Dear Birthmother,

Hello!  Thank you for taking the time to learn about our family.  We know this must be a difficult time for you and we know that your decision is not an easy one.  Rest assured that in the end you will make the right decision for you and your baby, and the adoptive parents lucky enough to be chosen by you, whether us or another family, will love that child with all their hearts.  We wish you the best of luck in your journey and your decision making.

The Way it All Began
We are Shannon and Stephanie and, in late January 2000, Stephanie was out with friends after attending a basketball game and wandered into a sports bar in Washington, DC, where Shannon was managing and bartending at the time.  We started talking and Shannon invited her to stop back in. While Stephanie’s friends prodded her to go back, it took over two months for her to get the courage to go.   The night Stephanie went back was one of the busiest nights of the year for the sports bar, yet when she approached Shannon, he remembered her name. The way we see it - - it was fate, and to this day we truly believe that things happen for a reason.  Our first date was a week later and there was no turning back.

How We Got Where We Are
After that first date we quickly realized that we shared the same dreams and values and that family was the most important part of that.  Within a few months we knew it was meant to be and, on the anniversary of our first date, Shannon proposed during our vacation to Disney World.  That was April 2001.  We immediately set out to plan our wedding and set the date for December 31, 2001.  Our goal was to get all of our close family and friends together for a wonderful New Year’s Eve party and it worked out perfectly.  We both come from very energetic, fun-loving families, so New Year’s Eve was perfect for everyone to kick back and have a fun time.

Our love of sports, the outdoors and travel brought us together in many ways and has continued to shape who we are.  We have traveled to many places in our seven years together, including the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Mexico, England, Bermuda, Disney World, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, the Falkland Islands, and all up and down the East Coast to visit family and friends.

From almost our first date, we realized that we shared the dream of having a large family and both hoped we would be parents by the time we were 30.  Since we were already 28 when we got married, we decided to try and start a family about six months after our wedding.  We were fortunate and were able to conceive our son, Callahan, very easily.  However, Stephanie had several serious complications during the pregnancy that resulted in bed rest for the last seven weeks of the pregnancy and required that Callahan be delivered several weeks early by C-section.  Luckily, Callahan is a very healthy baby.  We hoped that a second pregnancy would go smoother.  Stephanie’s pregnancy with our son, Tyler, involved more complications that resulted in multiple hospitalizations and significant bed rest.  Once again we were very blessed that Tyler entered the world in good health, although early like his big brother.  After two very difficult pregnancies we wrestled with our desire to have a larger family, while needing to balance the health risks to Stephanie.  After consulting with doctors who recommended we not conceive again, we decided that the best option for us was adoption.  We had discussed it even before we had Callahan – because we always envisioned our family consisting of both biological and adopted children – giving us our forever family.  The thought of adopting always meshed with our overall belief that family is not just those people you share blood or marriage ties with, but those you choose to make a part of your life and a lifelong commitment to.  Now we hope that fate will bring us the child we have always dreamed of, and for whom two older brothers are eagerly awaiting.

Shannon's Story
I was born in Michigan near Detroit but my family moved to Northern Virginia when I was 4 months old.  I grew up on a street that was filled with kids of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, which was something I wanted my own children to experience someday.  I loved being outside and to be active. I especially loved to play soccer and hockey.   I was one of those people who didn’t know what I wanted to do for a career so I didn’t go to college and instead worked in a restaurant.  I worked in the restaurant industry until I met Stephanie.  I feel that we complement each other very well and cannot think of my life without her in it.  I am now a very proud stay-at-home dad and I feel very lucky to be able to watch first hand how Callahan and Tyler grow up every day.  We try to make sure that they have a chance to experience lots of activities so that they may find what they really enjoy.  I am very eager to be blessed with another child and cannot wait to grow as a family.

In my spare time, I like to play ice hockey and spend time on the computer.  I have just started refereeing girls’ field hockey to get some exercise and to help out the local community.

Stephanie's Story
I grew up in Rochester, NY with my parents and younger brother.  I was always outside “getting into things” and put most of those energies into playing sports as a kid.  For some reason, at the age of 12, I got it in my head that I wanted to be a lawyer.  I was able to make that dream come true in 1998.  I moved to Washington, DC for work, where I met Shannon and fell head over heels in love.  After Callahan was born in I reduced my work schedule to make sure that he, and later Tyler, always knew they were the first priority in our lives.  I recently accepted a job at a major corporation in Charlotte, NC, where we now live.  We are excited because this will give us a better overall quality of life in a more family friendly environment.

The biggest joys in my life come from Shannon and the boys.  Shannon is my knight in shining armor – my rock.  He is always there taking care of us.  I do not believe there is a man with a bigger heart than him and I love him more with each passing day. 

