We are Brian and Sheryl from California

Dear Expectant Mother,

We believe that the decision you are considering to give your child the gift of adoption is a difficult choice and that you must love your child very much. We are praying that God will help you and your child through this time and that He will give you peace. We seek a relationship that meets your needs and your child’s needs the best and are open to whatever level of openness you are comfortable with.

Thank you for giving us this opportunity to introduce ourselves.  We are Brian and Sheryl. We have 4 children who are all adopted. We have been married for 19 years and have known each other since high school. In 1999, we were on a mission trip in East Africa. I (Sheryl) liked Brian for many years but never told him. Instead, I prayed to God about it and left our relationship in His hands. In Africa, God spoke to Brian and told him that we were to be married. We had our wedding in 2001 and have been happily married ever since. Once we were ready to be parents, we tried to get pregnant but couldn't. This was very difficult for us until Sheryl attended a women's conference where God helped her surrender this to God. He immediately gave her peace and began directing us to adoption. We are confident that adoption is God's will for our life. We have many friends who have adopted and also a niece that joined our family through adoption.

Our family and friends are supportive and excited for the adoption. Much of our family live nearby so we can celebrate holidays together and all the cousins can spend time together. My brother and his wife are very supportive and helpful with our children and often join us for vacation. We have an excellent school that allows me to teach our children and provide a variety of activities that interest them such as dancing, soccer, or singing.

We have many family traditions we enjoy every year. We always host Thanksgiving and Christmas at our house with my family. And we spend time with both Brian's family and mine every holiday and our families are also close to each other. Every summer we enjoy trips to the beach or to the lake with family and we enjoy going to Disneyland. We love to participate in dog agility trials during weekends a few times a year and enjoy hosting game nights and BBQ s at our house.

As a family we enjoy walks on the trail downtown, game and movie nights, or outdoor activities like bike riding or drawing together with chalk on our driveway. We believe in raising our children with Godly values and morals. We teach our children how to respect others and how important it is to show love to one another. Everyone helps with dinner and takes turns setting the table. We enjoy taking a break from school and work every day and having lunch while watching a fun cartoon together as a family.  We enjoy reading with our children before bedtime and often get on the floor with our kids after dinner just to play a game or we go outside and ride our bikes.

You are in our prayers as you seek God's guidance during this time. May God be with you and help you on this journey.

Love,
Sheryl and Brian