Brad and Becca

>

<

From Us to You

Dear Expectant Mom,

We are about to embark on a lifelong journey together. We are excited, anxious, optimistic, and so many other emotions. We can’t begin to imagine the emotions you are feeling. We are hopeful that you will see our profile and want to be a part of the growing of our family. We would love for you and your baby to be a part of it.

We are Becca, Brad, and Ari and we are looking forward to adding to our family through adoption. We chose adoption because we simply want to grow our family and share our love. We are hopeful that you will get to know us through our profile and want to be a part of the growth of our family.

Brad is a senior engineer and Becca is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner who is currently working as a clinical instructor at a university educating future nurses. We are from Michigan and live in the suburbs close to the local elementary school and lots of parks. We love going on adventures to museums and sporting events at the nearby university. We have season football tickets and love to cheer for our team from the stands. Ari’s favorite activity is visiting the museum of natural history because it is full of dinosaur bones. We also love lounging around at home reading books, playing games, cooking, and baking, and taking our dogs Seymour and Sheldon on walks.

We want you to know some things that we value and will teach your baby. They will have unwavering love and support as they grow up. We will encourage them to be whoever and whatever they want to be. While we value education in our family, we also know that everyone has a different path to success that doesn’t always originate in the classroom. We will help your child succeed in whatever things that they love. We think it is important to introduce them to lots of different things while they are growing up. This school year, Ari has been enrolled in dance classes, soccer, and swimming. We will raise our children with a strong sense of what is right. We subscribe to a children’s book service that provides us with age-appropriate books for Ari about multi-cultural families and social justice issues. We will raise our children to celebrate the differences in people. We also attend protests for the rights we believe in, learn about diverse cultures, and vote together as a family.

We will always be open about our adoption journey with your child. We have been reading Ari books about all types of families and he is excited about welcoming a baby brother or sister through adoption. Families come in many different forms, and we will feel so blessed to be able to be a family of four with both a biological and an adopted child. We can promise you that we will love both of our children the same but will also celebrate them as individuals. We cannot wait to be your baby’s parents, imagining getting them ready for their first day of school or their senior prom. We also know that you are and will be an integral part of their lives. We want them to know about you and hope that you will want to receive pictures and updates through the years. It is our hope that you will continue to be part of our journey through your child’s life if that is what you choose.

Being parents has been the most rewarding and wonderful thing we have gotten to do in our lives, and we are thrilled at the thought of starting the journey again with you and your baby. We know that being a parent is not always easy but we welcome both the joys and the challenges that come with raising a child. What we can promise is that we will always do our best to foster a home that is filled with joy, laughter, and love.

Love,
Becca, Brad, and Ari

>

<

Why We are Choosing to Adopt

We love being parents and have always wanted to have two children. We both grew up with siblings and know how important those relationships can be and hope to provide a loving home for our children. We want Ari to grow up with a sibling and have your baby grow up with an older brother. Even before the birth of our son, we discussed the possibility of adopting a child in the future. We were lucky that we conceived our first child easily, however, Becca had a very tough pregnancy. We were told that a future pregnancy would require strict bed rest, which is not feasible for a nursing clinical instructor with a pre-school-age child. When we decided that another biological child was not in the cards, we immediately knew that we wanted to adopt. While many people suggested surrogacy, we know that the genetics of our baby does not matter to us. We just want a baby to love and complete our family.

>

<

What We Will Share

We will be open about who you are and share your child’s story with them. We’ll teach them that, while we are their parents, everything started with you. Your child will know that from the very beginning, everyone in their life, starting with you, wanted them to grow up surrounded by love. Whatever it was that led you to adoption, you will always be so much more than a birth mother. You have a life that matters, with hopes and dreams and we will be here to cheer you on as you pursue them. We want your child to know about who you are and hope to continue a relationship with you.

