Hi, we’re Melissa and Justin. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We hope this letter gives you a picture of our loving, happy, and secure home. We admire your courage in considering open adoption and understand that this must be a very difficult decision.

 

We met in 2008, shortly after Justin relocated to the Bay Area for work. Melissa was his perfect San Francisco tour guide, and we bonded over our love of travel, food, music, movies, and the outdoors. But we truly fell in love by just being goofy together. We got engaged on a trip to Italy, and married in 2011, surrounded by a loving group of family and friends in a scenic mountain valley near Yosemite.

 

We live in Berkeley, California in a house with a cozy fireplace, welcoming social kitchen, and a pleasant backyard with tall trees and a barn. There are parks, playgrounds, and amazing schools all around our neighborhood. Every summer we gather with our neighbors and their kids to throw a block party. We love the beauty surrounding the Bay Area and you can often find us exploring the Pacific Coast, Redwoods, or thee Sierra Nevada Mountains.

 

Most weekend mornings, we walk our Golden Retriever, Bixby, AKA Bix, to the dog park to chase tennis balls, followed by a trip to our favorite coffee spot. He’s a great family dog and we’re excited to introduce him to a little brother or sister. Always an animal lover, Melissa volunteers regularly at our local Humane Society.

 

Melissa works in marketing for LinkedIn Learning. By connecting people to online education, she hopes to better their lives. She attended a top business school, but cares more about meaningful work than climbing the ladder. In her free time, she likes to run, practice yoga, dance, curl up with a good book, and plan trips abroad. She is excited to share her love of animals and the outdoors with a child.

 

Justin is a sound designer and music editor at Pixar Animation Studios. He recently celebrated 10 years there, and loves working on meaningful stories. Some of his favorite projects include films and TV shows like Inside Out, Toy Story 4, and Friday Night Lights. He enjoys running, playing piano and bass, recording sound effects, cooking, and rooting for the Golden State Warriors. He hopes to share his love of music with a child and to coach youth soccer one day.

 

We aare both close to our families and have several friends we’ve known since elementary school. With Melissa’s family nearby, we get together regularly, which is a great chance to see our two nephews and niece. Justin’s family is in Oregon and we visit them a few times a year, especially over the holidays. We have many friends with children and known our child will be surrounded by love.

 

We learned about open adoption from friends who adopted a baby who has blossomed into a smart and funny little girl. Unable to have our own children, it feels like the right choice for us too. We look forward to providing an open, encouraging, and stable home – one that allows our baby to grow in to a healthy and happy person. We want our child to know their adoption story and how much they have been loved throughout the entire journey.

 

If we sound like we might be the right family for your baby, we would love to hear from you.

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