Dear Special Friend,

hank you for choosing adoption for the child you are now carrying. We are Dena and Craig and both of us were adopted as babies by our respective parents into loving, stable, and supportive families. Our relationships with our families couldn't be closer.

fter trying to start our family for a number of years and having been unsuccessful at conceiving a biological child, we are turning to adoption - it seems such a natural choice for us. Having lived our entire lives as adopted people, both of us fully understand the unique feelings an adoptive child experiences. As a couple, we are eager to share those experiences with a child and to provide a loving, nurturing, stable and fun home to him or to her.

he two of us met about two decades ago on a summer's night at a mutual friend's house party near the beach. It was love-at-first-sight. An inner voice spoke to Dena and told her she'd marry Craig before she even knew his name! On our first date, we discovered that we were both adopted as babies, which further solidified our budding union.

ife has become abundant, as we now own two homes in California. Our main home is in a beautiful coastal city close to many attractions, such as world famous amusement parks, beaches, and cultural centers. Located in a family-oriented neighborhood, there is a children's park directly across the street. Our country home is a three hour drive up the coast in a peaceful, rural community on several acres of land, studded with California oak trees and golden rolling hills. Both homes are traditionally styled and warmly decorated, complete with white picket fences in the yards! They have beautiful grass lawns to play on and almost 100 trees between them. Swing sets, jungle gyms, and many children's toys will be a welcome addition to our yards.

wo cats, Chestnut and Sweet Pea, and two dogs, Angel and Mortimer, share our home with us. The cats enjoy sunbathing, while the dogs love to play in the yard. All are fully trained and gentle with children. Both of us are passionate about animals and Dena regularly volunteers her time at the local animal shelters, with animal rescue groups and causes. Having horses to add to their animal menagerie is a future goal.

hildren are also Dena's passion. She worked as a first grade school teacher for many years and before that she was a nanny to several families. Warm, animated, enthusiastic, outgoing, patient, caring, and compassionate describes her personality. In addition to decorating and gardening, she enjoys baking and cross-stitching. While she was an outstanding teacher and adored by her students, she left teaching when we got married to focus her energies on our home life and trying to start a family. We both believe that it is important for a child's development to have at least one family member be a "stay- at- home" parent and Dena is committed to being that parent.

raig will make a terrific father. He is a patient, kind, generous, and honest man. Naturally ambitious in life, he is a wonderful provider to his family with a strong work ethic. Craig runs a food packaging company whose products can be found in almost all supermarkets across the country (which is right up his alley as Craig has always been enthusiastic about food and is a gourmet cook! He even recreates restaurant dishes at home, which he and Dena enjoy eating together!) Another of Craig's passions is restoring classic cars and motorcycles.

e've traveled across the U.S. and Hawaii, as well as overseas to such exotic destinations as Bali, Tahiti, Mexico, Israel, Germany, Scotland, Croatia, and China. The very best trips we've taken have been on our friend's private yacht; complete with a full-time crew who treated us like royalty. It was beyond our wildest dreams! There are many more lands we'd like to explore.

e offer a large, close-knit extended family to a child. Dena's parents, younger sister (only by 7 months), grandparents, and cousins are within five miles of our home. Dena grew up near her grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Our family is looking forward to becoming grandparents and great-grandparents again and making memories with a new addition to our family tree.

raig's family is close with us, too. They live in a neighboring state and we visit them regularly. He is the second of four siblings, two adopted and two biological brothers and sisters. They all have children of their own, so there are many cousins. We both had very happy childhoods, thanks to our adoptive families. Long marriages run in both families, with both sets of parents being married over 40 years and grandparents married over 60 years!

trong family values, close-knit family relationships, financial stability, being active, healthy, and having a love and respect for life describe us. Adoption has made a profound difference in the quality of our lives and know it will continue to do so. If you are interested in talking more and/or possibly meeting us, please feel free to reach us toll-free anytime by calling 1(866) 6ADOPTED or send us an email at: Dena-Craig@sbcglobal.net. You can also contact Dave Baum at 1(800) 795-2367 or adoptlaw@ix.netcom.com.

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