Dear Birthmother,

Thank you for taking time to find out more about us. We are Carol and Rob. We hope that this letter gives you a good idea of who we are and what kind of life your baby will have if you choose us to raise your child. We have incredible respect for people who consider adoption. We have waited a long time to bring a baby into our family. Carol found out at a young age that she would not be able to have biological children, so we always knew we would build a family through adoption. Its natural to us since Carol was adopted as an infant and her sister placed a baby for adoption as a teenager. We truly understand the special beautyand the sacrifices requiredin building a loving, devoted family though adoption. For now, we are excited to tell you a little about our lives and ourselves.

CAROL :: Rob and I met in 1999 in Philadelphia. I grew up there and had recently moved back to be closer to my family after living and working near New York City after college. Rob is from San Diego but was working near Philly on loan from his San Diego office. ROB :: Carol and I hit it off right away. We had a lot in common, I mean, where are you going to find a girl that likes Star Trek and Star Wars as much as me? We found we both liked the same books and alternative and 80s music, too. CAROL :: We figured we would just be friends since Rob was going to return to San Diego, but we realized after a few months that we really liked each other, so we started dating. By the time Rob was asked to return to San Diego, we were engaged. So we moved to San Diego and were married in April 2003. ROB :: With Carols family on the East Coast, we visit as often as we can. We vacation with her family each year, and go back for Thanksgiving or Christmas. Carols brother has two girls, Kaitlin (17) and Devin (13) and her sister has three kids, Michael (16), Molly (14) and Madelyn (10), so we make sure that we see them at least a few times a year as they grow up. CAROL :: We both come from strong families and our parents sacrificed a lot to give us the best lives they could. We both have great role models in our parents. ROB :: My parentswho are married 45 yearscame to America from Bulgaria in 1967 to raise a family in a free country. They arrived here without speaking English and worked very hard to build the best life they could for my sister and me. We didnt have a lot of family around, so it was important for our small family to be close. I am lucky that we all live in San Diego. We have my parents over for Sunday dinner most weeks and can visit them any time. They are devoted grandparents to my sisters two kids Jacob (10) and Lexi (7), and they are excited about becoming grandparents again. CAROL :: My Irish-Catholic parents were married for more than 45 years. They tried to start a family for 6 years before adopting my brother, then me two years later. My younger sister was their surprise biological baby. There was never a time that I didnt know I was adopted. My parents were open about the few details they had, but back then, adoptions were closed. When my sister got pregnant at 18 years old, times had changed. She knew she couldnt give her son everything she wanted for him, so she made an open adoption plan. She chose a wonderful family and got letters and photos as he grew upthis was what most open adoptions were like at the time. When he was ten, my sisters son asked to meet his birth mom. I went with my sister to meet him, and it was then I decided that when I adopted, I would want an open adoption so my child would always know their birth family. To this day, my sister and her son have a close relationship. Its wonderful for all of us to have a connection. ROB :: Carol and I have been married for 8 years. Even though we knew we would build a family through adoption, we took our time before deciding the time was right. We wanted time to build a strong marriage before welcoming children into our lives.

Our Story

Carol says...
I know Robs going to be great a Dad when I see him with kids. Its then you see the little boy in him come out. I cant wait for him to teach his child (boy or girl!) to play baseball, share his favorite movies or take him or her to Comic-Con. Rob is calm and patientgreat traits in a Dad. He doesnt raise his voice or get upset easily, even in the most stressful situations. And when we are with the kids, not only does Rob jump in on all the fun, like video games, playing in the pool or organizing an outing, he also knows when to be the grown-up. Hes a pro at enforcing bedtimes, good eating habits and turning out the lights, plus he can really stand his ground when the kids get crankyhe is going to be an awesome Dad!

CAROL :: We also wanted to be settled and stable to give our child every opportunity for a happy, fulfilling life. One of our goals was to be in a house with a yard. We finally moved to Kensington, a great, historic family neighbor hood in central San Diego last summer. Its perfect for kids! We can walk to playgrounds, parks and schools and even a nearby ice cream parlor and movie theater. The neighborhood has holiday parades, block parties and family get-togethers. Plus its close to everything that San Diego has to offer. ROB :: We rescued a very sweet and energetic a puppy named Tasha soon after moving into our house. She has excellent manners and she is great with our nephews and nieces. We love getting outdoors with her to Balboa Park and Ocean Beach Dog Beach or just for a long walk around the neighborhood. We try and spend as much time outdoors as we can. We like hiking in the mountains in the cooler months, and we recently became avid bicyclists. We look forward to bring up an active child who loves the outdoors, too. CAROL :: We are homebodies who love to entertain friends and family at home. I love to cookits my favorite hobby! I cook a homemade dinner almost every night and Rob gets to do the dishes! Its a good way for us to spend quality time together ROB :: Carol and I are both college-educated professionals. I am a program manager for a defense contractor. I manage teams that build software. I started as a software engineer and worked my way up to managing large software projects. My job gives me the opportunity to travel to wherever my clients are, so I have been to Australia and Korea in the past few years. CAROL :: I work in marketing for a software company. I started my career as a graphic designer and worked my way up to manage a team that creates advertising, builds websites and plans company events. It can be a lot of fun! ROB :: Carol and I are both established in our careers. That gives us a lot of options when we bring a baby home. Carol will take a 3-month leave from work at first, plus my Mom lives in San Diego and cant wait to help. We also both have the option to work from home as much as we need to.

Tasha says...

Woof!

CAROL :: With email and Skype, we dont need to be in the office to do our jobs. We plan to each work from home two or three days a week, and with some help from Robs parents, we wont need any daycaresomething we both want to avoid. We hope that after this glimpse into our life, you think we would be wonderful parents. Only you can decide if we are the right family for your baby, but if you choose us, we promise that your child will be loved and cherished, supported and encouraged, guided and nurtured. We will help him or her to become a caring, loving person. We will love him or her every day of their life and provide the best family environment we can. Your child will always know the unconditional love that brought him or her into our life, and if you want it, you will always be a part of your childs life. If you decide to make an adoption plan, we hope you can see your child fitting into our life. You can contact us through the Adoption Center of San Diego at (858) 535-3033. We have a lot of love to share with a child, maybe your child. Thank you for considering us. Warmest wishes,

Rob says...
Carol is intelligent,

warm, and

kindhearted, and is always willing to listen to another persons needs. She will be an excellent mother because she is very attentive and nurturing, yet firm with our nieces and nephews. It is a family tradition to get together every year and spend time with our family at a fun destination. During these family vacations, Carol can often be seen with any one of our nieces or nephews helping to bake cookies or organizing beach outings. She is really looking forward to being a Mom!