Dear Birthmother,
We can't even begin to know what you are going through right now. We want you to know, that we admire you for thinking about adoption for your child and want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for considering us as your baby's adoptive parents.
Mike and I have been happily married for nine years. We completely love and respect each other and have a great life together. We believe our relationship works so well because we are the best of friends and are able to easily communicate our feelings to one another. We know that we are so lucky to be blessed with good health, a beautiful home and lots of great family and friends.
But the most amazing thing that has happened to us since getting married is the adoption of our daughter, Lily. She was born on December 8, 2004, and we loved her from the very first moment we saw her. Lily is such a joy, and we thank God for her every day. We couldn't love her anymore if she had been born to us. We keep Lily's birth mom, Cheryl, in our hearts and prayers and will be forever grateful to her. Lily will know that Cheryl made an adoption plan for her out of great love and a deep desire to be sure that her daughter had the opportunity to have a bright and happy future. Your child will always know of your love and courage, as well.
We have discussed this second adoption at great length and are both very excited to be moving ahead with this process. We cannot wait to expand our family, and Lily cannot wait to be a big sister. We believe there is a reason why we went through infertility and would like to think it is because we were meant to adopt our children. All we need to do is just look at our daughter, Lily, to know we were all meant to be together and everything happens for a reason.
We know that you have a lot to think about and we truly hope that whatever you decide, you will find peace with your decision. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story.
All our best,
Mike and Tracey
Our Home
We live in a great family neighborhood at the end of a cul-de-sac. There are always children running around, riding their bikes or playing different sports. We spend a lot of time with our neighbors, especially in the summer time, when we cookout on our patio and just watch all the kids have fun together.
Holidays are always festive in our neighborhood. All of our neighbors decorate their houses for Halloween, and there is a big parade in town for the children. Of course, Christmas is a big deal, as well, and everyone decorates their homes and gets in the holiday spirit. Lily loves the Christmas parade because she gets to eat candy, see Santa and watch the Christmas tree lighting with her friends.
One of the biggest reasons we moved to our town was for the great school system and endless fun activities for children. Also, it is a nice suburb, approximately a 30-minute drive or train ride to Boston for shopping, site-seeing or catching a Red Sox game (which we love!). Family and friends live close-by so it's easy to visit and keep in touch. We have no intention of moving because we think it is the perfect place to raise a family.
Mike
Mike and I are true best friends and have built a wonderful life together. We met at our first job out of college, and we were friends first (for about 8 months). Right from the start, I knew Mike was different. He was so thoughtful, sincere and kind. We became close very quickly, and he made me very happy. We had a beautiful fall wedding on October 24, 1998 and spent 2 weeks in Hawaii for our honeymoon.
What I like best about Mike is that he is so sweet and caring and tries to put the needs of others before his own. He is a true gentleman. Not to mention that he is always making me laugh and, lucky for him, I can never ever stay mad it him for very long.
You just need to look at all the wonderful friendships Mike has kept over the years to see what a truly great person he is to be around. My friends and I always joke that he has more friends than anyone we know. Mike is a big believer in having friends for a lifetime. He feels strongly that the people who truly know you the best are the friends that you grew up with or lived with in college. Mike's favorite hobby is to play golf with his friends in the summer. He is good about planning these outings for early in the morning so that he can be back to do fun family stuff.
Mike likes to play and watch just about any sport. And I love that we enjoy going to baseball and football games together. We always get fired up for the home team! In addition to Mike's love of sports, he loves to read. He is sort of a book- worm with some of his favorite writers.
Mike is an amazing father (as I knew he would be). He adores Lily and can't wait to get home from work each day to see her and hear all about her day. It's so sweet to see how they love playing trains & cars together. He even plays dolls with Lily which can be very funny at times. Bed time is also a cherished time for Mike because he loves to read Lily stories and answer her questions along the way.
Mike teaches Lily all kinds of stuff. Just recently he took her ice skating for the very first time. He told me it was the most fun he had in ages. Lily couldn't stop smiling and loved every minute of the time with daddy. Mike is also an excellent skier and looks forward to teaching her that skill when she gets older as he will the baby we adopt.
Mike has always been a very involved, nurturing dad and now he can't wait to have another child to love and cherish. I already know that he will be very hands-on with the new baby that we adopt, changing diapers, sharing in feeding times, helping with bath times, reading Goodnight Moon and even singing lullabies because he just loves being a dad. I know that we (me, Lily and the child we adopt) will always be able to count on him for endless support, unconditional love and understanding. I know that Mike feels so lucky and honored to be Lily's dad, and I know he will feel even more blessed and happy with the adoption of a second baby to complete our family.
Tracey
The reasons why I love Tracey are simple. She is smart, talented, has a great sense of humor, and eats more than I do! Perhaps what I most admire about Tracey is her ability to excel at anything that she is passionate about. In the past she was passionate about her career. Now she is passionate about being a loving mother, adopting another child, and raising a happy family.
