Rita and Patty
Hello!
We are Rita (on the left) and Patty (on the right), and we are so happy that you are considering us as parents for your child. We have been waiting to adopt for a long time, but believe deeply that our child’s birthmom will find us when we are meant to be found. If you are that birthmom, we cannot begin to tell you our joy in welcoming your child into our family and you into our lives.
The body of water behind us in our photograph is not the Puget Sound, Lake Washington or the Pacific Ocean. It is Lake Michigan, and if you choose us as parents, your child will grow up close to the Great Lakes and as part of a family with strong Midwestern roots with as much love as the Great Lakes around us hold water. We are not exaggerating about the Lakes or the love!
We have known each other over twenty years and are about to celebrate our thirteenth year together as a couple. We recently married in Boston, Massachusetts, and appropriately, rode the freedom trail before the ceremony! We are both from large families- seven children in each with twelve brothers and sisters between us and thirty nieces and nephews. Our child will have lots of aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews as well as grandmas and a grandpa. Through an open adoption our child will also have you and your family’s roots and heritage. Security, trust, authenticity and love will be the hallmarks of our baby’s home and family.
And there will be fun! Yes, we offer your baby two active moms. Patty enjoys basketball, football, baseball, golf and swimming. Rita, although she can keep Patty on the run in all of these sports, prefers baking incredible cookies, pies, cakes and peanut brittle especially around the holidays. Rita enjoys shopping at roadside stands for her ingredients and her favorite entertainment is to shop at the local five and dime store for kitchen and garden supplies. Our other great source of enjoyment is our little longhaired Chihuahua, Wicklow, who desperately wants a playmate! (See our portfolio of photos for more about Wicklow and our wonderful friends and family).
As for our professions, Rita is a documentary photographer making her an incredible storyteller. One of Rita’s documentary projects is about people who travel on the Amtrak train. We, therefore, take trips regularly on the train, including the Empire Builder from Chicago to Seattle and Portland. If our child’s birth family lives in the Northwest, this adventure will be all the more exciting for our child. The sleeper cars, dining car and observation cars are cozy and fun, especially for children. Patty is an attorney offering the skills to think through and resolve problems thoughtfully. She helps her clients through some of their most challenging times. Together we hope our child will receive from both of us a capacity for compassion and a commitment to building peaceful, healthy and loving relationships.
We value education and as parents will provide opportunities for our child at every stage of development. Music and the arts are significant in our life and excursions to the Chicago museums, galleries, aquarium and theaters will be many. We live in a community with several universities and colleges, so from a young age our child will be introduced to the world of higher education. We value our faith and as parents we will provide opportunities for our child to wonder, pray and especially delight in play. There will be bedtime stories and reading, popcorn cooked on the stovetop (with real butter!) and an appreciation for what is simple and ordinary. Our friends and their children will welcome our child as will our extended family with open arms and hearts.
Know that our hearts, too, are open to you as you make this important decision, and we look forward to meeting you should you decide that in us you have found parents for your child.
Our best to you,