>

<

About Becca, by Brad

Becca likes to say that you can never run out of love – no matter how much love you give, there is always more left to keep giving. I think that most exemplifies Becca in all of her life roles. As a pediatric nurse, she would always advocate for her patients to get the best care they need – but, of course, she is a doctor now! While studying for her doctoral degree, she deeply loved her work and will continue to do so as she teaches and instructs future nurses. She is one of the smartest people I know and loves to use that knowledge to help people as much as she can. We joke that she learns the words to songs the first time she hears them, and even knows songs she hasn’t heard. That brings me to her amazing sense of humor – Becca loves to laugh at things both silly and witty and has a wit to match. She is incredibly funny herself. Humor is more than just a laugh – it’s so important to help us through tough times together (we’ve had more than our share which makes bringing new life and love into our family truly appreciated as something so wonderful). Most importantly, Becca loves being a mom. She says it’s the thing she has always wanted most in life, and it shows. From the emotional T-L-C to the practical making sure Ari always has what he needs, I couldn’t conceive of a better person with whom to share the incredible life-long joy of bringing children up in our home and community. She gives the same care to everyone who needs it, being selfless with her care of others and fighting for social justice. With all this love to give, every moment with Becca is wonderful – I like to say every second with her is better than every other second.

>

<

About Brad, by Becca

Brad is one of the best people I know. He cares so much about the people in his life, especially his family. He is the first person I want to go to when I get good news, feel sad, or need advice. He is the best person to go on adventures with but also to just sit at home and chill out. He is easy-going and everyone who knows him loves him. He is very supportive and was cheering me on every step of the way as I pursued my educational and career goals. While I was pregnant and on bed rest, Brad did everything he could to make me comfortable and cared for. Brad has an amazing sense of humor and has really started to embrace his inner “dad jokes.” He loves learning and is always up for watching a documentary, reading an article about what is new in science, or going to a museum. He is also an incredible father. Watching him raise Ari reinforced what I already knew: he would be a great dad. He takes Ari on adventures around the neighborhood, builds obstacle courses in our living room, and lets Ari help him cook dinner. After Ari got his tonsils out, Brad was the only thing that would make him feel better. Brad was up all night with him, making sure he was drinking and taking his medicine. The love and care that he exhibited for Ari during this very tough time represent who he is. I know that he will be an excellent dad to your child as well. I could not ask for a better life partner.

>

<

Future Big Brother, Ari

Our son, Ari, is thrilled at the prospect of being a big brother. He is a true joy in our lives. He is so good-natured and has the sweetest personality. He is always up for cuddling, especially with his dogs, and gives the best hugs. He loves trains, singing and dancing, and reading books. Right now, he is in preschool full-time and is absolutely thriving. He is learning so much every day and we love being able to see his growth and development. He is especially interested in outer space and builds rocket ships out of Mangna-tiles or Legos and pretends to fly them to the moon. He even has an astronaut costume that he wears for his spaceflights. He is very curious and loves learning new things. He asks a lot of questions and tries to figure out how things work or why things are happening (the engineering mind comes from Brad). We feel so lucky that we get to be parents to such an amazing kid.

>

<

Lifestyle

Our lifestyle is centered around being a family. We both work full-time, and Ari is in preschool five days a week, but we spend evenings and weekends together either doing activities or just lounging around. In the summer, we like to be outside and spend our time at the pool, playing t-ball, or eating ice cream. In the fall, we go apple picking, jump in piles of leaves, and cheer on the Michigan Wolverine and Detroit Lions football teams. In the winter, we build snowmen and sled down the hill in our backyard. We also like to cuddle on the couch watching movies. In the spring, we like to walk the dogs around the neighborhood looking for the flowers and trees that are blooming. We look forward to sharing all these special, everyday moments with your child.

>

<

Our Passions and Careers

We both feel very passionate about our respective careers. Becca is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner specializing in primary care, having recently received her doctorate in nursing. She is currently working as a clinical instructor at the university level educating future nurses. She has never once doubted that this is what she wanted to do. Being a nurse and educator are things that make her truly happy. She especially loves specializing in pediatrics and working with lots of amazing kiddos.

Brad uses his love for problem-solving and technical work as a senior engineer for a car manufacturer. He is working to use that technical skill-building and the company’s focus on quality to make new products which help people, whether it be just making trucks fun and safe or something completely new and unconventional. Brad’s passion at work is less about automotive – he’s not really a stereotypical car guy – and more about solving problems to meet everyone’s unmet needs. He’s working to bring people together and push the envelope on what is possible, with a focus on what is important.

