Eddie and Ally

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From Us to You

Dear Expectant Mother:

We write this letter to you with our hearts filled with love, hope, and our utmost gratitude for considering us as potential parents for your precious child. This decision could not have been easy, and we admire your courage and selflessness in considering the possibility of placing your child with us.

Our home will be a warm and loving place for your child where encouragement, open-mindedness, and listening to your child will always be our top concern. We want your child to experience a safe and open environment where they are free to explore and find their natural talents. We will guide them to become fearless, confident, and strong individuals and instill in them a sense of self-discipline and motivation so that they may succeed in life, but to define success on their own terms.

Travel is an adventure to be embraced, and as a family we will travel with your child to explore the world, and aside from just having fun, we want them to have the opportunity to experience, understand and embrace different cultures and languages.

Our family extends beyond just us, and your child will have aunts, uncles, and many cousins to grow up with and grandparents who anxiously wait for them and will love them unconditionally.

Most of all, we want you to know that your child will be cherished and loved abundantly. We will provide them with all that we can to help them to grow into well-rounded, empathetic, and happy individuals and provide them with the tools to love themselves, others, and the world.

Again, we would like to express our deepest gratitude for considering us to parent your child and it would be our honor to be a part of your life’s journey. We promise to provide your child with a bright and fulfilling future with a loving family who will cherish them always.

All our love,

Ally and Eddie

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Adoption in Our Lives and Path to Parenthood

I (Ally) am adopted so adoption has been a significant part of my life and my family and it’s something we not only cherish deeply but is normal in my family. Not only am I adopted, but so is my sister and cousin.  There has never been any difference between those that were adopted or biological, and we have always felt that love and family have nothing to do with genetics.

When I was 15 years old, I was given the opportunity to meet my biological mother and it was a wonderful opportunity to ask questions about genetics and family history. Then, in my 30s I connected with a biological cousin, who I now consider to be one of the most important people in my life. For this reason, we believe that open adoptions are a positive thing for everyone involved, and we want your child to have a sense of connection and understanding about their adoption and their origins, if that is something you are open to.

Our family knows firsthand that adoption is a beautiful thing, and it has expanded our family in ways only love can define. Adoption has taught us about love, acceptance, and the importance of a supportive and nurturing family environment. Adoption has changed my life, and the shape of my family and Eddie and I know that we can provide the same warm and loving home that was provided to me. We feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to be considered by you to continue the circle of love and acceptance that I know adoption provides.

We have always dreamed of having children, and view raising children as an important part of our life. We had a difficult time conceiving naturally and felt conflicted about the process of IVF, especially considering the important role adoption has played in my life, so it was an easy decision to move in the direction of adoption. As someone whose family is composed of people I am not biologically related to, admittedly I was excited to see what it was like to have biological children. But when nature revealed other plans, it seemed adoption was truly meant to be our path. We are beyond excited to adopt and have a much larger and richer family than we would have had we conceived naturally.

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About Ally, by Eddie

I first saw Ally in a photo, as her best friend was dating a friend of mine. I was lucky enough to be invited to a social function with them where I would meet Ally, and while she was beautiful in her picture, she was even more exceptional in person.  After that night, although she lived 100 miles away, I drove it eagerly every weekend to see her and we continued a long-distance relationship through college.  One night when we were in Portland, Oregon helping my parents move, her wit and beauty overcame me, and I knew she was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Not long after that I asked her to marry me, and she said yes. I knew when I met her that she was unique, but I did not fully understand how special she was until we began to grow with each other as our marriage matured.

Ally is hilarious, strong-willed, sees the world clearly, and knows how to navigate through it to obtain the things that make her and those that she loves happy. She is generous, caring, gentle, and a genuine human being. Her intelligence usually keeps her two to three steps ahead of everyone around her, but her humbleness never reveals it.

She is the person I admire most, and she is the only perfect being I have ever met.  I only expect her to be outdone by the child she loves, and it will be the greatest joy and honor of raising your child together with her.

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About Eddie, by Ally

Eddie is such a unique person, and so special to me. He is funny, outrageous, extreme, goofy, deeply kind, thoughtful, curious, fearless, and silly. He cares about others in a way that is truly inspiring.  Whether it’s his patients, family, or friends, he’s an empathetic person who will go out of his way to put others’ interests above his own.

