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Hi all - I'm hoping to get a birthparent's perspective. As some of you know, we are searching for our 2 year old daughter's birthmom. Our daughter is from Guatemala - the assumption is that international adoptions will be closed, but we are hoping to be able to open it (of course if and only if A's birth mom is willing). The seacher asks that we prepare a letter to give to her birthmom if she is found. Can you guys tell me what you think of this? It is going to be translated into Spanish. I want to make sure it's appropriate. I'm trying to think what I'd want to read in a letter, with possibly the first information I'd gotten about a little girl I gave birth to 2 years ago (we sent down a letter and some photos last year, but I doubt they got to her). I want to share an image of Anabel with her, but I don't want to overwhelm her with details. Here's what I've written. I've redacted some info: [FONT=Times New Roman]Dear XX[/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]We were never told whether you received the letter we wrote you through the lawyer in 2006, so we’ll start off by introducing ourselves. Our names are H___ and Jillian, and we are blessed to be the parents of the little girl you gave birth to on April 18, 2006, the girl you named _____ Vianey and who we now call Anabel Vianey. (Anabel is in memory of H____’s mother Ann, who died when he was a child.)[/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]It is hard to know what to say in this letter. Most of all, we want you to know that Anabel is a wonderful, healthy, funny, and happy little girl who has a family that loves her very much. She is the light of our lives. We have loved her since the moment we met her, and we will always do everything we can to make sure she is healthy and happy. We feel so lucky to have this little girl as our daughter. We are writing you this letter now because as Anabel grows up we would like her to know as much as she wants about you – and we would also like you to know as much as you want to know about her. And if possible, maybe some day we will all get to meet.[/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]What can we tell you about Anabel? As we write this letter, she has just recently turned two years old, and we are always astonished by how big she has gotten. We took her to the doctor for her annual check-up last week (right after her 2nd birthday) and he confirmed that she is extremely healthy. She is over 86 cm tall and weighs almost 13 kilos. And as you can see in the pictures, she is just beautiful! People are always stopping us on the street to tell us how lovely she is! [/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]Anabel she has a BIG personality! She is sweet and loving and FULL of energy! She is very active, and loves to run around and play. She especially loves going to the playground; the swings are her special favorite, and she likes to go as high into the air as possible. She is fearless! We’ll give you an example of how brave she is. Last summer we spent a few days at the beach for vacation. It was the first time she ever saw the ocean. Other kids seeing the ocean waves for the first time would be scared, but not Anabel - she ran right up to the water and wanted to go in! Anabel also loves to play pretend; for example her grandmother gave her a toy kitchen for Christmas, and she loves to pretend to cook. Or she loves to put her teddy bear in her little pretend stroller and push it around and pretend she’s its mommy. [/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]She loves animals – we have two cats in the house and she just adores them, and is always trying to pet them or pick them up. (One of the cats is OK with that – the other is not and runs away whenever she comes near!) She also loves books about animals. At nighttime before it’s time for her to go to sleep, one of us sits together with her in a rocking chair and reads her stories. Her favorite stories are often those with animals in them – she loves to point at the pictures and make animal sounds.[/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]She is very social and loves people. She has lots of friends, including another little girl just the same age who was also born in Guatemala and lives just down the street! We are so glad she shares her Guatemalan heritage with such a good friend. She also has a cousin who is just the same age (Jillian’s brother’s daughter). Unfortunately we don’t live close to them right now, but the girls see each other a few times a year and when they do they are immediately the best of friends.[/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]There is so much more we want to share about her. We hope that we will have the opportunity to send you more letters and photographs over the years, updating you regularly on Anabel’s life and progress, on the wonderful girl she is and the woman she will grow up to be. And maybe someday, when she’s older, Anabel can write you letters as well. You can also send letters to Anabel and to us, if you want. (We only speak a tiny bit of Spanish, but we are trying to learn more, and we have good friends who can help us translate any letters.) Maybe someday, when we return to Guatemala, Anabel can even meet you -- her first mother, the woman who gave her life and brought her into the world. We would love for her to have this opportunity, if it is something you want to do.[/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]Meanwhile, you can trust that your daughter is happy and healthy. She has a good home with a mother and a father who love her very much. [/FONT] [FONT=Times New Roman]Sincerely, (us)[/FONT]
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Jillian - I think it's a lovely letter - I like the part where you share your DD's heritage and she has a friend from Guat too!!
Does A draw pics yet? Maybe you could send that along with the letter. Or even the paint handprints. I would have LOVED those (second only to pics of course :))
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Jillian, I think your letter is really sweet, and I'm sure Anabel's bmom will love it. I love how you tell about all the little things, like pushing her teddy bear around in a make-believe stroller. Those are the types of things I would have loved knowing about my child. And I absolutely adored the part where Anabel sees the ocean for the very first time. What a brave, determined little girl you have!!
Bless your heart for caring about Anabel's bmom. I admire you for trying to open up the adoption. :)
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