Tracey and I worked together for almost a year before I finally got up the courage to ask her out on our first date. I was attracted to her from the very first time I met her. 
Tracey always seemed to have that funny line which, when combined with her great smile and loud laugh, actually made my first job out of college fun. From the start, all of my friends loved Tracey and enjoyed being around her. She became close with my roommates dolling out advice on dating, discussing sports and just hanging out with the guys.
Over the past twelve years (nine married), Tracey has become a critical part of my extended family. Whether she is giving my two sisters advice, helping my parents decorate their living room, or planning family gatherings she's always finding ways to keep everyone laughing.
Tracey is a great mom, and Lily and she have a very special bond. We are very fortunate in that Tracey is able to stay at home with Lily full-time. Tracey always has fun things planned for Lily to do whether it be arts and crafts at home, story hour at the library, going to preschool or just having play dates with other kids her age, Lily is always having fun and learning something new. When I get home from work, she usually runs to the door with a new picture or painting that she worked on with mommy. Our fridge is covered with artwork and Lily is so proud of all of it. Tracey cannot wait to create adventures for the new baby we adopt.
Lily is already 3 years old and in preschool 2 mornings a week. In a few weeks she will start a new dance class and in the fall a gymnastics class. She is getting more and more independent every day. Tracey is so looking forward to having a baby in the house again. Because she is a full-time mom, she will be able to have a lot of one-on-one time with your child while Lily is busy at preschool and activities.
Having more than one child has always been very important to Tracey. She grew up as an only child and always felt that she had missed out on not having a bigger family. We both believe that having siblings can be very special. I grew up with one brother and two sisters and loved that our house always had a lively buzz to it. To us, having a sibling means always having someone to play with, learn from, confide in and depend on.
Being a good mother comes easy to Tracey. She is patient, understanding, thoughtful, loving and just fun to be around. She feels so blessed to have such a wonderful daughter, and, now more than anything, she would like to adopt a baby to love and complete our family. By the way, boy or girl would be fine with us. We would be grateful for any baby we were able to adopt.
Tracey and I are very different people, which may be why we get along so well. She is very good at thinking about all of the details I take it as it comes. Tracey is fairly cautious I'm not afraid to take a risk. She is into fashion I have trouble matching my clothes (my friends are floored by the changes they've seen in my wardrobe since I have met Tracey).
I believe that our differences make us great parents. I'm certain our children will be able to learn something different from both of us and take each of our best qualities with them in life.
Our Life Together
We love to have fun together as a family. In the summer, we like to spend a lot of time at the beach and the pool. In the fall, we go apple and pumpkin picking and try to enjoy the beautiful cool weather before it gets too cold. In the winter, we take Lily sledding and ice skating. We also try and do a warm family getaway. This year we went to Florida and had so much fun at a resort just swimming in the pool and playing in the sand at the beach. The spring is an exciting time because we can finally play outside all the time and visit all of our favorite playgrounds. We also have a big outdoor playground at home with swings, slide and tree house that all the neighborhood kids play on.
Family 
We have one niece and five nephews so far. When we all get together it is so much fun especially for all the kids. Lily and our niece Meghan (age 5) love spending time together. They are always having tea parties, playing doll house and dressing up as princesses. Our nephews all adore their Uncle Mike. He plays trains, trucks, wiffle ball or whatever with them. Mike has and endless amount of patience and loves to teach them how to play new games every chance he gets. Mike's parents (Nana & Papa) adore all of their grand children and like to participate in the fun. They enjoy taking the kids to the playground and even visit us when we take vacations at the beach.
Mike has two younger sisters (Christine & Jenn) and an older brother Brian. Mike's brother is his best friend and they do fun stuff together like go to football games and team up for golf tournaments. Mike has a great relationship with both of his parents but is, especially, close with his Dad. His Dad is a very sweet grandfather, and Mike can always count on him for anything.
Tracey and her mom are extremely close. She talks to her just about every day, and they love to go shopping. Tracey's Mom adores Lily and cannot wait for another grandchild to love and spoil. She is an artist so she loves to teach Lily how to use watercolors and draw pretty pictures. Lily especially loves movie night with her grandmother when she gets to watch a special movie and eat popcorn.
Our Values
We want you to know, that more than anything we value family. And we will always put the job of being a parent before anything else.
We believe in teaching our children to always try and do their best, be considerate, respect other people and be confident in him or herself. We will do our very best to give your child every opportunity that life has to offer, to love them unconditionally and to give them a happy home. We would also like to send you letters and photographs letting you know how your child is getting along, if you wish.
We hope that we were able to give you a vivid picture of our life together and sincerely hope that after reading this letter you feel like you have gotten to know us. We realize that we are just one of many couples that you are considering and hope that whatever happens, you are able to find peace with your decision.
