Dear Birthparent (s),

Hello! We are Val and Jenn. We truly appreciate this opportunity to tell you a bit about ourselves. We hope to have an opportunity to get to know you as well. We know that you are being bombarded with information and there is no way we could possibly understand how you are feeling right now. You are considering making the most difficult decision of your life and in doing so you would be sacrificing your own wants, needs, and desires for those of your child. You have our respect, our compassion, and our prayers.

Our Courtship
Val and I began dating during spring break of 1994. Val was attending college and I worked at the local Denny's as a waitress. Val was a frequent customer and it seemed like I always waited on him. I had developed a bit of a crush on him. He had given me his phone number; however, I decided to play "hard to get." One night, Val came in to the restaurant and waited around for me until my shift ended. After I got off, we sat and talked for several hours. He invited me to his house to help him stay awake to write a paper for a class. Technically that was our first date.

I will never forget our first kiss because he actually asked if it would be alright if he kissed me. I was stunned! I had never dated a guy who asked if it was okay to kiss me. I said of course! I didn't really think anything serious was going to come of the relationship though and I told my friends that I thought our relationship was going to be a two week fling! I've never been so happy to be so wrong! We were great friends and we had so much fun together. After we dated for a few weeks, Val left to go help run the family bicycle tour business in Greece for 72 days. When we said our goodbyes on the night he left, I knew in my heart that I was falling in love. I literally counted down the days until he returned to me.

When Val first returned after his journey, he said his dad had offered him a job in Denver and that he was moving. We attempted a long distance relationship for a little while; however, just seeing him on weekends was not enough for me. Within weeks I had moved to Denver with my best friend from high school. After a few months, Val and I moved in together with a few of Val's band mates mainly for economic reasons. We figured it would be cheaper if we lived together.

Val's Proposal
Val had to propose to me. We had gone out to see the movie "Nine Months" and when we returned home we debated getting married. Several nights later Val tells me that he has my Christmas present picked out and it was "something very special." I just knew it was an engagement ring! A few days later, a co-worker had roses delivered to work and I grumbled to Val about never receiving roses at work. He responded by telling me that he was going to get me a zoom lens for my camera for Christmas but since I wanted roses so bad, he would just take it back and give me roses. I was stunned, crushed, and little angry.

When I told Val that I thought I was getting an engagement ring he was a bit flabbergasted. I pouted for a few days, and then out of the blue one night Val asked me to marry him. Naturally, I said yes; however, I made him ask me again after he actually bought my engagement ring. I told him I needed a better story to tell our children. After he bought my ring, he got down on one knee in front of most of my family and asked me to be his wife. I said yes again.

Jenn
I was born to very young parents in a small rural Kansas farming community. The town had a population of about 350 and my grandfather was mayor for a brief period of time. The town still uses the Christmas decorations he purchased for the street lamps during his administration. Even today, when I go back for visits, I am asked about my "kin" and everyone remembers the members of my family.

Most of my family lived within five miles and we were all extremely close. I have very fond memories of the times I would spend being babysat by my grandparents. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents so my mom could have time to study as she worked on her nursing degree. Every summer I would spend two weeks on my grandparents farm where I would do my share of work. My favorite chores were picking potato bugs and feeding the wild cats scraps from the dinner table. We moved to Colorado when I was twelve; however, I would still see my extended family as much as possible. Even today I consider my family to be the most important influence on my life.

Holidays were always large gatherings with lots of traditional foods. My grandmother would always prepare enough food to feed an army! Christmas was filled with a lot of traditions that I have continued. Every year, my mom and grandmother would bake and make homemade candies. Now my kitchen looks like a bakery in the weeks before Christmas. My grandfather started a tradition of giving the grandchildren an ornament every year. To this day, my mom still buys me a special ornament and I buy one for Val and me that relates to something special we had done during the year.

