Thank you. Thank you for looking at the profile of two complete strangers when you’re probably already stressed enough as it is. We can only imagine how painful deciding to give your baby up for adoption must be, but the process and responsibility of actually deciding who to share this little person’s life with is beyond our ability to understand. You are amazing and deserve every ounce of gratitude and praise we can muster (and that’s a lot)! Thank you for considering adoption and thank you for considering our family. We feel truly honored. Our hope is that by the end of this letter we’ll have introduced ourselves well enough that you’ll no longer see us as the strangers we currently are, but as the perfect couple with whom you can share your baby’s life.
How We Met (as told by Danielle):
While my brother was serving a mission for the LDS church in Canada, I received an email from him one day that said he had someone for me to “write, date and eventually marry”. The email included Clinton’s name and email address. Amused, and slightly intrigued, I decided to forward the email to Clinton to inform him of my brother’s attempt to set us up. I concluded the email with “Anyway, I thought you’d think this was funny. Hope you have a nice life.” Equally surprised by my brother’s attempt, but intrigued as well, Clinton responded with a witty email and we instantly became pen pals. We wrote each other every couple days and when that wasn’t often enough we started instant messaging, then calling each other and then video chatting. I still remember the chills I got when I heard his voice for the first time and I’ll never forget the relief I felt when I saw he was handsome too!
After about two months of writing and talking to each other, we finally met in person. We spent 8 days together and during that time we snuggled like there was no tomorrow, each experienced our first real kiss and secretly decided we were going to marry the other. After I came home from my trip we finally told each other “I love you” over the phone and Clinton began planning his proposal. We were engaged the following month on Valentine’s Day and were married in the Portland, Oregon Temple six months later after my brother returned home from his mission. We of course had to wait for him, because if it weren’t for him there’d have been no wedding at all.
About Us:
Clinton-(as told by Danielle)
Clinton is one amazing person! I don’t know how he does it, but he quite literally is happy ALL THE TIME! He loves to laugh and is very good at making others laugh with him. He is smart too! He is a 4th year medical student and will soon be out of school and into his family residency program!! When he’s not at school he likes to spend his free-time playing the guitar (which he does wonderfully, I might add), playing Flight Simulator games, fixing electronics or things around the house, watching his favorite TV show reruns, playing with our pup, Peter and exercising. Clinton is very patient and has a wonderful relationship with both of our families. He is an amazing example to me of how to love and forgive others. He is not judgmental and is very accepting of everyone. He is always willing to help someone in need and is usually the first to offer to do so. He is both excited and honored to bring children into our family by adoption, and if his parenting skills are anything like his husband skills, I have no doubt he will be a wonderful father someday.
We both feel that we have a wonderful marriage. We are best friends and trust each other completely. We love to spend time together and are happy doing just about anything together. Some of our favorite activities are: going for walks, trying a new restaurant (or frequenting one of our favorites), going to the movies, road-trips, traveling anywhere, watching funny animal videos on Youtube, attending fairs or festivals, going to musicals or plays, going to the zoo, riding our bikes and doing/saying anything to get the other to laugh!
Danielle- (as told by Clinton)
Danielle is absolutely the person that I was meant to marry. I remember back when we first began dating, I was not looking for someone to get serious with or anything. I had big plans to go off to university that fall and I didn’t want anything to change those plans. But once I met Danielle, my perspective changed a bit. I remember praying a lot about whether or not she was the type of person I should marry, but the answer never came until the end of a trip where she came to visit me in Alberta. We said our goodbyes and as I watched her plane takeoff and disappear into the clouds, I felt an impression that I should propose. When I flew down to Portland a month later, that’s exactly what I did on Valentine’s Day of 2003. Since that day, our relationship has only become stronger. I’ve come to rely on Danielle as my friend and support through university, now through medical school, and hopefully through my career, parenthood, and on into our old age. Danielle is the type of person that is willing to help other people, whether it be me, her parents, her friends, or even complete strangers. She has a giving heart that has been yearning to be a mother since even before her and I were married. As you can imagine, learning that we probably would not have our own children was difficult for her, but when she realized that this only meant that our children would join our family in a slightly less-traditional way, she has been excited to adopt ever since. Watching her play with her nieces and nephews and seeing how much they enjoy being with her, it’s obvious that Danielle is going to be a very loving mother to some very fortunate children some day.
How We Hope to Raise this Baby:
First and foremost, we want them to know they are loved. We want them to know that we love them, our families love them and that you love them. We want them to know that no matter what; they can be open and come to us for anything. We would like to raise them in a happy, loving and laughter-filled home.
We both feel that education is important and would like to provide them with every opportunity to get the best education possible. We want them to try new things and travel to different places so they can discover all that this world has to offer. We want to read, play and grow with this baby. They will be the best part of our growing family.
Our Thoughts for You:
Our arms and our hearts ache to hold this sweet baby perhaps as much as yours do to let it go. We love you and respect your place as the giver of this child’s life. We would love to have an open adoption; we have seen this work in our extended family and in the families of our closest friends. You will have a very special place in our hearts, our home and in the life of this baby.
With love,
Clinton and Danielle
