American Adoptions -- America's Adoption Agency
 We so admire and respect you as you explore making an adoption plan for your baby. It takes strength and love to consider adoption. We are experienced parents and believe that adoption is a wonderful way to be a family. We value diversity and have a happy, loving, and stable home with a big brother, family and friends to love your baby. And your baby will always know that you love him/her.  |
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When Keith was four, his parents adopted his brother as an infant. Adoption has always been a natural part of his family and he feels blessed that his brother joined the family in this way. We always thought we would have two children and adopt a third child. However, we were unable to conceive again. We both love our siblings so much and cannot imagine life as an only child. We want our children to know the joy we felt growing up with siblings. And we want to share our love and life with another child.
Many of our friends have children through adoption, most of them through transracial adoption. We gather regularly for barbecues, birthdays and holidays. In these ways, your child will have support as part of our multiracial, adoptive community of friends.
We believe that it is extremely important for your child to always know he/she came to our family through adoption. We will emphasize that your child is loved by you and that his/her adoption plan was made from love. We'll talk about how your child's first family wanted to give them the best in life and how you unselfishly and lovingly chose us to share their life.
We will support your child with all of the resources available with any issues that come up about adoption and the transracial makeup of our family. We're excited about sharing our multicultural lifestyle and your child will grow to know people of all races and ethnic backgrounds. We can't wait to send you photos of your child at the Afro Caribbean Festival in Denver, the many hispanic festivals in our state and Native American dance performances near our home.
Family comes first for both of us. Mary Lynn stays home with Tuck, and Keith works very hard to support us financially. When he gets home, we enjoy family dinners, cleaning the kitchen together, and having some time together. After dinner, we take a walk, play street hockey, ride bikes or throw around a ball. Indoors, we like to play games like Candyland, Go Fish, and Uno, or we work on a craft project. Stories before bed, prayers, lullabies and good night kisses end family time and give us a chance to catch up as a couple. We have a weekly date night trade with another adoptive family which helps us reconnect and focus on each other.
We both like to be active and enjoy sports, the outdoors, and hiking. Mary Lynn likes to run, and Keith rides his mountain bike when he can. Mary Lynn loves singing in the church choir and is learning to knit. We both volunteer in church and community activities, cooking for a homeless shelter, helping out at the Special Olympics, raising money through the Walk for Hunger and providing gifts for children and senior citizens at Christmas.
Our traditions are based around family. It is fun sharing stories of childhood holidays and celebrations. Keith's dad is from a big family; with aunts, uncles, and cousins, there were sixty-five people when Keith was a boy! Keith fondly remembers their Christmas celebration, playing with his forty-five cousins and Grandma and Grandpa calling each child to give them their present. Mary Lynn's family wasn't that big, but she loved getting together with her aunts, uncles, and fourteen cousins for holidays, birthdays, and Sunday afternoon cook-outs.
Although our gatherings are no longer that big, we have incorporated some of those memories into what we do today in our little family. Decorating the tree is a highlight of the Christmas season and we still have an Italian dinner on Christmas Eve like when Mary Lynn was young. On Christmas evening, we have friends over to share coffee, dessert, and Christmas cheer. Easter is a favorite holiday with fancy clothes, church, and close friends for dinner and an Easter egg hunt. On Thanksgiving, a new tradition for us is a morning hike where we gather lovely dried flowers and grasses to decorate our Thanksgiving table shared with family and friends.
Other traditions are prayers before bed and giving thanks before dinner for the blessings in our life -- plentiful food, a loving family, close friends, and good health. We look forward to sharing these things with your child and starting new ones that celebrate their culture too.
