Introduction
Dear Birthmother,
We’ve been told that we’re younger than most families seeking to adopt a child. One of the reasons for this is that we have known about our infertility from the beginning. While many adoptive parents spend years in infertility treatment, we have always known that adoption will be the only way we will become a larger family. This is fine with us because our feeling is that love and shared experiences are what make a family. We will unconditionally love the child placed in our arms and feel unending gratitude to the birth family who gave us this opportunity. We can’t wait to begin a life of fun, love, encouragement and exploration.
While our hopes and dreams are with adoption, we know that you are facing a series of challenging choices. Your decision will not be made lightly and you want to find a family who feels right to you. Our understanding is that children who are adopted benefit from knowing that their birth family cared, even if it wasn’t the best time for active caretaking. If you are open to this, we would love to stay in touch. We’re open to visits, sending you photographs and letter updates and, if you want, videoconference calls and a private on line photo album, all so you can be assured that your child is happy and doing wonderfully. At all times, we want to listen to how you feel about this and respect your wishes. Ultimately we want your child to feel nourished from the roots, loved by both their birth and adoptive families and cherished by both.
Sara will be a full-time at-home mom for at least the first year of our child’s life, if not longer, and later, she hopes to work part-time. Josh is a computer programmer for a very family supportive company. Together, we have the financial and job stability more typical of couples much older than us and we’re grateful to use our resources to give a child a wonderful life. Both of our families supported us through college and graduate school. We, too, will provide all the support our child might need to undertake whatever program or education they would like to pursue.
Our families have also always known we would become parents through adoption. Their support has been so important to us. When we told our families that we were beginning the adoption process, Josh’s dad literally burst into tears of happiness! Out of excitement, Josh’s mom did a “Grandma Dance” (something she does when she learns that she is going to be a grandma). Josh’s stepmom, Beth, spent a week worrying about making her reference letter for us absolutely perfect, and included lots of pictures of us with her other children. Sara’s mom, who is retired with plenty of free time to spend with a grandchild, is improving her knitting skills for future booties and sweaters.
We met online, like many couples do these days, and, after that first date, we found that we had an incredibly sweet and strong friendship. We were always doing things together and had a lot of the same interests. We lived in a small family-oriented community just outside of Boston. We graduated college, got real jobs, got a cat, and became adults. Eventually we bought a home in another suburb, one with a particularly highly regarded school system which is where we live now with our cat, Peanut Butter, and our super friendly rescue dogs, Kodi and Waldo.
Josh:
“I love Sara VERY much. Besides being cute, she is a blast to be around. She makes sure fun stuff happens, while also making sure chores around the house get done. She is my partner in life, and I can’t imagine doing anything without her by my side.
Sara:
Josh has been my rock ever since I met him. I feel safe when he is around because he is always so calm and rational in all situations. When he puts his mind to something, it gets done and it gets done well. And he is so inventive. Two years ago, Josh’s little half-brother, Evan, asked Josh for a video game for his birthday. Rather than buying one at the store, Josh programmed a custom-made game featuring Evan’s head on a superhero’s body and called it “Super Evan” which involved Evan the superhero flying around trying to eat falling pizzas from the sky. As you can imagine, Evan absolutely loved it. I just smile thinking of what an awesome dad he will be when we have a child of our own.
Fortunately, we’re established in our careers – Sara as an occupational therapist (this means that she helps people adapt to injuries and illnesses so that they can resume the normal activities of their home and work life), and Josh as a computer programmer.
Music brings us together. Josh plays guitar and piano, and leaves the singing to Sara. Together, we’ve recorded a number of songs, performed on stage at various rock venues, and even had a song appear on TV. To surprise Josh’s dad on his birthday a few years ago, we recorded a duet of a long forgotten song that he wrote.
We love being together – whether it’s going traveling to exotic off-the-beaten-path locations, hiking, playing our piano and singing, going to Red Sox games, cooking, trying new local restaurants, going to concerts, or just reading beside each other. We are always looking for new and interesting things to do. Actively embracing life is something we look forward to teaching our child.
Our Family
Family is tremendously important to us, and we see both of our families often. We love swimming, tubing and kayaking when we visit Josh’s mom at her lake house in Michigan. We love exploring the beach and searching for hidden treasures at the flea market when we visit Sara’s grandparents in Florida. We love acting like kids again when we visit 8 year-old Molly and 6 year-old Evan, Josh’s half-siblings. We love going to rock concerts with Sara’s parents. We love our family!
Our extended families travel together often. Last summer we went to the Grand Canyon with Sara’s family and Martha’s Vineyard with Josh’s family. Josh’s dad usually books a kid-friendly family trip once a year. Since he is in show business, when we all went to Disney World last year, we were fortunate enough to have a private guide help us see some of the behind the scenes action.
