We appreciate this opportunity to introduce ourselves. Our names are Ron and Denise. With this letter, we want to give you a chance to get to know us, where we came from, what we value, and what kind of family we can offer a child.

We live in a small, but quickly growing, town in the Midwest. Our marriage is strong. We have successful, satisfying careers, although as you will later read, Denise's main career now, and the one she devotes most of her time, is as a mom. For years we pursued fertility treatments, before concluding that adoption would be our best course for creating a family. We adopted Samantha in August of 2005, and our lives have been transformed. We knew that we wanted to share all that we have-love, security, stability, and happiness - with a child. What we can't adequately express is what she has given us. She brightens our days with her love, smiles, laughter, and silly antics. When we watch her sleep (yes, we actually sit and watch her sleep!), we are filled with a deep inner peace. We can barely remember our lives without her. We have plenty of room in our hearts for another child and plenty of time to do the little things like occasionally watch our baby sleep.

Samantha awaits a sibling.

We are so grateful to Samantha's birth mom, Brandy, for her strength in making such a difficult decision. We will tell Samantha how much her birthmother cared for her by putting her child's future first. We have provided pictures and accounts of Samantha's progress to our attorney, Steve Kirsh, to pass along to Brandy and can do the same for you if you desire.

We have always dreamed that we would have at least two children. We imagine our children playing in the sandbox in our backyard, climbing in the many trees-or perhaps reading together in their shade. We both have siblings with whom we are very close. We can't imagine having grown up without the companionship and love of a sister or brother. We want that lifelong friendship for the baby we adopt and Samantha, too. In our minds, loves does not depend on biology. Being parents is more important to us than giving birth to a child. We want to expand our family with another child to cherish.

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Ron: Denise and I met through mutual friends. I wasn't sure our blind date would even happen. When I first asked Denise out, she said she was leaving the next morning on a cruise and would call me when she returned. Sure, I thought, I'll never hear from her.

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Denise: I know Ron thought I was just getting rid of him when I promised to call him back after my vacation. But I called just as I promised. We went out, and it was terrific. Ron and I are both a little shy, and I worried that we wouldn't be able to talk easily. I was wrong. We found out that we had so much in common. We knew many of the same people, and we are almost the exact same age. (Our birthdays are just a day apart.) We both love music, art, sports, and getting together with family. Ron made me feel safe and comfortable on that first evening together. And he still makes me feel that way. He lets me be me. It sounds like a small thing, but it's not. We have an honest, loving relationship, and we really enjoy being together.

Denise's parents and doting grandparents, Diane and Rich, with Samantha at Easter.

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Denise: For most of my childhood, my mom did not work outside of our home. She volunteered at my schools, as room mom and field trip chaperone. She taught me to cook, take care of a home, sew, and do laundry. (For some crazy reason, I love to do laundry.) There were always certain responsibilities at home that were up to each of us. And then there were choices that were ours to make on our own. Our parents set good examples for us, and we plan on doing the same for our children.

My parents raised my two brothers and me to be independent. My dad loves sports, and taught all of us softball, tennis, swimming, basketball, and ice skating. But we chose for ourselves what interests to pursue. We were raised to be grateful, moral, generous, and loving. Our faith has kept our family close. We get together for holidays and throughout the year.

I have worked in nursing for more than fifteen years. One of the benefits of nursing is that my hours are flexible. When we adopted Samantha, I went from full-time work to part-time. After a second adoption, I plan to reduce my hours at work even more. When I'm not at home, my mom stays with Samantha. She loves being a grandmother. As a matter of fact, if she had her way, she would have me take extra shifts to give her more time with her granddaughter! I love my mom, but I waited too long to be a mother myself to spend any extra time at work now that I have a child. I know that a second child will be double the love, and I can't wait to grow our family.

We have lots of nieces and nephews who are eager to welcome a new baby.

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Ron: I was first drawn to Denise because our time together was so comfortable, honest, and open. But I fell in love with her because she is so caring, understanding, and loving. She takes care of me. When I'm stressed, all Denise has to do is give me this one certain look, and I laugh. It's hard to be anxious when you're laughing.

I come from a warm, loving family. My parents always respected each other and taught us to respect all of those around us. I have three siblings: two sisters and a brother. My dad taught me how to play football, basketball, and baseball. I spent my summers playing little league baseball at the local parks. He is really handy around the house and with cars, and he taught me those skills as well. He taught me the importance of family.

When I was little, he would gather the family together and show home movies of my grandparents and great-grandparents. I could tell how much he loved them. My mom gave each of us jobs around the house. We all learned to cook. Most importantly, my parents taught us to value our family and our faith. Our ethical upbringing was instrumental in defining who I am.

I have an electrical engineering degree and a master in business administration. I am a supervisor with a large, international manufacturer and have been with this company for almost twenty years. The company has excellent benefits and because of my seniority, I have lots of time off. I am home for dinner almost every night. We are able, and eager, to give our children the best education available to them just as our parents did for us.

Our home is in a wonderful neighborhood with lots of children and great schools.

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Denise and Ron: We love to vacation with our family. It's great to relax and spend down-time with our parents, siblings, and their kids. Samantha loves to see her cousins. She chatters away with them-and sometime soon they'll be able to understand what she's saying. On a recent weekend trip, we practically packed the whole house, just to visit Nanna for the afternoon and swim in her pool. We know we'll have even more kids' gear when we have a second child. And we're prepared-- we have packing practically down to a science.

We can't picture our three-bedroom home without children's toys and books. (There's also a lot of laughter in our house, music, and happiness.) We love our community and know that our children will thrive in its excellent schools. We spend a lot of time on our porch and in our backyard. We imagine watching our children, as they grow, playing ball in the yard, splashing in the sprinkler, and catching fireflies on summer nights.

We can't wait to share our lives with a second child. Samantha filled an unknown void in our hearts. We know we'll feel the same way about our next child. We look forward to showing the world to our children, opening their minds to the wonderful differences in all humanity. We want to encourage their interests, whatever they may be: sports, art, the outdoors, or something we can't even imagine. We want to wrap our children in love.

If you want to know more about us, you can call our attorneys, Steve and Joel Kirsh, at 1-800-333-5763. Even if you call after business hours, they will be paged, and they will call you right back. They are very nice people, and they will not pressure you in any way. We send you our best wishes and hope you will want to know more about us.

Denise & Ronald