Dear Birthmom;

We are John, Jennifer, Hannah and Thomas. We are grateful for the opportunity to write to you about our family, our lives, and our hopes and dreams for a child. First and foremost, we would like to express our sincere appreciation for your consideration of us as your baby's adopted family. While we know it is a very difficult decision for you, we hope that this letter will give you a good idea of our family and all of the love and wonderful things we have to offer your baby. We have been happily married for 14 years and we want you to know that we are prepared to give your child a life filled with love and endless opportunities.

We live in a suburb of a large Midwest City. Our home is a beautiful two-story historic house built in 1864. Our home is in the center of a small river town and the neighborhood is filled with young children. We have authentic candy and ice cream shops that we visit often as a family. John works close to home and Jennifer is a stay at home mom. We are very excited about the prospect of adding another child to our already happy family. Here are our stories...

Jennifer's story

I grew up in the Midwest with very loving parents, the youngest of 3 children, 1 brother and 1 sister. I had a wonderful childhood with many great memories. I grew up knowing both sets of grandparents, they played a large role in my upbringing. I have a large extended family who all reside in the Midwest. This allows for us to get together often.

My Grandfather had the foresight back in the 1950's to purchase a lake cottage for his family. This cottage has been a wonderful get away for everyone in my family. Some of the fondest memories of my childhood revolved around our visits to our cottage. We would spend our weekend water skiing, swimming, playing volleyball, turtle hunting, enjoying campfires and just relaxing with family. We continue to spend most of our summer weekends at our cottage.

I am truly blessed to be in a family that is considerate and loving of one another. At no other time has my family become closer then when my Mother was stricken with cancer 2 years ago. It was through our love and prayers that we made it through this difficult time and I am proud to say my Mother is currently cancer free.

I met John in 5^th grade! Even though we attended separate grade schools, our school's combined to play sports. I was actually cheering at one of John's football games in 5th grade when he told his sister's that I was the girl he was going to marry. We attended high school together and started dating our junior year, going to our proms and spending countless weekends developing our relationship. We also attended the same college together, dating all through college. John proposed to me our senior year in college at Christmas time and we got married the following Summer 3 months after graduating. John's career took us to the Southeast United States to start our lives together. I am very proud of our relationship and marriage. John is a wonderful and caring man. Our strong relationship is based on our Faith in God and the fact that we are best friends first.

John's story

I grew up in the same hometown as Jennifer, 7.5 minutes from her house. I am the youngest of 6 children, 4 sisters and 1 brother. My parents have been married for over 50 years and have 17 grandchildren. Hannah and Tommy have 23 cousins between our two families.

As the youngest, I learned to grow up quick. The experiences I learned from my siblings have been invaluable in my life. My oldest sister was 14 when I was born so our ages spanned over quite a few years. My dream as long as I can remember was to have a large family because of the many happy times I enjoyed growing up. One of my fondest memories was when my family met for dinner each night. We would share with each other that day's events. My father was a tremendous cook and his favorite treat was weekend breakfast. Both of my parents lost their parents at very young ages, so there was a wonderful emphasis on the valuable time spent as a family.

Jennifer and I met in grade school and followed each other through high school and college. We started dating during our junior year in high school and continued until our marriage. What enamored me most about Jennifer back in high school and to this day was our friendship. Even though I had a strong upbringing, my Father struggled with an addiction to alcohol. The most difficult time for me in dealing with this issue was my freshman and sophomore year in high school. It was at this time that Jennifer and I became very close friends. The embarrassment I felt concerning my Father's problem inhibited me from reaching out to other friends. With Jennifer, it became easy to talk to her. This was quite an eye opener for Jennifer because she didn't realize the magnitude of this issue in my life. However, she would sit there for hours with me as I unloaded my feelings. Because of our ability to share with each other our feelings, we became great friends. The other aspect about Jennifer that I enjoyed was her family. Her parents always took me in and have always been so good to me. We would spend endless hours at her lake cottage enjoying time with her family.

After our wedding, we moved to the Southeast United States. We spent 5 years in the South before I was transferred back to the Midwest with my job. Seven years ago, I decided to go into business with my brother-in-law in a small family business. I have known my brother-in-law since I was 5 years old when he started dating my older sister. He is a tremendous man and business partner. He and my sister along with their 4 children live 5 minutes from us. My career allows for tremendous flexibility with regards to my family time. I start my days early but try to be home by 5:00 in time to spend valuable family time with Jennifer, Hannah and Thomas.

My hobbies include coaching Hannah and Thomas, woodworking and working out. I also enjoy volunteering my time teaching middle-school kids at our local school.

And then came Hannah...

After John and I moved back to the Midwest, we decided to start a family. Little did we know that we would face several years of medical issues and problems trying to conceive. After spending most of our lives together, we just assumed we would be able to start a family when we wanted to. This setback strengthened our relationship. After a few years of being unable to conceive, we decided to adopt, and attended a 12-week course in order to get our adoption license. As fate would have it, it was during this course that Jennifer became pregnant with Hannah.

Hannah was born in November of 2000. Hannah is a very special child. She has a wonderful personality, cute, funny and very loveable. She is a joy to be around. She loves playing sports - volleyball and soccer, having a good time with her friends and going up to our lake cottage. We have a great group of friends and neighbors whom we love to have over to cook out. Hannah is always making everyone feel comfortable. She always includes all her friends whenever she plays. She loves to be the life of the party. When we told her about our plans to adopt her face lit up. She loves babies and has always wanted more siblings. Hannah is especially considerate of her brother and shows great compassion to his needs.

And Tommy...

Two years after Hannah, we were blessed to have Tommy in September 2002. Tommy is a wonderful child as well. He is a little more laid back and very easy going. Tommy is a cuddler. He loves to play with all of his toys, his friends and also loves swimming at our lake. He loves sports- football, basketball and soccer. This past April after being on Spring Break with the kids, Tommy was diagnosed with diabetes. Tommy is a very strong little boy as he goes through his daily insulin shots. Tommy is very artistic and pays close attention to details. He is observant, active, loving and caring little boy. Even though Tommy didn't completely understand the whole adoption process, he knew that he was going to have a little brother or sister and became very excited.

And Now...

Since 2002 we have tried to have more children, but have been unsuccessful. Adoption has provided us with the hope that we can still add to our family and experience the joy of raising another child. Hannah and Tommy have been asking for a brother or sister for some time now. We have shared with them that babies find their families in different ways. They both understand the way their brother or sister arrives doesn't matter. They cannot wait to show their love and affection to their new sibling.

We realize you are dealing with some very difficult emotions right now. We want you to know that no matter what you choose to do in your future, you'll be making the right decision for you and your baby. We also know there is no letter that can convey all our thoughts and emotions at this time in our lives. We hope we have given you some insight to our family and please understand that we realize how blessed we would be with another child.

In closing, we would like to share with you that we have been through so many wonderful and happy times together, too many to convey in this letter. What you should know is that our love for each other is based on a solid foundation of our Faith in God and our strong friendship. We have a tremendous passion and love for our children, family and our friends. We welcome the opportunity to meet you if you are interested in learning more about us. We would be happy to provide you with more details about our family so that you can make the best decision possible for you and your baby. Likewise, we would be happy to send you letters and photos, letting you know how your child is getting along, if you wish.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Warmest regards,

Jennifer & John