Dave & Megan

Quality in each other
Megan’s perseverance & thoughtfulness
Dave’s generosity & sense of humor

Dear Birth Parent(s), 

Hi. We are Megan and Dave. We have immense respect for you, and the adoption plan that you are making for your baby. As you read more about us, please consider allowing us to welcome the child you are carrying into our family. We know our names mean little to you right now, but we hope to help you visualize our life as you read our letter. We have one son, born in Guatemala, who we adopted about 3 years ago. We live in a great, family oriented neighborhood. It is residential and safe, filled with lots of young children, and just a few blocks from a playground. We have a three bedroom, two bath home with a very large backyard. We've been working on the garden and patio in the backyard and we've just planted an orange tree and started an herb garden. What we think is unique to us is difficult to share in a general letter. But if our walls could talk, we think they'd tell you about weekly dinners with Megan's parents and siblings. You'd hear about Saturday morning breakfasts that Dave makes for Megan and our son, Joseph. You'd listen to Joseph talk about his adoption, birth parents and why he is part of our family now. And you'd understand the desire that all three of us to adopt again and to share these experiences with another child.

We feel we need to tell you the basics about us: Like many families today, we both work. Megan is a speech-language pathologist who works with children. Dave is a chiropractor who owns his own business. Megan and Dave each work 4 days per week, each taking a different weekday off so that there are only 2 days when we are both at work simultaneously. When we are working, Joseph attends a small daycare that he has gone to since he was an infant. The teachers are loving and attentive to the children and Joseph looks forward to going. Your child, if you choose us as parents, would go with Joseph to daycare when Megan returns to work.

Megan enjoys playing piano, cooking, reading and walking. Dave enjoys golfing, playing lacrosse and fishing. Joseph is an active 3 year old who is more reflective and thoughtful than we thought a 3 year old could be. He often asks "Are you happy now?" when he sees his friends cry and loves to cuddle with his baby cousins. But the one thing that is most striking about his personality is how quick he is to smile-even when he's upset or sad. The three of us enjoy going on walks together, reading books and playing card games and board games. We attend church every week as a family and prayer time is an integral part of our lives individually and as a family. We both feel that a child needs a moral and ethical education as well as an academic one.

We met in college at a football game. A few days later, Dave called Megan and we went out to dinner on Megan's birthday for our first date. We dated for nearly 5 years and had a large wedding celebration with family and friends. Of course, it was bound to be large because Megan alone has 6 siblings, and 21 first cousins (not to mention their spouses and children)! Family is central to our lives. We spend at least one weekend a month with Dave's family, who live 2 hours away; we see Megan's parents and those of her siblings who live nearby weekly. We have 8 nieces and nephews, 2 of whom are adopted. Dave's mother, uncle and a cousin are also adopted. Adoption is a huge part of our family and we talked even while we were dating about our desire to adopt. Our adoption experience with Joseph was positive and although we have been unable to communicate with his biological parents, we have maintained a relationship with his foster family who took care of him in Guatemala from 2 days old until he came home with us at 11 months old. Building a family through adoption has been a wonderful experience and we are eager to adopt again. We are eager for Joseph to have a sibling to share memories with and play with. We look forward to encouraging and helping a strong sibling relationship to develop.

Our family is truly multi-cultural with European, Haitian, Colombian and Guatemalan cultures within our immediate family. We enjoy cooking various foods from each country, learning the languages of each culture and sharing all of this with our friends. We teach Joseph all about his natural heritage but also meld it with our family's traditions.

Now, let us tell you about our traditions. There are a few (well, maybe more than a few, but we'll only bore you with a few!) that are daily traditions, like dinner as a family and bedtime stories. But the ones that we share with our siblings include yearly vacations: one with all of Megan's siblings, their spouses and kids and Megan's parents and another with Dave's parents, siblings and their spouses. Traditions also means that blueberry muffins and pumpkin bread is always served on Christmas morning at Megan's parents' house and a special Christmas book is always read at Dave's mom and step-dad's. Easter baskets are always hidden to be hunted for in the morning, sometimes in not so convenient spots - - one year, Dave's was hanging from a string out of the second story window! Then there are the red shirts. There's a picture of Joseph opening his in our family album. Each Christmas, everyone in Megan's family (parents, siblings, spouses and kids) wear their personally decorated Christmas shirts and we curl up to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" (although we all usually fall asleep watching the movie, it's still a must-do). Our favorite tradition is that on birthdays, we eat a family dinner and we all take turns honoring the birthday person for his/her outstanding or most admirable qualities.

Throughout our relationship we have had lots of good times, building ourselves a home filled with love. Through open communication and mutual support, we have built a deep respect and lasting love for each other. If you choose us, we will raise your child with that respect and love, and with an eye toward developing his or her individuality and helping him or her achieve their fullest potential. Your child's life will be filled with warmth, security and fun.

Hopefully now you feel you know us a little better, and we look forward to getting to know you as well. We know it takes a lot of courage to consider all the options before deciding what is best for your child, and no matter which path you choose from here, know that you have our deepest respect and admiration for the love you have for your child. If you choose us to be the parents of your baby, we will be sure your baby will always understand how much care and loving consideration you gave in placing him or her for adoption. We would be open to meeting you, if that is your desire, or if you are more comfortable, we could exchange information over the phone or through letters and pictures. Basically, our desire is to do what is best for the child and respect your privacy. We wish you the best, whatever you decide. We can't imagine the emotion and energy it takes to work towards this decision, and we hope you have good people around you to help you before you finally make it. Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and for considering us as parents for your child.

Dave & Megan