Dear Birth Mother:

We wish that we could truly convey how thankful and grateful we are that you may be considering us as adoptive parents. We feel very strongly that we were meant to be adoptive parents. To us, parenting is a life long commitment that we plan to undertake with love, compassion and understanding (and yes, gentle humor). We are tolerant and open-minded and appreciate that that this is a very difficult decision for you. Your generosity humbles us, as you have chosen to complete a family and, in so doing, will fulfill a fortunate couple’s life-long dreams. We hope that you will bestow that most special gift upon us.

About Us:

We are Alan and Heidi and, as you can see, are thrilled about the idea of adopting a child. We met in 2004, and you could say it was “love at first sight”. We immediately discovered that we had so much in common. Even on our first date, we talked about the importance of children and family. Heidi had been married before, and had experienced a painful miscarriage during her first marriage. Yet, she has always felt very positively about adoption, as she loves children. This is Alan’s first marriage. We married in March of 2006 and had a wonderful ceremony near the ocean, close to where we first met. Our pastor and family and friends joined us. It was a special day!

We feel that we are ready for adoption, as we can offer a stable, secure peaceful home environment. We own our home in northern California. We live just outside San Francisco in a family-oriented, safe community. We’re surrounded by trees, mountains, and the ocean. Our home is very warm and inviting. It’s filled with much color and light. For example, we have a sunroom that looks out onto the ocean. The sunroom is fairly large, and is one of the most comfortable rooms in the house. It would be an ideal play area for a little one. Good elementary and junior high schools are within walking distance. Our community is very civic-minded, and there are numerous after school activities that children participate in.

Alan is an established pharmacist, who has a strong background in hospital pharmacy. He especially enjoys patient counseling, and answering questions about health matters. He is empathetic and calm and receives very positive feedback from his customers. Children and young adults feel extremely comfortable with him. Alan is certified in immunization and injection procedures, and gave hundreds of flu shots during last year’s winter season!

Heidi is an attorney and currently working in the human resources department of a governmental agency. She handles the recruitment and hiring for the San Francisco office. One of her main responsibilities is to counsel/assist employees who are seeking leaves of absences from work. As a result, she has worked with many female employees who are seeking maternity leave, and so is very familiar with the issues/situations that expectant mothers face. One employee actually called Heidi from the hospital before she went into labor….. Mom and baby turned out to be just fine. Heidi’s schedule is flexible, and she would be able to take time off to bond with and take care of a child. Her employer is very supportive of new mothers and fathers.

About Alan:

I was born in Joliet, Illinois, which is 30 minutes outside Chicago. I grew up on a dairy farm and have a deep appreciation for nature. I also learned, at an early age, to fix everything around the house. I have two younger siblings. Douglas, my brother, is an engineer in New Hampshire and he has four children- Frederick, Jimmy, Sheila and Katerina I am the godfather to his oldest son, Frederick. Fred is studying automotive design. Jimmy is a college sophomore. Sheila is graduating from high school year, and her ambition is to be a high school science teacher. Katerina will be entering sixth grade, loves school, and is the proud owner of an Australian cattle dog puppy. My sister, Sharon, is an elementary school teacher. She lives in California and has two children. Her older daughter, Amy, is now a college junior. Jeremy is a special needs young adult. He makes friends really easily, and has a fantastic personality. All of my nieces and nephews cannot wait to meet the newest addition to our family.

Some of my favorite, early childhood memories were spent traveling across the country with my parents and siblings in our station wagon. (My parents were very brave!). From Illinois, we drove to California, New Mexico, District of Columbia, New York and Canada. My parents valued education and were supportive of our passions and hobbies. For example, I started to really gravitate towards chemistry during junior high school, and they made sure to buy me the most complete chemistry set they could find. During high school, I played the coronet and excelled in photography.

I graduated from pharmacy school in St. Louis, Missouri. Pharmacy school was challenging, but I survived it, by making some good friends and playing the harmonica in a college band. I decided to move to California about fifteen years ago, because I enjoyed being outdoors all seasons of the year. I used to ride my motorcycle through the California hills. (I since have sold the motorcycle) I have had quite a few adventures. I have bicycled through Europe and New England, and owned a sailboat called the “Courtney Jo”. One thing that has remained with me throughout my years is my love of all types of music- especially Chicago blues. I look forward to sharing my love of music and the outdoors with our future child.

About Heidi:

I was born in San Francisco. Although I am an only child, I have a very large extended family. My mother is one of eight children, so I have numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. My parents and I have always enjoyed an extremely close relationship that is filled with mutual respect. They currently live twenty minutes from us, and are very much looking forward to being grandparents soon! A great majority of my family lives in a region of southern Germany. Southern Germany is known for its green mountains and castles, and is very scenic. Many of my European relatives have close friends who have successfully adopted – and so they are most encouraging. They are looking forward to the day that they can travel to California and meet our child.

My parents owned their own business for quite some time. Even though they were busy, they helped me to explore my various interests. For example, I took ballet, gymnastics, and music lessons for numerous years. My mother served on my various schools’ parent/teacher associations and was a volunteer reading tutor. My father helped me with my daily homework and special school assignments. I attended high school, college and law school in the San Francisco Bay Area. Even during my college breaks, I worked for a federal governmental agency, and so I think my commitment to public sector service started then.

Volunteerism has always been a part of my life. I have been a member of various professional boards for the last ten years- and find it satisfying to connect with other people. At work, I belong to the emergency response team and recently became certified in CPR and First Aid. I am an avid reader and love to dabble in creative writing. I am also the “unofficial” family photographer, and enjoy coordinating scrapbooks and albums. Exercise is important, and I am finding that yoga is a great way to rewind after a busy day. I always seem to have some “home projects” on the horizon, and enjoy making our environment a comfortable, nurturing one.

Our Life Together

Our families value commitment. Our own parents have been married for many years. While we were growing up in California and Illinois, we both attended church. Currently, we attend a small, friendly church,- where children are made to feel very welcome and special.

Our daily lives are filled with energy and fun. We like all sorts of activities. For the last year, we have taken golf lessons. It’s great to learn a new hobby together. Skiing, swimming, biking, hiking, and rollerblading are other things we enjoy.

Our vacations have been memorable. We always like traveling to Monterey and exploring the rugged coast. During winter time, we have escaped the rain and cold and gone to Palm Springs. We love the desert, because it is tranquil and the evenings are so warm and clear. We have some old friends in that area, and use that time to also improve our golf game – (which is a definite work in progress.) Recently, we were in Yosemite for a week, and that was special. We visited small towns, a favorite pastime of Heidi’s, and enjoyed getting to know the local people. This year, we plan to visit Alan’s parents who still live in Joliet, Illinois. Perhaps, we will be able to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois. It is always wonderful to spend time with Alan’s cousins, who are still heavily involved in commercial farming. They are warm and down-to-earth and have entertaining stories to tell.

We hope that this letter has shed some more light on who we are, as individuals and on the kind of parents we strive to be. You are faced with a difficult decision- we understand. We can’t say anything more than this: We have waited our whole lives to have children and raise them in an emotionally healthy and loving environment. We are bound by our commitment to family, and cannot think of anything more important or special than protecting and nurturing a child.

You are in our thoughts and prayers, and we wish you much peace and strength at this time. If you would like to speak with us about adopting your child or if you have any questions for us, please contact one of our adoption advisors at Adopthelp, toll free at (800) 637-7000

Warmly, Heidi and Alan