ParentProfiles.com

Grant & Jeanne are hopeful adoptive parents from Washington waiting to adopt a baby.

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

Welcome To Our Page! Dear Birth Parents,
Thank you for taking the time to read our story. We hope you find it reassuring, encouraging and helpful. We believe that considering adoption is a noble and selfless act and shows tremendous love for your baby. We can’t presume to know how you feel but we do know that this must be one of life’s hardest decisions. Please know that if you do choose adoption, and us as adoptive parents, we will raise this child to know that this was an act of true love.

We, Grant and Jeanne, met on eHarmony, an online matching service. They asked us questions about principles, moral values, beliefs, spirituality, feelings about children, emotional temperament, adaptability, curiosity, intellect, relationship skills, and conflict resolution. We were matched on the site according to the values that we share. We knew we were a good match in many ways before we even met. When we finally did meet in person we knew we were matched in our hearts as well. Our dream is to share our lives and love with a child and we will feel so honored if we are given that opportunity.

Our Careers We both work from home. Grant works for a local non-profit organization that provides service dogs for people with disabilities. Their mission statement is to “empower people with disabilities to greater heights by providing highly skilled mobility, hearing and therapy dogs”. These dogs are trained to do a number of tasks for their owners who otherwise would be reliant on a human caregiver. The tasks the dogs help with include picking up dropped objects, opening and closing doors, retrieving a telephone, alerting a person who is hard of hearing to sounds, etc. Grant is a natural leader with great people skills and speaking abilities and he loves sharing his passion for this work with others.

Grant was paralyzed from the chest down in a motorcycle accident when he was 19 years old. As you can see by our photos, it hasn’t slowed him down very much at all. We love the outdoors and doing physical activities together. When he was first paralyzed Grant was very involved in basketball, skiing and wheeling. At that time, an organization hired him to lead school assemblies on helmet and seat belt safety for thousands of students all over the state. He currently enjoys swimming and going out on his handcycle daily, regardless of weather. Please be assured that a child would be very safe and well cared for in his hands. Don’t hesitate to bring up any questions or concerns you may have. We welcome the opportunity to talk further.

Jeanne has worked from home as a freelance graphic designer since 1991. She works with both high end and small clients to help them communicate to the public about what they do. The items she designs include logos and corporate identity, letterhead, business cards, envelopes, brochures, booklets, posters, mailers, specialty clothing, promotional pieces and website design. She really enjoys her work and finds it very rewarding to meet with clients, assess their needs, brainstorm ideas and see everything through to completed printed or online projects.

Home, Family and Lifestyle We have two dogs that we love very much and are more like family members than pets. Grant’s golden-retriever, Joey, is his service dog and he accompanies Grant everywhere he goes. Joey loves all people...and people love him. Our other dog is a yellow-lab named Cruz. We volunteered to be foster puppy-raisers for Grant’s service dog organization and Cruz was placed with us. He turned out not to be a service dog and we were able to keep him when he was released from the program. Cruz is still all puppy and loves to run and play with anyone who will play with him. Both Joey and Cruz are absolutely wonderful with children.

Our home is located in a low traffic neighborhood but is only a mile or two from nearby shopping centers, parks and schools. It’s a very family oriented area. We have a number of families with children and toddlers all along our street that love to play together and enjoy playing with our dogs as well.

The non-denominational church that we attend is only a fifteen minute drive away. We have both been volunteer staff members and mentors for the high school ministry. Jeanne currently leads a group of high school girls on Sundays and Wednesdays and accompanies them on events and retreats throughout the year. The Sunday school class we joined a couple of years ago is starting to grow with new babies. We’re thrilled to have ready-made friends and baby-sitters for the child that God may allow us to adopt. Our church offers many children’s programs that we would love to have our child take part in as he or she grows.

We both have immediate family living in the area and we stay in touch with extended family nationwide. Our child will have five grandparents, all eager to spoil and dote on him or her. There are also aunts and uncles and cousins who visit regularly and will be thrilled to have a baby in the family. We are very fortunate to have such close relationships with our families and we all genuinely enjoy one another’s company.

As a couple, we enjoy many indoor and outdoor activities together. We like cycling, swimming, sailing, boating, rafting, nature trails, going to parks with the dogs, and playing table games with friends. Jeanne also enjoys hiking, sewing, crafting, baking and cooking. Grant is an avid reader and gardener and his enthusiasm has encouraged Jeanne to develop these interests as well. We work well together as a team in any activity we take on, including training Cruz, which has been a fun, challenging and rewarding experience.

We know that puppies and children are much different but there are some similarities in the “parenting” skills that they require and we have learned a lot from raising Cruz. We have raised him with positive reinforcement rather than scolding or punishing and that would be our parenting approach as well. It has been so much fun watching Cruz as he learns and grows. If we had this much fun with a dog we can only imagine how thrilling it must be to watch a child develop.

How We Describe One Another How Jeanne describes Grant -
“Grant is my greatest encourager, supporter and best friend. When we first met I was not only attracted to his handsome good looks but also his fun-loving personality, great sense of humor and ability to communicate with others. I appreciated his love for life and commitment to the high school students he mentored at church. I fondly recall him describing himself as a “youth-instigator”. Grant makes our home and finances run smoothly with his administrative talents. I don’t know what I would do without him. I can’t wait to see him as a father.”

How Grant describes Jeanne -
“The moment I met Jeanne I knew she was ‘the one’ for me and her love and support confirms this daily. Jeanne’s artistic expertise and commitment to long-term relationships have contributed to her success with her graphic design business. When trials occur, Jeanne takes responsibility, helping find solutions to solve problems. She demonstrates her concern for friends and family by conveying a gentle, kind and forgiving spirit and she always makes the time to help someone in need. Jeanne has passionately embraced the care and training of our dogs and they adore her, following her everywhere like shadows. I can’t imagine a better wife or mother. I am so fortunate to have her in my life. Jeanne is my companion, my helper, and my sunshine.”

We hope you enjoy the pictures in our album and that they give you a feeling for what it would be like for a child to grow up in our family. Please know that we would love and nurture a child in every way possible. Our desire is to provide him or her with a safe, loving, caring and supportive home and family. We will encourage this child to reach for their potential and for their dreams and will do everything we can to make this possible. Thank you again for taking the time to get to know us better. We wish you the best.

Sincerely,
Grant and Jeanne