Webpage created by Mary Lisa at Adoption Expressions!
Graphics purchased at PC Crafter!
If you are facing an unplanned pregnancy and are considering adoption for your baby, please read our letter below to learn more about us, and click on the links to see our fun family photos!
We are homestudy approved and ready!
1-866-206-2936
Derek & Gaby
welcome to our adoption webpage!
YOUR PHOTO HERE!
Hello!
We’re excited about realizing our dream of parenthood and are honored that you would consider allowing us to welcome your baby into our lives. We can provide your child with a loving home, lots of hugs and kisses, fun times, and the support to help him or her become a self-confident individual. We appreciate you taking the time to glimpse into our lives and our hearts.
Our beginnings
We’ve been married for over six years and we are each other’s best friend. We met in January 2000 at a Latin dance class. Although we started out in different sessions, Derek soon signed up for Gaby’s class as well. We went out on our first date after the last lesson. As we spent more time together, our shared interests blossomed into a romance. We were engaged within a year, and our family and friends traveled from all over to spend our wedding day with us.
Our marriage is built on trust and open communication. We love being together and spend almost all of our free time with each other. We approach challenges as a team and our relationship grows stronger every year.
Why we want to adopt
We’ve always wanted to be a mom and dad, and to share the love and happiness in our lives with a child. We enjoy spending time with our nephews and our friends’ children and we would love to expand our own family.
When we were unable to become pregnant after undergoing treatments, we decided that adopting would be our path to becoming parents. We are so excited for this journey to begin. We’re ready to experience it all, from rocking a child to sleep, to reading books before bedtime, to watching their favorite movies over and over, to answering important questions like “Why is a dog’s nose wet?”
Gaby
I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and I am an only child. I moved to Pennsylvania in 1999 for a job transfer and I’ve remained ever since. Although I earned my Bachelor in Environmental Studies, most of my career has been working in the accounting field. I am currently a CPA in an audit firm. My job rarely requires travel and I can work from home sometimes if necessary.
My family is rather international in nature, and I have relatives in Canada, the United States and Germany. I’m closest with my mother’s side of the family, most of which live in Canada. Derek and I visit Canada a few times each year, and my parents drive down to spend time with us as well. Even though we don’t see each other as often as we’d like, we make the most of the time we have together and talk over the phone weekly. I am a permanent resident of the United States but retain my Canadian citizenship. Our children would be able to apply for dual citizenship.
I have a passion for the natural world, and I hope to teach my children to love and respect nature. For the past four years I’ve volunteered for our township’s environmental advisory council. I appreciate the opportunity to help oversee environmental issues in our community.
Derek about Gaby: I really love Gaby's sense of adventure. She isn't afraid to try all kinds of new things. She is considerate and her calm manner makes her easy to talk to. She listens well when I've had a stressful day. I'm lucky to have found someone who is open to new ideas and thinks through her decisions. Gaby loves planning things for us to do, whether it’s a vacation or just a trip to the city. She’s pretty much an expert when it comes to research. I'm sure she'll always be a step ahead of our children while sharing and trying to further their interests.
Derek
I grew up in the Philadelphia area and I have two brothers. I lived and worked in Pittsburgh for 8 years and studied for my Bachelor of Arts in English, but eventually returned to suburban Philly. For the past few years I’ve worked as the Chief Compliance Officer for a financial services firm.
My family is primarily in the area, with the exception of my younger brother and his family who live in California. I get together with my family fairly often. We enjoy sporting events for most of our gatherings, although I often cook holiday dinners as well.
I share Gaby’s passion for the natural world. As a child I spent a lot of time with my Boy Scout troop, camping and fishing. I learned that this is a beautiful planet that we live on and look forward to sharing that respect with my children.
Gaby about Derek: One of the first things that attracted me to Derek was his fantastic and quirky sense of humor. He can still make me laugh so hard that I cry (and I think he tries to do that on purpose)! I can’t believe I found a soul mate who shares so many of my interests. I appreciate how unselfish he is, and he’s quick to put the needs of others before his own. Derek is a fantastic cook and he loves to experiment with various recipes. He’s prepared full meals on Thanksgiving and at Christmas, each time improving on the last attempt. It will be great to involve our son or daughter in cooking meals and to continue these family traditions.
