Dear Birthmother,

    We appreciate you taking the time to get to know us. Hopefully this letter will let you see the type of people we are, and the type of parents we will be. We are so grateful for this opportunity that you would be giving us, it is truly an unselfish and loving thing. You would be giving us the greatest gift we could ever ask for. We would be honored to parent you child with much love, caring, and devotion.

The beginning of Mark and Debbie
    We met through a mutual friend in 1994. We hit it off immediately; I was drawn to Mark’s silly sense of humor and his sweet disposition. He enjoyed my sense of humor and outgoing nature. We became fast friends and started dating two months later. We became inseparable and spent every available minute together. We did not want to rush into marriage so we waited until 1999 to get married. It was a magical and emotional evening for Mark and I. We have been married over 5 years and unable to conceive. This has been difficult for both since we want to bring a child into our lives, and become a family. We are ready to love and nurture our child, to make him/her the center of our lives. Nothing will be more important to us. We feel that this is our purpose in life.

About Mark
    Mark is a thoughtful, kind and very generous person. He is not afraid to show his love and affection for his family or friends, or is not afraid to cry when happy or sad. Mark is wonderful at communicating with others and you always know where you stand with him. Mark has many friends that adore him; he has known many of them since his early childhood. Family is important to Mark; He is very close with his mother and two brothers. We visit his family at least once a week. We have the luxury of living 20 miles from them. Mark is such a loving and supportive husband, He backs me in everything I do in life, and he has always been there for me. He makes me feel special and loved, and I know he will do the same for our child. Mark has a terrific sense of humor; this is what first attracted me to him. We both giggle and share silly things together! He makes me laugh everyday. We have three mischievous cats, Buddy, Dewey, and Sammantha. Our dogs name is Murphy. Mark treats our animals like royalty, and they are a big part of our life.

     Mark is very bright and knowledgeable in many subjects. He majored in Business at Cal State Northridge. He is also talented in the sciences. His likes are Astronomy and Geology. Marks passions are music and photography. He has won awards for his photography. Mark loves to be outdoors and enjoys biking, swimming, and hiking. He also loves to body surf at the beach!

      Mark has his own business that he has owned for the past 19 years. He works in the sign advertising business. He enjoys his work and loves being his own boss. This will be wonderful when we have a child since he makes up his own work hours and will be able to spend a lot of time with our child.

     All the children on our block love to play with Mark. I think they know he is a big kid a heart and just wants everyone to be happy! Mark is very good with our niece Ave. Mark seems to have a natural sense of what makes children happy. He has a wonderful imagination, and knows how to make up wonderful stories. I can picture Mark at bedtime dreaming up wonderful fantasies that will delight our child. Mark has told me he can’t wait to hold our child for the first time. He is such a big hearted and loving man I know n my heart that he will be a wonderful father!

About Debbie
    It’s hard to describe myself but I would say that I am devoted to my family and would do anything for my loved ones. I have wonderful parents that I see twice a month. They live about three hours from us. I am very close with my sister and her husband. My niece Ava is so special to me. I have many family members who live close to me.

     I am outgoing when surrounded by people I am comfortable with. I enjoy new adventures and meeting new people. I feel I am good-natured and have a positive disposition. I have a lot of patience and empathy for people.

     My interests include gardening, all types of art, and cooking. I love our yard and spend many hours planting and caring for it. I can’t wait to plant a vegetable or flower garden with our child! I love Art and enjoy painting and making things. I have been making jewelry for 10 years an have sold many of my pieces. I love to swim and go to the beach. I grew up in Southern California and spent every summer there. Mark and I still go often. We live about 25 minutes from the beach. I am excited to bring our child there so they can experience the beautiful water and ocean breeze. We have a pool in our yard so I swim often. I know our child will enjoy this and we will give them lessons immediately. I read often, this is one of my favorite things to do. Reading has taught me many things and I will pass this down to our child.

     My work experience has helped me become the person that I am today. I accept people for what they are and I am considerate to all around me. I have worked at my current job for the past 7 years. I work with adults with disabilities. I coach them at their job and help them to learn their job duties. My job has given me much respect for those who try so hard to fit into everyday life and be accepted by others. They have taught me to be a better person and to appreciate what we have. Although I love my job and the people I work with I cannot wait to be a full time mother. This will be the greatest job I could ever imagine!

    I have years of experience working with children. I have worked at a nursery school for 3 years. After that I worked as a Director with after school children at the YMCA. I did that for about 5 years. It was challenging, fun, and always interesting! After that I worked for LAUSD teaching children outdoor education and science. This was a wonderful experience since I learned a lot about nature. I have learned many lessons from the children I have worked with. I feel these experiences and lessons will help me be a better mother. I’ve always treated each child like an individual and will do so with our child.

     I want you to know I will make our child feel special, letting him/her find our what interest them and backing them up in whatever they do. I am ready to being this new and best part of my life!

     Mark and I both came from loving families that have given us a sense of security, love and nurturing. Mark’s parents were married 43 years before his father passed away in 1992. Mark still feels the loss of his father and wishes he could have met his Grandchild. My parents have been happily married for 48 years and still manage to love and respect each other!

     We live in a family oriented neighborhood. Simi Valley has been named one of the safest cities in the U.S. to live for the past 15 years. We live on a small cul-de-sac, which houses many children. We are very close with many of our neighbors. We have block parties, barbeques, and swim parties. Our house is lovely; Mark and I have done many upgrades to it. The babe will have its own room that we will decorate. It will be colorful and full of things that will capture the baby’s imagination! Our yard is full of plants and flowers. Mark and I enjoy spending quiet time back there. There are pine trees up our hill and it is very private, you can see thousands of stars at night!

    Mark and I both have grown up camping and we both still love it. I know our child will love this and we cant wait to go camping as a family! Mark and I enjoy the outdoors and seeing new things. We love to travel and have been on many exciting vacation. We will enjoy showing our child many of the places we have been, and having new experiences as a family.

    We both feel our educations have brought us to where we are today. We will encourage our child to read and learn about things the excite them. We have already set up a fund for college tuition. Our community has a wonderful school system and I would love to be a part of the P.T.A. or a volunteer at school.

    We feel that we will raise our child the same way we have been raised, to have a positive self image, to respect others, and to be a good person. We will help guide our child with positive values and morals, We would like our child to grow up with a sense of individuality, knowing we will be behind them for support no what the circumstance. I hope this letter has given you a sense of who we are and how much a baby would enrich our lives. We respect your decision and appreciate your time in getting to know us. If you feel you would like to learn more about us please contact Cindy Simonson at A Act of Caring (800) 556-5635

    We both look forward to hearing from you, and wish you the best with your decision.

Thoughtfully Yours,
Mark and Debbie Reich