Dear Expectant Mother,
We truly appreciate the time you’re taking and thought you’re giving to going down the path of adoption for your baby. The time and energy you are putting in now doesn’t go unnoticed and won’t be forgotten.
If you already have children or if you’ve ever been around children, a common question you hear from kids is “Why?” While the whys can get annoying to most parents, there are families like ours that are ready to take on the challenge of answering all the whys your baby will have in their life. Here are a few whys we’re ready to answer for our future child:
Why is it important to treat others with kindness and respect?
Why is it important to learn about other cultures?
Why is it important to value family?
Why is it important to learn new skills?
Why is it important to try new things?
Why is it okay to fail?
Why is it important to be true to yourself no matter what?
Finally, a question I’m sure you’ve thought about your baby asking their adoptive parents: “Why did my birthmom choose adoption?” This is something we’d happily answer with your personal story honoring the choice you’re making if you give us the chance to hear it.
We both grew up in small towns in Central Virginia near each other but didn’t meet until after college. From our first date at a local coffee shop, we started to see similar family values and a shared interest in adventure. Over the course of 11 years, we made our way to Florida, where we realized our mutual love of Disney, and then to Arizona, where we settled down, bought a home, and had a backyard wedding surrounded by family. Since Calvin works for an airline, you may catch us having chocolate croissants in Paris one weekend or jetting off for a trip to Disney the next. Usually we’re just checking out happy hour at a new restaurant nearby, having friends over for an afternoon swim and pizza at home, or binging the latest show that makes us laugh.
When looking for a house, among other things on our list were good schools and a pool. We found one with both. Since starting the adoption journey, we started picturing our home with kids: putting up a fence around the pool, realizing the empty corner of the living room is perfect for a kid’s play area, and scoping out all the nearby parks we can go to.
Nathan has one brother who is married and has three boys; the older two are twins. Our extended family gets together at least twice a year in person: a family vacation together in the summer and Thanksgiving at Nathan’s brother’s house. Nathan’s parents chose Oma and Grandpa as their names for their grandchildren to call them. Oma loves playing in the kitchen with the boys (sometimes the real one, sometimes their pretend one), and Grandpa is famous for his tractor rides with the boys in the yard. These are traditions they’d love to continue with any future grandchildren.
We’ve created our own traditions for Christmas at home. Calvin has one sister, and she joins Nathan’s parents for Christmas at our house. Calvin’s sister introduced us all to watching cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies, which we all do in our jammies. We all also enjoy taking evening walks around the neighborhood to look at everyone’s Christmas lights.
One of the first things we asked each other when we started dating was “Do you want kids?” (The answer was YES from both of us.) Calvin and his sister were both adopted, so adoption already holds a special place for Calvin. When we discussed expanding our family, we looked at all the options. Knowing the impact it had on Calvin and his sister, adoption was the clear choice for us to expand our family.
Interested in learning more about this family?
