Dear Birthparents,

Our names are Carol-Ann and Claude. We appreciate being able to write to you as you make what must be a difficult decision concerning your baby's and your future. We know that you are concerned about choosing a family for your child that will love him or her unconditionally. Thank you for the opportunity to tell you a little about ourselves. We are hopeful that once you learn more about us, you will feel confident about having found a loving home for your baby.

While we come from very different experiences, we have built a marriage together rich in both of our cultural backgrounds. Claude, who was born and raised in Manitoba, takes great pride in his French Canadian background. Carol-Ann, a first generation Canadian, raised in Eastern Ontario is equally proud of her West Indian heritage. We have both enjoyed exploring the other's customs and traditions as we blended our lives and built our own traditions. Claude is fluently bilingual in English and French, and Carol-Ann is working on her French skills in the hope that we can raise your child in both languages.

We were both extremely fortunate to come from happy homes and loving families, and we think that we are ready to provide the same for your child. Due to medical reasons, we are unable to have children and adopting your child would truly allow us to fulfill our dream of having a family.

Carol-Ann is 34 years old. She is warm, loving and nurturing, with a strongly curious nature, and a need to discover the answer to the odd questions in life like "why is the sky blue." She delights in the need of children to learn and explore, and is ready to join in on their quest. Carol-Ann is the oldest of two. She shares a close relationship with her parents who live nearby. Her parents are very much looking forward to being grandparents.

Carol-Ann's love of learning has translated to two university degrees in political science. At present, she works for the federal government as a policy advisor. Nevertheless, her family remains the priority in her life and she is looking forward to spending time with your child as they grow and learn.

Music has been a hobby for her since early childhood. Carol-Ann taught children music for over ten years and hopes to share this love with your child. Our home was bought with the requirement that there be a place for a piano in the front room. When not pounding the piano keys there is always a new piece around to be tried out on the Clarinet she plays with our community band.

Claude is 40 years old. He is a generous, caring, and selfless individual with a warm sense of humour and an enthusiastic love for children. Claude grew up as the third of four children in a close and loving family.

He is a creative individual and enjoys being able to express this creativity through his work. He has worked for several years as a freelance editor and cameraman for both our local and national television networks. Claude’s skills as a professional photographer are often sought after. Since he is always the one taking the pictures, it is difficult to get him to sit still long enough to be photographed himself.

Claude is an avid volleyball player, having excelled in the sport since high school. Last year he got involved in our local house league and next season he would like to extend his involvement and coach in the youth league.

Claude delights in his nieces and nephews. He is quick to get down on the floor to roll around and play and is frequently in the middle of all the fun and hi-jinks. He always makes sure to spend some special time with each child and he is definitely in the running for "favorite uncle status".

We have a lot of fun and enjoy the time we spend together. At home, we always have a great time working in the kitchen, collaborating on recipes. Neither of us has any professional training but we love being able to share the fruits of our creation with our friends and family.
We are happy just hanging out, working on our home, relaxing, watching television or reading, but we are also involved in many activities outside the home.

During the summer months, you can find us on the golf course. We aren't the best golfers out there, but we are getting better and having a great time. In the winter, we switch sports and work on our skills as curlers at a local rink. Again, the emphasis is on fun and we don't take things too seriously. We enjoy the outdoors and spend some of our holidays each year camping. We also love traveling and look forward to family vacations.

In respect to finances, we both have secure jobs and have carefully planned our financial futures. Our employment also provides us with complete medical, dental, life and disability insurance. We are financially secure.

We have budgeted our expenses to allow us to live comfortably on one salary and Carol-Ann will stay home for at least a year with your child after which, if necessary, Carol-Ann's parents have offered to come to our home and provide childcare.

We live in a new home in a quiet suburb of a large city. We purchased our home with children in mind and we have had a great time decorating a nursery. We tried to be a little different in our choice of themes and picked “Baby Dinos.”

We built a large deck last year and there is plenty of room for children to run around in the backyard. We enjoy gardening and try our hand growing our own vegetables each summer.

The house backs on to a park and schoolyard. Within easy sight and shouting distance of the backyard there is an elementary school, community centre, play structure, baseball diamond, skating rink, tennis courts, basketball hoops and a soccer field. In addition to the school in our backyard, there is another elementary school and a high school both within easy walking distance (5 minutes) of the house.

Our neighborhood is a great mix of young and retired couples. Your child would have many playmates. The area is very new and growing quickly but we were careful to pick a quiet street with very little traffic.

We believe the most important thing we can give your child is a strong sense of self and the confidence to one day go out into the world happy, confident and successful. Children need to feel unique, supported and above all loved unconditionally. They need not only encouragement, but also guidance and we intend to teach your child strong values, respect for themselves, their family and others.

We do not believe in corporal punishment. We plan to show your child what is expected of them by setting a good example and discussing problems, openly, when they arise. We will discipline, when necessary, by withholding privileges and using time-outs. While we understand that raising children is not always an easy task, we are prepared for the challenges. We want your child to be able to discuss anything with us without any concern for our reaction. We hope not only to be good parents, but also good friends. Children need to enjoy learning and exploring and we look forward to sharing in the experience, guiding and supporting them as they discover their true interests.

We will support your child in whatever their chosen career path and assist them in pursuing any educational goals they may select.

We were both raised as Roman Catholics and this too plays an important part in our lives. We take comfort in our faith and apply our Christian values and beliefs in how we live our lives and treat other people. We attend church regularly and would take your child to mass with us every Sunday.

We plan to tell your child about his or her adoption at an early age and believe that open communication and discussion about adoption issues is best for happy and healthy development. If you are willing to meet with us, we would appreciate being able to learn about you and your

background so we can share this with your child as they grow.

We know you are making your best effort to protect your child from any harm during your pregnancy. We want to assure you that, while we share your hope that your child will be born healthy we will welcome them into our home regardless of any unforeseen medical problems. We would be pleased to share in the naming of your child and if it were your wish, would happily send you pictures and updates as your child grows.

We know about the adoption disclosure registry and will expose your child to it and fully support him or her should they choose to register.

We sincerely hope that this letter has conveyed what is so difficult to put into words - that our home and our hearts are filled with love and that we hope very much to offer all we have to your child. Thank you very much for taking the time to read our letter. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have and wish you the best in making your decision.