I love how attentive he is to my comfort and of those around him. He is a chivalrous person who still opens doors for me, carries my luggage at the airport, and takes out the garbage.

Eddie is always the funniest person in the room and when he talks about even mundane tasks, he has a way of unfolding the details like a stand-up comedy routine, leaving everyone in hysterics. We giggle whenever we’re together, no matter what else is going on in our lives.

His humor and warm, generous nature make him very soft and lovable, but he is also highly respected by his peers.  Eddie is a kind, compassionate, stable family man, always ready for spontaneous new adventures, who makes every moment silly and fun, but will carry your bags and offer you his coat while doing it!  Eddie will make an amazing father because not only is he patient, kind and warm hearted, but he loves to go on adventures, explore and live life to the fullest. He loves teaching and sharing knowledge and will provide a stable, safe and fun home for your child.

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Family and Friends

Our friends and family play a major role in our lives, serving as a constant source of love, support, inspiration, and a whole lot of fun! We are grateful for having such an amazing, understanding, and supportive family. Our two families are incredibly close-knit, and we cherish the relationships we have with them. Eddie’s two brothers and twin sister, despite the distance between them, make sure to see each other once a month, and stay in close contact, so we can share good news and be available when support is needed in the ups and downs of life.

Both of our parents have been exceptional role models throughout our lives and are our most trusted advisers.  They have happily moved into the role of grandparents, with our combined 10 nieces and nephews and they continue to teach, inspire, and guide our family’ future with constant interaction with their grandchildren – something we look forward to having your child experience, the joy of being surrounded by the loved of caring grandparents as well as a large extended family to welcome them and love them.

Our extended family includes numerous nieces and nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles that span a range of ages. Your child will have plenty of cousins to grow up with and share in the wonders of family get-togethers and travel, as we are always eager to spend quality time together. We get together with our family for monthly reunions or family vacations and family gatherings serve as a time to continue to reinforce family values and help unify us as our family gets larger and moves into the future together. These outings create a support network that has become a driving force in all our lives.

The importance of friendships in our lives cannot be overstated. We have a network of friends who have been with us for most of our lives, as well as new friends cultivated through travel. Although humor and laughter are an important part of our relationships, we have deep conversations, give and receive advice, but mostly just to listen to each other. Through these healthy relationships we can help expand our minds, enrich our spirits, and strengthen our bonds. Our friends are more blood than just “people we know,” and we make sure that we are there for each other, without excuse or exception – something we hope to instill in your child.

In building our family, we take these skills taught to us by our family and friends and practice them in our relationships. Our family and friends bring us an immeasurable amount of joy and provide a foundation of unconditional love and support that will serve as the bedrock of our future as we welcome and raise your child with the deepest love and care.

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Our Home and Lifestyle

We are deeply grateful to live in a major city on the West Coast where our daily lives are enriched by a diversity of cultural and recreational experiences. Ally has built her own business that she manages from home, giving her the ability to be home with your child.  Eddie is a doctor and can make his own schedule which will also allow him the flexibility to spend significant time with your child.

Our home is warm and comfortable with large rooms for a growing family and what we look forward to most in sharing with your child is our library and the cozy fireplace. Here we imagine will be the heart of our family. We envision after family dinners, reading to your child, and then as they get older, having them read to us.  We imagine reading together and sharing what we have learned; talking about points of view, topics, and events we discover together within our family’s room. Helping with homework there, and relaxing and enjoying each other’s company.

The kitchen too will play a large role in your child’s life as it has played a large role in ours as well, especially Ally’s. Her business is a dessert cafe, and because of her passion for baking and cooking, she designed her own personal kitchen. It is set up for watching and learning and plenty of room to teach in. We imagine teaching your child to cook and bake and learn to love food and eat well and healthy. And the food that they learn to prepare will in time turn into meals filled with their own touches and love, that they are able to be proud of and serve to their future friends and future companions as they explore and move into adulthood.

Ally also has a ceramic studio, complete with all the tools to make anything out of clay. It is a creative space that we can’t wait to share with your child, not so much to teach them to form clay into things, but to learn the freedom of creativity and ability to express themselves through art.

