Dear Birthmother,

Hello, we are Missy and Brophy. We thank you for taking the time to read our letter. We hope it gives you a good picture of who we are and a look at our daily lives together.

We admire your strength in considering adopting out your baby. We can not imagine what a big decision this is for you. We believe it truly is the most selfless gesture anyone could ever make. We absolutely want to support you through this process in every way possible.

There are no words to explain the excitement we have to raise this child with every bit of love and affection we have in our hearts. We know that having a baby is a lifelong commitment. We are absolutely thrilled to add a child to our family through adoption!

Our Story …
We met nine years ago when a mutual friend set us up on a date. Brophy did not like being set up on dates and he almost did not show up. Lucky for us he did because we felt connected right away and knew we would marry. We are fortunate to have a very loving and very committed relationship. It is that rare kind of love and commitment that one hopes for once in a lifetime.

Our journey through infertility was a hard one but surprisingly it made the two of us even stronger as a couple. When working through hard times together, you really see each others’ true colors and we liked what we saw in each other. More than anything we want to have a family and to be parents. We decided that our child was meant to come to us through adoption. Words can not explain the excitement we have to adopt.

Saturday morning playing ball at the beach

Our Life Together …
We really admire and respect each other and that has made us very dear friends. Because we enjoy each others’ company so much, it doesn’t take a lot for us to have a good time. Literally we are happy snuggling up and watching a funny movie like Anchor Man or going to dinner in Sausalito and chatting up a storm.

We recently moved to a new home in Mill Valley, California which is just off the Golden Gate Bridge and minutes north of San Francisco. The beautiful mountains here are filled with bright green ferns growing under huge redwood trees and we enjoy long hikes on the trails. You can hardly believe you are so close to the city and to the ocean. Early every Saturday morning we start the day off by taking our dog, Tess, to the beach to play ball. We get a kick out of watching her jump the waves to get to her ball. Brophy will throw it way far out in the water and nothing stops Tess from retrieving that ball! We giggle the entire time. It is also great having San Francisco so close to home so we can we rally up and do events in the city. During the holidays, we go to see the Nutcracker and then take a walk to Union Square to see the 80-foot Christmas tree with all its bright lights and countless ornaments. We also like going to the Union Street Fair to look at art, hear live music and eat hotdogs and sausage sandwiches. It will be such a joy when we can bring our child with us to enjoy these traditions.

We moved to Mill Valley for the beauty and serenity but also for the family environment. The schools here are rated among the top in the nation and because of that there are many families here with young children. Our neighbor two doors down suggested that we all build gates in our back yards so the kids can play together. We don’t even have kids yet and our neighbors are thinking like this. We love it! This town has so much to offer our child. You see kids riding their bikes together while the parents drink coffee and socialize. Our home is a great place to raise a family as well. We have a large back yard and we envision our kids playing chase with the dog or hide and seek behind the big redwood tree.

Since Brophy has been successful in his career I was able to quit my old job and now I work part-time from home. I have decided to be a stay-at-home mom and I feel so fortunate to have that option. I also volunteer at an elementary school and at a local library which I truly love doing. Not only is this a way to make new friends in my community but it also allows me to give my time to local, under-funded entities.

We love and adore our two-year old Labrador Retriever, Tess. She is a very happy, friendly and playful dog. Her favorite thing to do is play ball at the park and at the beaches. She will swim for hours if we let her, retrieving the ball from the water. She loves children and is very gentle with them. One game she plays is keep-away with our friends’ kids. She grabs one of their toys in her mouth and starts running in circles so the kids will chase her. We often wonder how we got the cutest dog ever made.

Brophy and Tess hanging out together

Missy about Brophy …
Brophy is an extremely smart person with a leadership personality, yet he has a soft, loving, loyal side to him that makes me just love him. He truly is the type of man that takes care of his family and is very committed and devoted to building a happy home. He is my rock. When the going gets tough, Brophy gets tougher. He put himself through law school and graduated at the top of his class. He does whatever he puts his mind to and has a will of steel. He loves his friends and his family and would give the shirt off his back if they were in need.

Brophy takes a lot of pride in being a good husband to me and will take pride in being a good father as well. He will be the type of dad that will be very clear with discipline and will expect our child to behave and to be polite with others. At the same time, he will be a dad that has fun. When you see him play with his nieces and nephews or with our friends’ children, you know he is going to be a great dad. He just gushes over them. They love him too and it is so cute to hear their sweet little-kid voices yelling out his name with excitement, “Brophy, Brophy”, then lots of cute giggling as he tickles them! He will get down on his hands and knees and play on the floor and you are not sure who is having more fun, Brophy or the kids. He has a real soft spot in his heart when it comes to the little ones. He is a sweet, fun-loving person who loves to play. The other thing Brophy loves doing is gardening. You can point to almost any flower and he will know the name of it. Now that we have our new home we plan to plant a vegetable garden next spring and I can see him as a dad teaching his kids all about how to plant a garden. Brophy will be the dad that reads books, helps with homework and coaches Little League like his father did with him and his siblings.

