About Us. All dressed up for our friends wedding in Maine! Taking a break from apple picking

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1 Andy & Resa Hello! We are Andy and Resa from Massachusetts. Thank you for letting us give you a sense of who we are and why we are so excited to bring a baby into our lives and become parents. We admire your courage and strength while considering an adoption plan and we hope this letter shows you how much love and support we could provide for your child.

2 About Us All dressed up for our friends wedding in Maine! We connected almost instantly when we met 13 years ago at a Boston area art museum social event. We married in 2002 in a beautiful outdoor ceremony. Every fall since then, we make sure to take a fun trip or adventure to celebrate our lives together. We really are best friends as well as husband and wife. We always have so much fun together, whether we are on our Saturday morning hike in the woods with our dog or trying out a new recipe or taking part in our monthly fun day. Every month we alternate with a surprise adventure for the other that can range from a local landmark we have never visited, or a quirky museum, or a chocolate truffle making class. We would love to carry on this tradition with our child. We live in a quiet, friendly neighborhood just a short train ride from Boston. It s the kind of place where neighbors are also friends and we always run into a familiar face when we re out walking the dog. There is a lot of cultural diversity in our area, which we like very much. It s also very much a community, where it s safe for kids to learn to ride a bicycle or walk to the local ice cream stand in the summer. Our three-bedroom home is very cozy and has a great patio for grilling and relaxing in the summer. In the winter, when the leaves are off the trees, you can see the Boston skyline from it. Within walking distance of our house we have a great conservation area with many hiking trails and a big pond that rents out kayaks, rowboats, and canoes. Nearby, we also have many different museums, theaters, parks and zoos to enjoy as a family. Taking a break from apple picking

3 A great Saturday morning for us is getting up early and cooking a special breakfast together and then on to a hike in the woods across the street from our house. Depending on the season, we are on the lookout for wild blueberries, changing leaves or rabbit tracks in the snow. Every summer we go raspberry and strawberry picking and every fall we go apple picking at farms that are a short drive from our home. We love to make homemade ice cream with the berries and applesauce with the apples! We love to garden and grow tomatoes, lettuce, hot peppers, sunflowers and herbs in containers on our patio. Every year we try growing a new vegetable that we haven t tasted before. This past year it was white cucumbers which we pickled so we could enjoy them year round. Traveling to new places and experiencing their culture (and food!) is very important to us. We ve been to many places and bring home a cookbook from each one we visit so we can relive the adventure through a delicious meal. We love to cook together and for our friends and enjoy sharing new and exciting foods. We ve had so many wonderful experiences together and we really want to bring this joy to a child. After struggling with infertility for a while, we talked with family and close friends about their adoption experiences, and decided adoption is the way we want to build our family. SOME fun facts ABOUT US We love a good Halloween party and we are kind of known for having fun and creative costumes. We love to decorate the house for the holidays. Andy went to culinary school and Resa went to massage therapy school to learn new skills! We spent a summer in Italy for a big family reunion with Andy s extended family. Andy s Italian came in handy when our rental car broke down in the middle of the Italian countryside! We make up silly songs to sing to our dog. Resa is a chairperson for an organization that holds an annual silent auction for charity. Andy sometimes donates woodworking pieces for the auction. We walk our dog together every single day. In front of a volcano in Tanzania Making homemade cheese at Resa s parents house

4 Andy in Kennebunkport, Maine Andy by Resa Andy is one of my favorite people in the whole world. He is the love of my life! He is smart, funny, kindhearted, open minded, adventurous, and never stops learning and sharing his knowledge. I love that he has such broad interests like teaching himself a new computer language, woodworking, making the best pizza I ever tasted, and studying mushrooms under his microscope. One of the things that impresses me the most about Andy is that it seems like he can do anything he sets his mind to. He always has a fun project to work on in his spare time and I could see him really enjoying working together with his son or daughter, passing on the knowledge he has about so many different and interesting things. Andy is very close with his large family. Most of his family lives in New York where he grew up so we travel to see them as often as we can Andy relaxing on a friend s sailboat

