Tony and Cathy

Dear Birthmother,

We just want to start out by saying thank you. We can’t imagine what you are going through but the strength you are showing is inspiring. We promise to show the same love and dedication to your baby as you are. Our belief is families created in our hearts are the most valuable families we can have. Thank you for reading our letter and hopefully learning a little more about us.

Our lives:

We met in 1995 as we were graduating from Michigan State University. We dated for five years in a long distance relationship as during this time, due to Tony’s job, he lived in three different states. His moving around the country created two distinct strengths in our relationship. First we became each others support centers, which made our relationship even stronger as we worked out all of the challenges in a long distance relationship. Second we have become very flexible and open to new places, people, and ideas. This in turn created a passion for traveling to new places and learning as much as possible about all of the different cultures and people who make up America.
In 2000 we married and started with a furry family, our engagement puppy, Maddie, and our first cat, Pj. With our furry family in tow we moved to a new state away from all our friends and families. This move actually brought us closer together as we adapted to marriage. Over the next eleven and a half years we created a home for ourselves and a place where friends and family love to visit and are always welcome. We also increased the number of our furry family as we rescued animals which had been abandoned.

Tony’s job as a human resource manager for a Meijer keeps him busy but he is always home on time to share dinner. Cathy taught infants and toddlers, but when we decided to adopt, she made the difficult decision to leave her teaching job so she could stay home and care for our daughter Caitlin.

Living close to lakes and parks we have learned to balance work and play so we may enjoy the boat and various vacations through out the year. We love taking Caitlin to the beach to explore and play in the water. She also enjoys going out on the boat and swimming with us. Disney World is a big part of our vacation plans every two to three years as Cathy is a die hard Disney fan. Tony, being a Civil War re-enactor, loves to travel to the east coast and different historical sites throughout the country. We visit a different battlefield every year with friends who also re-enact. We both love doing this as we learn new things every place we go.

Our favorite people:

We have to be the luckiest people in the world when it comes to friends and family. We enjoy all types of activities with our “family,” from civil war re-enacting, Disney trips, “antiquing,” boating and just spending time together. All of our favorite activities include our friends and family and the wonderful memories we create with them. Everyone in our family is excited about the prospect of welcoming a new member to the family. Both of our mother’s are very excited about grand-motherhood. They love spending time with Caitlin and are very excited about adding another child to love and shower with attention. One of Cathy’s cousins, who is also her very best friend, loves to be called “Aunt Teresa” and our closest friends, Mike and Casey, are already planning on taking family vacations to Disney World. Their support, and the support of the rest of our extended family, means the world to us. They are always there when we need them and even though we don’t live next door they are a strong foundation in our lives.

Our promise:

Our promise to you, your baby, and our family is to keep our ability to adapt and be flexible, keep faith in big and little dreams, and to share the moments. We promise to teach by example, practice what we preach, and above all listen to our mothers. We will show your baby responsibility, creativity, laughter, independence, and most importantly love.

Profile of Adoptive Couple - Tony & Cathy