Dear expectant parent,

Thank you for taking the time to learn- About us.  We are Dave and Maria.  We live in Illinois, in a suburb of Chicago.  We love the area because we have the best of both worlds.  Chicago is just a short drive or train ride away, yet we are surrounded by forest preserves and parks.  We have both lived in the Chicago area for our whole lives.  We have traveled many places, but always love coming home to this part of the country.

We have known each other for almost nine years, and we have been married for six.  We both work in the area.  Dave is in sales, and Maria is a teacher.  We spend most of our free time with family and friends.  We both have large extended families that like to get together often.  Maria's brother has young children who come to stay with us in the summer.  We love taking them to the zoo, the city, and the parks in the area.  We both love to cook, so many family parties happen at our house.  We live close to Dave's mom, and Maria's mom and dad.  They come over for dinner almost every Sunday.  All three grandparents are excited- About our plans to adopt, and can't wait to have a new baby in the family.

Dave is a sports fan.  He loves baseball and football.  You can often find him following the game on the radio while he is working in the yard, or relaxing at home.  We go to a few games every summer.  Whenever we take a trip to a new city, we try to catch a game in their local park.  Dave is also a great artist.  Cartooning is his favorite media.  He loves movies, dogs (although we don't have one yet), traveling, and cooking.  Maria loves to cook as well so we spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  She also enjoys reading, playing the piano, spending time in the city, traveling, and being with people she loves.  She is learning to speak Spanish and Italian, and hopes to be fluent in a language other than English some day.

We are two people who feel lucky to have found each other.  Our dream is to be parents and grow together as a family.  We love to laugh and have fun.  Our house is a place filled with love, and optimism, and joy.  We are patient and kind people who are looking forward to sharing our lives with children.  Maria plans to stay at home once we have children.  She is looking forward to this exciting time.  We are both comfortable with openness in our adoption.  Most importantly we respect the wishes of you as the expectant parents.  If you are interested in openness, we are as well.  If you feel the need to have a closed adoption, we understand and respect your decision.  We know that you are going through a difficult and life changing time.  We want you to know that we have a great deal of respect for you.  We wish you the best in this situation no matter what your decision may be.  We are honored that you have taken time to read and learn- About us.

Love,

Maria and Dave