ParentProfiles.com

Mark & Corine 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.

Dear Birthmother, It is strange to write a letter to someone we do not know, yet who is going to give our family the gift of love and life. This is a time when you are probably making a difficult decision. We admire your selfless decision to choose life. We know you will never forget the baby you are carrying and that he or she will always have a special place in your heart. But we hope that when you think of your decision to put the child up for adoption, you will be at peace because you know he or she is in a good home with people that love him/her very much.

We have made the choice to adopt because we are unable to have more children and we would love to have more children in our family. We have one little boy named John; he is an active, healthy and happy toddler. Children are amazing and absolute little miracles. We welcome any other child into our family as if he or she were our biological child; that is why we do not specify the sex of the child we wish to adopt, because we cannot choose the sex of the child had we conceived him or her ourselves! Our hearts are open to sharing and giving more love to another child.

Our Families... We both come from large families and grew up with several siblings. Corine has two younger sisters who live in Virginia, as do her parents. Corine and her sisters are close; they speak on the phone several times a week, and visit at least weekly. Corine’s youngest sister is also in the process of adopting. Corine also has three cousins with their children in Holland, and they come here to the States to spend their vacations and whom we also visit in Holland. Corine is a registered nurse working part-time with children and adults, but she is now a stay at home Mom with John. John has never been in daycare, nor will any other child in our family. Mark has three brothers and one sister. He grew up in New Jersey and most of his family still lives there. We visit them or they visit us several times a year. Mark served in the Armed Forces and traveled to Japan, Germany and France during his years of service. After an honorable discharge, Mark got a civilian job in Virginia, where he has worked for over ten years now with the Boeing company.

Mark and Corine met in November 2002. Corine had been doing volunteer work with the Catholic Church, and she was assigned to visit new parishioners and welcome them to the parish. As fate would have it, Mark had taken off from work that day to have his satellite TV repaired. But the repairman never showed up and instead, Corine and a friend dropped by his house. Mark noticed right away that Corine did not have a ring on her finger! We dated for two years before getting married; then we had the most wonderful honeymoon in France and Holland!

Our Home.... We live in a suburban neighborhood, in a new four bedroom home with a big yard. There are many children of all ages on our street, and there is a pool and playground close by. A usual weekday in our household starts with Mark going to work at 6am. He returns home by 5pm. Corine takes care of John during the day, goes to Mass, takes care of groceries and household chores, and visits with friends and family. We have dinner together at 6pm. We do not smoke nor do we drink. We spend the evening talking, playing with John, watching some TV and reading magazines. In the summer evenings, we also tend to our vegetable garden. On weekends, we go to our country property. There, we have our four donkeys, which are all very friendly and funny. Their names are Jack, Little Bit, Scarlette and Out Back. The donkeys are always very popular at Church in Christmas nativity scenes and on Palm Sunday, where they delight all the children!

We are not very strict, but we are firm when it comes to being safe, such as crossing the street or holding sharp utensils. We will not put a child in our care in daycare. We believe in leading by example that is showing kindness, patience and other virtues to the child instead of setting a bad example while expecting the child to behave well. We will encourage our children to play with their friends, invite them over to play, have dinner and sleepovers.

Thank you..... We would like to stay in touch with you, through letters and pictures and maybe an occasional meeting if you would like to do that. Please know that we could never love any child more than we would love the child you give us. Children are a dream come true for us and they will always be. We wish you every happiness in the future. May God bless you and always be with you.

Mark and Corine