Dear Birth Parent:
We are Dawn and Tim, and our dream is to adopt a baby. As we thought about all that we want to convey to you through this letter, we realized that we are sharing with you a moment in life that could change all of us forever. What is most striking and comforting about our chance meeting is that we are each trying to achieve something great. We respect that you are making a very difficult decision in hopes of securing a bright future for your child and for you. We, too, are striving to have the future that we dream of by adding a precious child to our family to nurture and love. Through this letter, we want to show you how very much your child will be loved, and feel secure and happy growing up in our family.
Most important to us and, we expect, to you, is how we feel about adopting a child. We have always dreamed of being parents and, from early on in our relationship, expected that we would have a family together. After suffering a miscarriage and trying to conceive a child for more than two years, we realized that families are grown in all sorts of ways. Our family will grow through adoption. It makes perfect sense, as Tim is adopted.
In January, 2004, our dream of starting a family was realized when we adopted our daughter, Claire, and our hearts were changed forever. We are very blessed with a happy, good-natured, smart, beautiful child. Claire is full of love and will be a wonderful big sister. She is already busy planning how she will help with her baby sister or brother and special outings the two of them will share. Just recently, Claire asked us to keep her tricycle in the garage after she got her "big girl bike" for Christmas. She said that she wants to keep the tricycle for her baby sister or brother to ride.
About Us
We met by the good fortune of living in neighboring apartment buildings. Living on a bustling street, we both spent summer evenings on the front steps chatting with friends and neighbors and enjoying the sights. Dawn had three roommates; Tim had two, so it was a cinch for the group to be fast friends. Tim says it was love at first sight and insists, to this day, that on the first day he saw Dawn he said he would marry her. Dawn, a bit skeptical about such matters, was a little more cautious with her heart. Now, we both know that we spent our early years searching for each other and consider ourselves very lucky to have found each other to love. We married nine years ago after dating for almost five years.
Our Family
We have a big, loving family. Our immediate family all lives in the Chicago area, except for Tim's sister who is a professor at the University of Illinois and lives in Champaign and Chicago. We have many fun family get-togethers with lots of aunts, uncles and cousins (and family dogs), all of whom love to play! We all try to attend the kids' activities, currently focused on Cousin Scottie's lacrosse and Claire's ballet recitals. We often follow with a big family party or BBQ. Birthdays are always a reason to celebrate in our family and we always manage to make the birthday boy or girl feel like king or queen for a day. Our family members are talented and active, each in their own way, but they are always there for us to lend a hand or share the special times.
Dawn on Tim
Tim and his older sister are both adopted and grew up in a very loving family. Tim grew up very active, excelling at sports (baseball) and in music (all-state viola). Such interests made Tim a bit of an anomaly in school - a friend to the jocks and the musicians. Tim has an undergraduate degree in economics, and he played varsity baseball in college for a couple of years. Tim has worked very hard to develop a successful career as a real estate broker and is highly regarded in his field. He really takes great pride in helping people connect with the house that they will turn into their home. We are very lucky that Tim works out of a home office and is constantly in and out, so he can spend a lot of time with Claire. I would not be describing Tim fully if I did not mention how much he loves current technology. Tim keeps up on all things electronic and, as a result, our home tends to be filled with a lot of fun gadgets. I have heard repeatedly from friends and family that "Tim grows on you," and I think it is true -- people just cannot get enough of him. Tim is a very loving and kind husband. He treats me with a great deal of respect
and always encourages me to pursue my dreams. Tim has a great sense of humor and we have a lot of fun together. I could go on and on about him, but I feel that describing how he treats children will really give the best insight into Tim as a father and as a person generally.
Tim is really, really great with children. He always has something interesting to talk to them about, no matter what their age is, and he can really engage just about any child. Tim's diverse interests and experiences help him understand and encourage a child's unique talents and interests. He would have been a great teacher as kids really listen to him! I think they pick up right away on how kind, honest and FUN he is, and they want to be near him. Tim always has time for children. Claire's friends are thrilled when Tim visits school and chases them around the track, and when Tim drops in at home during a play date, the fun always kicks up a notch! Even before Claire, we spent a lot of time with our nieces and nephews on Dawn's side (eight of them) and with our six-year old nephew on Tim's side (we now have a three-year old niece and twin infant nephews, too). As each of our nephews goes through his "eat-drink-live baseball" phase, Tim is there to encourage and teach them (and impress every once in a while with his fast ball) - the boys eat it up!
Claire absolutely adores her Daddy, and Tim's feelings are mutual. Tim is a very hands-on Dad. He is able to handle anything that comes his way. He knows and cares about what is best for Claire, and he always tries to make sure that he is helping her develop and learn in a fun, caring way. Tim spends a lot of time with Claire, just playing and giggling together. He can make her belly-laugh! They just enjoy hanging out together whether it's a trip to the grocery store or time at the playground. I really cannot imagine a better father. Tim has developed a special routine with Claire, and they do a fun activity together each week. Usually, they start out with an activity like going to the zoo, swimming at the pool or taking a soccer class. Then, they like to have lunch at their favorite diner where everyone knows them and makes a big deal of Claire coming in with her Daddy. Knowing Tim, I suspect that he is already developing plans for when a baby joins the fold and the three of them head out for their special day. I'm so proud that Tim is the father to my child.
Dawn is a nice Mommy with a mean jump shot!Tim on Dawn
One of five children (two brothers and two sisters), Dawn is part of a very large, very fun family. Her mother is from a family of fourteen children - the result, lots of aunts and uncles and cousins to share good times! Dawn was active in music and sports in school, including playing varsity tennis in high school. Dawn fondly remembers her summer as a camp counselor teaching tennis and living with the youngest girls at camp, the six and seven year olds! Dawn has an undergraduate degree in economics and political science and a law degree. She has worked as an attorney for 14 years, now on a reduced schedule in order to spend lots of time with Claire.
