Dear Birthparents,

Thank you for reading our letter. Thank you for being strong and courageous. We are grateful for you. We cannot begin to understand your pain but want you to know if we can ever help to relieve it, we will. We pray for you and hope that your decision to consider placing your baby for adoption will bring you peace. Your loving choice, to give your child life, is so amazing and brings us hope where there was none. Your light will always shine in our lives.

Courtship…
We will open our hearts to you in these next few paragraphs and try to paint an accurate picture of life in our home. We met at work in the spring of 1995. We both broke our own rules by dating someone from work. Pete tells me he fell for me the moment he looked into my eyes. I have always felt a little guilty for not feeling that immediate spark, but he was one of about fifty people I met the first day on the job. Pete frequently found reasons to be in my “cube,” and before long I was smitten, too. Our second date was my sister's wedding. I figured if he could withstand meeting my big goofy family all at once then he was a keeper. Pete had never had any pets growing up. I had a dog, Panda, when we met. Here was another test he passed with flying colors. Pete got out of work before me and would go to my apartment instead of his home. He said he did that to be with me when I got home, but I had my suspicions. Panda and Pete bonded while I was away. It was beautiful.

We fell in love almost instantly. We spent virtually all of our time together after the third or fourth date. Pete was so sweet. I'll never forget how he said he didn't care if we were going to the grocery store, the movies, concerts or whatever. He just wanted to be with me. I introduced him to bowling with my family and he showed me what “real” Italian families are like. We spent so much time walking Panda she finally had enough! Pete, a master of timing, proposed marriage to me while I was covered in flour from baking a zillion Christmas cookies. I used to wonder if it was the smell of the cookies baking that took hold of his senses, but when he formally asked my Dad for my hand, I knew it was true love. Our wedding was beautiful with my family singing and a friend presiding. The reception was a blast! People still come up to us and tell us what a good time they had. One of Pete's cousins credits our reception with the conception of his first son.

Kathy
I grew up in a very full house! I am the baby of the family with two sisters and four brothers. I love my brothers and sisters very much and they, as much as my parents, had a profound impact on the person I've become. My parents loved us very much and taught us to be strong and independent. They took us camping all around the country. I learned so much from these trips as we glimpsed into small town America and relished the beauty of this country. As my older siblings married or went off to college, I was able to be with my parents without the crowd! Sadly, my mother died of cancer during my senior year of high school. She was a warm and loving person who encouraged me to be self-reliant and to believe in myself. She taught me to appreciate the love of family and we enjoyed cooking for them together. My family learned to appreciate my father on a different level after Mom died, and we enjoyed our time with him until he passed away from a rare lung disease two years ago. My family is still very close. I have really enjoyed spending time with my nieces and nephews over the years. They range in age from 15 to 26. I love gaining their perspective on life and they have taught me so much. My oldest nephew and his wife are going to be parents next spring, so now the cycle starts again.

I have enjoyed a variety of positions over the years from bank teller to vehicle management and have even enjoyed dog grooming! I really love dogs and wanted to turn that into a career, but had trouble dealing with the bites and other occupational hazards. For the last year and a half I have been working with a fantastic group of engineers. We are designing one of the new runways at O'Hare airport. They are aware of our plans to adopt and that I will be staying at home with our child.

