Our Birth Parent Letter

Dear Birth Parent(s),

We want you to know that our hearts go out to you. We can't possibly understand what you are feeling at this time but we do know that you have tremendous love and compassion for your child. We really appreciate the time you are taking to consider us, as our adoption dream is so important to us.

Carolie

My parents taught me that families are very important. My two favorite childhood memories are of the summers spent at Grandma's on the lake and the spring milk carton boat race we'd have in the creek at my uncle's farm. Every year at the boat race, my sister's boat would get hung up on rocks. My brother always fell in, face first, when he would try to help her. We still laugh about it. I love to meet family or friends for dinner or have a girl's night out shopping or playing cards. I also enjoy cooking, reading or making up songs just for fun. When I met Neil, he would join in and take turns adding verses to familiar tunes.

Neil

As a child, my time was divided between the small acreage we owned in southwest MN and 4-H activities. On the farm, we had a vegetable garden and raised sheep. Each summer, we would show the sheep at the county fair in the 4-H exhibitions. I loved 4-H and was also involved in the drama groups. My parents encouraged all of my interests such as computers, science and fishing. Once my dad and I caught a lot of fish but I didn't have the fish basket tied onto the boat right so it slipped off when it got too full, bye-bye fish!

The Two of Us

We met and fell in love 8 years ago while learning ballroom dance (Neil stole Carolie's name tag one night at class...or so he says). We still love dancing, especially swing, and continue to take lessons. Our favorite times together are making dinner and taking long walks. Both provide us with a quiet time to unwind and talk. Each year, we get involved in the Sunday school program at church. This year we are teaching the Kindergarten and 1st grade class (19 kids). In the past, we have directed the children's musicals. We love music and plays.

There are a lot of activities we enjoy together but we also take turns doing things that only one of us likes. We feel that we are equal partners in life yet unique individuals. We make sure that we share things like housework, and running errands. We both love animals and have two cats. We'd have more pets if Toby and Cooper (our cats) would allow it.

Family

We love to be with our family. Each Sunday we go out for breakfast with the family. It gives us time to catch up on the past week and get ready for the coming week. Our family spends a lot of time together all year round playing games, golfing, or helping each other out. In the summer, we take a family vacation to celebrate all the July birthdays (4 of them). At Christmas, we get together with our extended families and do a little singing, exchange gifts and have a great time. Christmas day is spent at mom and dad's playing games. We also like to get together with our extended family at picnics, and pool parties.

The Future

Neil and I love children and would like to have several. We believe children are unique and can teach you things you didn't know or had forgotten. The quiet times that we enjoy now will become family times where we can talk with our child and play with them. We look forward to watching our child develop interests of its own and will be supportive of whatever path they choose. We look forward to creating memories with our child, like fishing or ice skating, or going to the beach with a stop at the Dairy Queen on the way home. The Grandpa and Grandma's look forward to taking them to the zoo and going on the rides, or to the state fair to see the animals.

We hope that you enjoyed this brief glimpse of us and will want to hear more. We invite you to look at our photo album. Please take your time and select the right family for your child. We would love to be that family! If you'd like to meet us or just to talk with us, please call us at (651) 604-0866 or emailbox. We will accept collect calls. You can also reach the birthparent line at our adoption agency at 1-800-444-3443. Good luck to you!