Mike and Karen

Dear Birth Parents,

Thank you for reading our letter. This must be a very difficult decision to make. We hope we can ease your anxiety about your decision. Let us tell you about our family.

Mike was adopted and knows that his birth mother decided to place him for adoption because she loved him enough to know that she could not provide for him. She hoped adoptive parents could provide him the life he so deserved. Mike was raised in a loving home and intends to provide the same for an adoptive child. One of the neat things that Mike’s mother did every year on his birthday was to pray for his birth parents. Karen and Mike intend to continue that tradition. Mike often thinks that birth parents probably wonder years later if they made the right decision placing their child for adoption. Mike knows that his birth parents did. Mike and Karen know that they will love another adoptive child and raise him/her so that you and your child will never wonder if the right decision was made.

Karen and Mike met at their summer job during their years of college. They continued to work at the same summer job all through college and continued to be friends. After college, their summer job became their full-time employment. Karen remains working there while Mike was hired by another company. They dated for seven years and were married in 2000.

In 2006, they decided they wanted to adopt, and they pursued adopting a little girl from China. Unfortunately, due to the long wait of several years, they withdrew from the program and decided to adopt domestically. A short time later, a birth mother placed her baby with them and they were thrilled to adopt Silas. He is an active little boy who loves to wrestle with his daddy, play with trucks, adventure outside, and have stories read to him. He is also interested in “helping” his mom cook.

Mike and Karen are active in their church. Karen is a game leader for kindergarten through 2nd-graders in their church’s kids club which meets on Wednesday nights. Mike is a mentor for college-age students at a local college.

Both Karen's and Mike’s parents are still living so their second adoptive child would have four grandparents. Karen and Mike each have a brother. Karen’s brother is married and has a little boy the same age as Silas. Both sides of their extended family get together for Christmas. Karen’s extended family gets together for Thanksgiving and Easter.

As a family, we love to have fun together and be involved in various activities. Our interests range from gardening at home all the way to going on vacations to other countries.

Thank you for taking the time to look at a brief snapshot of our lives.

Karen and Mike