Pete
I was born on a snowy Easter Sunday. My parents emigrated from Italy. In Italian, the word for Easter is Pasqua, so my mother chose the name Pasquale for my middle name. I have one sister, who is six years older than I am. When my parents told her she had a brother she reacted negatively because she wanted a sister. My folks smoothed it over with her by telling her that all the babies at the hospital were boys and they picked the cutest one. When I was little, some of my mother's younger siblings lived with us as they wanted a better life in America, too. We ate all our dinners together and went to church as a family every Sunday. My mother is a great cook and hosted many big parties at our house. I was very close to my dad's mother. When I was 12, she passed away while on a trip to Italy. It was hard to face the fact my Grandma was gone but it was also difficult to see the painful emotions my family went through; many tears were shed. As a kid growing up in a predominately Italian neighborhood, I played with kids growing up in houses a lot like mine. We made up games to keep ourselves entertained. In the summer, it was always baseball – either playing in a parking lot across the street or watching the Cubs on T.V. Sometimes we raced on our bikes or played Frisbee or touch football. When the weather was bad, we played cards. I used to help my dad around the house with little jobs, or sometimes just watch and learn. Now that I have my own house, I find there's always work to be done. I like to work outside as much as possible. I enjoy many different kinds of music. I convinced my parents to give me guitar lessons. I used to serenade Kathy, and still do from time to time. She still married me, so I know it's love.

I attended Catholic schools for most of my education, including college. My parents believe strongly in education. I was an average student and worked hard to get good grades. I earned a bachelor's in business management. I chose this career path because the constant change in business dynamics interested me. I have enjoyed a successful career as a pricing manager in the automotive parts industry. I have done some traveling to Canada for business, but not more than a week each year.

I have faith in God and believe in the power of prayer. I have come through trials in my life where my faith was tested. God's loving hands carried me through those times and increased my faith. I love to make people laugh. I am a very positive and upbeat person. I believe you never fail until you stop trying.

About My Kathryn.
Kathy is one special woman. She is warm-hearted and a very unselfish person. She is always thinking of others. She delights in spoiling our nieces and nephews, especially at Christmas. There isn't almost anything she wouldn't do for family or friends. She enjoys cooking which is good, because she loves to feed people. This is the “Italian mother” syndrome coming through. I must also mention she makes the best chocolate chip and chocolate covered Oreo cookies. At Christmastime, she makes sure that as many family members get their “favorites” as possible.

Kathy has a soft-heart for all animals, especially dogs. She knows most, if not all, breeds. Kathy is a devoted gardener. She has brightened up the outside of our home with the different gardens she planned out and put together. She can look at a flower or a plant and name what it is. She is good at everything she tries. She avoids confrontation, but can debate subjects and hold her own, especially when the subject is close to her heart. She just goes non-stop, especially when she has a deadline approaching. She enjoys working with her hands and has done a great job decorating our home. She is down to earth and has a wonderful sense of humor. I love to say and do things to make her laugh. She has a smile that melts my heart. In her spare time, Kathy loves to read and enjoys watching movies. Put on a sad movie and watch the tears come (one of the many things I love about her). She really loves music and likes to have it on all the time. Kathy sees God's beauty in everyone and everything. Our relationship is based on love of God and each other, communication, respect, and spending time together. Kathy takes good care of me. From making sure I have good meals to eat to bandaging my cuts and scrapes, I'm preparing her for motherhood. She is so ready. She will make a great mom.

About My Pete.
There's more to Pete than meets the eye. When I first met him, he seemed quiet and reserved. Nothing in my life prepared me for falling in love with him. Not my faith, not my loving family. No previous boyfriend or crush was like this. My heart still seems to fly out of my chest when I think about him. I often wish that we had met earlier in life, but I have come to accept that my sweetie came along at just the right time. I knew early in our dating that if I didn't marry Pete, I would never marry. No one would ever be good enough after knowing him. First of all, his eyes sparkle like the stars. (Especially when he's up to something.) How could I give that up? In so many ways he is childlike; so innocent and sweet. His faith in the Lord is my rock and inspiration. He is a fantastic uncle to all of our nieces and nephews. He loves to play ball with anyone willing – including the dogs! He is so very ready to be a daddy. I love to watch him with kids. You know that Dad with all the corny jokes? That will be Pete. He's always trying to make you laugh. But I think what will really make him a great dad is that he really listens to what kids have to say. He treats kids with respect and doesn't brush off what they tell him as “kid-stuff.”

