ParentProfiles.com

Mark & Melissa are hopeful adoptive parents from Idaho waiting to adopt a baby.

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

We are excited to meet you! Hi there! Our thoughts and prayers are with you. You are contemplating the most selfless act - that of giving your precious little one to another family. We know you love your baby, you want the best life for him. Whatever your circumstances, we are in awe of your sacrifice. We look forward to learning all about YOU, the birth mother of our last child.

All of our children are adopted! Our three girls were brought home as newborns. We have had the wonderful opportunity to meet all three of their birth moms and they are awesome woman. We have an open relationship with our youngest daughters birth family and it has been the most amazing experience. We love her birth mom, Cassie, and consider her and her family, part of our family. Our son was almost two when we brought him home from an orphanage in Russia. He has an amazing spirit about him and a huge capacity to accept and love others. He is all boy and would love to have a little brother. Our children each have their own stories of how we found each other and we love to share that with them. We tell them everything we know about their birth families - we love them all dearly. Without our birth mothers, we wouldn't be a family.

About Our Family We met when we were in college. We were very young, only 19 and 21, but we knew within a couple of months that we couldn't imagine life without each other. We dated for 2 years and were married in 1992 in Salt Lake City, Utah. We are the best of friends and can share anything with each other. That has always been a great comfort in our marriage. We have other friends, but we both agree we would rather be hanging out together than with anyone else.

We are opposites in many ways. I (Melissa) am a morning person. I get up at 5:15 every morning to go running. Mark stays up late most nights and only gets up when the kids get him up. Mark is easygoing and is happy with almost any activity we dream up for him. I (Melissa) am more focused and driven and like things very organized. I am very social and outgoing, whereas Mark is quieter and likes to keep to himself. Mark likes 80's music and Saturday Night Live. I like Disney movies and soft rock. Our differences balance each other very well and it makes for a great partnership in parenting.

Mark is the most supportive and loving father. He attends any activity he can possibly get to - even the dance competitions that make him cringe. He cuddles on the couch for Disney movies and he tucks the kids in at night with a kiss and an "I love you a million bucks!" Our children know that Dad will help and support them with anything, but they also know if they want to go somewhere or invite someone over, they had better ask Mom first because she is more likely to say, Yes!

I, Melissa, love being a full-time mother. I love to cuddle my youngest daughter during the day and run forgotten lunches and homework to school. I frequently sneak my kids out of school for lunch and I love to be there for all the "Mom, I need you!" times. Nothing brings me greater joy than being with my children.

Meaghan is our oldest - she is eleven. She is our most laid back child. She is very social and has lots of friends. She plays soccer, dances on a competitive team and plays the piano. She loves to nurture her younger siblings.

Nicolle is nine and is her own individual. She is very bright and hates to be told what to do. She is extremely creative and loves to play tennis and dance on a competitive team and doesn't like piano, but does it for mom.

Greggory is seven and is a bundle of energy. He is very sweet and thoughtful of others. He will give you anything he has if you ask. He loves to play dress up - super heroes, Star Wars characters, Harry Potter, etc. He is a fearless downhill skier!

Alexa is 18 months and is very funny. She is a tease and is constantly moving. For some reason, she thinks she should have her own way with everything. She is very social and looks forward to her siblings coming home from school each day.

Our Family Life We live in a small subdivision that is wonderful. There are children of all ages for our kids to play with and there are many older couples who are great examples for our children. We live within a 1/2 mile of our elementary school and high school, as well as a city pool, tennis courts and a park. Our home is very comfortable and we strive to make it a place that our children want to be and to bring their friends to.

We work and play hard! Mark has a bachelors and masters degree and owns a furniture store that has been in the family for over 60 years. He works very hard to provide for our family, thus affording us a very comfortable and enjoyable lifestyle. If he doesn't get everything accomplished during the day at work, he still comes home on time for dinner and family time in the evening, then heads back to work after all of the children are in bed. He loves when he comes home from work. Alexa comes running with arms outstretched and a huge grin, Nicolle and Gregg hide and make Mark find them, Meaghan greets him with a "Hi Dad" and I am usually in the kitchen-hopefully preparing dinner. Everyone usually starts talking at once - it is not a quiet time, but it is one the best times of the day.

I, Melissa, stay home full-time with our children. I feel so blessed to have this privilege. I love spending my days with Alexa and I love when the older kids come home from school - we have a snack and sit around in the living room and talk about the day. I enjoy even more, the days when all of the children are at home. I love school breaks and summer vacations. I love to plan outings-anything from trips to the water park in the summer to an afternoon in the backyard building snowmen and taking turns pulling the kids in sleds. Being a mother is sometimes very hard work, but the joys of motherhood are the very best!

We like to travel as a family. We sometimes take weekend trips to a nearby city to go to amusement parks or on shopping trips. We always take a long vacation each year also. This past summer we spent 3 weeks in Maine with Melissa's family. We spent a week on the lake, and totally enjoyed aunts, uncles, cousins and Grammie and Grandpa. Disney is also a favorite. We have been a few times and can't wait for Alexa, and the next baby, to get big enough to go.

Mark's family lives in the same town as us. We see them often and spend holidays together. Mark worked with his parents until just recently when they retired. We enjoy a close relationship with both of his sisters and our niece.

Our feelings for you... We have so much love and respect for you. We hope you want to get to know us and become friends so that if and when you choose to give us the wonderful gift of your baby, you will be handing him to someone you love and trust. It is so hard to describe the connections we feel with each one of our birth mothers. I have no doubt of a loving Father in Heaven who guides us all together. He has a plan for us and wants all of us to find joy. We cannot even begin to understand what you are feeling, the emotions you are going through, the heartache you are feeling. What we do know is how very much you love your baby and we want you to know how much we will love your baby. We will surround him/her with love. We pray for you each day. We know you have the strength to do whatever is asked of you. We can't wait to meet YOU! Send us a message

With love and respect,
Mark and Melissa