>

<

Our Pets

We have two amazing dogs. Seymour is a 12-year-old terrier mix. We always say he looks like the Lorax. Sheldon is a 6-year-old border collie-blue heeler mix and is covered in black and white spots. Seymour was adopted when he was three. The rescue organization did not know much about him, but that he had been at the organization for a long time, and we were the first people interested in him. We feel so lucky because he is the sweetest boy. His favorite activity is cuddling with anyone who is available. Sheldon is also a rescue, but we adopted him as a puppy. He is also a sweet boy and has lots of energy. He likes playing fetch and following Ari around during snack time.

>

<

Home & Neighborhood

We live in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch house in Michigan. We have a large open-concept house with a lot of room for playing. We have a fenced-in backyard, which is perfect for running through the sprinkler in the summer or building a snowman in the winter. It is a suburban neighborhood that is walking distance to the elementary school. There is even a little park at the front of the subdivision, with a play structure and swings. We are fifteen minutes from downtown where there are sporting events, museums, and lots of parks for fun family outings.

>

<

Racial & Cultural Diversity

We are open to raising a child of any race and cultural background. If we are blessed to have a child of another race or culture, we will be committed to lifelong learning about their background and will incorporate aspects of their culture into our daily lives. For example, if we have a black child, we will take classes on how to do black hair and if we have an indigenous child, we will learn about their tribal history. We will also acknowledge that a child of a different race will live a different experience than we do. We will do everything that we can to protect your child from discrimination and prejudice. We will also commit to fighting for racial justice and cultural equity no matter what background your child is because it is the right thing to do.

We also embrace diverse cultures and make it natural in our home. We subscribe to a children’s book service that highlights different races and cultures and work to expose Ari (and our future child) to people and stories from diverse backgrounds. Ari loves reading these books. Some of his favorites right now are a book about Rocket, a black girl who dreams of being an astronaut, and a book about Mr. Nelson and Mr. Watson, a couple who end up raising 456 chickens.

>

<

Faith

We both grew up in Reform Jewish households. We both attended Hebrew school as children, were b’nai mitzvah’d and confirmed in the Jewish faith, and our son currently goes to pre-school at the local Jewish Community Center. While neither of us is particularly religious, the cultural aspects of our faith are very important to us. We celebrate the high holy days, Passover, and Hanukkah with our families and close friends. Getting together for holidays is a tradition that we try to maintain with both of our families every year. We feel strongly about continuing these cultural aspects of our faith with our children. We will have them attend Hebrew school as children and have a bar or bat mitzvah, but it will be their choice about whether to follow Judaism religiously after that milestone.

>

<

Our Families & Friends

We were both blessed with incredible parents. Becca’s parents were high school sweethearts who went the same university and never left. Her mom is a professor of psychology and her dad is a lawyer. They live about 15 minutes away and we see them about once a week. They are amazing parents and love being grandparents. They are over the moon about the prospect of having another grandchild. Becca is a middle child, with an older sister, Alayna, and a younger sister, Haley. There is a total of five years between them, and they are some of her best friends. While they sometimes bicker like sisters, they laugh more (and they all have the same laugh). Haley lives nearby and we try to get together as much as we can. Alayna lives in Washington DC, and we have weekly FaceTimes to catch up with each other. Another important relationship in Becca’s life is with her childhood best friend Elizabeth. Becca, Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s twin brother share a birthday and grew up three houses away from each other. They went to school together from kindergarten through college and have maintained their close relationship for all those years. Elizabeth is like another sister and Becca considers Elizabeth her person.

