Paul and Mariza

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From Us to You

Dear Expectant Mother,

As we write this letter to you, we find it difficult to find the words to say to you. We cannot imagine what you must be going through considering such a selfless option for your precious child. We cannot thank you enough for taking the time to consider us and getting to know us as potential adoptive parents.

Our names are Paul and Mariza. We met in 2003 at college. We both knew from the beginning of our relationship that we wanted to spend our lives together and start a family. We got married in 2010 and began trying for a child right away. After numerous, heartbreaking pregnancy losses, it became evident to us that we were unable to naturally have a child and know that our hearts are being called toward adoption.

We love spending time together at home and cannot wait to welcome your baby with us. It sometimes is as simple as curling up together in front of the fire or taking part in some of the numerous events our neighborhood and town frequently host. Luckily, family is close by and we get to see some of our nieces and nephews a lot. They cannot wait to welcome a new cousin into the family. Hopefully, they’ll all be going to the same amazing Charter School together where they will be encouraged to excel in academics and if they would want in community service and athletics. Together, we love to travel. One of our favorite vacations has been going to Guatemala to see Mariza’s very large extended family. We cannot wait to get another passport for your baby and show them many different cultures and customs around the world.

Our home is situated in a beautiful safe suburb of North Carolina, in a neighborhood where everyone is friendly and familiar with each other. Our neighborhood is filled with wonderful families and a lot of children of all ages. We have a big backyard and are surrounded by a creek and woods that we love to explore and hike with our two dogs, Ginger and Dixie. They absolutely love children and the children in the neighborhood love to visit them frequently.

Mariza has spent her entire life caring for and raising children. She is a very loving aunt to all of our nieces and nephews. She has been a professional nanny for most of her working life and has helped raise, educate and take care of newborns and has stayed very active in all their lives as they grow. We are fortunate enough that Mariza could stay home with the baby but have also been reassured by the families she works with that they would be delighted if the baby would come to work with her. In either situation, we would be attending various activities such as music class, gymnastics, storytimes, etc.

As an Eagle Scout, Paul has always been very driven and hardworking. He started his career with seniors in High School volunteering at a local senior living community. Today, he is an advocate for seniors by traveling around the US and training and showing other senior living communities how to better serve the needs of the seniors in their area. At home, he loves spending time with his nieces and nephews where he is the goofy uncle everyone loves to joke and play with. Our nieces and nephews that don’t live close by frequently FaceTime with him and are always so excited to see him. Paul will be such an amazing father. Your child will always be laughing and will feel so loved with him by his or her side.

Our families are so excited to welcome another child into their lives. We can assure you that we will all love and adore your child with all of our hearts, passing on to them all of our family traditions and values, sharing stories and embracing him or her with lots of kisses, hugs, playtime and laughter.

Thank you for taking the time to consider us,
Paul and Mariza

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Why We Are Choosing to Adopt

Having a child would make all our dreams come true.  A child would complete not only our immediate family but also bring so much joy to everyone in our lives.  We know that everyone we love is praying for us and having a child come into our lives would answer all those prayers.  Being a mom and dad is something we have always dreamed and know we are destined to be; but even more, we knew we were being called to adopt a child and provide him or her with a family that loves to laugh, spend quality time together.

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About Mariza, by Paul

Since the very beginning of knowing Mariza, I knew she would be an amazing mother.  We always spoke about children and she always told me how much she always wanted to adopt a child also. She has spent her entire life caring for and raising children as a nanny. She is the favorite aunt to all of our nieces and nephews. She has such a loving heart and I couldn’t think of anyone who would do a better job teaching values to a child and helping them grow. Mariza’s dream her entire life is to be a mother and I cannot wait to see her be one of the best in the world.

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About Paul, by Mariza

Paul is the most wonderful man I have ever known.  He is gentle and kind but also hilarious and very playful.  These qualities are ones that I know would make him an amazing father.  His hard work ethic and dedication to his endeavors would teach our children to pursue their dreams and passions.  His biggest dream in life is to become a father and I cannot wait to see his dream come true.

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Lifestyle

We have an active lifestyle where we spend the majority of our time with our sweet dogs, family, and friends. In the nice weather, we go hiking on the neighborhood trails or take day trips to the closer mountains and lakes with our dogs, Dixie and Ginger. We take lots of family trips to the lake where we hike, kayak, swim and play board games together. We love hosting get togethers where we grill and use the smoker; a highlight is on the Fourth of July when we have a neighborhood fireworks display. At home, we like to work out, garden, do little projects around the home and watch our favorite shows.  We believe in giving back and sponsor a (now) young woman in Guatemala who cares for her siblings as well as her own child.

