American Adoptions -- America's Adoption Agency
 Expanding our family with your child would make it more complete, not only for us, but for our son Cole, who would really like a sibling. We have embraced Cole, also adopted, into our multi-cultural family (American-Lebanese and English), and being able to share that unique environment with your child would be thrilling. Our lives are built on love, happiness and laughter, which are so important to any child, and ours provides a foundation on which your child will flourish. If you choose us to be your child's parents, we will also provide a place where the pursuit of dreams is possible and unconditional love abounds.  |
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We have both experienced adoption, through family and friends, and personally since our son Cole arrived in April 2010. We were fortunate to speak to Cole's birth mom twice before we met her. We can still remember the phone ringing at 4:34 a.m. and Sarah jumping out of bed and hearing the words from our social worker, "Brandi's in labor." From then we booked the flight to Missouri and drove the fastest two hours to the city where Cole was being born. The social worker met us at the hospital and walked us to the room where Cole and his birth mom were staying. As soon as we walked in the door his birth mom said, "Baby, meet mom and dad." Those were the sweetest words we had ever heard and from then we knew we were a family unit.
After Cole was discharged we met Cole's extended family, which included his half brother and sister and his birth grandmother and birth aunt. Through meeting them, we realized how much of a sacrifice his birth mom made, but it also showed us the strength of her character and her unyielding love for her child. We look forward to sending his birth mom and birth grandmother photos and letters every six months and suspect that they enjoy them. Recently, we've included "drawings" that Cole made, and we'll continue to do so as he gets older.
We are so blessed that Cole's birth mom chose us to be his parents and she is always in our thoughts and prayers.
Nigel on Sarah: I was drawn to Sarah because she is intelligent, friendly and so warm. Sarah is very easy going, and always wears a big smile. I love her passion for life and her bubbly personality. She makes me so happy that I often chuckle to myself when remembering something she has done or said. Now she is a mother to Cole, I am amazed by how patient and loving she is. Her maternal side really shows now that Cole is around, as well as her consistency and fairness to keep Cole balanced.
Sarah on Nigel: I have known Nigel since 1998 and in that time I have witnessed his love for life. Whether it is his passion for soccer, or his commitment to his job or his love for his family, Nigel enjoys living.
As with our son, Uncle Nigel is an important part of the lives of our nephews and niece. They love being with him because he is fun, and always willing to play whatever crazy game they have on their minds. Since our son Cole came home, I have seen another side to Nigel that only makes me smile. He is the most patient, caring, and kind father. He is a real hands-on dad, and when the two of them are together, the laughter can be heard throughout our house.
We share a tradition called the "breakfast weekend." It's actually a birthday celebration, but one day it was called "breakfast" and the name stuck. Whoever is celebrating his/her birthday receives special treatment for two days rather than having a simple one day celebration. Special treatment could mean breakfast in bed, or being "excused" from clean-up duty for the weekend. One time Sarah surprised Nigel and took him to Munich, Germany for his breakfast weekend!
Our house is located facing a park, which at Christmas time is illuminated with many Christmas decorations. After moving in, we began a tradition of inviting friends and family over the evening the lights are first turned on. Everyone gathers on the front porch, bundled up in scarves and hats anticipating the arrival of the lights.
Since our son is adopted, another special tradition is to celebrate the adoption finalization day. The first year we had a family dinner and everyone toasted our new arrival. We plan on continuing to make this an important tradition, whether going out to dinner or lunch, or having a family fun day.
Within our family we rotate the major holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. In our extended family, we celebrate Epiphany, which is the day the three wise men visited Jesus. Legend has it that one of the wise men was Lebanese, which is why it's a major celebration for us. We gather at a cousin's house and at midnight on January 5th we toast to good health and happiness for the rest of the year.
