Introduction
Dear Birthparent(s),
We are Lisa and Devin and together we have created a very fun-loving, warm, and nurturing home, which we hope to share with your child. Though we are already parents to our son, Isaac, we wish to become adoptive parents and grow our family further. When we learned we would not be able to naturally conceive a second child, we knew adoption was the path we wanted to take. Since Devin was adopted by his Dad, and we have close friends and a cousin who have adopted, we have always been open to the idea of adopting. Devin’s experience and their inspiring stories have brought us comfort in the aftermath of our infertility issues and the decision we have made to adopt. We are now waiting with open arms and hearts to begin our journey, hopefully with your help. But first, you should get to know a little more about us. Here’s our story.
Lisa (via Lisa)
I, Lisa, grew up in an Italian-American household where we always centered our holidays and celebrations on food. My grandmother, who we called Noni, lived only two houses away from my childhood home and would take care of my older brother and I while our parents worked. She was a fantastic cook who taught us the importance of growing our own food and cooking, using fresh and whole ingredients from our large garden. She passed her passion for cooking on to my Mom, who has shared that passion with me. Homemade bread, pasta, wine, and pizza with fresh fruit and vegetables were plentiful at our house and shared with everyone in the neighborhood. My Mom and Noni also taught us the importance of taking the time out of our busy schedules to share a meal and stories with one another. Our celebrations included extended family, friends, anyone who wanted to pop in for a visit, and, of course, great food.
Now, I feel just as strongly about the importance of mealtime and family gatherings today, as my grandmother did many years ago. Although, we do not have a garden in our home, as of yet, we plan to grow one soon. We shop at local markets or farms, make many meals at home from scratch, and enjoy cooking with one another. We often have friends and family over for gatherings or holidays and love sharing our meals with them. Our son, Isaac, loves making up his own recipes and packing picnics for all of us to enjoy. He loves getting tips from the Food Network as well! He is very excited to teach his younger brother/sister everything he has learned about cooking and gardening, as are Devin and I.
Devin (via Devin)
I, Devin, am the oldest of three. The first four years, I was an only child who was raised by my Mom and Grandmother. At the age of three my Mom met and married my stepfather, who I simply call Dad, as he legally adopted me when I was younger. From very early on, my Mom was open with me about the details of my adoption. As I got older, she also made sure to answer any questions I had about my Dad and birthfather.
Shortly after my parents were married, we welcomed another baby boy and girl into our home. I loved having siblings to play with and care for. My Mom was a stay-at-home Mom who raised the three of us in our small cottage-like house on a lake. We often spent the entire day playing outdoors with neighborhood friends and cousins: building forts, fishing, swimming, playing sports, and going for long hikes in the woods. My parents were especially fond of the beach and we spent many days on surf boards, building sandcastles, and playing volleyball in the sand together. Grandpa and Grammie cannot wait to do the same with their new grandchild.
Family
We feel blessed to still be close to our families who love and support us very much. We both feel it is very important to maintain a close relationship with our families, so we make time to visit with them often. We are lucky to have them nearby, as they are always there when we need them. They are proud grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who are excited to welcome the child we adopt into our lives.
Devin’s parents, also known as “Grammie and Grandpa” often host Walsh family gatherings and holidays, St. Patrick’s Day being one of our favorites. Traditional Irish meals are made, such as Devin’s infamous Guinness beef stew, served with Irish brew and soda bread. Green clothing is a must, along with St. Patrick’s Day trivia. After dinner, Isaac and our nephew, who are similar in age, like to take walks with Grammie to feed the ducks and enjoy cuddling with Grammie and Grandpa’s cats, “Guinness” and “Killian”. Grammie and Grandpa look forward to having another little one to celebrate with and to take on their duck walks.
Many of Lisa’s family gatherings are spent at her brother’s house. On Christmas, everyone brings their favorite dish to share and accompany the traditional orange glazed ham, a childhood favorite. Lisa’s mom, also called, “Grandma”, begins preparing for the festivities many days prior. She loves to bake traditional Italian cookies and treats, which she makes by hand or with a special cookie iron. She makes hundreds to share with everyone – relatives, neighbors, and friends. After dinner, everyone gathers around the Christmas tree and Lisa’s brother picks one child to play Santa’s helper and hands out gifts to everyone. We are eagerly awaiting another little helper to join in our Christmastime celebration.
Lisa’s Dad, also known as “Pepa” to his grandchildren, will be living with us in our new home. “Pepa” is a great storyteller, loves to go for long walks, and has a knack for gardening. We are all excited to have “Pepa” living with us. He is very excited to be able to experience this journey with us and is eager to welcome a new grandbaby into our family.
