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Dear Birth Parent(s),

Thank you for considering us as parents for your child. We know this is a difficult time for you, and hope that you will come to a decision that feels right for both you and for your child.

About Us. We have been happily married for almost ten years. We are both active people - we love to hike and bike, and we enjoy travel. We love children, and are crazy about Bud's two kids, a daughter and son we raised who are now successful young adults living at the universities they attend. We also spend a lot of time with Bud's father, two sisters, niece, and nephew. Bud enjoys rowing, canoeing, reading, and working outdoors - he has grown us a beautiful wildflower meadow in our front lawn. Bud also loves to build and repair things, including cars, tractors and boats. Brenda is close to her mom and three brothers and we both enjoy spending time with their families and children. In addition to hiking and biking, Brenda loves to ski and play tennis. At home, she enjoys cooking, baking, reading and doing puzzles. And at the end of a long work day, we both like to relax at home watching movies in our basement by the fireplace and slurping up chocolate pudding.

Your Child's Life. Fun, fun, fun! There is so much we love to do together and can't wait for a child to be part of it again. Some of our favorites: riding the ferris wheel at the county fair, decorating and hiding Easter eggs, sledding down the big hill near our house, running through a corn maze, dressing up for Halloween, getting soaked on the biggest and baddest waterpark slides, driving granddad's power boat, going horseback riding, surfing the waves in the Atlantic ("Balderdash and Tommyrot!"), taking family vacations everywhere from Maine to California, performing in our family air band, setting off fire crackers on the 4th of July and riding in the local parade, pitching a tent in the backyard, visiting the neighbor's baby llamas, baking chocolate chip cookies, playing with our curious kitty-cats, and hiking to the top of every mountain we can find. And of course, in between all that, your child will also attend the great local schools and participate in all kinds of organized activities with other kids: church school and youth group, sports, music, art, and scouting. We will also make sure he or she gets a college education. We have a happy, busy, and fun life, and we just know your child will, too.

Our Child Care Plans. We both work, but have flexible schedules. Brenda works at home 2-3 days each week - her employer has an active work from home program and is consistently rated as of the top 10 employers in the country for working mothers. As a writer and editor, Bud works from home and sets his own schedule. Both of us plan to take off from work completely when we first bring the baby home. After that, we will share child care responsibilities between us, and after a few years, have our child spend a few hours each week in a licensed day care center close by, so that he or she can learn to be comfortable in other places and with other people.

About You. Whether you choose us as your child's adoptive parents or not, we want you to know how much we admire your courage, both in bringing your child into the world, and in giving him or her to another family to raise. We imagine that the pressure you feel to choose the right family is immense, knowing how your child's future depends on your choice. Please know this and take it for comfort now and in the future: the greatest gift your child will ever receive is coming from you - their life and future. Our part will be to try to keep him or her safe, happy, and loved, and when old enough, to help them understand the value of your gift to them.

If you do choose us, we will be delighted to send you letters and photos as your child grows up, which should make you feel confident over the years that you made the right decision. A song that may apply to us all right now is one of our favorites, Natalie Merchant's “Wonder”, told from the point of view of a newborn child being visited by her fairy godmother (Destiny): Laughed as she came to my mother, 'Know this child will not suffer', laughed as my body she lifted, 'Know this child will be gifted - with love, with patience and with faith, she'll make her way.' May God grant you the peace of knowing that the choice you make will be the right one, and the conviction that your child will certainly make their way in the world.

With love,

Bud & Brenda