Dear Birth Parent(s),

We want to take this opportunity to thank you for choosing adoption for your child. You are truly special and we will always admire you for your selflessness and courage. We cannot begin to imagine what a difficult decision this must be, but we hope that our letter will give you a glimpse into our lives and the life that your child will have. We will promise your child a life full with joy, laughter, happiness, support, sometimes tears, but always love.

Our names are Sheri and Matt and our story starts as a lot of other couples. We have been married for almost six years, and have known each other since junior year of college. After numerous fertility cycles we were blessed to have Sam, our two and a half year old son. Sam is our little man, full of life and lots of energy. When he smiles and laughs the whole room lights up and its usually contagious. Of course we cannot forget about our "first" furry child, Cooper the dog, who is four years old. We have always wanted to have more children, and after realizing that having a biological child was not going to happen after Sam, we began planning a way to add to our family. We want very much for our children to be close to one another and Sam cannot wait to be a big brother. The decision was clear to us that our path was meant for adoption. We both feel that building our family through adoption is very special for us and means more than anything else in the world. We can't wait to share the same love and excitement we have with Sam with your child and want very much to be parents all over again.

We are a young couple in our early thirties. My husband Matt is a great father. He just loves to spend time rolling on the floor with Sam and our dog Cooper, taking walks with them around our neighborhood, and just hanging out. Some days that means going grocery shopping or playing on our swing set in the backyard. Matt is always thinking about Sam wherever he is and has even begun buying sports "stuff" and gear for when he gets older.

My wife Sheri is a great mother. She is the sensitive one in the family and just loves to cuddle, hug and kiss Sam. She always has new crafts for him to explore and try; she loves to take him on play dates in the parks, to the pool club and out to lunch. Sheri loves to cook with Sam and let him help her make cookies and brownies for friends and families.

We currently both work professional jobs right now, Matt works in Financial Services and has a flexible schedule where he can work out of the house if needed, and Sheri works part time in Human Resources in the Insurance Industry. Our plan is for Sheri to take a few years off of her job to stay at home with the kids. Sam will continue attending preschool part time and the other time enjoying play dates and outings with his new baby sibling.

We want you to know that we plan to talk about adoption in our household from an early age. When we started to think about adoption we didn't know when the "best" time would be to begin talking to our children about adoption. I think like most couples, we thought that when your child was old enough to understand we would begin, however, after speaking with family and friends who have adopted children, we now realize that its best to start discussions even before the child is born. We are already beginning to talk with Sam about how mommy and daddy are going to adopt a baby boy or girl and that he will be a big brother. We've begun telling him that although the baby was not inside mommy's tummy, a very special person grew the baby inside her tummy for us.

We will show your child by talking with him/her that the decision you made was the bravest, painful, and most admired decision a parent can make. We will make a point that your child knows you in a positive light. We would love to meet you and get to know one another so that we can share our experiences with your child; and afterward send you pictures and letters for as long as you would like, so that you can be assured your child is happy, healthy, thriving and loved.

We want to thank you getting to know us and considering us as adoptive parents for your child. I guess we can't say enough that what you are doing means the world to us and we promise to make your child's life special. We wish you well as your make this decision and hope that we will hear from you soon.

Sincerely,

Matt & Sheri