Alicia and Andy
Dear Birthparents,
Hello there! We are Andy and Alicia, and we want to thank you sincerely for taking the time to read our letter while you are considering open adoption. We are truly privileged to be part of this extraordinary experience with you.
We met in college and have been together for seventeen years (married for twelve). Our home (where we’ve lived since 2000) is a bright and cozy retreat in a large Pacific Northwest city. A sense of order and peacefulness fills our rooms. We both love to cook, and the scents of baking bread, chicken soup, and homemade pizza (we’re born-and-bred Chicagoans, so we have strong opinions here) fill the kitchen. Music is always playing; our life has a soundtrack that ranges from indie rock to bluegrass. At night, we watch sappy movies and not-too-scary mysteries while covered by quilts and lazy animals (Clover the corgi, and kitties Violet and Bridget). Our historic neighborhood is vibrant and diverse, with a huge park a block away. Our neighbors are super cool, and there are over a dozen kids on our block; potlucks rule the summer. We feel so lucky to live here and never want to move. We are true homebodies, and have the deepest appreciation for the little things in life.
Alicia is a craft designer who works out of her art studio here in our house. She has written, photographed, and illustrated two sewing books, and writes a popular daily craft blog. She loves to sew, embroider, knit, and crochet, and her handmade creations fill our rooms, as well as the homes of her customers throughout the world. She is curious and independent, and truly believes you can learn almost anything if you just find the right book. She is gentle and quietly observant but very quick to laugh (her nickname as a child was Giggles), and tells great stories when she gets going. She is so excited to stay home full-time with a baby, and is already busy sewing beautiful little clothes.
Andy loves his job as a charge nurse on the busy cardiac unit of a large hospital. He truly has a special gift for helping people who are scared and in pain, and makes everyone around him feel confident and so special. He has twice been recognized as Nurse of the Year, and has had a rose planted in his honor for receiving the most patient-appreciation letters of any employee. He is very social but also thoughtful and serious, and a natural leader. At home, Andy is always working on something creative; lately he’s been recording music and making funny independent films. He loves to play and be silly, and children absolutely adore him. They follow him around, showing him all their favorite things. His energy is endless: The man can play for hours. (He is currently teaching his nieces and nephews the finer points of Matchbox-car racing and Yahtzee strategy.) He loves going to estate sales, hiking, and training our dog. When a baby arrives, he will want to hold the baby all day long. Which will be hard since Alicia will already be holding the baby. But we’ll work it out.
Our child will be loved beyond measure—both by us and our families, and by you and yours—and we want her to know all of that love, and that she is truly a miracle to us all. We are people who wear our hearts on our sleeves and face the world with sincerity and great optimism; since learning so much about open adoption, we feel honored and privileged to be not just parents, but adoptive parents. We truly do not want it any other way.
We have so much more to tell you. We are so very excited to be on this adventure. We are grateful that you are reading this, and humbly wish you all the very, very best.
Sincerely,
Andy and Alicia