Missy hugging her niece and nephew

Brophy about Missy …
Missy has a heart of gold. She is a loving, sincere and affectionate person and that is why I fell in love with her. She is a “people person” who cares about her friends and family more than anything. She will be this way in motherhood as well. Missy is a giver at heart and because of that, everyone who knows her loves her.

I imagine her to be a very available and a very nurturing mom. She will be there for our child whether it is at a parent-teacher meeting at school or at the end of a school day to sit and do homework. She will be the mom to teach our child to ride their bike with no training wheels and the mom to nurse a skinned up knee that needs some tender, loving care.

Missy fills her life with people that are important to her. She is happiest when we have a house full of family and friends. Missy loves to have dinner parties for our friends and their kids. When they come over the kids run about the house and the yard showing off their cartwheels and playing with the dog. You hear the sound of little feet pitter-pattering throughout the house. Missy couldn’t be happier. It is almost like the louder our house is, the happier Missy is.

Missy also has a “green thumb”. She loves gardening. I imagine her teaching our kids how to re-pot plants. I can see her teaching them to trim them so they grow faster and how to water them just the right amount.

Missy has spent the last five years teaching herself to cook, but her meals taste like she has been cooking her whole life. Our family and friends always rave! At the end of a hard days work I look forward to coming home to the smell of her scrumptious dinners cooking on the stovetop.

Since Missy and I met, we have talked about having kids. Missy will be an extraordinary mom. After all, she has been practicing her entire life. Being the oldest of 16 grandchildren, she has been babysitting and taking care of kids since she was a kid herself. We laugh at the story that when Missy was six years old, she taught her aunt how to change diapers. When you see her with children you just know that Missy was meant to be a mom. We are both excited and ready to make that happen through adoption.

Our Families …
Our families are extremely supportive and excited about our decision to adopt. Our nieces and nephews want more cousins to play with and our parents want more grandchildren to spoil! We are so fortunate to be from families that are close and enjoy spending time together.

We love to laugh together

Brophy’s family lives in San Diego, California. He has two sisters and a brother and they have given us two adorable nieces and a sweet nephew. A favorite pass time at Brophy’s parent’s house is swimming in the pool. We also frequently spend the day at the beach building sand castles and barbequing Maui ribs. During the holidays a favorite Christmas tradition is Brophy’s dad dressing up like Santa Claus. Oh the excitement this creates!! Brophy’s family has a great sense of humor so there is always silly joking and contagious laughter in the house. Also, Brophy’s father has season tickets to the Padres baseball games at Petco Ballpark so we all pile in the car and go to the games together. Yes, even the kids go!

My family lives in Fresno, California. I have a sister and a brother who have given us two nieces and two nephews who are an absolute joy. Spending time with my family usually means we all end up at one person’s house barbequing or cooking. Everyone in my family loves to cook so there is always tasty food around like my mom’s home-made lasagna or my brother’s pork posoli or my sister’s grilled delights. My brother has a swimming pool so we all swim during the hot Fresno summers doing limitless tricks off the diving board. Also, my father has a cabin in Oregon and between snow mobiles in the winter and the ATVs and dirt bikes in the summer there are always fun, outdoor activities for the kids and the adults.

Our House …
We live in a beautifully-remodeled home built in the 1930s with five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a living room, a family room and a wonderful gourmet kitchen. We love having out-of-town family and friends visit and this home allows plenty of room for them to stay. What we like most about our home is the happy, cheerful feeling it gives. It is on a hill and has lots of windows and gets a lot of sun. The nursery is close to our bedroom and is waiting for a child to make it their own. We bought this home because it will be such a wonderful place to make happy family memories.

Our Vacations …
We both love the ocean and being near the water so our travels are usually to tropical places. We are passionate about scuba diving so early every spring we take a trip to either Mexico or the Hawaiian islands. Brophy grew up surfing in San Diego so he is a natural when it comes to scuba diving. He recently did a deep dive where he saw a school of Hammerhead sharks. That is a story he will tell his grandchildren!! I grew up swimming in the fresh water lakes in Fresno and swam on my high school swim team and although I am not as gutsy as Brophy, I love to dive as well. Also, one of our favorite things to do when traveling is to see how people in different countries live. Because of that our second vacation each year is usually to a more cultured place like Bali, Thailand, Cambodia or Italy. It will be a joy when our little one can take these trips with us.

Our Dream for the Future …
We value higher education and we will encourage our kids to go to college. We will also support them financially in this pursuit. More than anything, we want our child to have a fun, loving childhood with many happy memories of family and friends to take with them on their journey into adulthood.

As far as staying in contact, we would be happy to keep in touch with you over the years. If you are willing we would like to send letters and pictures. Brophy and I feel that as we all get to know each other the relationship will evolve. We have respect for you and the difficult decision you are facing. Whatever your decision, please know that we think you are a loving, giving and selfless person. If you should choose to place with us we will make sure this child knows that about you. If you are interested in talking with us you can call Cindy Simonson with A Loving Alternative (anytime) at 800-556-5635. We look forward to talking to you.

Thoughtfully yours,

Brophy & Missy