We have a cozy backyard and despite being in the middle of the city, is filled with lemon, fig, and avocado trees as well as lavender, rosemary and many other beautiful and fragrant plants. It’s like a secret garden for a child to explore. We plan to show them the beauty and wonder of growing fruit, vegetables, and flowers. Nurturing and caring for plants has taught us the importance and beauty of caring for all things around us.  We will show and teach your child so they too can see the importance of caring for others, the environment and being a part of a larger world.

The comforts of our home extend beyond its walls, as our neighborhood is a safe and nurturing environment with excellent schools and a strong sense of community. Our neighborhood provides a fulfilling lifestyle for any age, especially children, and some of the things we enjoy are going to the symphony, ballet, movies both new and from yesteryear, and the many art and science museums that celebrate the creative spirit of our community.

Our city’s inclusive and open-minded atmosphere provides a haven for both the LGBTQ+ and Hetero communities, where diversity and equality are embraced making a safe place for our future child to explore themselves and become the person that they want and are meant to be.

We have a strong passion for travel that often leads us to visiting friends and family both near and far and as your child grows, we can’t wait to share our love of travel and explore the world with them. We especially love spending time in the nearby wilderness and beaches of California in our own backyard.

Eddie is an experienced and patient teacher of all things outdoors and we look forward to sharing this with your child. We both grew up going on fun camping trips with our families and those adventures were some of the most special childhood memories for us and we can’t wait to start making special childhood memories with your child. We look forward to showing them all the things we learned as kids, like how to build a campfire and set up a tent as well as experiencing all the small delights of nature, like searching for tadpoles in the creek and catching grasshoppers. We are very fortunate that our lifestyle isn’t restricted by having 9-5 jobs, and nothing is more important to us than providing a loving, warm, stable and joyous home for your child.

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We promise a quality education

We value education and believe that a well-rounded education includes art, the outdoors, and society and we see education as a tool to enrich their lives and not merely as a means to get a job. Your child will learn that failure is not only a part of life, but an important one to embrace and learn from. They will have the opportunity for self-learning and free-thinking because we believe that education doesn’t always mean the same thing for every child, and while one might have an interest in science, another might want to study art or dance. And we will always encourage them to develop a hunger for knowledge that will last a lifetime.

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Travel is a great way to learn about the world!

Travel is an adventure to be embraced, and as a family we will travel with your child to explore the world, and aside from just having fun, we want them to have the opportunity to experience, understand and embrace different cultures and languages.

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Racial and Cultural Diversity

Racial and cultural diversity has played a fundamental role in our lives, with Ally’s father being Latino, and his extended family and cousins sharing their culture’s richness and traditions with us. In our everyday lives, we have celebrated many of the beautiful customs such as their festivals and culinary heritage, leaving a lasting impression on us.

Since Ally’s father has such a deep passion for his Latino culture, his genuine appreciation for diversity and inclusiveness has influenced us and our daily lives. We enjoy sharing the Latino family traditions with extended family and cousins and growing up in such a culturally rich environment has helped us embrace the beauty and complexity of the human experience.

Racial and cultural diversity has molded us into compassionate, understanding, and respectful human beings, with an unwavering appreciation for all differences.

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Our Traditions

One of our favorite traditions is making and sending out funny Christmas cards. Every year, we spend time coming up with a unique and humorous concept for our cards, get costumes and sets, generally travel to a place, and set up the shot. It is hilarious, (especially before camera/phone technology was so good, as we had to run back and forth to the camera). It has become something that our friends and family not only look forward to, but demand it, as they say Christmas just isn’t the same without it. The only thing missing in our lives is having a child to share in this family event. We are excited to include your child in this special family tradition and to remember as the years go by looking back on as your child grows.

Speaking of Christmas, while decorating the Christmas tree (a full day family event usually filled with good food especially Christmas tamales, mole, hot coco, and a winter festive spirit) we listen to both the Nutcracker Suite and Elvis Christmas. The Nutcracker comes from Eddie’s family and Elvis’ Christmas comes from Ally’s. But we listen to both, and of course there is always bad dancing and even worse singing (mostly from Eddie), and it is a wonderful unifying family event that we can wait to share this family fun with your child.