Traditions
We cannot wait to share our traditions and celebrations with your child. One of our favorite holidays is Halloween. Every year we host a Halloween party for adults and children, and costumes are a must! We have a wardrobe of costumes (from traditional, like werewolves, vampires, and ghosts, to stilly, like clowns and The Peanuts). Devin grew his beard really long one year and participated in a Halloween race as Forest Gump. The neighborhood was cheering him on screaming: “Run Forest, Run!” Lisa tried to keep up with him, dressed as an old woman, Forrest’s “Mama”, carrying a box of chocolates in hand. To get ready for the big day of trick or treating we carve pumpkins, make caramel apples, and, of course, squeeze in a visit to some haunted houses. We can’t wait to watch our adoptive child, your son or daughter, pick out their first Halloween costume or bite into their first piece of Halloween candy.
Home Sweet Home
We live in a beautiful cape house in a quiet neighborhood in a small coastal city in New England. Our house has four bedrooms, along with a spacious kitchen and living room. Our living room has a large cozy fireplace that we enjoy sitting around in the evening for story time. Devin also has a workshop/art studio in the basement. Oftentimes, Isaac and Devin will spend hours in the workshop painting together. Isaac especially enjoys painting pictures and cards for birthday celebrations and holidays for our extended family who live far away. Isaac has set aside his toddler easel for his younger sibling and Devin looks forward to sharing his love of art with another son or daughter.
We love the outdoors and find ourselves outside a lot throughout all the seasons. In warmer weather, we love playing water games in the yard and sitting on a nearby seawall to watch the sunrise. Grilling is another favorite pastime for us all year round and when it’s not too cold we usually enjoy our favorite meals outside on the deck. During the colder months snowshoeing and making snow angels in the back yard are a couple of ways we enjoy the outdoors. We can’t wait to watch another child see their first snowfall and help them build their first snowman.
Close to us is a city that has so many wonderful things to offer: museums, beaches, parks, hiking/biking trails, along with a wide variety of stores and restaurants. We live within walking distance to all of these interesting places. Although it took us two years to find the perfect home for us, we have been living in this community for almost 12 years and couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. We have formed strong relationships and a support network with neighbors and friends here, who are all excited to welcome another child into the fold.
Two of our closest friends live a few blocks away. They adopted two boys, one of whom attends pre-school with our son, Isaac. They have been a great resource and an inspiration to us throughout our adoption journey. We are comforted knowing your child will have friends, like our friends’ children, who are also adopted and may have similar adoption stories and experiences to share.
Falling In Love
Prior to forming our community of friends, we both lived in the Boston area and met at work. Devin was in art school part time and was bartending at night at a local restaurant. Lisa was working full time at a university, while taking classes, and waitressing part time at the same restaurant as Devin. We met at the restaurant and immediately hit it off; we had this connection, as if we knew one another forever and knew we were meant to create a family together one day.
Shortly after we started dating, Devin, a true romantic, asked his Mom for his grandmother’s ring. He waited until the perfect moment and proposed at the top of a mountain while we were hiking the Canadian Rockies. It was a complete surprise! In fact, Lisa was so shocked she doesn’t even remember saying “Yes!” We both felt higher than the mountain we were standing on. In that moment and ever since, we knew, without a doubt, we would build a lifelong friendship and raise a beautiful and happy family together.
A year and a half later we were married in front of our close friends and family. A mix of Italian and Irish families gathered for great food, drinks, and a night of dancing to “That’s Amore” and the Irish Jig, each family teaching one another the traditional steps and laughing a ton! Lisa’s Noni, who was 92, at the time, even got on the dance floor and danced to an Italian classic with her 91-year-old brother. Twelve years later we are still reminiscing about that day and how our two families became one. We hope to be able to grow our family with your help and share our story with your child, our adoptive child.
Our Work & Passions
During the few years following getting married, we focused on settling down and establishing our careers. Devin decided to pursue art as a hobby and moved on to graduating with a degree in horticulture. Having always loved the outdoors, trees and plants, he knew gardening was the path he was meant to take. He has been a gardener for close to ten years and hopes to launch his own gardening business someday soon. Gardening is not just a profession for Devin, though; it is also something he likes do with Isaac and hopes to do with any other child we welcome into our family.
Devin loves sharing his passion and knowledge of trees and plants with Isaac and Isaac loves taking care of the yard and mowing the lawn with Devin. They often go on long walks in the woods and try to identify new trees and flowers together. Isaac tells us how he wants to be a “tree doctor” like Devin and build the biggest tree house ever! Isaac can’t wait to share this pastime with a little brother or sister and Devin can’t wait to teach another son or daughter all of his horticultural knowledge.