5 and update them with photos and phone calls weekly. When we visit, there is always a huge family dinner with fun stories and lots of smiles. I can see where Andy s kindness and intelligence come from when I spend time with his family. Andy is also very supportive of me, whether he is giving me words of encouragement when I feel like I m having a creativity block on a project or making me laugh with a silly comment when I need a smile. He loves to be goofy and one of my favorite sounds is his hearty laugh which is contagious! I know that he will be a great dad. When he spends time with our friends kids, he is very gentle and patient - I can see how much of a teacher he is. He loves to broaden their horizons and show them new ways of looking at the world. He is very much looking forward to sharing his interests with a child. I am so excited to become a parenting team together with Andy! A homemade pizza ready for the oven Ziplining in Costa Rica! On the beach in Nantucket

6 Resa by Andy When Resa and I met, I knew right away that she was someone really special. I was lucky enough to marry her and our love has grown every year since then. She has a sunny personality and a fun sense of humor that brightens up all my days. Building a life together with Resa has been the best part of my life. Family is very important to her. I come from a large Italian family which can be pretty noisy when we all get together for holidays, but right from the start Resa fit in with them and everyone loves her! She keeps in touch with childhood friends and she talks with her parents every week, sometimes more. Resa is an amazingly caring person - she is always thinking of something special to do for the people she loves. She remembers everyone s birthday without having to look at the calendar. She loves entertaining and is great at planning parties and trips. I can tell that she will be a wonderful mother - she connects right Resa at our favorite lobster shack WIndow shopping on Sunday morning

7 away with our friends children and is one of my nieces and nephews favorite aunts. Resa is the gentle caretaker for Gilly - the one who clips his nails, bandages his paw when he hurts himself, and rubs him down with a towel after a rainy walk. She loves to travel and loves trying new things she s equally happy going to an art museum or a country fair. She loves a good laugh and a deep movie, walking in the woods with me and our dog, or planting flowers in the garden. Give her three ingredients and 30 minutes, and Resa will knock your socks off with a delicious meal! Resa and our friends daughter having cupcakes at a shop Resa designed Hiking in for some snowshoeing on the trails near our house Resa all geared up for some ziplining in New Hampshire Taking a cooking class with some friends

8 Gilly enjoys being a pillow for our friends son Gilly Andy and Gilly having fun together in the deep snow Our Yellow Labrador, Gilly, would also be very excited to have a young companion to play with. He is such a funny clown and always seems to be smiling and enjoying life. He has so much fun with our friends kids when they come to visit and he doesn t mind being their pillow when they get tired. We sometimes think he believes he s a person. He loves to play with people and other dogs, but we think his favorite thing is getting hugs and having silly songs sung to him. Snuggling after a long day Gilly looking handsome in the snowy woods

9 Resa and friends dressed up for high tea Dinner with Andy s family Resa with her parents in Boston Our House

10 Work WE HAVE SO MUCH to give Andy studied marine biology in school and now works in computer software, testing one of the programs Resa uses daily in her field. His job is extremely flexible and family friendly and would allow him to work from home part time. Resa is an interior designer at an architecture firm. She has worked on all kinds of commercial interiors from a tiny cupcake shop to hotels to corporate offices to technology innovation centers. Many people in her office have young children and are able to work from home when needed or even on a reduced schedule to be able to spend time with their families. A stable, loving and supportive home. Family time. Both of us come from families that like to spend time together and we eat a healthy home cooked dinner together almost every night. They will take part in family traditions and create new ones with us, marking the passing seasons with celebrations of togetherness. A chance to travel and learn about other cultures. We love to take trips to places we ve never been and enjoy learning at least a few phrases in another language to help us feel part of the culture. Higher education with financial support. We both went to college and Andy went to graduate school. The growth experience of college was just as important as the education to us. Support and encouragement to develop their own interests and activities. We ll give them the confidence to explore their strengths, whatever they may be.

11 Picking pumpkins with Andy s parents Andy and friends waiting for lobster rolls In Paris for vacation Killer moves on the dance floor!

12 Thank You Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about who we are. We were taught by our parents to be open minded, responsible, respectful of others, kind, fair and also to enjoy the world around us. As parents, we plan to share these same values and positive outlook. We have such a deep respect for you and if you do choose us to be parents for your child, know that you will always be in our hearts and we will share as much or as little of your story as you decide. If you would like to learn more about us or talk to us by phone call please call Cindy (anytime) at A Loving Alternative (800) Warmly yours, Andy and Resa