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Ethan & Erin are hopeful adoptive parents from Virginia waiting to adopt a baby.

If you are pregnant and considering placing your child for adoption, please read the following Dear Birthmother Letter.

Thank You Without having met you, we already know that you are very loving and courageous to be contemplating an adoption plan for your unborn child. Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about us. Our goal is to show you our love for each other and our strong hope to share that love with another child. Becoming parents has been our most fulfilling adventure yet. We hope you will see that we are experienced and ready to welcome another child into our lives.

Love, Marriage, & Family We were so fortunate to have found each other very early in life. We grew up in neighboring small towns in Wisconsin and met while performing in a musical put on jointly by our nearby high schools. That was in the fall of our senior years. We dated for the remainder of the school year and into the summer. When it came time for us to go to separate colleges, we maintained our relationship via telephone, letters, a journal, and visits. Ethan transferred to Erin’s school after two years and after graduation two years later, we moved to Minneapolis while Ethan attended law school. We were married after seven years of dating and Ethan’s father performed the intimate service at the chapel where Ethan had been baptized as a child. In October, we celebrated our ten-year wedding anniversary.

We have an incredible marriage in that we both find great satisfaction in our lives as partners and parents. We are extremely compatible best friends. It is hard for us to imagine that there is anyone else in the world with whom we could be better suited. We are unified, devoted, and respectful of one another. We share a strong set of family and personal values, have many common interests, and love to have fun. We communicate well together and really complement and support each other. Our priorities in life are family, friends, and love for others, and we hope to pass those on to our children.

We had a long time together, just the two of us, before we decided to start a family. In hindsight, our established relationship was especially beneficial throughout our infertility and the subsequent journey to parenthood. That was a long, difficult road, but our relationship was strong and we grew even more as individuals and as a couple. We loved every minute of our pregnancy, but experienced a lot of scary complications. Thankfully, everything worked out and Anna Ruth was born June 1, 2005.

Our daughter, Anna, is now three years old. She brings so much love and energy to our family that it is hard to imagine our lives before her. She is an easy-going and loving daughter who is such a joy to be around. We jokingly refer to Anna as the mayor of our family because she engages everyone she meets as if she were a politician on the campaign trail.

We are fortunate that Erin is able to stay home, full-time, to care for Anna. As parents we are involved, devoted, enthusiastic, and caring. We try to use a family-centered parenting approach. A strong foundation of morals and expectations has been established so that Anna can thrive and grow in a loving environment. We do not spank, nor do we raise our voices. We find much joy in playing with and teaching her. She has taught us to love unconditionally, experience life with our eyes open wide, and to open our hearts to the challenges and rewards that parenting brings forth. Our goal is to raise happy, independent, and socially-minded children.

We each have siblings and know what a blessing that is for children, both growing up and as life-long friends. We think that Anna will be an excellent big sister. We are so thankful for the opportunity to adopt a child.

Our extended family is a huge part of our lives. Although they live in Nevada, Wisconsin, and Illinois, we visit frequently. The love of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins makes up for the miles in between. We have a wonderful network of friends in Virginia and have integrated our family with theirs.

"Ethan and Erin are excellent role models for their daughter as well as the variety of people with whom they interact on a daily basis. They lead by example, and to us there is no stronger endorsement of their marriage and parenting skills."
~ Quote from Home Study Referral

Lifestyle We live in a northern Virginia suburb, approximately 15 miles from Washington, D.C. We love living here as it is close to all of the city action, yet far enough away to provide a safe and quiet place to raise a family. Our neighborhood has playgrounds, swimming pools, basketball and tennis courts, and trails all right outside our front door. We are within walking distance of the local school.

As a family, we enjoy traveling, reading, and spending time outside biking, swimming, and walking to the playgrounds. Ethan loves a multitude of sports and follows them pretty closely. His favorite sport is tennis and he tries to play every weekend. Erin likes to explore her creative side through pottery and tries new recipes on a weekly basis. She also enjoys volunteering with a social services organization. We are an active family, but we also enjoy a lot of quiet time at home just being together.

We have been very involved in our local church since joining it in 1999. For several years we served as advisors to the youth fellowship programs. We currently teach senior high church school and have developed close friendships with many of the members of the congregation.

"One of their greatest parenting skills is that they love to play! Anna is a healthy, smart, well-adjusted and exuberant child not only because they spend lots of quality time with her, but also because they know the importance of unconditional love, a little structure, and a lot of laughs. Their good-natured sense of humor and commitment to 'keeping it simple' will prove extremely useful as they continue to navigate the important task of raising children today."
~ Quote from Home Study Referral

Adoption Our inability to conceive on our own, coupled with the risk of repeat pregnancy complications, led us to our mutual decision to adopt. It took us a while to mourn the idea of never being pregnant again, but we realized that it is more about the outcome (parenting) and less about the process (pregnancy).

If you choose adoption, we want to be able to provide you with the assurance that we will do everything we can do for this child and for you as the birthparent(s). We understand that you have also had to think thoroughly about this decision. It is incredibly comforting to know that our child's birthparents have the character and values to make this difficult decision. We will work hard to always be respectful of your needs, hopes, dreams, and fears.

As you can see, we have thought long and hard about bringing another child into our family. Please be assured that we would take the responsibility and privilege of raising your child very seriously. We’d love to learn about you and see if we could help each other bring a child into the world.

Sincerely,

Ethan & Erin

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