Dear Birth Parent(s),

Thank you for considering us to parent your child. We hope that our profile will give you some insight into our lives and help you to make the best decision for you and your baby. Our hope is that you come away knowing our home will be the loving, stable environment you desire for your child and that we will provide them with all that is necessary to grow into a mature, healthy, educated adult.

We have been married for 9 years. We met while working in the same office. We developed a strong friendship before romance came along. It may sound cliché, but we truly are each other's best friend and life partners. We had tried for many years to have a biological child before we decided that what we really wanted was to be parents and that it did not matter to us how we created our family. In March of 2006 we adopted our son, Landen. Becoming parents has been by far the best thing that has ever happened to us. We knew immediately that we wanted to parent a second child but we tend to be the type of people who examine and analyze every decision to ensure it is correct. After careful consideration (and just as we suspected) we have decided that we have the time, energy and resources to parent another child. Most importantly, we have the love in our hearts. Isn't it amazing how the human heart expands to fill with love? To be honest we are a little surprised how the desire for a child is just as strong the second time around.

Landen is 2. He is such a joy and we love him beyond words. He has always had a very easy temperament and is frequently laughing about something that tickled his funny bone. He will make an excellent big brother. He enjoys other children and often interacts by offering them a toy. We taught Landen sign language as a baby and that has been helpful in letting him tell us what he wants (milk, more, etc.). He is really speaking a lot now and beginning to put simple sentences together such as, "Mommy, back home," when we return from our daily walk to the mailbox. Lately, he has been playing silly tricks. When we pull into the garage he often covers his eyes (he thinks we can't see him). So we say, "Uh-oh…we left Landen at the store." At which point he uncovers himself to show us he is there. Then we all laugh at his trick. He gets the biggest kick out of getting one over on Mom and Dad.

We will always be open and honest with your child about how he/she came to be part of our family. We believe that open, honest dialogue is crucial to a child's development. We feel fortunate that Dave is an adopted child and thus in a unique position to be able to answer questions and deal with situations as they arise. Your child will also have a big brother as part of his adopted family to share experiences and feelings with as they grow. Julie not only works with foster and adoptive families, she is very active in several adoptive family organizations in our state. Our shelves are filled with adoption books. We love to read adoption stories to our son. It is our hope to have a consistent open dialogue about adoption in our home. We are proud to have adopted and are always careful to refer to ourselves as an "adoptive family" rather than saying our child "is adopted." We also believe firmly that children are "placed with an adoptive family" rather than "put up for adoption." We feel strongly that it is one of our roles in the world educate people about adoption and dispel any misconceptions that we may see. Besides our immediate family, we have a strong extended network of family and friends that are adoptive families. We feel it is important for children to know other families that were formed by adoption.

Dave's parents have always shared what they knew about his birth parents and we do the same with Landen in an age-appropriate manner. We exchange pictures and letters with our son's birth mother and we keep copies of the letters we send and receive in a special binder for Landen. We hope to be able to do the same with you for as long as you desire so that you can see how your child is thriving and your child will have his or her own memory book to ensure them that they were always loved and wanted.

We feel fortunate to have found each other and we try never to take that for granted. Nothing is as important to us as being a parent and a family. We want to see and learn about the world through your child's eyes and expose them to all the wonderful things this world has to offer: travel, music, art, nature, education, etc., etc. As he/she takes their continuing steps in the world, we want to be there to nurture, guide, love, and support them all the way through.

Again, thank you for taking the time to read our profile. Our greatest wish is to become the parents of your beautiful child and give the love that we have in our family to your child.

All our love,

Dave & Julie