I attended high school in a town in Northern Colorado. My teen years were turbulent; however, I think it was just typical teenager behavior when I look back at that time as an adult. I did not attend college right way. I chose to work full-time instead of going to college. My parents raised me to have a very strong work ethic, something that I feel is very important. It was during this time that I met the man I would later marry.

Val

I was born in Michigan and spent the first 14 years of my life there. My mom and dad were both students when I was born and I was always around the university. It's probably why I think learning is so important. Early on, my parents noticed I had an interest in music - my mom told me that when I was a toddler, I used to turn off the T.V. and turn on the record player. They started me on the violin at three years old and I've been involved in music ever since.

My parents also worked very hard to make sure that every summer, we could visit my Dad's family in Greece. Since my mom worked for the university, she was able to take my brother, sister and me to Greece for long summers. We spent time on the islands, sailing on my godfather's boat and swimming in the ocean. The boat holds a special place in my heart and my godfather wants me to have it so I can share it with my family. My dad and I are working with him to restore it.

In high school, we moved to Colorado. I went to college, at first as a saxophonist which I had started playing in high school. The intense music courses took some of the fun out of music, so I switched my major to Political Science and started playing the bass guitar. I learned a lot from my experience there, both in academics and in life. My life was messy for a while, but even when things are rough, you can learn. I had a lot of fun playing bass in several different bands and even dreamed of being a rock star. When my dad offered me a job, though, it seemed like the best thing. It turned out to be, too.

I worked for my dad for 8 years and learned how to take care of myself and my family. I also learned a skill - computer programming. Thanks to those years, I was able to get a job with Trip.com which led to my current job as a software engineer at a great company. My work brought me to Chicago and once again, I've been blessed. I love the city, the restaurants, the theater, the music, everything. I can't wait to share all my blessings with a child.

Even though we all live apart, I'm still very close to my family. My mother passed away from breast cancer in 2002, but I feel her influence all the time. My brother and sister are both working hard to establish their own families and careers and my dad is looking forward to being a "papou" (grandpa).

Our World
Val and I have been married for almost 10 years and we have been a couple for 13 years. I consider myself very lucky to be married to my best friend. Our relationship is one based on love and mutual respect. We are still crazy in love after all of these years. I still get butterflies in my stomach when I see him enter the room. We wanted to be stable in our marriage before we tried to bring a child into our lives. We feel confident that our child will grow up with affectionate parents who can model a very healthy and happy marriage.

Presently, our family consists of our dog, Nikta, and our cat, Pixie. Nikta is a 10 year old miniature dachshund. She is black and tan. Her name is the greek word for night. We got Nikta as a puppy the year before we were married. She has had a rough life. She has had to have her tail shortened because of another dog who bit her tail off. She was also paralyzed briefly following a back injury. I'll never forget the day she first wagged her tail after her surgery. She fought back with such an amazing spirit and was able to walk again. She is getting older and a bit slower but she is such a sweet dog who loves all the attention she can get. She is very eager to run through all of her tricks when she hears the word "treat". She is always very curious about children and does very well around kids.

Pixie joined our family four years ago. She is a russian blue with a beautiful thick coat. When I decided I wanted to add a cat to our family, I searched the animal shelters first but couldn't find a kitten. I found Pixie in a pet store being bullied by the two huge persian cats who shared her enclosure. The bigger cats weren't letting her eat and she was so tiny. She could literally fit in the palm of your hand. I just couldn't leave her at the pet store. I brought Val to meet her and she crawled all over him and right into his heart. As cat go, she is a bit of an oddity. She tends to act more like a dog. She loves to love on everyone. She will come up to most everyone and rub against them. She loves to be held and will jump into our laps any chance she gets. She is constantly purring.

