We're both basically nerdy intellectual types; we both love to learn and love the arts. We're both musicians. Gabe plays piano and sings, and Rachel plays flute and violin. We both love to read, but while Rachel is inclined mainly toward psychology books and articles (as well as Harry Potter and Jane Austen), Gabe reads more poetry and social theory, and studies literature generally. Rachel draws. Gabe does cryptic crosswords. We complement each other well because we are very different in some ways, too. Rachel tends to envision and plan for the future, while Gabe tends to stay grounded in the joys and challenges of the moment. Both of us are friendly, kind, funny, and laid-back; however, Rachel tends to be more active and focused, and spends some of her free time visiting with friends or family, hiking, playing the flute in Flute Club, or working on projects, whereas Gabe is usually perfectly content to relax with coffee and a good book or a crossword puzzle on his days off. Rachel and Gabe come together for game nights, cooking, and movies. For "Coffee Movie" weekends, we watch unique, artsy movies, which we both enjoy talking about and analyzing afterward (and during the movie if we can't help it.) Our particular combination of attributes keeps us both fulfilled and growing together.

We want to be parents to share our love and our family with a child, and to help that person become a strong, kind, happy person.

We both have many passions and interests and are most excited by the idea of nurturing our child's unique interests and gifts. We want to help our child discover what they love and are excited by and help them develop into a person with a deep sense of personal integrity and self-worth. Whether our child finds that they are drawn to animals and nature, or playing sports, or mixing beakers of chemicals and reading about science, or playing a part in their school play, sculpting masks, playing the cello, or taking apart a car engine—we will be there for it, encouraging them to follow their passions and interests with confidence.

As a psychologist and teacher, we are also looking forward to parenting through the difficult times when our child feels sad or scared or upset. We will approach them in these difficult moments with attention, kindness, and consistency, teaching them to understand their feelings and helping them learn to navigate difficult situations confidently, knowing that they are safe and loved.

An aspect of parenting we are both deeply passionate about is our child's education. We plan to supplement their education by encouraging self-guided curiosity at home. As college-educated professionals and avid readers, we are committed to the idea that literacy is the cornerstone of early education. The seeds of literacy are planted early through reading stories together, and we plan to make story-time a nightly household activity. Beyond literacy, we want to cultivate a balance of intellectual curiosity and creative freedom for our child and to nurture their interests. While our home contains a huge variety of books, we also have many musical instruments, art and craft supplies, as well as a well-supplied kitchen for experimenting, and various other springboards for inquiry, inspiration, and imagination. We also both feel it is necessary to always be open and have honest discussions about the world with a child. While we understand that children's investigations of their environments should always be adjusted to their developmental level, we believe it's important not to lie or pretend to be keepers of secret knowledge. When it comes to education outside of our home, we are open to alternative educational programs, like Montessori—of which there is a school just down the street from us—but we believe in the power of public education and want our child to be surrounded by diverse people and perspectives. We plan to enroll our child in neighborhood public schools, such as the highly rated STEAM elementary school walking distance from our home.

We live in the center of Sacramento in a 100-year old building that has a lot of character and charm.

One of the best parts about living in Sacramento is the rich cultural diversity in our community—in fact, we live in one of the most diverse cities in the US.

Our neighborhood is close to the city center and is also one of the most desired places to live in Sacramento. It offers the benefits of being close to downtown's art venues, historical sites, and farm-to-fork restaurants, but it also has the quiet neighborhood feel of the suburbs with large historic homes and yards, tree-lined streets, and great schools. We actually live just down the street from a highly rated STEAM elementary school, where we would be able to walk our child to and from school every day.

On Halloween, our neighborhood is decked out in orange and green lights, Jack-o-Lanterns, and spooky decorations, and families from all over Sacramento come in their costumes to trick-or-treat for the best candy in town. In December, we invite our friends to come by for hot cider or cocoa and then walk up and down the streets, admiring the sparking lights, house decorations, listen to carolers, and watch horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping down the foggy streets.

Our neighborhood is also a 20-minute walk from two parks, including one park with a rose garden, duck pond, playground, and a pool. Just minutes away from our neighborhood is the historic Tower Theater, where we like to see artsy movies, go to coffee shops, restaurants, the state Capitol, the Zoo, and the American River, where we bike, hike, and walk our border collie, Simon.

Our extended family culture is laid-back, kind, funny, musical, and warm. We live in Sacramento and most of our relatives live in Fresno, which is about two and a half hours south of us, so we all make frequent trips to visit each other. When Gabe's mom, Sharon, drives up to Sacramento, we play cards or board games together, go for walks around our beautiful neighborhood, and cook together. When Rachel and her dad, Cliff, get together, they play music, with Cliff playing the guitar, and Rachel on the flute or violin. Rachel's parents are truly 'animal people'—her dad is a retired veterinarian and her mom, Linda, is a retired zookeeper and zoo registrar. We spend time with their corgi, their cats, and sometimes visit the Fresno Zoo where Linda used to work. When we visit for Christmas, we enjoy seeing aunt Mary and uncle Mike, with their many harps and guitars, Rachel's brother, Robert, who is great company over sushi and knows everything about movies, and we enjoy catching up with Rachel's cousin Meredith, who has two kids.

We don't know you or the details of your situation yet, but we do know a few things already. We know by the fact that you are making this decision that it is important to you to bring your baby into the world. We also know that it is deeply important to you that your baby has every chance at a wonderful childhood-one that is filled with attention, support, and opportunity. We know you must be afraid you will not be able to provide the kind of life you would want for your baby. It may be that parenting this baby would add to significant burdens you are already facing, such as not having family support, financial stability, or the support of a partner. Maybe you are already taking care of other children and can't afford to raise another. Maybe the circumstances by which you became pregnant are overwhelmingly difficult and you know you cannot be the parent you would want to be to this child. We know that you are likely not in a situation you would have chosen-to be pregnant but not in a place where you are able to raise a child.

We also know this about you: the fact that you have decided to place your child for adoption shows incredible sacrifice and is an act of pure love. Because we are not able to have children of our own, this sacrifice is deeply meaningful to us. Whatever the specific, difficult circumstances you are in, we want to offer our deepest compassion to you. And we also offer our respect and our admiration because you are engaging in what we believe is a deeply selfless and loving action, bringing a baby into the world and choosing adoption. Please know that you and your decision will always be honored in our home.

We believe that open adoption, where adopted kids have some kind of meaningful relationship with their birth family, is best for the emotional development of the child. We plan to encourage a relationship between our child and their birth parent(s) where they share photos, letters, and/or email updates on holidays and birthdays. We want our child to know they're loved and supported by many caring, strong, and responsible adults.

We will be first-time parents with your birth child, and we are committed to providing a home that is filled with love, joy, attention, and support. We have been hoping for this opportunity for a long time.

Now that you have chosen to place your child for adoption, you are facing yet another difficult decision: the task of choosing the family that will be the best fit for your baby. We do not know the criteria you are using to make this decision, but we hope that by getting a glimpse of our family, you will see that we are devoted to each other. We also want to let you know that we will be patient and kind parents, and we will give your child every opportunity we can. Our goal in being adoptive parents is to raise our child to become a strong, happy, healthy, and confident adult who knows that all his or her parents-adoptive parents and birth parents both-love him or her very much.

Sincerely,

Gabe & Rachel