Choose A Family : Parent Profile
Chris and Brigit
Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and considering us as adoptive parents for your baby. Adoption is a huge and selfless decision – one that comes from the immense love you have for your child as well as your desire to give your baby the best life possible. We truly admire your strength and courage as you consider an adoption plan for your child.
We are Chris and Brigit. We met on a blind date in 1997 and have been together ever since. We have been married for eleven years and our relationship is based on love, trust, understanding and respect. Our decision to adopt is based on infertility and our desire to share our life and love with a child. We are a couple of big kids at heart and our free time is spent vacationing, playing and relaxing at the beaches, at the park, gardening, walking, hiking or simply relaxing watching a movie.
Three years ago, we were very fortunate to adopt a wonderful baby girl, Melody. She has brought so much joy and fulfillment into our lives. We know in our hearts, that we have more love to give and would love to expand our family through the miracle of adoption.
About Chris: Chris was born in New Mexico, where his parents lived on an Indian reservation (Navajo) and then was raised in the woods of New Hampshire for twenty-plus years. He got his degree at Cornell University as an electrical engineer and has been working in the world of optical systems engineering for 15 years. In 2002, he convinced management that they needed someone on the West Coast and that is how we ended up in California. In 2003, he started a successful engineering company and then sold it to a major firm in 2010. He then took an expanded, challenging role leading the new combined firm as the vice president. Chris works from home most of the time, but travel is part of his job. Whenever we can, we all travel together, including Orlando (Disney!), Holland, to visit Brigit’s family and NH to visit Chris’s family - maybe Japan soon, too!
Chris’ friends and colleagues know him for his easy humor, his work ethic and his love for outdoor activities. A few of these activities include mountain biking, skiing, snorkeling, lacrosse, rock climbing, surfing and boogie boarding. These are things he has introduced to Brigit and is starting to work on with with Melody. Family is the first priority is his life.
Grammy and Bumpie (Chris’ parents) live on the East Coast, so when we get together 4-5 times a year, those are extra special times. Sean (Chris’ brother ) and his wife Marianne live in Arizona, and are only a drive away and we also see them many times each year. We love to go over and have Melly play with Autie, Uncle and her niece, Ani, who is also our Goddaughter. Melody and Ani are like sisters and instantly reconnect each time they see each other. Ani very recently became a big sister and we can’t wait to meet our new niece, Katy. More fun for the cousins to get together!
Chris’ entire family meets every year for Thanksgiving and this has become a real family tradition. We try to keep moving our family meeting spots around. In New Hampshire, we have played in the snow, seen turkeys and deer in the backyard, gone sledding and picked blueberries as well as having lots of fun in the woods and lakes. We also have gone on family vacations in Prescott, AZ and last year we went to our timeshare in Maui for our 10th wedding anniversary celebration with the whole family. Family gatherings are always exciting events with park visits, hiking, cookouts, sport and beach time!
About Brigit: Brigit was born and raised in The Netherlands and remains a Dutch citizen. After she finished her Bachelor degree in Medical Biochemistry she came to America on a scholarship in 1995 to further her education at Dartmouth, NH. Brigit worked in a lab for 10 months researching Multiple Sclerosis and found such joy in her work and life that she ended up staying in the USA. When she moved to California, she worked for two companies in the pharmaceutical industry researching many different diseases.
Brigit is an outgoing person with a bubbly personality. She is known as a person who smiles a lot and is always ready to help a friend in need. She loves to read, make her own cards to send to her friends and their children, writes our annual Christmas letter, visits SeaWorld and loves to Zumba for exercise. She also is working on getting our puppy, Baloe, trained to have him become a “good citizen”. Her favorite activity though is cuddling in bed in the morning with Melody and there are always lots of hugs, kisses, tickling and laughter going around. After the birth of the new baby, Brigit plans on being a stay at home mother and she is really looking forward to the special time spent together with Melody and the new little one.
Brigit lost both of her parents in the last twelve months which has been a trial for her and our family – we have grown stronger together as we faced the loss. She has a sister in The Netherlands with whom she communicates via e-mail and phone calls and we plan to visit our sister and the extended family at least once each year. We will continue to travel to The Netherlands and bring the Dutch culture and language into our home.
