Your courage to choose a family to care for your child is a decision that takes enormous strength. We have been praying for you for nearly a year as we’ve pursued this adoption. We are honored you would consider us as the parents for your child. While our life is far from perfect, our home is filled with love and a strong desire to see our family grow. We are unable to make this happen without someone like you.

We met in Sunday school, dated in high school, got married in college and had plans for a big family. Yet, those plans were disrupted when after six years we didn’t have a child – either through natural means or adoption. After many years of pursuing adoption, we were blessed to adopt our sweet daughter from China. She is now almost three. Michael works full time to provide for our family, and Lauren works only two days a week so she can be home the rest of the time. (We use a sweet Mother’s Day Out program at a church near us for child care, and my sister helps watch our daughter as well while Lauren works.) We love time together as a family, and there is nothing we (or our daughter) want more than to give all our love to another child in our home. Even as we are writing this letter to you, our daughter is finding pictures of babies in her children’s book to show us.

As a trans-racial family, we are comfortable and excited about bringing a child into our home from any race. We believe that God created all people with value and dignity, regardless of skin color. As a family, we have incorporated a wide variety of multi-cultural traditions and activities as we try to honor the heritage of our daughter, as well as our extended family and friends who are non-white. (Lauren has an Asian sister, Asian cousin, and African-American nephew.)

We pray you will consider allowing us to come alongside of you and raise your child as our own. We know this is a big decision for you, and even if you do not choose us – we are praying for every woman that ever reads this letter, that you would have peace in the process. If you do choose our family, we can assure you we have unconditional love for one another in our family. That love will also extend to your child, and also to you. We are happy to have an open relationship with you in this process, if that is your desire. Above all, we want you to be comfortable, and your child to be well cared for.

Your journey through life is probably a lot like ours. We have experienced high mountain tops and low valleys in our life and relationships. The constant for us has been a dependence on grace. We hope you will give yourself grace in this season. Grace to choose whether or not to place your child into the arms of a family. Grace in making the decision of which family to choose. And grace as you make a brave choice in your baby’s best interest.

Psalm 139:13-14 says “For it was God who created my inward parts; he knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise God for I have been remarkably and wondrously made.” Regardless of whether or not you expected to get pregnant, God created your baby and we believe that God has a purpose for your child and we hope to help them discover it. God also created you in the same way: remarkable and wondrous. We pray God would allow us to be a support for you as you live out your purpose as well.

All Our Love,

Michael + Lauren