I also love Derek’s imagination and creativity. Derek will be very involved when it comes to playing with our child, and finding activities for them to do. Sometimes he is a big kid at heart. If our child wants to play sports, I could imagine him assisting with coaching. He will love to teach them how to fish and how to catch frogs in the streams, much like he did when he was a boy. I know he’ll be a great dad.
Our family and friends
We’ve been spreading the word about our adoption plans to our family and friends, and the positive responses have been wonderful. Our parents look forward to becoming grandparents (in Gaby’s case, for the first time!). One friend happily boxed up some of her kids’ favorite baby items to send to us. Two of our good friends are adoptive parents themselves and they have been great in answering some of our questions.
Though some of our relatives live farther away, we have a circle of close friends that we think of as family. Our child will have plenty of “aunts” and “uncles” in their life, and they will be a great support system.
Our fun times
We love to travel and can’t wait to take our son or daughter to some of the amazing places in our world. We enjoy quick trips to one of our many local parks, as well as the occasional vacation far away. Our honeymoon was in Banff National Park in Alberta, and we had a fantastic time walking on glaciers, white water rafting, watching big-horned sheep on a hike, and spotting black bears from the safety of our car. Most of our vacation pictures are of wildlife and scenery.
We also share a fondness for music. Whether it’s seeing one of our favorite bands in concert, plucking songs on a guitar, or touring the world via the video game “Rock Band,” music is an important part of our lives. We look forward to our child laughing through spontaneous songs (as Derek has a talent for making up), as well as embarrassing them with our musical taste when they are teenagers.
We love to read as well. We both listen to books on tape on our commutes to work. We’re excited to read to our children and hope they will become avid readers. We’ve begun collecting children’s books, and have other books that were kept from when we were kids.
Our home & community
We live in a great community in southeastern Pennsylvania. There are families with children of different ages, and our child will have plenty of future playmates. Our neighbors are friendly and kind, and we all look out for each other. We live close enough to have the conveniences of a big city (grocery stores, libraries, movie theaters, malls) but without the hectic lifestyle.
We own a townhome which has lots of room to play and grow in. There is lots of open space in our neighborhood where children can play, plus several parks and playgrounds nearby. We have two friendly little dogs named Frodo and Sam. They are both Shih Tzus. On their morning walk, they love saying hello to the neighborhood kids before they head off to school. Frodo looks forward to having a playmate that one day will be tall enough to reach the drawer where treats are kept, while Sam would love to have another person to cuddle with.
Parenting
We believe that children should be raised with unconditional love, guidance, encouragement, plus lots of patience and humor. We plan to teach our children to have a positive outlook on life. We want them to thrive and become their own unique individuals. We have a lot to teach them, and we’re thrilled to learn from them in return. As they get older, we’ll give them space to learn about responsibility and accountability. We’ll show them that when they make mistakes or if things don’t go exactly as planned, the outcome can be just as good and sometimes even better.
Education is very important to us, and we will make sure that your child has the opportunity to pursue their ambitions. We plan to help with homework when needed but we’ll make sure that our son or daughter understands the value of doing their own work. Our school system is one of the best in the area. We believe the responsibility for education doesn’t fall only to teachers and we will participate in school activities.
Our spirituality
Though we don’t belong to any organized religion, we are both spiritual people. Derek was raised Jewish and Gaby was raised Lutheran but neither of us is active in these religions. We would like our child to find their own spiritual path. We plan to teach them about our religions, as well as those of other people. We hope they will gain an appreciation for what is good in the world, and the importance of respecting the beliefs of others.
Open adoption
We hope to have a lifelong connection with you in a way that makes you comfortable. We know that you are just at the beginning of getting to know us, and that building such a relationship takes time. We’re open to letting our relationship with you take its own course. We understand that a child's first family will always have a special place in their heart and we want to honor that by staying in touch and maintaining connections. Your child will know their adoption story and the incredible way we became a family.
Thank You!
Thank you for reading our letter! We know
you love your baby very much and we are
grateful for your courage and thoughtfulness
in considering an adoption plan. We hope
that we can help fulfill your need to find a
loving family for your child. We wish you
peace as you make your decision.
Our warmest wishes,
Gaby and Derek
CONTACT INFORMATION
Contact our adoption advisor, Mary Lisa at
A Precious Gift Adoption Resource Center
Toll-free: 1-866-206-2936
Email: apreciousgiftarc@yahoo.com
