Doug & Kate

Dear Birth Parent(s), 

We are a very close family.  The story of our family began more than 15 years ago when Doug and Kate met in high school.  At first, we were just friends, but three years later we fell in love.  In 1995, we got engaged and we got married on June 20, 1998.  It was an unforgettable day!  Since then, we have had many happy times together, as well as some difficult ones, such as infertility.  With the love and support of our family, we have always found our way and our relationship has grown even stronger as a result.  Last year we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary.  The years have gone by so quickly!  We are very thankful for all of the blessings that we have received, especially the adoption of our daughter, Elida. 

She is three years old and very active, affectionate, smart and kind.  She loves to paint, sing, read books, and play in the park.  Fortunately, our jobs are very flexible so we have plenty of family time.  We love to do things together!  When the weather is nice, we go to the zoo or go walking in the large nature conservancy that is next to our house.  In the winter, we play in the snow and visit with our friends.

We spend a lot of time together, but we also find time for each of us to pursue our particular hobbies.  Doug likes to play sports and he is interested in music.  He plays the bagpipe, hand bells and various other instruments.  Kate likes to do yoga, watch movies and play the piano.  She also sings in church on Sundays and is a member of a community choir.  Elida takes lessons in music, swimming and gymnastics.  She loves to learn new things!

It is very important for us to spend a lot of time with our relatives.  Almost all of them live in the same small town that is located only a few hours from where we live.  Therefore it is very easy for us to visit them often.  We usually have the opportunity to see them at least once a month and on every holiday.  Both sides of our family know each other well, so all of us generally spend time together.  Each year we go on vacation with the grandparents, aunts and uncles.  We always have a good time.  They visit us at our home as well.
Our house is perfect for us.  It has everything that we need.  We live in a pleasant neighborhood, and we know our neighbors well.  There is a large nature conservancy next to our house and a big park nearby where Elida can play with us and with her friends.  Some of our cousins live in the same neighborhood and Elida loves to spend time with them.  Our cousins, along with the rest of our family, are very excited about the possibility of our second adoption.

We hope to have the opportunity to adopt another child.  We have always dreamed of having two children.  We didn’t have the opportunity to meet Elida’s birth mother, but we keep in contact with her foster family that cared for her during her first nine months.  We have come to see them as our “Guatemalan relatives” and we plan to visit them some day in Guatemala.  Adoption is the miracle that brought us Elida and we hope to have the opportunity to experience it again.

Thanks again for reading this information about our family.  We would love to have the opportunity to meet you and talk with you about your hopes and dreams.

Doug & Kate