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Our Careers and Passions

Mariza loves working with children.  As a professional nanny, she has dedicated her life to six wonderful families helping them to raise their children as strong, educated, and loving individuals.  She currently has one baby boy in her care.  She loves the joy that children bring to her life every day.  Paul’s passion is being an advocate for seniors.  This passion carries over to his career in the Senior Living industry.  We are both very nurturing individuals and that is evident through our professional and personal lives.

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Hobbies

Paul is really enjoying getting back into fitness and staying active.  He also really likes refinishing and building things. Mariza likes working out, decorating the house or helping family and friends decorate their homes. She also really enjoys baking.

Together, we like to be active and enjoy any activity that our pets can accompany us on. Some of our favorites are hiking, camping and kayaking, but even just a walk around the neighborhood or pond is a great way to spend time together. We cannot wait to share our love for the outdoors with your child. We also like to take mini vacations or road trips to either the mountains or the beach.

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Our Pets

We have two adopted dogs. Ginger and Dixie are mother and daughter. We immediately fell in love with them when we saw them. They are very sweet and loving dogs who love other people and animals. They are really good with all the children in the neighborhood. The dogs love to accompany us on our many excursions. We also have an adopted cat, Ali. We have had her as our pet for eighteen years. She loves snuggling and ear scratches.

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Home & Neighborhood

Our home is situated in a beautiful safe suburb in North Carolina, in a neighborhood where everyone is friendly and familiar with each other.  We have a beautiful house with three bedrooms and 3 bathrooms.  We have a big backyard and are surrounded by a creek and woods. A huge benefit to our neighborhood are the acres of woods and trails, playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts, a pool and garden.  Our neighborhood is filled with wonderful families and a lot of children of all ages. The neighborhood is very family centric and has numerous events throughout the year.

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Our Families & Friends

Paul comes from a very supportive and loving family, from rural Pennsylvania, and is one of 4 siblings. We have 2 nieces and 2 nephews on his side of the family. His family loves nature and the outdoors, family meals are very important as well as being together and supporting each other through life’s milestones.  Mariza is also one of 4 siblings and grew up all over the world including Guatemala, Costa Rica, Brazil, Switzerland and the U.S.  Her dad’s side of the family is from Guatemala so she grew up traveling there every year for Christmas.  She is very close to her family and speaks to them daily. We have 4 nieces and 4 nephews on her side of the family. Both of our families are so excited to welcome a new member into our loving families, our nieces and nephews are all so anxious to have a new cousin, our brothers and sisters cannot wait for their new niece or nephew and our parents cannot wait to have a new grandchild to complete our families.

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Our Relationship with You

We will be 100% honest with your child about their adoption. In our ideal scenario, we would love to develop and maintain a relationship with you. We would like to set up regular communication but will ultimately respect whatever level of openness you feel comfortable with.

We know you are courageous and strong. We also know that you only want the best for your child. We are so thankful and humbled to be given the opportunity to love your child unconditionally and to fill our lives with so much love and joy.

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Family Traditions

We really enjoy our yearly traditions of sharing time with family and friends as well as incorporating our values and cultural backgrounds.  Every year, we host a 4th of July celebration at our home filled with delicious foods, outdoor games and a beautiful fireworks display at the end of the night.  We also started a fun Halloween tradition amongst our neighborhood to ‘boo’ two people with a bucket of treats at the beginning of the month with the intention that each neighbor will continue the thread. We love seeing how many people have signs on their door saying they have been ‘booed’. We tend to alternate holidays with our families so that we can see everyone throughout the year since they are spread around the East Coast. At Christmas time we enjoy baking cookies for everyone, a tradition we started the year we got married.  We also enjoy a Guatemalan tradition passed on from Mariza’s family which is called the Christmas Posada or, nativity. We can’t wait for your baby to join in on all of our family traditions.

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Cultural Diversity

Diversity is very important to us and it is our belief that being surrounded by diverse cultures, thoughts and ideas helps to develop a well-rounded person. Mariza is half Guatemalan and has lived in multiple countries where she has experienced many different traditions and cultures which she loves and embraces, therefore incorporating them into our lives.  We like to travel and immerse ourselves in different cultures around the world.  We surround ourselves with good people, regardless of their background, culture, race, religious affiliation or sexual orientation; even some of our closest friends have very different viewpoints from ours but we all support each other.

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Our Promise to You

We promise to love your child more than we are even capable of putting into words. We want to raise your child to be a very happy, confident and loving individual. We will encourage them to treat everyone as equals, to love themselves as they are, and to apply themselves in whatever it is they decide to do. We will encourage them to pursue their dreams and to work hard to pursue their passions. We will teach them to love nature through camping, hiking and kayaking and to teach them about other cultures by traveling with them. We promise to be open and honest with your child about their adoption and how much you love them.