As a child, Devin loved being a boy scout. In particular, he loved camping outside in the woods or in his own backyard with a group of friends. He was especially known for telling spooky ghost stories by the campfire. Now, Devin goes back to the woods by planning hiking trips in the White Mountains in New Hampshire. On these trips, he enjoys writing in his journal and noting seasonal changes in the landscape, such as new tree or plant growth. He loves being adventurous and insists on trying out a new trail each of year. In the fall, a group of friends join in the fun and everyone brings their mountain bikes along for a downhill ride! Devin cannot wait to teach Isaac and the new baby all there is to know about camping and survival in the wilderness.
During the wintertime, Devin has a lot of free time to practice drawing landscapes and gardens for customers. He continues to educate himself about the ever changing world of trees, plants, and landscapes through books and classes. But, what he enjoys most during his off season, is spending extra time with Isaac, sledding, building snowmen and forts, and watching movies while drinking warm cups of hot cocoa. Devin and Isaac are anxiously waiting to share winter fun with a new baby.
Lisa grew up listening to her Mom and Noni speak Italian with each other and with extended family. Though Lisa was never formally taught a second language, she always had the desire to become fluent in one. Because of this wish, she took Spanish in high-school and was immediately drawn to the language and culture. After learning the language, Lisa wanted to learn all she could about the Latin American way of life and history of their native people, so she majored in Spanish in college. Her junior year she even took the opportunity to live in Mexico with a host family.
The host family was more than Lisa could have asked for! They were very welcoming and treated her as if she was one of their own children. Their family was very similar to Lisa’s and loved to cook and eat. Lisa’s host mom taught her all there is to know about Mexican cooking (except for a few secret recipes) and their culture. Many of Lisa’s host mom’s recipes are a staple in our home today. We can’t wait to have another child to dance around the kitchen with us on taco night, when we crank up the mariachi music while cooking and eating one of our Mexican favorites.
Although Lisa went on to pursue a career in Administration for non-profit organizations – first a university and now a small museum – the Latin American culture remains near and dear to her heart. Most books she reads are by Latin American authors, or about the history of Latin America. Luckily, we live in a very diverse community where we are exposed to many different races and languages so Lisa has close friends with whom she can practice speaking Spanish. She also practices Spanish at home with Isaac and has been trying to teach him the basics. She hopes to do the same with our new family member, your child.
Lisa is lucky to have a career at a small museum that allows her to spend free time during the work week with Isaac. Lisa breaks up his preschool week by spending Wednesdays with Isaac, oftentimes going on little adventures – picnics at the park, walks on the beach, and trips to the museum. The fire station is also a popular destination for us, so much so, that we are on a first name basis with many of the local fireman. And, every so often, Lisa even gets to take Isaac on the train for a fun day at her work. We often daydream about our future adventures with a second child, hopefully your little girl or boy!
Becoming a Family
Five years ago we decided we were established enough in our careers that it was time to expand our family. We had our son Isaac, and he has filled our home with more joy than we ever imagined possible. More than anything, however, the amazing experience we have had raising Isaac has shown us that we want to experience the ups and downs of life with another child.
Every day we learn something new about parenting – from how to comfort Isaac when he is sick, how to celebrate certain milestones with him, or how to understand his four-year-old frustrations. We realize all of the challenges and celebrations we experience as parents are an important part of growing together as parents and a family. We are the first to admit, we have not mastered parenthood and we are not perfect parents. We are real parents who over the past four plus years have been faced with many challenges, from Isaac not sleeping through the night to him going through a biting stage in daycare. These experiences have only worked to make us stronger as a couple and prepared to raise another child and help them through any challenges they may face.
We truly enjoy all of the aspects of parenthood, challenges or celebrations, and look forward to continue to learn as parents with another child. We are ready to take on any new challenges that a new child may send our way. Just the same, we are excited to celebrate all of their milestones and share all of our love and joy with your child.
Now We Need You
We hope our story will give you comfort and affirm your decision to place your child up for adoption. We’d also like to say that having gone through a pregnancy already, we know, some of the emotions you are experiencing during this pregnancy. So, if we can provide additional emotional support, or comfort, to you during this time we are more than happy to do so. We would be honored to meet you if you are open to meeting us and, if you’d like, we are open to staying in touch with you through letters, photos, and visits, so you can stay updated on your child’s growth, life, and our adventures as a family.
Thank you so much for looking at our profile. We admire the courage and strength you are displaying by considering placing your baby for adoption. It is a selfless decision and we would be honored to be considered as a family for your child. It is our hope that through this letter we have given you a better understanding of who we are as a family and that we have given you confidence in our capabilities to raise your child with the unconditional love and support they need to succeed in life. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to tell you a little about our family and we hope you choose us so we get to meet you and your baby someday soon. If you would like to learn more about us or speak with us directly, please call Full Circle Adoptions at 1-800-452-3678.