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Eric & Stacey are hopeful adoptive parents from New Jersey waiting to adopt a baby.

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

We're Stacey & Eric....We realize this is a monumental decision you are facing. We'll respect your feelings and opinions as you get to know us....

What Adoption Means to Us…
From the beginning ...we spoke about adopting our child. We hope to have a trusting relationship with the birth mother or couple and get to know them in ways that will give us a lot to share with her or their birth child. Our child will grow knowing that his or her birthparents trusted us and placed him or her with us for loving reasons. He or she will grow to feel proud of us and his or her birth parents.

About us...
We worked in the same office building and often smiled and said “hi” as we passed each other. On a Friday evening, happy the work week was over we struck up a conversation in the parking lot. When Eric asked if I would like to go out some time I asked, “What are you doing now?” We went out for a drink, and we laughed and shared stories. It was like finding an instant best friend. Eric arranged for an amazing dinner and after much great conversation we left each other at midnight.

As I drove home, I knew my life had changed forever, and I just knew he was feeling the same as he drove home. Within weeks we were seeing each other every day. We married a little over 2 years later. Our wedding ceremony was outside during a beautiful sunset. I remember standing on the pier, getting pictures taken, when Eric arrived with his “best men”. He saw me from the parking lot, and raced towards me, completely focused on me as if I was the only person on the pier. All the people and activity on the pier seemed to fade away and I felt like we were the only ones there. I already knew that we were each other’s family, but in that moment I felt as though two people could not love each other more than we did and still do.

Home & community…
Two years ago we moved into our three-bedroom home in which we hope to raise our child. We picked this neighborhood because we wanted to become adoptive parents and this is a great place for children (babies - teenagers) and families. We used to live in a very urban, city-like setting, bordered by New York City. Our neighborhood is more suburban where every body says hi to each other and respects each other’s property . . . and we are only 30 minutes from our old neighborhood and New York City for future Thanksgiving Day Parades and other events that children enjoy. . .

We have a wonderful bedroom for our child, right next to our bedroom. It’s a light, bright room with windows that look out over our street. We also have a fully finished, walk-out basement waiting to be filled with toys for our child, and a few for Eric too. It will also be a great place for teenagers to hang out. Our development has a big swimming pool, a kid’s pool, a playground, tennis, basketball and handball courts, a gym, lots of parks, and a great school system. All of the schools are just a few blocks away from our house and they are right next door to the large town library.

Daily Lives...
I will be a stay-at-home mom once we bring a baby home. For now, I work 20 hours a week maintaining computer software for a small company. My favorite part of my job is testing and fixing new programs. It reminds me of working on a puzzle or figuring out a riddle. Sometimes I look at the clock and the day has flown by in what seems like minutes. Those are the best days.

Eric enjoys his own financial services company where he specializes in estate planning and insurance solutions. He will be very involved as a dad as he makes his own work schedule and can be home for all the special moments in our child's life . . . and even the everyday lunches and dinners. His two offices are both about 30 minutes from our house.

Although it sounds weird – I actually enjoy being a homemaker. I like keeping our home clean and beautiful, and just working around the house. I also enjoy watching cooking shows and always get new ideas for dinners and healthy tips. Eric and I eat dinner together every night with very few rare exceptions. On the weekends we really enjoy spending time together, running errands together, and doing some work around the house. At night we have dinner together or sometimes with friends. Those friends with children bring them along most of the time. It’s always a lot of fun. Sometimes, Eric and I will go out to listen to our friend’s band as we enjoy listening to live music. Or, we will just stay at home, make popcorn, sit on the couch, and watch a movie on TV. We love our lives and will love it even more being able to share it with a child.

We listen to all types of music – all different radio stations – pop, rock, Top 40, easy listening, country, and so on. We have always been fans of music – from going to see our friend’s band play locally, to attending concerts – Elton John, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Bruce Springstein, and others. We know when our child is a teen he or she will listen to their own kind of music…we wonder whether it will be hip-hop, rock or what.

We enjoy movies and we sometimes think about our home as our own home movie theatre. Sometimes we find a great movie is on TV, cable, or on-demand, and other times we schedule time to watch something we want to see. We like comedies, stories about interesting people and families, different cultures and even action films. A recent favorite was Seabiscuit and several friends of ours were in the movie.

