David & Susan

ABOUT US
We met through mutual friends ten years ago and felt a connection immediately. We both saw those special qualities in each other that give you the feeling that you’ve met the person you were meant to be with forever.

Throughout our lives together, we have built a strong relationship and a home based on love, trust, family values, and commitment. Within a couple of years of our marriage, we attempted to build a family through the more traditional method, but ran into difficulty. We still looked forward to becoming parents and happily learned that our dream of building a family might be possible through the gift of adoption. We were blessed with the chance to adopt Matthew, and he has truly become the light of our lives. Becoming parents has brought more joy to us than either of us could have imagined and we are eager to add another member to our family with a little brother or sister for Matty.

We have completely embraced our roles as new parents and can appreciate what an incredible gift a child is to a family such as ours. We have always enjoyed outdoor activity and exploring new places. This continues to play a role in our lives today. We have traveled a lot, including some trips overseas. We love taking weekend trips to New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Our parents and some other extended family members live in New York, so we get back there often to see them.

We are fortunate to have a great vacation home on a lake in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region, about 90 minutes from our primary house. We built the house with Dave’s brother who also has three small children, very close in age to Matthew. Whether it’s Spring, Summer, Winter, or Fall, we love to entertain friends and family at the lake house. Summer in the Lakes Region is a lot of fun! From our backyard, we walk to our community beach, our motorboat, or nearby friends houses. Everybody loves to go tubing and water-skiing off the boat during the hot summer months. Sometimes we just anchor at the sand bar to relax, swim in the shallow water, and socialize with the other families from our neighborhood. It is a wonderful place for kids to grow up and develop lifelong friendships. Matthew loves to build sand castles on the beach with his cousins, throw rocks and sticks into the lake, jump into the water, and go for boat rides. He and his cousins are quickly becoming excellent swimmers and will be champion water-skiers someday!

We own a comfortable 4-bedroom home in a lovely residential community about 10 miles outside of Boston, Massachusetts. We already have the bedroom picked out for the new child we hope to welcome into our family! We have a large backyard where we have many play items such as a sandbox, a climber, and a water table. During the week in the summer, you will most likely find us outside in the backyard, BBQ’ing, hitting toy golf balls, or hanging out in the whale pool.

We have finished our spacious basement to provide an indoor play area when the weather doesn’t permit us to play outside. It is full of arts & crafts items, toys, and a spare bedroom that doubles as the “guitar” room. There is plenty of room for running and playing around.

When we want a change of scenery, we love to head to any one of a number of playgrounds nearby, including several sprinkler parks that provide swings, slides, climbing ropes, and open fields to kick the soccer ball around. The parks are filled with lots of kids from the neighborhood all the time.

While many people from the Northeast want to hibernate through the winter months, we see it as an opportunity to enjoy New England and winter activities. Winter weekends we can often be found skiing in New Hampshire and Vermont, in the backyard building a snowman, or snow-tubing at the favorite hill in our neighborhood

SUSAN ABOUT DAVE
Dave is such a great Dad. He thoroughly enjoys every minute he spends with Matthew, whether it involves teaching him how to throw a ball, strumming his guitar, reading him bedtime stories, playing in the jumpy-house, feeding the ducks at the pond, or just relaxing on the couch to watch a ballgame.

Dave will be a great role model for Matthew and your child because he is smart, ambitious, determined, and successful. Dave was brought up in a loving family of five, including his parents and his two siblings, where family values, ethics, and morals were emphasized. Dave will, without a doubt, pass these qualities on to his children.

Dave is a successful software sales professional, and enjoys a leadership position in a small, growing software company. Sports have always played a part in Dave’s life. He has played all kinds of team sports. His favorites have included soccer, baseball, and basketball, and he still plays softball with his friends.

Dave enjoys the camaraderie that team sports provide, the spirit of competition, the thrills of victory, as well as the agony of defeat. All are important life lessons.

Dave also enjoys individual sports and activities, like water-skiing, golfing, and playing guitar. One of Dave’s favorite individual sports is golf. Matty has shown a real interest in golf, so Dave and Matty can often be found hitting golf balls in the backyard, on the driving range, or putting in the basement.

