Waiting Families
John and Erynn
Dear Birth Parents,
Hello! We are John and Erynn and are happy that you are taking time to learn more about our family. We are so grateful that you are considering adoption and appreciate the amazing, selfless decision you are making to place your child for adoption. We understand that this decision comes from love for your child and promise that we will raise him or her in a loving home.
We have seen wonderful adoptive experiences in our friend’s families and in our own. John is part of an adopted family and Erynn has a cousin who was adopted as an infant. In addition, we have several friends who have adopted or are in the process of adopting. Therefore, when we planned on starting a family, we both agreed that we would like to adopt at least one child. After we learned that we would have difficulties conceiving, we chose to adopt rather than undergo fertility treatments.
We met on a blind date shortly after college and have been married for six years. We actually walked down the aisle before the couple who introduced us to each other! We are animal and nature lovers and share our home with two cats, a rabbit and chinchilla. We live in a mountain neighborhood with many activities to enjoy such as hiking, biking, skiing, horseback riding, miniature golf, swimming, and a water park, among other activities. We can’t wait to share the local trails with our child or to take him or her to the pond to feed the ducks.
We live on a quiet street with a mix of families. Our immediate neighbors range from retirees to a family with children. Our neighbors across the street have a young grandson who lives out of state. They have already expressed their joy about our adoption and having a young child to visit. The neighborhood also hosts gatherings several times a year. We have a cozy home and a wooded back yard with a spot that would be perfect for a swing set. We enjoy sitting on our deck and watching the deer and other wildlife that share our neighborhood.
Rockingham County is a wonderful area in which to raise a family. Rockingham County schools are well ranked in the state. There are eight colleges and universities within an hour of our home that offer many cultural and educational opportunities. There is also a children’s museum ten miles from our home, caverns, campgrounds, petting zoos, safari parks, and a river for canoeing and fishing near our home. Our home is only two hours southwest of Washington, DC, making it a convenient day trip.
We are fortunate that we are close with our families. Erynn’s aunt and uncle, with whom she is very close, live less than 15 minutes from our home. Their home and ours is often the gathering place for Erynn’s family. Erynn’s mother and grandmother live less than an hour away and we see them several times a month and talk with them several times a week (sometimes daily). Both our families get along very well and enjoy spending time together whenever possible. John’s family recently made the trip with us to North Carolina to celebrate Erynn’s grandmother’s birthday.
John’s parents and sister live about one and a half hours away. John’s parents plan to move closer in the next few years, following his father’s retirement. John and his parents talk every Sunday and we see them as often as possible. We particularly look forward to the fourth of July gathering when John, his brother, father and nephews put on a fireworks display in their back yard. We are looking forward to introducing our child to our extended families and including them in our family traditions.
John is a police officer and Erynn works as a registered nurse. Currently, John is an investigator which means he works more traditional hours than a patrol officer. John usually works 8am to 4pm, with the occasional on-call week. Erynn works mainly daylight hours, but is planning on staying home immediately following the adoption. When Erynn returns to work, she plans on working only 12-24 hours (1 or 2 days) a week. As a nurse, Erynn can arrange her schedule to meet childcare needs. This should minimize the amount of time we need daycare and allow one parent to be home with our child the majority of the work week.
As parents, we want to raise happy, healthy children. We were both active in extra curricular activities in high school and college and look forward to helping our child pursue activities that interest him or her. Erynn is looking forward to teaching her child to play piano; John also can read music and is looking forward to sharing that love with his child. We also like to travel and explore new places both near and far.
Erynn is an avid runner and pictures running with our child in a jog stroller, enjoying the sights and sound of the neighborhood with our child. When hiking last summer, we noticed a family with older elementary children hiking on the same path. When they reached the waterfall on the hike, we found they were wearing swimsuits and their gear was a picnic lunch and towels. They spent most of the afternoon playing in the waterfall in the beautiful mountain setting before hiking back to their car. We very much want to share those types of moments with our child. Those are memories that will last a lifetime and will come to be more valuable than toys or games.
We also value education and have already started saving so that we can finance a college or trade school for our child. We have a strong work ethic and commitment to our community that we want to instill in our child by participating in community activities and volunteer days. We both were encouraged to volunteer for organizations that interested us when we were growing up and our families remain active in our home communities.
Thank you for taking the time to learn about us as you make this decision. We can’t wait to become parents and are grateful beyond words that you would consider us as adoptive parents for your child.