About Sara, By Josh
Sara has devoted her life to helping others. She has a master’s degree in occupational therapy and she works in a hospital helping cancer and brain injury patients improve their lives. She volunteers at an animal shelter every weekend. She has been a vegetarian since the age of 13 due to her love for animals. She rescued and adopted two dogs (and always wants to choose the dog that she is worried no one else will pick). I could go on quite a bit about all the things she does to help people and also animals. I know that Sara is eager to pass on these great values to our child.
My parents divorced after I was grown and my father is remarried. He has two young children who are my half-siblings and we love spending time with them. My half-sister Molly has always absolutely adored Sara. Whenever we get together, Molly runs straight into Sara’s arms. Their bond began when Sara took my dad’s puppet (he’s into theatre) and created the character “Stuart”. Stuart quickly became 2-year old Molly’s boyfriend. Eventually Molly outgrew Stuart, but she hasn’t outgrown Sara. They often disappear together for several hours with a secret project – whether it be reading a book, drawing a picture, giving a grass-head a haircut, bedazzling a pillow, running a lemonade stand, or who knows what – they both always have a blast. I know our child will be having fun and learning while home with Sara.
Sara grew up an only child to two loving and fantastic parents. They taught her to appreciate the arts, gave her piano, voice, and guitar lessons, bought her a really cool guitar, took her to see her favorite bands in concert, and taught her to respect all living things (human and four legged!).
About Josh, By Sara
When I see Josh interacting with Evan and his little half-sister Molly, it makes me smile thinking of what an awesome dad he will be when we have a child of our own. Besides his creativity and intelligence, Josh is also warm, caring, responsible, and nurturing. If I get sick, Josh is quick to ask what he can do for me and will call a few times during the day to check in and see how I am doing. Josh is a fantastic husband and I know he will be an amazing dad.
He designed our new kitchen, painstakingly measuring and reorganizing our blueprints in order for things to fit perfectly. He is a successful Software Engineer whose skills are in high demand. He is dedicated to his projects, whether they are home, work, or music related. I know he will put as much dedication and love into being a father as he does with his personal projects.
Our Home
From the outside, our house looks small and quaint, but when inside there are many rooms for a kid to play hide-and-seek in! We have a living room with a grand piano and fireplace – a great place for family time. The large sectional in our cozy TV room is great for cuddling. Our basement has a music studio where our child will be able to try out many types of instruments – and hopefully develop a love for music. The basement also has a movie theater room with a projector and plenty of Pixar movies! We have a large fenced-in yard with lots of grass and shade – perfect for a child to play catch or just run around being a kid!
Our two awesome rescue dogs, Kodi and Waldo love playing with Josh’s half-siblings. Our beloved orange cat Peanut Butter loves to boss the dogs around. It’s almost a full house, but we need one more member (this one human!) to make our family complete!
Our house is on a one-way street in a quiet Boston suburb – close enough to enjoy the benefits of the city, but far enough away to avoid the craziness of city life. It’s a very family-friendly town with tons of events geared toward kids: concerts at the theater and in the park, an annual soapbox derby, a town day, fireworks on holidays, a swimming pond, and lots more.
Our town has a very highly rated school system and we live less than half a mile from the elementary school. Across the street from the school is a very large park and a playground with two of the biggest slides we have ever seen! Josh’s half-siblings have visited the playground on many occasions and give it two thumbs up!
Boston is just a short subway ride away, and we can’t wait to share this great city we’ve come to love with our child. There is a children’s museum, science museum, zoo, Fenway Park (Go Red Sox!), kayaking on the Charles River, the aquarium, amazing historical sites, and so much more.
Our Parenting
We were both brought up with strong values, especially a deep respect for others, generosity, compassion, and honesty. Together, we donate monthly to charities, volunteer, and are always quick to help friends and strangers. These values will act as a guide as we raise our child to become a responsible and caring adult.
We think that education is crucial. We were both lucky enough to have attended well respected colleges in Boston and we have no outstanding loans. We already have sufficient funds in a beginning college fund and will look forward to giving our child whatever opportunities they’d like to pursue. We both benefited from other forms of education including music lessons, dance lessons, and summer camp. Whatever our child’s interests and goals may be, we will do everything we can to help them pursue their dreams.
We would be honored to have the opportunity to speak with you further about your hopes and aspirations for your child and answer any questions you might have for us. Thank you so much for considering us. Please call Full Circle Adoptions at 1-800-452-3678 if you would like to learn more about us or speak with us.
Whatever you decide, we want you to know that we genuinely wish all the best for you and your child.
Warmly,