We recently relocated to Chicago from Denver for Val's work. It was difficult for us to leave the life we knew for the past twelve years; however, it was the best decision we have ever made. We live in a three bedroom condo in a very diverse neighborhood with lots of parks and activities and there are excellent schools within walking distance. Our neighborhood is full of baby strollers and businesses that cater to families. We love all the city has to offer. During the summer we attend numerous neighborhood festivals with our favorites being the ones that feature local restaurants. We also enjoy riding our bikes to the lake front to have little picnics. Val has already planned to get a bike trailer so we can take our child to the lake with us. We also have lots of visitors during the summer months. During the winter we usually go to museums, the theater and music performances. We especially love the art museum; however, I can't wait to take our child to the Children's Museum.

We love to travel and we plan to continue to travel once we are blessed with a child. Val's father is from Greece and lives there for part of the year. All of Val's aunts and uncles on his father's side live in Athens. We try to visit them every year. Val speaks Greek and I am trying to learn. We plan to teach our child to speak Greek as well. It is important to us that our child be multi-lingual. We also enjoy going to other European cities. We have been to Scotland, Wales, England, and Italy. We have only been to Mexico once; however, we plan to go back sometime very soon. We travel domestically as well. We love to take long road trips together. We have been to numerous states and we usually go to Colorado a few times a year.

Traveling is only one of our many hobbies. I am an amateur photographer. Most of the art work in our house are photographs I have taken during our travels. I enjoy taking pictures of our nephew Blake and our niece Hailey. I also enjoy sewing and I'm looking forward to making my first baby quilt. Val is gifted musically. He plays violin, saxophone, and bass guitar and has a recording studio in our basement. He started playing violin at age two and still has his small violin, so if our child is interested, they can use it. He has kept all of the instruction books on the Suzuki method for violin. At any given time in our house, you're more likely to hear music than to hear the TV. Val is also an avid hockey fan. He tries to play as much possible and enjoys watching games. We go to Blackhawk's games frequently. Val is looking forward to teaching our child to skate. I am an avid football fan. I am happy to merely watch games on TV.

Faith
We have recently become members of the Lutheran Church in our neighborhood. We hadn't previously been active in a church community; however, after we suffered our last miscarriage, we really felt like we needed to rediscover a relationship with God and the Church. It helped that our pastor and our congregation are so welcoming. We also knew we needed to establish our spiritual life so that we could share that life with our child. A good spiritual foundation is important to us as a family.

Parenting
Jenn and I agree on the basic principles of raising and disciplining children. We feel that education is very important. Jenn has her Bachelor's Degree in Psychology and is working on her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education. We will have a college savings account for our child. We also believe that proper nutrition is paramount! We do not generally eat fast food and so we will not feed our child that type of food either. We do eat out frequently; however, we usually eat at various ethnic restaurants. We believe that a child that is exposed to a variety of foods at a young age, will not be as picky of an eater. We will use a system of rewards for good behavior and taking away privileges as punishments. We do not believe physical punishments are effective for learning and modification of problem behaviors. Jenn plans to leave her current position in medical billing to take on the more challenging task of being a stay at home mom.

Infertility
We started trying to have a baby after two years of marriage. Jenn had always known getting pregnant was going to be difficult for her due to a medical issue she developed as a teenager. We sought the assistance of specialists for a few years. After suffering several early miscarriages, we decided it was time to stop and evaluate what we truly wanted in our lives. We knew that we wanted to be parents and that was what was most important to us. The years of specialists were very trying; however, we believe that our infertility struggles have brought us closer as a couple and made us stronger in our marriage.

Closing Thoughts
No one comes to adoption through pure joy. We share a pain on different ends of the spectrum. Jenn and I believe that everything happens for a reason. God has brought each of us to this path from different directions for the same reason, the love of a precious child. Please know that we value and respect you, as a birth parent and as a human being, for even considering making an adoption plan for your baby. We know that without the love birth parents feel for their child, adoption would not exist. In our role as adoptive parents, we want our child to know their background and as such, want to keep open lines of communication. This is a growing process for everyone and we hope that, in time, our relationship with our birthparent(s) will be comfortable and strong.

If you would like more information please contact Sunny Ridge Family Center.

Peace be with you,

Val and Jenn

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