Melissa and Kevin
Hello. We are Melissa, Kevin, and Jackson. We are a loving, playful, and adventurous family, but not yet complete. All three of us are very excited about growing our family through adoption. We have lots we want to share with you about who we are and our dreams we have for our family. But we are also aware that you are facing some very tough decisions, and we want you to know how grateful we are that you are considering an open adoption. We also want you to know that we would be honored to get to know you and would like to offer you our support and friendship. We strongly believe that an open adoption is an amazing opportunity for children to grow up knowing where they come from, and to feel whole, secure, and loved.
We have known each other for twelve years and joyfully married for eight. Our four-year-old son Jackson, who we call Jack, is a very sweet, funny, and gentle child, and talks often about being a big brother. He is so excited about having a little brother or sister that he will only sit on the left-hand side of his bike trailer, proudly announcing that the other side is “reserved” for his new baby brother or sister.
Melissa loves to be around children, which led to her very fulfilling career path as a school counselor for kids in kindergarten through middle school. She has worked closely with children who are adopted, and when she was a high school counselor, she had the opportunity to work with young women considering adoption. Melissa’s part-time school-year schedule with summers off and long holiday breaks gives her a lot of time for playing and exploring with Jack. Kevin would describe Melissa as deeply caring, generous, and an amazing adventure planner for our family. To relax, you will find her connecting with friends, taking walks around our beautiful Pacific Northwest neighborhood, or watching a sappy romantic comedy.
Kevin has a stable, solid career in the insurance industry. Although he enjoys his work very much, he seems happiest being a father. Melissa would describe him as the strong, silent type, as he tends to be shy and quiet in public. But with family and friends, he opens up and his laugh makes people laugh right along side him. You will usually find him in our yard or across the street at the park playing games with Jack. It is truly magical listening to him and Jack talk and laugh about digging up worms or a great ball Jack just hit or kicked. To relax, Kevin loves to read the Economist, poke around the garden, play golf, and every week he and his buddies have a basketball game.
As a family, in the spring, summer, and fall, we enjoy bike riding, going to the zoo, splashing in puddles, digging up worms in the garden, and attending the numerous outdoor music festivals around our city. On rainy days, we enjoy putting together puzzle and playing games. We all have a competitive edge, especially when it comes to Scrabble and Backgammon. Even Jack can get quite intense about putting together his favorite dinosaur puzzles. We absolutely love to travel, which is great because we get to visit grandparents on the East Coast and in Florida for many holidays and summer vacations. Melissa’s sister and her family live in Spain so we are able to travel outside of the country too! Our days and evenings are filled with dancing to silly songs, reading books about snakes and trucks, playing in the yard, or cooking family dinners.
This letter is just a brief glimpse of who we are, and the love, laughter, and adventures we look forward to sharing with you and your child. We are excited to invite you to be a part of our life as we raise our children and watch them grow into loving adults. It is our strong opinion that any child with multiple adults to love and guide them along the way is blessed and will have a happy and successful life. Please know that if you choose us, we will dedicate our life and our love to your child. Thank you for taking the time to consider our family – we look forward to meeting you!
-Melissa and Kevin