child to bring to bring to the party someday soon.
Finally, Steffan is my brother and he is newly married to Julianna. Like Karla and I, he is also a school teacher. Steffan teaches middle school science, which coincides with his love of nature and all outdoor activities. In fact, he loves the outdoors so much that he has initiated Karla to the joys of camping. Although, since he has been camping so long and has all the comforts of a plush camp, he calls it “Glamping.” He has always been a positive role model to me and I know he will be the same for our child. Julianna is a marine biologist and aspiring author. Until recently she had lived in New Orleans, but Steffan and Julianna just moved into a new house in Massachusetts. They will make a great aunt and uncle to their niece or nephew and are excited to pass on their vast knowledge of nature and the sea.
Our Home Life
We are currently living in an open style apartment overlooking a creek and the ocean on an expansive oceanfront estate. The estate offers gorgeous walks, ocean views, a private beach, chickens, a frog pond, and tennis courts. Dave’s brother is married to the daughter of the owner of the home and Dave helps her maintain the land and it’s amenities after school and on the weekends. The town has both a big and small town feel. Its schools are diverse and strong academically. Our child will grow up with access to fun, enriching, community experiences, all in the safety of family and neighbors.
When we are home, there is typically relaxing and feel good music in the background, a puzzle spread out on a table, hot water boiling for tea, and the scent of a soup that Dave has concocted filling the air. Our dog, Chocolate, is usually lying on her back awaiting a belly rub, if she is not playing with her large, stuffed, hedgehog friend. This comfortable, safe environment just needs the sound of a child’s laughter to complete the scene. Pictures our child creates need to hang on our refrigerator, toys need to fill the family room, and a nursery needs the sound of our baby peacefully sleeping.
At least twice a day we open the door and follow Chocolate out for a walk around the property. Close by we have the YMCA complex which is going to provide us with family events, healthy workouts, and more friends for our child. Often we have sat in the cafe overlooking the pool and envisioned our child signing up for swimming, tumbling in the gymnastics area, and following in Dave’s footsteps by climbing the rock wall.
On the weekends and vacations, we typically visit with family, either on a nearby island, down on the shore, by Karla’s mom’s house, or up at our extended family’s farm. We look forward to signing up our child for all sorts of activities of his/her choice year round, indoors and outdoors, packing him/her up in the car for a fun family visit and relaxing in our own home all together.
In Closure
If you choose to move forward with us as your child’s adoptive parents, please know that you will always be an important part of our child’s story. As his or her birth parent, we are open to communication, letters, pictures and visits with you. We will also happily respect your wishes in regards to communication, as we would want you to know and always be assured that your child is safe, happy, and loved in our family. We wish you the best in your decision and with the birth of your baby. The love with which you use to make this decision will be forever remembered and always admired. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for considering us as your child’s potential adoptive parents. We cannot imagine how difficult this decision has been for you and we want you to know you have our support, our understanding, and our partnership. Choosing us to raise your child would be an unbelievable gift to us and also to your child.
If you would like to learn more about us or speak with us directly, please call Full Circle Adoptions at 1-800-452-3678.
Warmly,