Tessie and Adam

Dearest Birthmother,

Our hearts reach out to you in this very special, yet challenging time. We are Adam and Tessie, and we are hoping to adopt a baby.

We wish you the greatest happiness and peace… and we are grateful for this opportunity for you to know us better. We are also excited to get to know you, and help you any way we can.

info@centerforfamily.com
847-674-8634

ABOUT US
We are both history professors. We met at work thirteen years ago and have been best friends ever since. We share a passion for reading, teaching and learning. We are committed to helping build a world where people of different cultures and nations can honor each another’s traditions and dreams. We want to honor your traditions and dreams, too!

ADAM

adamI grew up in New York City, raised by parents who came from Michigan and Arkansas. The Chicago area is now my home, as well as the place where I teach and do research. I love sports, am an avid cook and love all kinds of music.

Since I fell in love with Tessie, and made a life together with her and her dauthter, Annie, I’ve found that my greatest joy comes from family. Helping raise Annie has warmed my spirit more than anything else I have been blessed to do in my life. Whether adamanniehelping her onto a jungle gym or going over her homework, encouraging her to grow has revealed a wider and brighter world to me, day after day.

Because I came into Tessie and Annie’s lives later, it remains my deep desire to raise a child from birth, with the partner I love. Were we entrusted with this wondrous gift, we look forward each day to an ever-widening sense of the world – for that is what it means to us to be parents to a child.

TESSIE

Adam is my soul mate. He nurtures and loves his family as he loves the world. Seeing the world together is very important to our family life. We enjoy the history, the arts, and customs of the places we visit., but most of all, we love the food. Adam and I love to give each other cook books as presents. We have built on the Chinese cooking that I learned at home, added the culinary heritage of his parents’ Arkansas and Michigan roots while blending in all the new flavors that we’ve tasted. What we love most about living in the Chicago area is that world comes to you.

My parents grew up in China. They met in Taiwan where I was born. I came to the United States when I was eight years old and grew up speaking Chinese and English at home. In grade school, I also started to learn French which probably explains why I developed a fascination for French culture and history. I lived in France for several years while I was a graduate student and became a specialist in French history.

As refugees, my parents did not see their country for another thirty years. They taught my brothers and I the importance of knowing our roots and knowing our people. From these foundations, they have made our home here, now expanded with in-laws, grandchildren ,and many friends.

TESSIE ON BEING A PARENT
beingaparentBecoming a mother has been the most exciting and rewarding process of my life. Babies are absolutely fascinating to me. Everything is in miniature and yet all so perfectly formed! I love watching children explore the world and come into their own sense of themselves. Then, they teach you with their joy and new discoveries. Of course, parenting has challenged all my talents and reserves, but it has taught me so much about life and keeps me wanting to know more. I am eager to raise another child with Adam. I know he will be a wonderful father, just as he has been to Annie.

ANNIE

annieI was born in New Mexico and grew up in Skokie with my mom and Adam, my stepfather. From age 5 to the present, I’ve always had a book with me wherever I go. When I was five I read children’s books in restaurants while waiting for our food. My mom and Adam exposed me to so many ideas and wonderful opportunities, and I never grew out of the things I loved best as a kid; art, travel, friends, baking, and curling up in bed with a good book.

My friends admire my independence and always say that I have never been afraid to try something new or share my opinion. The funny part, though, is that I am actually very shy. My confidence comes from the support and caring that mom and Adam gave me growing up. Home is where I learned how to voice my opinions, solve problems, and appreciate good food.

I am excited that mom and Adam want to welcome another child into our family. I look forward to having a younger sibling, and to playing and sharing.

OPEN ADOPTION

blendedfamilyWe are a blended family. Adam came into Annie’s life when she was young. He was there to play board games, to hear her sound out her letters, go to school plays. Adam never rushed the relationship. He understood and respected all her loyalties and the many branches of her family. Patience, we learned, builds the strongest bonds.

When we heard about open adoption, the philosophy seems just right. We welcome you, your stories, your dreams and hopes, just as we hope to share ours.

For us, becoming family is a creative process. Even when there is no official name for a relationship, we have found ways to call someone kin. We’ve learned that families are formed by celebrating the everyday: in feeding each other, showing up at the games, listening to the gripes, and just being there.

CONTACT US

To learn more about our family, please contact us at 800-869-1005 or send an email to info@centerforfamily.com or contact our adoption counselor, Tobi by texting her at 847-366-6351

All the Best,
Adam and Tessie