Thanks so much to Angel, Michelle and Jen for writing your letters. You all wrote beautiful letters...they mean alot to us!! Last but not least here is Jen's letter.


Dear Sir or Madam, May 9, 2006

My husband and I have known Brian and Nichole Martus for about six years now. We met at a Friends house right before my wedding! I always joke with her and say if I had a little more time, I would have bought her the dress right then and there so she could be in my wedding party! I guess you can say I loved her like she was my sister right from the beginning. They are an outstanding couple, loving and caring. They put others feelings into consideration at all times. They have endured more trials and tribulations in life that no other couple that I know of could handle. They are sweet and kind people that have exceptional hearts!


I was so happy to hear that they were not giving up on having a little child of their very own. Yet, I was not surprised, Brian and Nichole are strong willed and very goal oriented. They have been working hard on completing various tasks that are given to them , they make sure they go through all of their paper work to make sure everything has been filled out and they even made an adorable website dedicated to the journey they are making through the whole adoption process! They are diligent and hard working and are very proud and excited to have this life experience!

I also believe that an adopted child or a foreign-born child would be gladly accepted into the community because Brian and Nichole are well respected and surround themselves with people that love them and greatly support them. I personally believe in my own heart, that they would make the best parents a child could ever ask for. Anything it takes, they’ll work hard at it to make this dream come true.


I have three little ones of my own now and when they get the chance, they come over and visit and get so excited to see the kids! The last time they were over, I remember Brian went over to our youngest son, who is also named Brian, and picking him up and holding and rocking him. I remember how happy he looked when he saw them and how sweet he looked into my baby’s eyes. I know Brian would be such a loving father. Nichole is always getting down on their level, playing and interacting with all three of them. She always compliments them as she makes one on one contact with them as well. I see her being a wonderful mother. Brian and Nichole are life long friends, I love them like family. They make an extraordinary impact upon the lives of whom they come in contact with, they are truly unforgettable!

Thank you for your time and attention to my letter, if you need anymore information, I’ll be glad to assist you further.


Truly,




Mrs. Jennifer Lynn

On May 5, 2006 we we're approved by Great Wall China Adoptions. We are now part of the Great Wall family. We signed our contract and paid our first installment. We can now start working on the rest of our Dossier. We have all of the documents except our Medical physicals which will be completed tomorrow.

We are required to write a letter to the China Center of Adoption Affairs stating our intention to adopt. We we're told by GWCA to be very respectful and avoid the topic of politics. There are statements that must be included in our letter. This letter is very important so we value your opinions good and bad.

To the Officials of the China Center of Adoption Affairs,


We are writing to you to express our intention to adopt a child from China. We respectfully request a healthy infant female between the ages of 3-12 months. We are overjoyed with the thought of having one of your wonderful children as part of our family.

After much research we feel that China is where our child is waiting for us. We are excited to learn more about Chinese culture and promise to keep this child's heritage as an important part of her life. We have met many people within our community who have adopted children from China. They have all expressed what wonderful experiences they have all had. We look at their children with fondness and admiration.

We have tried unsuccessfully for years to have a biological child. We are a happy, loving couple who have spent the last 15 years together. It has always been our dream to raise a family. We look forward to opening our arms and hearts to a child. We are excited to begin this new chapter in our lives. We promise to always provide a stable and happy home and will always show unconditional love. She will be given the same rights as a biological child. We promise to never abuse or abandon the this child. We will raise and educate the child to be a healthy adult.

We live in a beautiful community with many parks to enjoy. We live close to Washington D.C. and enjoy the museums and visiting the monuments. We enjoy spending time outdoors and traveling to visit family and our many friends.

We thank you for your time and consideration. We would be truly blessed to welcome one of our wonderful children into our lives. It will be such a pleasure to nurture her and watch her grow. We look forward to a lifetime of pleasant memories and love.

sincerely,

Michelle has also finished her letter so we'd like to share with everyone.

Dear Creative Adoptions,

I am writing this letter in reference of Nichole and Brian. I have known the two of them for 2 years and I think they are a wonderful couple. I work with Nichole and of course met Brian through her. I was very happy for the both of them when they decided that they we're going to adopt a child. I know that they have been trying to have children of their own but were unable to.

Nichole and Brian have had my children and niece over to their house on many occasions. Brian was giving my fifteen and sixteen year old guitar lessons, which they loved. Nichole and Brian have also attended an Orioles game with my children and me. We had a great time. My niece is two years old and I love to watch Nichole and Brian interact with her. I think they will make wonderful. Nichole is always talking about her niece and nephew and you can just see it in her eye's how much she loves them and I believe they will love their child just as much if not more.

