Eric with Marc & Patrick

Ruth comes from a large family and is the oldest 5 children. Ruth's parents are both still living and although divorced many years now; remain a big part of Ruth's life. Ruth has always lived in the same state as her family except for her college years so seeing family, on almost a daily basis was common. Since meeting Eric over 7 years ago and knowing he had 2 young boys, of middle school and high school age; moving was inevitable. We make it a point to travel home at least once a month. Ruth and her Mom often make extra trips and meet midway for a quick visit. Ruth has a tremendously close relationship with her mom and treasures it fully. Ruth's mom was adopted as an infant and this has always held a special place is Ruth's heart. Ruth often feels her own life is directly related to the loving caring choices her grandparents made in adopting her mom. Ruth's relationship with her grandfather was near and dear to her heart. Ruth's dad re-married and lives only 2 hours away. Ruth's sister Dianne and husband Ray have been married for many years and have 2 boys Marc-16 and Patrick-12 as well as 3 older boys from Ray first marriage. Dianne and Ray will be the godparents to our new family addition. Ruth's sister Merry, lives in California. She is an elementary school teacher and loves her life. Ruth's brother Howard lives in a house he rebuilt for our mom. Ruth's youngest sister Leslie sadly is not with us today but we shared many heart-felt conversations about the possibilities of adoption. She could not have children and so wanted to with her husband Doug. The entire family is thrilled for Eric and Ruth and looking forward to becoming grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. We all get together during the year but most especially during the holidays. Dianne's Thanksgiving and summer pool party BBQ's, Howard's many BBQ's and special parties: like Leslies' surprise 30th or our Hawaiian Wedding BBQ reception. Eric and Ruth host our traditional "After Christmas before New Year's Family Gathering". The whole family drives out to NJ. We all share in the hosting of different holidays and special occasions. There is always way too much dessert and the good-bye's take almost as long as the visits. Of course family stories are shared and many are the same stories told at prior family gatherings but still we laugh and remember together.

Sister Dianne & Ray - Godparents

Eric comes from a small family and is an only child. He was the pride and joy of his parents and grand-parents. Although Eric's dad passed away when Eric was very young; he was very close with his mom; he called his mom every day! We saw her 1-2x's per month; usually in Brooklyn where she lived but she did come to NJ and usually stayed over a few days. We'd go shopping, to a movie, out for dinner or cook dinner and stay at home with movies. She sadly passed away over a year ago. She was a proud grandmother and so proud of Eric's commitment to furthering his education; especially when he decided to enter college 3 years ago at the age of 44. We both know that she is watching over him, on his journey through Law School on his way to becoming a Lawyer and hopefully a Dad for the 3rd time. Eric has 2 grown sons; Sean and Joe, who are both in college and doing very well. Eric is most proud of them. They are home during breaks from school. Eric remains in contact with his cousins and their children and his aunt; often sharing emails, holiday cards and we've travel to visit each other. Eric's cousin was thrilled when we told her of our plans for adoption and it had a special meaning to her as her sister adopted an infant daughter over 19 years ago.

Our Home

Our home is warm and welcoming inside and out. It is a cute pale yellow split-side ranch with 3 bedrooms, living room, family room, a huge kitchen and a huge fenced in backyard. We agreed our home would need many rooms so Eric's boys would always feel at home in our home and there is still room for the child we are so excited to add to our family. We had always talked about getting a dog and a year after we moved into our home we adopted Go-Go from the Greyhound Foundation. She is a sweet and loveable dog who loves to go for walks, to the dog-park and sleep. Two years later, we were offered an opportunity to give Go-Go a playmate which we both agreed, she needed and we adopted Cami; another equally sweet and loveable greyhound. They are both now 7 and 8 respectively and enjoying their retirement from racing.

At the Neighborhood Park

We live in a nice friendly neighborhood with many kids near by. There are many parks, soccer and baseball fields, dance studios, as well a numerous historic sites; as this area is quite rich in history relating to our countries strive for many of its' freedoms. We have a family membership to our local YMCA which offers numerous activities for children, adults and both together. We are regular contributors to the YMCA-Strong Kids Program; which offers assistance to less fortunate children. The nearby communities have numerous annual events including: Jazz Festival on the River, Fire Department and Church Carnivals, Pumpkin Patch Fair, Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration, Christmas Tree Lighting and Concert just to name a few. We are a short bike ride away from the nearest beach and there is a bike path 2 blocks from our home; that is an old rail trail that extends over 20 miles. We have an excellent school district and many of the school are quite close to our home. There are many local "mom and pop shops" such as: old luncheonettes, old hardware stores, handmade children clothing shops, all nearby. There are huge malls in almost every county, the closest only 20 minutes away. We are only an hour from Manhattan; which presents a wonderful array of exciting things to see and to do together.