Dear Expectant Parent(s),

We are Jason and JoAnna from Seattle, Washington. We have a five-year-old son, Ethan, who joined our family at birth through open adoption. We are excited and humbled to expand our family through open adoption, and appreciate you taking the time to read our letter.

We met through our incredible community of American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and mutual friends, and were married in 2012. JoAnna fell for Jason’s positivity, humor, and tenacity. Jason loves JoAnna for the caring and authentic connection she creates with others. We enjoy the beach, international and local travel, dancing in our kitchen, and spending quality time with family and friends.

Jason works at a university as a manager in technology and an ASL interpreter part time. Jason is proud to have parents who are both Deaf, finding it helps him connect with people who also have unique life experiences. JoAnna is also a professional ASL interpreter and a certified yoga instructor. JoAnna often interprets music concerts and children’s theater. At home, we talk with Ethan in English and ASL. When Ethan was four months old, his first word was the ASL sign for ‘butterfly’.

As a family, we value inclusiveness, equity, and compassion. It is important to us that we raise children who are kind, open minded, and thoughtful of others. We strive to instill a sense of optimism that they can make a positive change in their community. Our hope is our children will be curious, independent thinkers, making choices based on what is in their heart.

We live in a five bedroom, three bathroom house within a very walkable neighborhood. We are walking distance to a big park with a lake, playgrounds, library, Zoo, restaurants, and our favorite ice cream shop! We have two neighbors who also adopted children through open adoption, providing a sense of shared experience within our neighborhood.

Our commitment to honest, caring and non-judgmental relationships makes open adoption a perfect match for us. We are ready to share photos, stories, and spend quality time with the birth family, just like we do with Ethan’s birth family. Birth parents will always be an important part of our family.

We wish you all the best!

Sincerely,

JoAnna, Jason, and Ethan Smith