Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Adoption Collage


Birth Parent Letter

Dear Birth Parents,

Thanks for spending time reading our letter. We may not know you, and we are unaware of how you are feeling at this point, but we hope you will understand us better through this letter. We pray you may be guided through this time of decision. Truly, it is God who knows us best and what we need in life.
Our relationship began when mutual friends set us up on our first date. We enjoyed our first date but it was rather uneventful. We really did not suspect our relationship would be anything more than a mere acquaintance. The next day, just happened to be the birthday of one of our match-making friends. Surprise, surprise, we both attended the little party. After the party, a group of us drove into the nearby mountains to tell ghost stories. While most everyone else enjoyed the tales of horror, we were in our own little world watching the lighting flash across the distant night's sky. Thus began our relationship. We dated for the next three months and had a lot of fun times. Then, one dark day, we parted paths and decided our relationship should end; so much for happily ever after. With the ensuing months, we both learned important life lessons and a short time later, almost out of the clear blue, we resumed our relationship. After some deep soul-searching, we felt the timing was right and married on May 15, 2003. Marriage has been the best choice that we have ever made.

Heather possesses a strong sense of compassion and understanding towards others. Embedded within her are strong motherly instincts. Even though Heather has never had children of her own, she is a mother at heart. Heather loves playing with her nieces and nephews, caring deeply about each one of them. As a speech therapist, she also cares tremendously about her students, and does her best ensuring their individual scholastic progress as well as their personal well being. For example, Heather went the extra mile creating a picture based communication book for one of her struggling students. Through this additional learning aid, her student made terrific progress. Heather’s patience also impresses me. At times I expect Heather to be really annoyed by my many character flaws, but somehow she miraculously tolerates me.

Chris is a sensitive and caring man. When I am sad or sick he comforts and makes me feel better. One thing that attracts me to Chris is his honesty. He values honesty and practices this principle in his personal life. I also appreciate his work ethic. During the time we were dating, he was working two jobs and going to school full time. I know he will do any honest work that is necessary to support our family. Chris demonstrates respect towards me. Although we have been married for sometime now, he still opens doors for me. Chris pitches in and helps with housework, especially when he can see that I am behind or frustrated with all I have to do. Another thing I appreciate about Chris is his diligence in his church callings. Chris loves and appreciates children for both their mischief and innocence. Chris cannot wait to teach our children by working and playing along side them.

We frequently enjoy getting together for family gatherings. We love spending time with our nieces and nephews: playing games, planning treasure hunts, and just watching their interactions. We love discussing the funny things these cute kids say! When we are not with family, we enjoy playing board games such as Scrabble, Rummikub, and Chess and Blokus. Often, we quote our favorite movies in our conversations together. In the evening, we like to take walks and watch the sunset. We love going on outside adventures, like driving on back roads, looking at petroglyphs, and hiking to waterfalls. Frequently, when a meteor shower occurs, we go out and watch “nature's fireworks”. We enjoy watching the stars dance across the sky. Occasionally on weekends we like to go to the drive-in and watch a movie. We also enjoy surfing the Internet together.

When holidays come around, we alternate visiting each side of the family. For instance, when we go to Heather’s parents house on Christmas Eve, we enjoy a clam chowder candle light dinner and then act out the Nativity story. After spending Thanksgiving with Chris' Family, we often attend the somewhat chaotic early morning sales the day after. Some may consider these sales a demonstration of obsessive commercialism, however we think of it as spending time together in a crazy way. Prior to celebrating American Thanksgiving, we celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving in October, as Heather served her mission in Canada. It's like having a second Thanksgiving party! Another tradition we love are annual family reunions held each summer. Since Chris wrestled in high school, we regularly attend the high school state wrestling championships.

Once again, thank you for getting to know us better. May God bless you with his love and watch over you in all of your endeavors.


Sincerely,


Chris and Heather