Dear Birth Parent(s),

Our names are Mike and Patti and we are excited at the opportunity to share a little about our lives and ourselves with you through this letter. We want to express our sincere gratitude to you for taking the time to learn more about us, and would like to thank you for considering adoption for your child. We have an incredible amount of respect for you and hope that you are getting the support that you need during this difficult time.

We live in Arizona and have been happily married for three and a half years. Our relationship began over 7 years ago while interviewing for teaching positions at a local elementary school. Through working together, our friendship deepened. Mike knew the way to Patti's heart with the surprise morning Starbuck's that he regularly brought in and the companionship he provided on morning playground duty. Our relationship matured into true love and we married about 2 years later. We're both so grateful to have found each other and can't wait for the opportunity to share all of our love & happiness with a child.

Because of our mutual love for children, we started trying to conceive soon after we were married. Things did not work out as we had hoped and planned. After many unsuccessful attempts, it became clear that God had another plan for us. Through all the ups and downs and heartache, one of the many things that kept us close was our mutual dream to someday become parents.

Aside from each other, we have lots of people around us to provide extra love and support as we continue the journey of adoption. We both have great relationships with our families. We are very blessed that all of our immediate family members live within a 15 minute drive. Whether it's at one of our niece or nephew's soccer games or a dinner at mom & dad's, many of our weekend plans involve seeing our family. We know that our niece and nephews will be great companions and our mothers will provide guidance and insight throughout our parenthood journey. They are all extremely supportive and excited for us to start our family.

We both were actively involved in sports as children. We feel like we learned a lot about discipline, teamwork and goal setting through our participation in these activities. Because of this we would like to introduce this to our child as well. Mike played many sports as a child, but his main interest was soccer. He competed in developmental soccer leagues through high school and was fortunate enough to receive a partial scholarship to his university. He still, to this day, plays in a Sunday soccer league with some of the same teammates. Mike would love to someday have the opportunity to coach his own son or daughter's soccer team, if that is where the child's interests lies. Patti developed a love for gymnastics at a very early age. Like Mike, she made one of her best friend's to this day at the gym. When she wasn't practicing at the gym, she and her teammates would get together over the weekends and develop their own routines. Patti's parents were so supportive of her interest in gymnastics that her dad installed a practice bar in their backyard. Mom always made sure that she had a ride to the gym on the other side of town. Patti looks forward to the day that she can share her love of gymnastics with a child.

We have spent countless hours discussing the future that we hope to provide for your child. First, and foremost, we hope to be able to continue a relationship with you, whether it be through pictures and letters or phone conversations and visits, so that you are continuously reassured of your decision. We hope to be the best role models that we can be for him or her. We will raise them to understand the importance of God in our lives. Because of our teaching backgrounds, education is also extremely important to us. We will be sure that your child has the best educational opportunities available. Weekends filled with fun, family, friends and travel is a must. Trips up north, visits to the lake, family reunions in Chicago, and our yearly excursion to San Diego are just some of the places we will continue to visit. Our daily family rituals of eating at the dinner table, trips to the dog park with Charlie and Chloe, and story time are just some of the little things we look forward to doing as parents.

If it is your decision to choose us as the adoptive parents to your child, we would be forever grateful. You can be reassured that your child will be brought up in a loving, nurturing environment and his or her well-being will be the focus of our family. We cannot begin to describe the joy and sense of fulfillment that this will bring to us as a couple. Again, we would like to thank you for reading our letter and taking some time to get to know us. We hope that this has given you a glimpse of the kind of people that we are. We wish you peace and comfort with whatever your decision may be.

Warm regards,

Mike & Patti