When it comes to the boys, I am generally in charge of bath and bedtime each night – which can be a circus act, but a fun one.  I also try to volunteer at the boys' preschool each year so that I can see firsthand how they are doing and share those experiences with them.  On the weekends I try to plan special time with each of the boys doing fun activities or we just spend some quiet time together at home reading stories or playing. 

In my free time I play soccer in a woman’s league one night a week and have a weekly date with some neighborhood moms to run early in the morning.

Our Family Tree
We know first hand that every child is unique and has their own gifts and quirks.  Callahan and Tyler could not be more different.  Callahan, who we call Calle, is 4 ½.  He loves being the big brother to Tyler and talks with us about what it will be like to have another sibling.  He is already convinced that he will be the one to teach the baby to talk and play with his cars.  He is a very sweet child, who always expressed concern for everyone else; he loves to read and play soccer.  

Tyler, who is 2, is our miniature bull in a china shop.  He is always on the go, usually trying to keep up with his big brother.  Some of his favorite things are to dance, with or without music, draw, and run around the yard with his neighborhood friends.  We talk with him about having a younger sibling and he is constantly pointing out babies when we are out. 

Another integral part of our family is Sammie, our dog, and our cats, Poncho and Cisco.  They are wonderful with the children.

Our Home and Family Life
We moved from Northern Virginia to Charlotte, North Carolina where we were very fortunate to be able to buy our dream house.  It is a brand new house with five bedrooms, a playroom for the kids, a large play set in the backyard and it is in a neighborhood filled with young children.  The neighborhood is the kind that we always dreamed of raising a family in - full of a diverse group of wonderful families - and there are children by the dozens for the kids to play with.  We even helped organize an impromptu Labor Day BBQ on our street and took over several yards to get everyone together – it was a lot of fun.

Both boys attend our church preschool a couple of mornings a week, Callahan is taking a cooking class on Mondays, and Tyler and Shannon take a parent and child class at the local museum.  Both boys have taken soccer classes and we are trying to enroll Tyler in dance or gymnastics to put some of that typical toddler energy to good use.  Shannon and the boys visit different parks and playgrounds during the week, do art projects at home and just have fun with their neighborhood friends. 

Shannon is the chef in our house and makes dinner during the week (Stephanie is the baker and special event cook).  Stephanie gets home in time for dinner most nights and then leads the charges through bath, stories and bedtime.  After the kids are in bed we try to have some time to ourselves, but usually find ourselves talking about the kids while we catch a few minutes of TV.

Every other weekend, we try to have one “adventure.”  Sometimes we go to a local museum or zoo, sometimes for a walk in the woods in a new park, but we always try to introduce the kids to something new and different for them to learn about.  One of our last trips was the NC Transportation Museum, which has about 50 historic trains that you can walk around and explore.  We also set aside Saturday nights for movie night, where we pick one kids’ movie, make some popcorn and go up to the TV room to watch it on the big screen.

We also do a fair amount of traveling to visit family and friends and for vacations.  This past summer we rented a beach house in the Outer Banks of North Carolina with both of our extended families for a week.  The boys have spent lots of time in Rhode Island and Virginia with Shannon’s family, western New York and Ohio with Stephanie’s family, and on various trips to Texas, Minnesota and up and down the east coast.  Our big trip for 2008 is to take everyone to visit Mickey Mouse at Disney World!

Our Extended Family
We are both very close to our families, and talk with and see them quite regularly.  Since Callahan was born, we have seen both sets of grandparents at least every 6-8 weeks.  We are also fortunate to both have one grandmother still alive and each has loved being a great grandmother.  Shannon’s brother, Chris, and sister-in-law, Cindy, are also exploring adoption and we hope our children will have cousins soon.  Uncle David, Stephanie’s brother, loves to play with his nephews.  Both sets of grandparents plan to move farther south to be closer to their grandkids in the future.

Our families have been very involved in our adoption planning and we have included them in the discussion throughout the process.  They are very excited about having another child to dote on and shower with all of the love they already bestow on the boys. 

What the Future Holds
We believe that life is what you make it, not just what you let happen to you – that is how we live our lives.  Not everything goes perfectly, but we try to make the best of it and find a silver lining wherever we can.  We are blessed to have a good marriage, two wonderful children, a wonderful home and financial security.  We hope to share all of that, and more, with all of our children – current and future - and promise to love all of them equally and with all of our hearts.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about our family and best of luck during this time.  No matter what happens, we are sure it will be the right thing for both you and your baby.

If you would like to speak with us about adopting your child or have any questions for us, please contact your Adoption Advisor at AdoptHelp by calling 1-800-637-7999 toll free.

Take care,

Stephanie and Shannon