In 2000, her good friend Heather gave birth to a son, Nicholas. Brigit was there when he was born and became the Godmother of “Nicky”. Whenever she has the chance, she will go see him and spend time with him in New Hampshire. He has also visited her in California and the two of them have a great bond – going boogie boarding or visiting Lego Land. Brigit has also financially adopted a girl, Patricia in Ghana, Africa. She lives in an orphanage built by a Dutch family friend.
Brigit became friends with a co-worker who also adopted a baby, 10 days after Melody was born. Brigit and Maeve, the other adoptive Mom of a little boy Rory, became great friends and are a wonderful resource for each other. They have “play-dates” and celebrate kids birthdays together. Brigit and Maeve talk and email each other all the time discussing parenting, adoption and how lucky they are to have had the chance to have such wonderful children. We are also part of an adoption playgroup in San Diego.
About Melody: Melody was born in March 2007. We got the call from our adoption agency 8 hours after Melody’s birth - we had been chosen by Melody’s Birth Mom, who wanted to place with us! The next day we drove up to meet Melody and held her for the first time when she was 25 hrs old. It was love at first sight and many things “clicked” on a lot of levels – it was meant to be. Zero to Parents in 24hrs – what an amazing week! Melody’s Birth Mom has an open invitation to be involved with Melody as she grows and we would like to offer the same invitation to you!
Melody is a wonderful and cheerful little girl, who loves to help. She’s also an aspiring comedian who makes us laugh every day. She likes to play outside in the park right down the road, ride her bike and scooter, play board games, play in her house in our backyard and loves her swim lessons. She also loves to travel (planes are a favorite) and has been to The Netherlands, New Hampshire, Arizona, Maui and Orlando, FL. She is one-quarter Native American (Navajo) and three-quarters Hispanic, which adds to the rich heritage of our family.
Melody is such a joy and it has been our greatest pleasure to be her parents. Having one child is incredible and we would really like to add to our family and to love and care for another child. We feel this decision for our second child will be important for Melody - both children can share their adoption stories and questions that they have as they grow up. We also know that Melody will be a great big sister and excellent role model.
About our furry kids: We have 2 German Shepherd “Puppies”: Miya and Baloe. Miya is 9 years old and is a real people dog, who loves belly rubs. Baloe, named after Baloo the bear in the jungle book, is our 8 month old puppy, and is without any doubt, Melody’s dog. Both puppies are loving, gentle and well behaved dogs. Melody, Baloe and Miya all love to play together; tail pulling, cheese-sharing, ball-throwing, wrestling and all!
About our home: Last year we moved into a brand new home about one hour North of San Diego in the Temecula Valley and winery region. Outside, there is a great backyard, open spaces and mountains around the neighbor hoods and several brand new parks within 1-2 blocks from our home. Inside, there is enough room for a playroom, another baby room and all the space we will ever need for our growing family. We also just joined the green revolution and added solar panels to our house – no more electricity bills. Brigit will be a full time, stay-at-home mom for our new child with lots to do - we are only 1 hr away from the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, Legoland, and Disneyland. Plus, there are lots of children in our neighborhood with sport clubs, parks, activities and new schools. We have great neighbors who are very supportive of our adoption and hold regular cookouts and block parties.
About Parenthood: We want our children to be happy in every part of their lives. We realize that every child is unique and we will encourage education, sports and artistic activities in our home and support whatever interests our child develops without pressure. Our child will see the world through travel and experience many cultures and we will foster education of their ethnic backgrounds as well. Brigit and I have learned, school, language, art, science, religion and open-mindedness are part of being a good human being and our children will be raised to respect these ideals as well.
Closing statement: Thank you for reading our story and finding out more about who we are. We honor your decision to place your child for adoption and the strength and love that such a decision comes from. We would like to know more about you If you would like to speak with us about adopting your child or have any questions for us, please contact an Adoption Advisor at AdoptHelp by calling 1-800-637-7999, toll free.
Big Hugs and Best Wishes,
Chris and Brigit
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