When Nichole told me about the adoption and that they were going to be getting a baby from China I was happy for them. I do not think that the fact that this baby is foreign-born is going to make a difference in the amount of love and care that she will receive from Brian and Nichole. Nichole has already purchased a book to read to the baby about China. I think the community will welcome this baby like any other baby. I am currently pregnant myself and cannot wait for all the play dates that my son will have with their little girl.

sincerely,

Michelle

Angel has finished her reference letter and sent us a copy. We are so touched by her heartfelt letter and wanted to share with everyone.

Dear Social Services Supervisor:

I have known Nichole and Brian since 1998. I met Nichole through work. She has been
one of my best friends ever since. They have been my friends before and after my marriage, and remain as close as ever since I had my children.

Nichole and Brian have been with my son on many occasions. They have been babysitters for me when needed. I trust them completely with my son. When I leave him with them I have no fears or worries. They are such good people that I know that they would never let anything happen to him. My son and I traveled to Maryland to visit with them. Brian and Nichole spent hours outside kicking a ball and rolling around on the ground with him. Nichole and I have been on many walks with my son and she is always alert and watching for his safety. We have been in restaurants and amusement parks where Brian was very protective, making sure he did not wander too far. When he did fall, Nichole being the nurturing person that she is, ran to pick him up and comfort him, just as I would have done as his mother. Just recently I had another child who Nichole and Brian have met. She is very shy but had absolutely no hesitation to go to either of them. Babies sense love and react accordingly.

Nichole and Brian have shared their adoption plans many times. They speak excitedly about this new chapter in their life. They have done so much research and have kept their family and friends updated on every new event and milestone. I think this is a wonderful journey that they are about to embark upon. I know they feel honored and lucky that they have this opportunity to be able to have a child of their own. Someone once said to me that a person who adopts is someone who knew all their life they were meant to be a mommy or a daddy. Nichole and Brian have known all their lives that having a child is the most precious gift in the world.

Brian and Nichole are problem solvers. They don't just jump into decisions without thinking it through. They discuss things together and come up with an agreed-upon solution. I feel that they are more than ready to properly handle whatever comes their way.

I feel that an adopted child or foreign born child would be accepted in their community. Brian and Nichole are hard workers, great friends and they are a respected part of the community, which in turn would make their child just as accepted and loved.

Brian and Nichole are the type of people you fall in love with. They are genuine people. They give without expecting to receive. They are the love story that when you are done watching, you feel there really is hope for the world. I can't put into words how wonderful these two people are. Even when they were going through their hardest times not being able to conceive, they still found joy in their hearts for friends who were having babies and were able to support them. They are always thinking about others and their feelings. They make time for the important things in life: each other, family and friends. They will be wonderful parents. The baby they adopt will never be without love.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to be able to express my thoughts and feelings with you. I hope you find this helpful in discovering what wonderful people you will come to know.

Angelique

We had our pre-homestudy appointment with Creative Adoptions yesterday. Our Social worker reviewed the entire homestudy process with us. When they receive our referral letters and our physical exam reports we can schedule our first home visit. We also applied to Great Wall China Adoptions on Friday. They are reviewing our application and will contact us within the next few days. GWCA is the agency that will place Ava with us . You can visit their website at http://gwca.org I thought I'd add a few pictures of Ava's new things. Brian's favorite is the Daddy's little Girl T-shirt. Most of the clothes are form Angel and the letters are from Andrea. Thanks again Guys!!

A few more pictures from the Volvo Ocean Race.

A couple of weeks ago the sailboats that are racing across the world in the Volvo Ocean Race came into Baltimore's Inner Harbor. When each sailboat came into port Brian cleared their crews. He loved the experience and really got to know Marcelo Ferreira a member of the Brazil 1 crew . So Sunday we decided to go to Inner Harbor to see the Boats and the races that we're being held that day. We met our friend Lauren there who is a big fan of sailboat racing considering she has raced sailboats for many years. She was a great tour guide and taught us a lot about the sport. When Brian cleared the crew of Brazil 1 he surprised her with a phone call from Marcello and got the crews autographs for her. While we we're standing by the boats on Sunday Brian spotted Marcelo. He invited us on the boat and gave us a tour. I couldn't believe that they have been on this 70 foot boat since November. When we went down below we couldn't even stand up straight. The small space is very confined with just a sink, cots and a small room with a toilet. While out in the ocean they eat MRE's and take 20 minute
naps because they are on duty 24 hours a day. Marcelo was the so nice and talked with us on the boat for about a half hour. We learned that he is a 3 time Olympic medalist along with other awards. We had a great time and hope to get to Annapolis this weekend for the restart. They will be heading to New York city and will then be off to Portsmouth, England.