Dear Birthparent(s),
Susanne never imagined she would enjoy bird watching. Dave never thought he would chow down on tofu kabobs. But that’s what happened when we fell in love. Now we want to become a family and enjoy these things with our children.
We thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We know that this is not an easy decision for you to make. There are so many great families waiting to adopt, and we sincerely hope you find a fit that’s right for you.
ABOUT US
We've been together for 8 years and have been happily married for 5 years. We tried to have children but were unable to, even with the help of fertility treatments. We are so excited and grateful that we can build our family through adoption. Our whole family is also excited because adoption is already a part of our family. Susanne’s aunt and uncle adopted their daughter Emma from Mexico, and Susanne’s father adopted Ashley, his wife's child from her previous marriage. To us, adoption is a natural way to build a family, but adoptive children are unique in that they come from a different background and culture than the adoptive parents. Therefore, we would like our child to know where he/she comes from, and we are ready to work together with you to build an open relationship that is comfortable and flexible and works for all of us.
We're a multicultural family. Susanne is half-Japanese and half-Caucasian and spent half of her childhood in Japan. Dave is Jewish, and his mother is from Israel. Dave was born on a farming community in Israel. We both feel our lives are enriched by sharing our two cultures.
We are close with our family, and we get together with them often. Dave's parents live in the Chicago area, and we have extended family in Chicago and Indiana. Our whole family will play an important part in our child’s life.
Loving, nurturing, and providing for our child will be our main focus once we adopt. Susanne will take 2-3 months off of work, and Dave plans on taking 2 weeks to a month off. Susanne plans on working part-time after her leave. Her mother will move here and take care of the baby the 2-3 days a week that Susanne will be working. Susanne feels lucky to be working as a speech therapist where there are many opportunities for part-time work. Dave is a software engineer for a financial company downtown. His short commute on the Metra means that he can be home early.
EACH OTHER IN A NUTSHELL
Dave— "Susanne is a kind, thoughtful person and has a calming nature. I’m not at all surprised that she chose a career where she gets to help people. Her caring and loving nature will make her an amazing mom. Plus, her lemon pound cake and oatmeal cookies are the best, and I know our child is in for a sweet treat (or two)."
Susanne— "Dave is kind, understanding, and funny. He plays the guitar and loves music. He likes to tell corny knock-knock jokes to his 7-year-old cousin. He is going to be a wonderful father—one who will play with the kids, help them with their homework, and teach them about the great outdoors."
HOW WE WOULD RAISE OUR CHILDREN
We live in a quiet, diverse community just north of Chicago with good schools, many parks, and lots of families, including adoptive families. We believe that a child should be loved unconditionally, but also that a child thrives in a nurturing environment where there are expectations for behavior and defined boundaries that are gentle and reasonable. Love, respect, kindness, and an openness to other cultures will be emphasized in our home. Education is an important value that we will also instill in our child. And we believe that parents should play with their kids! We're looking forward to playing legos, singing songs, reading books, and baking cookies with ours.
OUR INTERESTS
We enjoy being out in nature, and we love to hike. In fact, Dave proposed to Susanne at Starved Rock State Park (not while we were hiking though because he was afraid he would lose the ring!). We always bring a pair of binoculars on our hikes because we like to bird watch. Dave gets very excited and will yell out, "It's a yellow-bellied sap sucker!" When it's warm, we like to bike to the Botanic Gardens, do charity walks, and kayak on the lake. We also enjoy being cozy at home, reading books, sipping tea, and watching cooking shows.
Well, that's our story. We would love to meet you so we can get to know you and you can get to know us better.
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