Jeffri and ShalahNickname(s): Jeff and Shalah

Dear Birthmother,

Hello from Jeff and Shalah. Thank you so much for allowing us the opportunity to introduce ourselves, tell you about our family and attempt to convey the depth of our feelings on adoption. We understand that you have most likely read through many letters from other hopeful families, so we appreciate you taking the time to read what we have to say. 

We met while attending college and married after graduation. We have known from the beginning of our relationship that we wanted children. We decided we wanted to live and raise our family in the country, just like where we had grown up. So we left the city and moved to the same rural area where Jeff was raised. Jeff, a former loan officer, is now a farmer/rancher and Shalah, who previously worked in human resources, is a stay-at-home mom.

After settling into our new home, we decided to start our family. Since we were not able to conceive a biological child, we decided to pursue adoption. A short time later we were blessed with the adoption of our son, Evan.  Parenthood has touched our lives in many ways. We feel truly blessed and are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to adopt again.

Our family enjoys lots of outdoor activities together. When the weather is nice, we hook up our boat and leave for the weekend, sleeping in our tent and cooking hot dogs and S’mores over the campfire. If we can’t get away for the weekend, we enjoy playing golf, working in the yard or taking Evan to the zoo. When there is a lot of snow, we get together with friends and go sledding. We both grew up going to a lake with our parents every chance possible and look forward to continuing to do so with our family.

Jeff’s mother was adopted as a newborn and we’ve seen first hand how wonderfully her life has turned out. We know her biological mother loved her enough to give her a better life than what she could provide at that time in her life. We believe that being honest and open with our children about their adoption stories is the best way for them to truly understand the miracle that brought us together. Most importantly, we want them to always know of the great love, sacrifice, courage, and faith their birth parents had when they chose our family to raise their baby.

We would love the opportunity to parent another child and will be eternally grateful to the wonderful Birthmother who makes it possible. Thank you for considering us. We wish you the best of luck in your decision.

Jeff and Shalah