Robin and Phil Dear Birthmother Open Adoption Letter

Hi There! We are Robin and Phil!


Hi there! We hope you're doing well and that you realize what incredible inner strength you have. The fact that you are considering open adoption is a sign of the courage and love you have for your baby.

We are Robin and Phil and we are giddy with excitement and bursting at the seams, just awaiting your call. We are tickled to soon have the opportunity to be parents.

Yet, we know this is a difficult time for you. We cannot fully understand your needs at this time, but we can offer you a warm reassuring hug, an ear to bend, or a shoulder to cry on.

Just know, in your heart, that whatever decisions you make will be the correct one for you and your baby. We wish for you a life filled with joy, health and happiness.

A little about us
We met through Robin's best friend and clicked immediately. We began dating about 2 years later; becoming best of friends without even realizing it. Our love and respect for each other has grown by leaps and bounds since the first date! We have been married for 6 years and the honeymoon never ends.

We have so much fun, just doing everyday things together. Our marriage is incredible and we feel this is a result of honesty, trust, communication, acceptance and believing in each other fully. To see our child love and respect him or herself, life, and others are the gifts we can't wait to share with our child.

Parenting
We believe in hands-on parenting, so Robin will be a full time mom and Phil will take a leave of absence.

This way we will both share in the first memories of life with our baby. We can't wait to see our child's first smile, to hear the magic tinkle of our baby's laughter and to spend our first moments together as a family. Phil is looking forward to being the "tucker-inner" and Robin will smother his or her little face with "Eskimo" and "butterfly" kisses each night before bed.

We are excited to have the opportunity to get to know you and have you know us. Please call with ANY questions. We would be happy with any degree of openness that makes you and your family comfortable. Thank you for your compassion and strength.

Phil...
...was born and raised in Michigan, the youngest of three children and is an engineer. Phil loves the performing arts and will be singing and dancing with the little ones as they grow. Phil envisions wondrous 'concerts' performed by our children, with him on the saxophone or them sitting on his lap playing piano.

Phil also enjoys sports and can't wait to play (and coach) soccer and hockey with our child at the local parks. Another of Phil's interests is home renovation. He has many memories of helping his dad build things around the house and looks forward to having a little "Bob (or Bobbi) the Builder" to share his memories with.

Robin...
...was raised in Michigan with one brother, who was adopted at birth. Robin has wanted to adopt children since she was very young, and was thrilled to learn Phil feels the same way.

Robin has always felt that adoption can be as natural of a process as birth itself, when done openly. Robin is breathlessly awaiting the moment when she can follow in her parents' footsteps and adopt a baby.

Robin is a social worker who is dreaming of the day when she can take our baby to family yoga classes, for walks in the park or 'Mommy and Me' groups. Robin can just picture, reflected on our child's face, the excitement and wonder of seeing nature for the first time. Robin looks forward to showing our child the inherent beauty of individuals and differing cultures.

Our Home
We live in Lakewood, California, south of Los Angeles. Our neighborhood has children galore, a huge park with an Olympic pool, and an excellent school within walking distance. We watch the kids riding bikes, playing tag, and causing a ruckus with their parents running after them! We can't wait to watch our child join in on the fun and be part of the chase.

We have a large backyard and we can just picture the jungle gym and pushing our child "higher!" on the swing. Our home is close to numerous beaches (so we can bury daddy in the sand) as well as Disneyland, Lego Land, Universal Studios and Sea World. We are very much looking forward to sharing all these experiences with our little one... we can finally play in the 'touch tanks' at the aquarium without odd looks from other adults!

Our Values
We believe that love, respect, spirituality, and education are the cornerstones to all other endeavors and are vital to our child's self-esteem and personal success. We will be active in our child's schooling and extra curricular activities; PTA here we come!

Providing diverse opportunities for our child to experience life in a way that is educational and fun is very important to us. We sit up at night wondering what type of personality our child will have. What will tickle them and how we can use our creativity to help him/her experience the world: trips to zoos, the planetarium, the beach to explore tide pools, and hiking to see, feel, and touch the beauty of nature.

Family & Friends
"How's the adoption going... when do we get to hold the baby?" This is the first question we get each time our phone rings. Our family and friends are just ecstatic about the arrival of our little one and are poised by the phone to hear any news. Our family and childhood friends live in Michigan, North Carolina, and New Mexico.

We usually spend vacations with our extended family: water skiing and boating in Michigan; riding horses and playing cowboy on a family farm in North Carolina or experiencing the hot air balloons in New Mexico. Our children will be welcomed by 3 sets of grandparents, 6 uncles, 4 aunts, and 7 cousins-and we can not even count the number of adopted 'aunts' and 'uncles' in Southern California!

Schnell Contact Information
Call toll-free: 1.866.661.6644
E-mail: caschnell@sbcglobal.net
Or call the Independent Adoption Center: 1.800.877.6736



HUGS and LOVE,

Robin and Phil

...return to the top...