Laurie and Olivier

Dear Birthparent(s),

Hello! We are Laurie and Olivier and we hope you will begin to get to know us through this letter. We also hope that you will feel excited about meeting us to talk about whether our family would be the right one for your child. We completely understand that adoption is a difficult choice and we want to give you all the reassurances we can that we would always dearly love and cherish your child.

info@centerforfamily.com
800-869-1005

A LOOK AT OUR FAMILY

By entrusting your child to us, you will be placing him or her in a loving, nurturing environment. We became a multi-racial adoptive family over 6 years ago when our precious Josephine came into our lives through an international adoption in Ethiopia. Becoming her parents has changed our lives in many wonderful ways we had never imagined. We knew we would love Josephine deeply, but were amazed by the overwhelming surge of love in our hearts.

We now feel that it is the right time to set another place at the dinner table, have another little voice chime in during family discussions and to share in the love our family has to give. Josephine will be an amazing big sister and would love to have a little brother or sister with whom to share all of our fun-filled family experiences.

Your child will have two of the most dedicated parents around. We both value education very highly. We have graduate degrees and have had successful careers. Josephine is in first grade in a great private school which she loves. We’re very excited that Josephine loves science. While at first we guided her in her experiments, now she takes the lead. We love seeing what kind of smelly, goopy concoction she comes up with for us to look at under her microscope! Josephine has travelled extensively with us in the U.S., Europe and South America. We feel that exploring the world is as important as the great education she is getting at school. We are already excited imagining our next child will have his or her own interests and passions. Josephine especially loves when we spend our summers in France. This past Christmas we had a great time spending Christmas in Paris, enjoying the city and seeing friends and family. One of Josephine’s favorite memories of our trip was going with Olivier to the bakery in the morning and picking out tasty treats for breakfast. We are also very aware of what it means to be a multi-racial family. We do as much as possible to ensure that Josephine has a diverse environment surrounding her. We also expose her to as many role models of her ethnicity as possible. Her pediatrician is African-American and a wonderfully intelligent and caring doctor. We took her to see the jazz musician and singer Esperanza Spalding. She loves that our president has skin like hers.

JOSEPHINE

Josephine is a joyful, energetic 7 year old. The best way to understand Josephine is to hear what her many friends have to say about her. She is kind and generous with her feelings, smart as a whip and really fun to be around. One of our adult friends told us that she “sparkles”.

Josephine is both an American and French citizen. This will open up a world of possibilities career-wise for her when she is older. She has a big heart and is eager to have a baby sister or brother. We would love to have you meet her.

LAURIE

I was born in Wisconsin and raised in Ohio. I have 7 brothers and sisters. I also have 9 nieces and nephews whom I have enjoyed watching grow up. We are a very close knit family. My parents’ home is a great gathering place for everyone at the holidays.

I have an MBA and have worked for large corporations in the product development field making fun products like costumes, party goods, and greeting cards. Currently I am a stay-at-home mom so I can dedicate my time to raising our children and creating a warm, happy home life for all of us.

I love to make pies and fresh, healthy meals for us to share at the table as a family. Family dinners are important to us and we almost always eat together. I also manage our schedules so we have an active and fun life, but not full of the stresses of over-scheduling.

OLIVIER

I was born and raised in Paris, France. I have a brother and a sister who have 7 young active children between them. We travel to France at least once a year to spend time with my family and friends. I have my own business consulting company. I help businesses become more efficient and enjoy the challenges and learning experiences that each new project brings. Owning my own business also allows me to be flexible with my time and take extended family vacations.

I love dedicating my weekends to taking Josephine to ballet classes and to the park. I am the clown of the family, making everyone laugh. I am an avid skier and enjoy taking Josephine to the local ski areas. We have a very special bond and I love our father/daughter time.

I have spoken French to Josephine since we became a family. I am both a French and American citizen and your child would also have both nationalities, just like Josephine. Raising our children as global citizens is very important to me. I have had the opportunity to live and travel around the world. I want to have our children experience the world’s diversity and richness.

HOME & COMMUNITY

We live in a great neighborhood in Chicago. We enjoy being close to all the city has to offer; parks, museums, and the lake front. There is a perfect little toddler park right around the corner from us where Josephine has made lots of friends over the years. We are within walking distance of the Lincoln Park zoo, one of our favorite places. Another benefit of our neighborhood is the great people that live here. On warm summer evenings a casual walk down the street can take hours because of all the friends we run into and our front porch has served as a kiddie dance floor more times that we can count.

A FINAL WORD

We want you to know more about our extended family. They are in love with Josephine and shower her with lots of attention. They are very excited about having a new addition to the family so they can do the same for our second child. They all, grandparents, aunts, and uncles, are very family-oriented people. There are also 16 cousins eager for another playmate. We know that Josephine and her future sibling will always have a strong, loving, and supportive extended family ready to help them.

If you would like to have more information about us, please contact our counselor Maggie Benz 1-800-869-1005 or email Maggie at maggie@centerforfamily.com. Maggie can reached by text at 847-366-6343.
We wish you the very best,
Laurie and Olivier