When my partner and I found out we were pregnant almost four years ago, we knew placing our son for adoption was the best thing we could do for him. Adoption as a process is challenging for every person involved, and initially seemed scary and isolating for us. We had resigned ourselves to the idea that we would never really know much of our son, that our only time would be this time. But, whatever was best for our son was what we were going to do. Couple after couple, they all seemed perfect in one way or another, but no one really clicked until Adam and Cassie's profile came across our screen. Halfway through their introduction video, Stephen said, "Them. They're the ones." From there, we began to build a very special kind of family. The first time we spoke to them was like catching up with old friends. The first time we met felt like waiting at the foot of a roller coaster, quickly becoming an exhilarating ride. And we have yet to disembark. Cassie and Adam have been and continue to be the most incredible parents to Atticus. They have given him the most wonderfully stable home, overflowing with patience, guidance, and a ridiculous amount of laughter. Cassie is all heart and so full of compassion, we are sure Atticus will grow to be incredibly empathetic and love-leading. Adam is so creative and inventive, that we are confident that one day Atticus will solve problems that others may look at as impossible roadblocks. Both Adam and Cassie have done so much to make sure we are as much a part of Atticus's life as possible, and we could not be more grateful. We know that if we had met them any other way, we still would have become friends. Choosing them to raise, to love, to be parents to Atticus, was the best decision we have ever made - one hundred percent difficult, one thousand percent worth it.

Cassie About Adam: I absolutely love Adam's sense of humor and goofiness. He is always trying to make people laugh. He will not hesitate to embarrass himself if he thinks he has a chance to get even one little giggle out of our son. He is also so smart and has such a passion for learning. There really isn't a whole lot he can't do, or teach himself to do. He's always building things, and experimenting with how he can include our son in his projects. His family is always his number one priority and I can't wait to see how he continues to grow as a father.

Adam About Cassie: Cassie is a very loving and caring mother and wife. She is constantly making sure our family has everything we need, whether its clothes, food, toys, she is on top of it. Cassie is a great mom on the good days and on the bad days. She is amazing at providing the love and comfort our son, and any child, needs in their life. She is always thinking of everyone else around her, especially her family, she does everything in her power to make sure we are healthy and safe, and that we feel loved.

We value education tremendously but we also know that taking education too seriously can be counterproductive. We want our children's education to be fun, not stressful. We will surround our children with age appropriate learning tools for every step of their development and teach them that learning does not have to be a chore. We live in an area with great public schools and intend for our children to attend public school as we both did. We believe that the diversity of people found in public schools is a very important part of education that is missing from some private schools. A child must learn to be around people that come from different backgrounds, socioeconomically, religiously, culturally and ethnically.

When our children are older, we will very much encourage them to do what makes them happy. We will support them if they choose to go to college, but also if they choose not to. There is a belief in our society that college is something one has to do to be successful but we have also seen first-hand that this is not always the case. Our children will be able to make a decision about where to go in life and know they have our full support, no matter what that decision is.

We absolutely love our house and neighborhood! We have the convenience of living near a big city, but enjoy the quaintness of a rural area. We don't mind the short drive to visit the museums, festivals and top notch zoo in the city. We live near several large parks and will be right down the street from the brand new rec center the city is building!

Our neighborhood is the best place to live. It is filled with children of all ages who enjoy playing outside. We have two playgrounds within the neighborhood and several asphalt paths to walk and ride bikes. Every year, neighbors host a block party and a large Fourth of July festival.

Our ranch-style home is so cozy and has several modifications we have added to make it our own, including the flower garden Cassie put in last summer. It has four bedrooms, with an office in the basement so Adam can work from home. We have a large open floor plan that includes a huge playroom at the front of the house. Our home backs to the woods and a creek. We have a large covered patio that is perfect for listening to the frogs on a hot summer night or watching a thunderstorm roll through. Once it starts to get cold outside we find ourselves spending a lot of time in our basement that Adam built. It has become our favorite place to have friends over to play board games and video games.

Relationships are incredibly important to us. Whether family or friends, we hold tight and make it a priority to build strong, lasting relationships full of love and support. Our family and friends could not be more excited for us to proceed with this adoption journey again, and everyone is excited to see Atticus as a big brother!

We both grew up with very similar childhoods. Cassie is the middle child of three girls, and Adam is the middle child of three boys. Boy, do we have some "middle child" stories! Our fathers were both very hardworking in their careers and our mothers both stayed home and were active in our classrooms and clubs and sports.

Cassie's family lives in Colorado, but the distance does not keep her parents from visiting. When they come to visit they typically stay for a week and some serious dice and domino games get played! The amount of quality time they get to spend with Atticus makes for such a close relationship. We love making trips out to the mountains as well since Cassie is incredibly close with her younger sister. Seeing Atticus play with his two cousins is always a riot.

Adam's family lives about an hour away and we make frequent visits to see each other on the weekends. Adam and his Dad are always brainstorming projects, so much of our time spent with his family includes getting together to work on a project and fill our stomachs with delicious food.

Writing this letter is always the most difficult part. It's impossible to even begin to describe the amount of respect and admiration we already have for you. While we can never truly understand what you're going through we understand the enormity of the decision you're about to make and the struggles you may face in the future. At this point you are probably overwhelmed with this process and reading about families. It is incredibly hard to judge a family by looking at a few pictures and reading some paragraphs. But, there are a few more things we would like to make sure you know about us:

We like to have fun. We take parenting very seriously but also, what is the point of all of this if we aren't having fun along the way. We love being silly and laughter is one thing you will always find an abundance of in our home. That being said, we will raise responsible children and impress upon them when it's okay to have fun and when it's time to be serious.

We have been together for ten years and married for eight. In that time, if we have learned anything about life it's to be yourself. To be honest with yourself and those around you. To show your family who you truly are, the good and the bad. We consider ourselves to have very strong morals and believe in showing everyone the love and respect they deserve. We look forward to teaching this child that it's okay to be different and unique, it's okay to have fun, to not worry if other people think you're weird, do what makes you happy and surround yourself with people who appreciate and love you. We promise to raise them with a kind heart and teach them all the empathy and compassion needed to navigate this tough world.

As parents of an adopted child, we know how important an open adoption can be. Our son is three and knows his birth parents by name and has pictures of them in his room. He also knows who's tummy he grew in. While he doesn't fully understand all of this yet, we hope it will be easy as he gets older because of the open and honest relationship we've all had with each other. We would love to do the same for this child, but we will respect whatever type of relationship you want to maintain. We text Atticus's birth parents on an regular basis, whether it's pictures or stories about the latest funny things he does, just to check in, or to gather some medical history. We didn't quite know what our relationship would turn into, and we don't know what this one might be like, but we know that the most important thing for all of us is what is best for the child. We're sure there are many fears you may have about placing your child for adoption and although in many ways it may seem like a goodbye, we promise it won't be. We will send photos and videos on a regular basis and plan for video chats and visits when and if you're comfortable with that. We are committed to working together with you to create a positive and healthy relationship. We promise to make sure your child knows you and your strength. We will speak of you only with love and admiration in our hearts and look forward to growing a beautiful relationship with you.

Much love,

Adam & Cassie