Brad’s Mom is incredibly excited about bringing another grandchild into the family and is so supportive of our adoption journey. She loves being a grandma, or “Gammy”, more than anything. We visit her and her life partner Craig at their home in Ohio almost monthly – Ari loves the “long drive to Gammy’s” because she has the best toys. We love and appreciate the time we get together. Brad has a twin brother, Brett. Brett and his wife, Sophia, also live in Ohio, which is where Brad is originally from. When they get together, Brad and Brett love cooking new and delicious meals or doing home improvement projects. Having lost their father in 2005, when they were 13, to a lifelong battle with a chronic disease Cystic Fibrosis, they have learned equally how to overcome as well as how to welcome new people into their lives. They have always supported their mom and our larger extended family is deeply important to us, as well. We’ve always maintained relationships with our cousins who are almost like siblings. Brad looks forward to Ari having siblings and cousins with whom to play, grow, learn, and build new traditions like smoking turkeys on Thanksgiving with Dad and Uncle Brett. Becca’s parents and sisters are also so important in Brad’s life. It’s wonderful to have such a large family of old and new with such love and support.

>

<

Family Traditions

It might be common to see families talk about holiday traditions in their profiles, but a lot of our American and Jewish holiday traditions have somewhat trickled down by much loss in recent years. We now tend to split holidays between Becca’s family here in Michigan and Brad’s family in Ohio. As we grow our family, we look forward to making new traditions. With all the loss and changes we’ve been through, it also makes room for new things to come as we add more life and love to our family.

We do still have big, long-standing traditions we look forward to sharing with your child. One of them is going to University of Michigan football games. We have season tickets, and Becca’s parents also have tickets and so we go to as many home games as we can. We always try to get to the stadium before the game starts so that we can see the teams warm up, watch the band, and cheer on the Wolverines at kickoff with 110,000 other fans. The atmosphere in the stadium is incredible and we cannot wait to share it with our children.

We have an annual tradition of going to a special golf outing – not to play, but to fundraise for a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. Brad’s dad, Bruce, passed away in 2005 from that multi-system genetic disease after a life-long fight, defying many limits he was told were set. Bruce was a chair to the outing which took his name after he passed, to raise money for the Ohio branch of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Brad and his brother Brett would volunteer annually with the various day-of tasks and support, and Brett now chairs the event every July. We go with Ari to support our family, continue the fight for a cure, and maintain some connection between Ari and his missed grandfather.

>

<

Family Vacations

Our favorite place to vacation is a university alumni family camp, and we go every year. It is such a special place for both of us. Becca grew up going to the camp every year with her family. She worked on staff in the childcare center, and we continue to go with Becca’s family and our son and can’t wait for your child to join in on the tradition. We attend camp the same week every year and we go with a big group of people, all of whom we met at camp and have become lifelong friends with.

The camp offers activities for all of us. Some of Becca’s favorites are ceramics and archery. Brad likes archery and kayaking. Ari loves arts and crafts and swimming in the lake. This year Ari even tried riding a horse. We also do activities as a family, like going kayaking or searching for rocks to polish. During the day, there is a childcare center (which is where Becca worked on staff) so the kids can make new lifelong friends doing age-appropriate activities while parents can also enjoy camp. We get to be kids again while spending time with some of the most important people in our lives, making it such an incredible and special place.

>

<

What We Will Teach

We will teach our children to be good humans. We are very firm in our values and will instill the importance of kindness and treating others with respect. Social justice is something that is especially important to us, and we will pass this on to our children. We will teach them that Black lives matter, that trans lives matter, and that the environment matters. We will teach them that fighting for what is right is always worth it, even though it is often difficult. As a family, we try to do everything we can to help those who need it. Our social justice work can take on many forms, such as attending Planned Parenthood rallies, canvassing for our local politicians, making monthly donations to the ACLU, or having respectful conversations about tough issues.  We will always model doing what is right. Above all, we want our children to know that THEY matter. That they will be loved fully for who they are.

>

<

Our Promise to You

Our promise to you is unconditional love. We will love your baby and raise them surrounded with laughter, and joy. We promise to give them every opportunity to follow their dreams, whatever they may be. We will encourage them to explore their interests and learn about things that excite them. We promise to support them during their highs and their lows, cheering them on when they succeed or providing a shoulder to cry on when they do not. We promise to teach them about respect and that fighting for what is right is always worth it. We promise to always be true and open about your child’s adoption story. It is so important for any child to have a connection with their biological history and ancestry – we promise to make sure that connection is supported and never lost. We also promise to share this with you and grow with you as we navigate this amazing journey.