We also celebrate nature, specifically the solstices, equinoxes, and the rising of the full moons. We feel it is important to embrace the world, its changing seasons, the cycles of nature and the passage of time. It is a reminder of our uniqueness and the importance of living in the moment.  We take time to reflect on the meaning behind these special days and celebrate with a bonfire, barbeque, and friends.  It’s just a fun way to get together and enjoy the world.

The fall Harvest Moon is the most important one to Eddie’s family, as often we have family reunions during the fall equinox, and it is Eddie’s personal favorite. Sometimes we might go on a hike, or drive to watch the moon rise, and it is an important time to simply take a moment to appreciate each other, and life.

We have a love for Halloween and the Latin holiday “Day of the Dead”. We take dressing up in costumes seriously (in a fun way), as it also helps us remember and honor our loved ones who have died. We believe that it is important to remember and celebrate those who have left us and keep their memories alive.

We also celebrate the major holidays such as New Year’s, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Fourth of July, Labor Day, and Memorial Day. These holidays are always special and give us easy excuses to grab the tent, jump in the car and take off to far and near corners for fun, games, and late-night campfires and s’mores. These are great opportunities for us to gather with family in various places, or go rafting, hiking, or traveling with friends, and reflect on what is truly important in life – eating, family and life!

Family games, both board games, and active ones like “kick the can”, “laser tag”, “hide and seek”, and many others are a constant. It’s a great way for us to spend time together and create lasting memories. If we pass a water park, fair or carnival along the freeway or county road, we do not pass them up, we stop and jump in. Life’s too short to pass by a water slide.

Television, more of an “anti-tradition”, is not a large part of our lives. We have one and use it to watch movies and binge shows on occasion, but having the TV on, even background noise, is just not part of our lives. We enjoy it but emphasize other activities to fill relaxation time. We also eat dinner together as a family.

We look forward to sharing these traditions with your child and making new ones along the way.

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Our Pets

Our two cats and dog are not just pets – they are beloved family members. We adore them, and our lives are enriched by their presence and individual personalities. We believe that raising your child to love pets will enrich their lives too, to feel the unconditional love that pets give to us and that special companionship that children seem to naturally find with pets.

We rescued our dog, Frau, from the side of the road when we were on vacation in the Caribbean 13 years ago. We intended to find her a good home on the island, but we bonded with her so quickly, we couldn’t imagine leaving without her. Since then, we’ve enjoyed many adventures with her and our two cats and cannot wait to have your child share in our continued adventures.

When we are just hanging out at home, our pets follow us around from room to room and all three of them sleep together at night. It never ceases to be funny to see a cat and dog snuggle.

We can’t imagine life without them and can’t wait for your child to share in the constant source of love and joy that they give us as well as their unique personalities. They are an integral part of our family, and we are committed to providing them with the very best care possible and look forward to them meeting your child.

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What We Will Tell Your Child About You

We view adoption as a life-long promise and are committed to maintaining a relationship with you at whatever level you desire. We will always honor the trust that you have bestowed upon us and will share with your child the journey of their adoption with love, respect and sensitivity.

As parents we believe that honesty and positivity are essential when speaking with your child and answering any questions that they may have.  From the moment they are placed in our arms they will begin to hear of the story of their adoption, of how they came to be a part of our family and how dearly you love them.

As they grow older, we will always encourage them to ask questions, and let them guide the conversations in ways they feel most comfortable.  And as a family, we are there to support, love and care for your child so that they can form their own sense of identity and self-worth, knowing that they are loved and wanted by both you, their birth mother and us, their family.

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Our Promise to You

We value the trust that you have placed in us, and the responsibility of raising a child we take very seriously.

We promise you that your child will be welcomed into a family filled with love, laughter, and joy. Our family is diverse and rich in cultural education and travel, and we will support your child to explore their heritage and embrace their unique identity should they be a different ethnicity that we are.

We promise to support and provide your child with the freedom and ability to pursue their passions and dreams.

Our family values art and creativity, and we promise that your child will have the opportunity to express themselves creatively because we believe that creativity is a vital part of intellectual growth, and our home will be a safe space for your child to experiment with different forms of artistic expression.

Above all, our promise to you is to provide your child with a life filled with love, support, and care. Our desire for your child is for them to love themselves and explore the world with confidence.