I thought about not sharing this with everyone, because it can be pretty personal. But, before I made our book I did a lot of research and found some people who had posted theirs online. It was really helpful to actually see one and not just read about it. Also, I've made a promise to myself to be completely open and honest about this journey so that people can learn about it as much as possible. And, who knows, you might even get to learn some things about us you didn't know!
So here you go. . .here is our adoption profile or adoption photo book that birthmothers will look through. The images of the book aren't the greatest, but you get the idea. You can click on the pictures to see them bigger. I'll also post the text for each page under the image . Enjoy!
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| Cover |
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| Page 1 - Dear Expectant Parent Letter (This is kinda long, so if you wanna read it just click on the image.) |
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| Page 2 - About Us We met in 2005 through a mutual friend and began dating just two weeks later. We then went to college together at Oklahoma Christian University. In 2007, after two years of dating, Mike proposed to Vanessa and the wedding plans began! We were married on June 14, 2008. In May of 2009 we graduated from college and then moved closer to family to begin a new chapter of our lives. We both love making each other laugh and try to enjoy all the little moments that life has to offer. Some of the activities we like doing together are geocaching, running, going to the movies, watching sports, and getting up early for Saturday morning breakfast. We also love spending time with our family and friends as often as we can. |
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| Page 3 - About Us, cont. |
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| Page 4 - About Vanessa (written by Mike) Vanessa is a very gentle and loving person. She loves to laugh her way through life, which is great because her laughter is very contagious! She is so much fun to be around and can light up a room with her smile. She likes baking, making new crafts, reading, and snuggling with her pets. Vanessa’s heart longs to be a mother. When I see her interact with children, I can tell she’s going to be a great mom. I can’t wait to raise a family with my best friend. |
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| Page 5 - Vanessa's Family Vanessa’s parents are Van and Jeanne and they have been married for 32 years. She has two older brothers, Jon and Michael. Jon and his wife, Amanda, have been married for 5 years. Michael and his wife, Ashlee, have been married for 6 years and have four children, three girls and a boy. Everyone lives in the same general area, so we get together as a family often. We love playing board games and have lots of friendly competition. There is always a lot of fun and laughter when we’re together. |
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| Page 6 - About Mike (written by Vanessa) Mike is one of the most kind and compassionate people I know. He has a heart for others and looks out for the best interest of those around him. He is very social and outgoing and loves hanging out with family and friends. His hobbies include sports, grilling, singing, and keeping up with the latest technology. Mike loves children and is so ready to be a dad. He is a favorite playmate of many of our friends’ kids. I’m sure our new baby boy or girl will have their daddy wrapped around their little finger from the moment they arrive! |
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| Page 7 - Mike's Family Mike’s parents are Wes and Shirley and they have been married for 35 years. He has two older brothers, Matt and Mitch. Wes and Shirley’s house is out in the country, so it’s nice to go out there and enjoy a slower pace of life. Mike’s mom is a great cook and is always spoiling us with delicious meals, especially during the holidays. We always enjoy going to their house to just visit, relax, and unwind. |
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| Page 8 - Our Home We bought our first house in January of 2010. The day we moved also happened to be the day of a huge snowstorm! We have some wonderful friends and family who helped us out anyway. It definitely made a great memory! We have a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home. The backyard is large, has a full privacy fence, and is great to play in! We have a play area in our living room already filled with lots of fun toys. The baby’s room has been picked out and we have started filling it with things such as bedding, boy and girl clothes, and toys. We love the neighborhood we live in! There is a good mixture of older couples and young families in our neighborhood. On a nice afternoon you will almost always see kids outside playing basketball, football, or riding their bikes around. Our home is a place where we hope others always feel comfortable and welcome. We can’t wait to bring a baby there and make it their home too. We look forward to birthday parties, Christmas mornings, Easter egg hunts, and lots of other gatherings with family and friends. |
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| Page 9 - Our Home, cont. |
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| Page 10 - Our Pets We have two cats, a boy and a girl, named Hoops and YoYo. We found them as strays and took them in as our first pets. They are declawed and very gentle. You can usually find them snuggling together, with the dog, or with us. We also have a dog named Rollie. We went to Petsmart on a Saturday to get some things for the cats, saw Rollie there, and fell in love! She is very good with the cats and with kids. She’s a sweetheart who loves to go for walks and be with us, wherever we are. |
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| Page 11 - Our Pets, cont. |
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| Page 12 - Our Wonderful Friends We are very blessed to have wonderful friends in our life. We have been a part of a small group from church for over four years and those people have become our core group of friends. They are all very kind, loving, and supportive. We also are good friends with a lot of our own family members and stay in-touch with friends from college. Everyone is excited about us becoming parents and can’t wait to spoil the new little one that comes into our lives! |
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| Page 13 - Our Wonderful Friends, cont. |
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| Page 14 - The Kids In Our Life A lot of our friends and family have young children themselves. We love and adore every one of them! They always add lots of spunk and activity to our life. We get to babysit a lot of these sweet kids often. One of our favorite parts of babysitting is the nighttime routine to get ready for bed...brushing teeth, reading books, and saying prayers. We always enjoy spending our evenings with them. As previously mentioned, we have three nieces and one nephew. In our close group of friends there are three boys and two girls. They all can’t wait to have a new playmate around! |
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| Page 15 - The Kids In Our Life, cont. |
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| Page 16 - Our Life As Parents We are both so excited and ready to be parents! We look forward to sharing our lives with a new child and extending all of our love to them. Any child we parent will be raised in a loving, Christian home through our faith in the Lord and our involvement at church. We know that there will be a lot of diaper changes, stressful days, and sleepless nights, but we look forward to these challenges, as well as all the wonderful changes that parenthood will bring. |
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| Page 17 - Our Life With You We know that all adoption placements are different. There is not one set method that will work for everyone. We would like to support you in the level of openness that you are most comfortable with. In the years to come, we would love to be able to offer you the peace of mind to know that your child is happy, loved, and thriving. |
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| Page 18 - Thank you again for taking the time to look at our profile. |
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| Page 19 - You are in our daily thoughts and prayers. God Bless! |
5 comments:
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing!
How wonderful! Excellent work! I just made a donation for some more puzzle pieces! Hopefully it helps just a little bit in being that much closer to your wee one! Excited for ya'll!
Maren
Vanessa, the book is beautiful!!!
Amazing job! Praying for you two daily!
Your book is so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes. I absolutely love it! I am in the process of making my book as well and I hope it comes out as wonderful. I will remember the two of you in my prayers.
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