Our life together…
We are very fortunate to have both families living close to us. My family loves Pete very much. Pete has helped keep us close because he never seems to mind when any of my siblings and their kids stop in. I know he loves them, too. When we get together we like to play volleyball. Sometimes we play softball, bacci or football, but since we're all so short, volleyball presents the best challenge! During crummy weather, we'll go inside to play games and watch movies. We love having all this family around - the more the merrier!

We share our home and our lives with two wonderful dogs. Panda is a Border Collie mix, and Cleo is a Portuguese Water Dog. Panda is incredibly smart and certainly keeps us on our toes. Though she is 12 years old, she is extremely agile and active. Cleo is loving and sweet. She is smart in her own way, but I find myself defending her brain-power quite a bit.

We have a lot of friends who have kids. Kathy's life-long best friend has adopted two children from Russia. All of our friend's kids call us Uncle Pete and Aunt Kathy. Together we are godparents to two children. One is the son of another very close friend of Kathy who has a farm near La Crosse, Wisconsin and the other is a daughter of friends who now live in Florida. Our neighborhood is also full of kids and our next-door neighbor just had a beautiful baby girl. Pete is also godfather to his sister's daughter.

We have come to this place through nine years of marriage and seven years of infertility treatments. During our courtship, we discussed family planning and it included adoption. We always thought we'd start with a biological child and later adopt a slightly older child. Apparently, God has something else in mind for us. We tend to look for the “bless in the mess.” Though the infertility procedures were uncomfortable, and three miscarriages were painful to bear, our marriage has been made stronger and we are closer than ever. The last miscarriage was very difficult and frightening and woke us up to the fact that we were wasting precious time. The long road of infertility has absolutely strengthened our resolve to parent children and to love each other. We believe that adoption is God's plan for us and both of our families are so very excited for us. God has blessed our life together with many gifts. We can't wait to share them with our little one!

Our beliefs…
We believe that God has made us stewards of this planet. We try to support responsible farming and industry when those options are available, and they usually are. The landscaping around our home is designed to sustain itself with minimal watering. We enjoy living in the Midwest and look forward to the changing seasons. Pete could live without winter, but Kathy can't live without snow. And Pete & Kathy won't live without each other!

We believe in raising children with love and encouragement. We are blessed that Kathy will be able to stay home with our baby. Kathy loves to cook and firmly believes in preparing fresh food and from scratch. This will include the baby's food, once he or she graduates from formula. We believe it's never too early to start reading to children. We will impress the importance of education upon our child and encourage him or her to go as far as necessary to meet his or her goals.

Our Faith
We were both raised and remain Roman Catholic. We attend mass regularly – we might miss an occasional Sunday if we are traveling. Kathy has just begun teaching fifth grade Religious Education for our parish and has found it very rewarding. We believe in sharing our time, talents and treasure for the good of the community as well as the Church.

Openness…
We are hopeful that the mother who chooses us will want an open adoption. We, like you, have been made aware of the many benefits to an open relationship. However, we can certainly understand that this may be difficult. We want anyone who reads our profile to understand that if they find openness difficult after placement, we will respect the need for solitude. Our hearts will always be open whenever she (or both parents) is ready.

Our vast extended families will love, cherish and undoubtedly spoil this child! Our community has award-winning schools and a really great park district. Your baby will be surrounded by love, music and laughter.  Kathy's piano is always a big hit with the kids who come over, and we would certainly encourage our child to play. Pete and I enjoy traveling, but we're saving some destinations for the time when our family includes a little one. Our home is filled with light, yet cozy and comfortable. If you looked at our bookshelves and music racks, you would find an unlikely collection that truly represents who each of us really is as individuals.

We hope that we have accurately described who we are. We want to thank you again for your interest in our profile and know that you will find the family that fits you and your baby best. We pray that you will receive the support you need to carry you through this time in your life and that, someday, you will remember this wonderful choice of yours with joy.

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

Pete & Kathy

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