Dawn is a very generous and kind person that I fall more in love with every day. We have a great time together, and I can't imagine a day without her. It's hard to put words to paper, but I am a very lucky man to have a wife that cares as much about me as I do about her.
With the addition of Claire to our family, everything just came together in a way that is hard to describe. I was worried about being a father and how I would do, but Dawn was there to be the Mommy that any little one would love to have. From the first day, Dawn has proven to me that she is exactly what I thought she would be - as close to a perfect mom as possible. Dawn is always making up great games that they play together. When I hear them talking together, either in the bath tub or reading a bedtime story, Dawn always takes extra time to listen and understand and also explain herself to Claire. I guess my point is whenever Claire needs her Mommy, she is always there.
Dawn or I take Claire to preschool every day. Dawn and Claire also have their classes that they go to every week. They go to swimming lessons, music class, ballet or a few others two or three times a week. I always like to see the art projects that they put together and how Claire is always so proud of her work. I hope that these few paragraphs help you understand what an incredible mother AND wife that Dawn is. I could not be luckier.
Just as a side note, Claire has taken on Dawn's love for clothes and shoes just like a little girl should in my opinion. When I see the two of them shopping together and modeling clothes, it has got to be the cutest thing. I'm not so sure how much I like the bills, but it is always worth it.
Home Sweet Home
Our home is located in a very family-oriented and kid-friendly neighborhood, yet very near downtown Chicago. Our neighbors tend to be a very diverse and interesting group. We have more than 30 young children on our block, and there is a great park and playground one block over. The city offers all sorts of opportunities for a child to learn and grow. We keep Claire very busy taking advantage of the zoo, beaches, Children's Museum, Aquarium, sporting events and all of the city's special events for kids, such as summer street festivals, farmers' markets and the autumn pumpkin patch, to name a few. We are really enjoying watching Claire's world expand every day, and we cannot wait to share these opportunities with another child. Claire attends a fantastic school where, in just two years, she already has a group of super friends (and, lucky for us, their parents are just as nice)!
We also love to spend time in places that hold special meaning for us. We are fortunate to have a vacation home on a lake in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, a very special place where Dawn spent time during her childhood. Now, our immediate family tends to gather there. We spend a good portion of the summer "at the lake" as Dawn did as a child. To us, growing up in the city with a good amount of time in the country with the wildlife, wide open spaces and the lake for summertime fun is a winning combination! We are looking forward to making many more fond family memories in these places.
Our Interests
We have always enjoyed each other's company, above all else, and having Claire in our family has only added to that pleasure. We love to travel and especially to explore new places. When we visit a new place, we try to see and learn as much as we can about it. Tim sometimes says that we "wear ourselves ragged" on vacation, but really finding out about a place is what makes travel so much fun for us.
We lead a very active lifestyle. Tim excels at tennis, and we both love to fit in an occasional game of golf. Dawn has been learning photography with her favorite subjects being Claire, and our dogs, Lucy and Ginger (when any of them will sit still). We also like to be involved in the things going on around us, which has included being very involved in our neighborhood association and projects. Often, we work our dogs, Lucy and Ginger, into our activities, the whole family taking a power walk many evenings and spending weekend mornings at the "dog beach" (a.k.a. HEAVEN to a Labrador retriever). Lucy and Ginger both love children. Lucy even has her "Grandma" (Dawn's mom) wrapped around her little paw, as Grandma concocted a special peanut butter cookie that she bakes just for Lucy.
Our Commitments
Most Sundays we attend our church, a ritual that we both feel prepares us to face the upcoming week on a positive note. Dawn has enjoyed working with the committee that plans our church's annual benefit program. 
It is very important to us to raise our children in the Christian faith and expose our children to Sunday school and the fellowship that we find so readily at church. Just last fall, we celebrated Claire starting Sunday school. We both hope that our children will find comfort at church and with family just as we do.
Education is of primary importance and concern for both of us. Our parents all encouraged us in the pursuit of education above all else. We will encourage, similarly, our child to take advantage of the opportunities he or she is given and excel at whatever most interests him or her. Our greatest hope and goal is to raise curious, active, happy children, who respect their friends, family and community in every way.
A Child to Love
We realize that lots of love and time together will be our child's primary need, and we are excited to provide these. Our family and friends have showered Claire with love and simply cannot wait to welcome a new little one into the fold! Becoming parents was the best thing that ever happened to us and we are looking forward to welcoming, with open arms and open hearts, another child into our family. All three of us are already holding the hope of a new baby in our hearts.
We would love to have the opportunity to meet and get to know you and share more about our family with you. We are comfortable with an open adoption, if you so choose, and are willing to accommodate a confidential adoption as well, if that is your preference. We would be happy to share with you letters and photographs, letting you know how your child is getting along, if you wish. You can call us directly at (888) 860-2174 - we would love to hear from you at anytime. Or, call Steve Kirsh or Joel Kirsh, our adoption attorneys, at (800) 333-5736. They are very kind and easy to talk to and know a lot about adoption and about us. They are always available to you. We will do all we can to help you answer any questions you have about adoption.
From this letter, we hope you learned a little about what we believe and what we hope for the future. We want you to be confident that your child will always be loved and cherished in our family and that we will be the best parents we possibly can. We wish for you a lifetime of happiness no matter what you decide.
All the best,
Dawn and Tim