I know Dave will encourage and support participation in any sport or activity our children choose.

DAVE ABOUT SUSAN
The greatest joy in Sue’s life so far has been to fulfill her dream of becoming a Mom. She is the most caring person I have ever met and I am truly blessed to have married her.

She thinks about Matty all the time to ensure that his needs are always taken care of. Being a wife and a mother is the most difficult job a woman can take on, and I can honestly say that Sue has risen to these challenges.

Sue is kind, loving, and caring, and always makes that extra effort to make Matty and me feel special by showering us with lots of attention and love. Making a happy home and taking care of our family is her number one priority, although she also enjoys her career working as an attorney in the software industry. She is very fortunate that her job allows for a flexible schedule and also allows her to work from home several days during the week. PICTURE A2

Family is very important to Sue. One of her many pleasures, since starting our family, is to continue to build upon her family traditions She loves to host our family and friends for holiday dinners and other social events, like our famous Superbowl parties. She is a great cook, and she always makes these events fun and memorable.

Ever since her father, Murray, passed away several years ago, she has grown even closer with her mother, Anita. She speaks with her mother just about every day to ensure she is safe, healthy, and happy. Murray was a soft-spoken, gentle man, who instilled strong family values into Sue. These values are clearly present today.

Anita is always thrilled to see Matty, and can’t wait to be a grandmother to another little one if we are blessed with such an opportunity again.

ABOUT MATTHEW
Matthew is a fun loving, active toddler, with a great disposition. He is very outgoing and makes friends wherever he goes with his winning smile and cute laugh. Like many small boys, he is a bundle of energy every waking moment.

He is curious about everything, and seems to have taken an interest in sports activities and music. We look forward to cultivating all his current interests as he grows, as well as exposing him to more that life has to offer.
He is warm and cuddly and we know he will make a great big brother to your child. It is important to all of us that Matthew knows he is adopted. This knowledge will give him special insight he will share with his little brother or little sister.

Among the many books we read to him, we often read him his “Life Book”. He shows a lot of interest in this book and often requests the “Matthew” book. He knows his birthmom, Tracie.

We maintain close relationships with our immediate and extended families. Our children will be surrounded by a large family that includes loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins that enjoy getting together to celebrate holidays as well as special events.

Matty’s grandparents are very active in his life. We visit with them often. Needless to say, many weekends become a family affair, which we always look forward to!
We have developed many close friendships in the Boston area. We get together as often as possible for BBQ’s, sporting events, birthdays, holidays, or for just no reason at all. All of our friends have young children so it’s always a great time. We are also friendly with several adoptive families from the area, who we see throughout the year.

THOUGHTS ON PARENTING
We believe raising a child is one of the most important things two people can do together. A child needs a warm and nurturing family to help him or her grow into a mature and happy adult. Be assured we will do everything in our power to keep the child we embrace into our family safe and secure and will give him or her a happy home, a family full of love and attention, and an opportunity to flourish.

We are confident we have the financial stability to provide for whatever our children need. In our own lives, education was strongly emphasized. It is our intention all of our children have a chance to pursue their dreams and be afforded the opportunity to get any education they will need to support themselves and their own families one day. We have already established a significant college fund for Matty that we add to every year. We will do the same for the child we bring into our family

THOUGHTS ON ADOPTION
We continue to keep Matthew’s birthmother updated with pictures and letters on a regular basis so she can watch him grow and know what his life is like. We are always excited to share this information with her so she can feel good about the decision she made by seeing how happy he is and how much love and attention he is receiving. We are happy to do this for you also.

We know this is a difficult and emotional time for you, and the courageous steps you are taking are done with great love towards the goal of choosing the best future for your baby.

Thank you for considering us in your search for a loving home for your baby. We are hopeful that we will be brought together with the child that is meant to join our family. If after you have read this letter and feel we would be the kind of family you would like your baby to grow up with, please contact us through Cindy Simonson at A Loving Alternative, 1-800-556-5635. We would be honored to speak with you.

Warmly,

Susan and David