Vacations...
Our planned vacations are usually summer and winter. We are very lucky in that Eric can make his own schedule and take off when he wants to. In the early summer, we sometimes spend a little time near the New Jersey shore. Our friends and their children are often there and we meet up with them to spend some time and enjoy the warm New Jersey summer weather. Later on in the summer – we go to Saratoga Springs, NY where we have rented a really great, relaxing home for several years. Saratoga Springs is one of the most wonderful places to be during the summer. It is a historical little town, like a mini-city – with storefronts, shops, cafés, parks and playgrounds, and more. There are street fairs and festivals, music events, sports, and children galore.

Our winter vacation is a wonderful trip to Florida. One reason we do this is so that Eric can attend an estate planning conference which he has been attending for many years. Another reason is to enjoy the warm weather and so that we can visit family. Both of our parents spend portions of the winter in Florida. We always spend extra time before and after the conference in Florida, both at the hotel and with our parents. The conference is only 5 days and only during the day, and there is always time off. That is the best part so Eric always has his evenings free, and a few mornings and afternoons as well during free time. I get to relax and spend time by the pool or sight seeing. I also like to spend time reading and my goal is to finish at least one book while Eric is attending sessions.

There are other places we’ve wanted to go, and decided to wait until our child is ready to explore – historical and, of course, fun places. One trip that we have been holding off on is Disney World!!! We have both been there when we were children and we’ve wanted to go back. It has always been our dream to go back, and share the magic kingdom with our child so we can see it through their eyes and experience it with them.

Relatives…
Both of our families live nearby and we see them often. Our favorite thing that we enjoy is spending time with our 6-year-old niece and 4-year-old nephew. Over the last few years, we have spent considerable time with them and we have so much fun being the “favorite aunt and uncle.” Everything we do with them is so much fun – we have fun playing with them, baby-sitting, going to movies and the theater, out to dinner, or even just talking to them on the phone and hearing about their day.

Even during family gatherings, our favorite family time is with our niece and nephew. We go to their house and baby-sit or they come to our house. We play games; watch kids movies and videos and teach them things – from tying their shoes, to buttoning their jackets. We go outside and play in the backyard – on the swings, the trampoline and the jungle gym. We go swimming in the summer and we just loved teaching them how to swim. It is something we talk about even to this day. Sometimes they come over to our house and we play educational board games, go outside, and on several occasions they have played with our neighbors children. It’s a lot of fun.

During the summer my parents have barbecues almost every weekend. They have a big house and a big piece of property with woods and a swimming pool. In the afternoon we all go swimming and play games. Eric takes over the cooking duties for the barbecue. He is great at the grill, and when my parents invite friends over they always ask if Eric will be there to do the cooking. They especially want to know if Eric will be making his famous ribs, (they are like nothing I have ever tasted and he takes days to prepare them).

We enjoy being with our friends and their children. Early on, some friends hesitated to invite us to "kids" events because we do not have children. We explained how much we wanted to attend and enjoyed being around children. Now we are always invited everything. Eric is always watching the kids and making sure everyone is safe. He also is great at teaching them and showing them the best way to do things. He is a great teacher. I enjoy playing with the kids. Often I am the lone "grown up" coloring, telling stories, or playing on the swings while the other adults are chatting. Spending time with children is something that we always enjoy. Spending time with our child is something that we dream about and will cherish with all of our heart, whether it’s helping with homework or going to the movies.

Future Times…
Our hearts and lives are ready for all the love and responsibilities that parenting will bring. As parents, we want to teach our child to be a strong, confident, caring member of society. We will teach our child to have compassion for people and their circumstances. Our belief is that we as parents can change the world and that is something we want to share with our child as well. It takes 24/7 devotion and unconditional love with no bounds.

We will be open and honest with our child about his or her adoption from day one. We feel that is important. We will speak about his or her birthparents, in ways that fit his or her personality and understanding throughout our child’s life. Our child will grow proud to know the love that his or her birth parents have as well as ours.

When you want to reach us . . . please email us at Send us a message. Or call us at 1-800-989-9181.


Hope to hear from you!
Sincerely,
Stacey and Eric