Brian and Renée - The Adoption Alliance

Welcoming you!
Hello, we are Brian and Renée and we are happy to have this
chance to share a little bit about ourselves with you! We just
got home from celebrating our fifth wedding anniversary at
our favorite restaurant, and realized that we spent the
entire dinner talking about how we were going to write this
letter to you. We’ve been wondering about you, hoping that
you are OK and anticipating your call. Leaving full, and with
busy minds, we hope we remembered to leave a tip! We
have been keeping you and your child in our thoughts and
prayers and we are so excited to be on this journey.
We were introduced eight years ago by our (now married)
best friends, who jokingly suggested that we would be
perfect for each other, it turns out they were right! Once
married, we knew that we wanted a family. After living in a
city in upstate New York, we decided to move to the suburbs
where the neighborhoods are quieter, the houses have more
space and bigger lawns, and the school districts have more
successful education programs. We knew all of this first
hand, as we moved back to the village we both grew up in.
We started to improve the house, make updates, and
transformed our house into a home.
Brian, Renée and Dréko

Why we chose adoption
Through all of this, we began trying to start our family.
Unfortunately, this was not going as smoothly as we had
hoped it would. Despite several years of trying, we began to
realize that conceiving naturally might never have been part of
our life plan, and that adoption was our life plan. A friend
once told us; “God doesn’t put the desire in people to become
parents if he doesn’t have a plan for which to follow through.”
Earlier this year, 2012, we began to investigate the possibility
of adoption as a way to bring a child into our lives. With plenty
of support from Renée’s sister and brother-in-law, who
formed their family through adoption and have three children,
we decided to focus our energies on starting our family
through adoption. Our journey towards parenthood has
taught us to appreciate how miraculous and precious the gift
of life is. The greatest gift we could ever receive, and the
bravest gift one could ever give! We have completed all of the
necessary steps to be able to adopt and we are pleased to
announce that we have been approved! We are more than
ready to welcome a special little boy or girl into our lives.
Renée and Brian apple picking 2012

A little bit about Brian:
I am a city firefighter assigned to a specialized rescue
company, and love my job! I’ve been working as a
firefighter for nine years, but have been studying the
craft of firefighting for the past fifteen. I serve with a
great bunch of guys who work and train hard. We
also spend a lot of time busting each other’s chops,
designing and playing hilarious practical jokes, and
taking part in the occasional food fight during the
evening meal. But when the bell hits and we go to
work, it’s all business, and it truly is a family that
even Renée and the other spouses have been
included in. Off the job, I love hanging out with my
wife and our dog at home. It is not uncommon to
find us kayaking local lakes, biking, hiking mountains
in New York, Vermont, and New Hampshire,
snowshoeing and skiing in the winter, or taking in
some live music. I am passionate about music. I was
raised in a musical family and have been playing
drums since I was five. I listen to a very wide range of
music, anywhere from rock and jazz, to electronic
and bluegrass.

A little bit about Renée:
I am a graphic designer and photographer, and teach both subjects
as a Professor at a local University. I do not view this as work at all, as
I truly love what I do. It is wonderful to be able to share my passion
with my students and to see what they can create with it. When I am
not teaching, you can find me in the kitchen baking or outside in the
flower and vegetable gardens. I love soaking in the afternoon sun
while curled up reading a book in the hammock in our backyard. But
no matter where I am, or what I am doing; you will usually find me
with my camera and our dog, Dréko. He is a friend of the
neighborhood kids, who love to stop by and play ball with him. He is
friendly and gentle with our nieces and nephews, and keeps them all
entertained. I am the youngest of four, and grew up with my
grandparents living in the same town, which allowed for a lot of
family time including vacations, cross country skiing, and plenty of
banana splits.
Renée and Brian enjoy a cup of coffee together on their patio

On vacation with Brian’s family
Renée on a hike in Maine
Brian, Renée and Dréko
Renée and Brian visiting Boston
Brian fly-fishing
Renée and Dréko relax
Brian
Brian kayaking on a gorgeous fall day

On vacation with Renée’s family
Brian and Renée on their
honeymoon in San Francisco
Wedding day fun
Renée playing at the park with her nephew and niece
Our home
Brian and his nephew explore
Brian and Renée celebrate a win
Renée cooks up a delicious meal

When the baby arrives…
I will become a stay at home mom to care for the baby full time for
several weeks. We are so excited to welcome your child and become
first time parents. When the time is right, I will start working again
part-time and have arranged to teach just two days a week at the
college. As a graphic designer and photographer I have the ability to
work from home and create my own schedule. First, we want to
focus on the baby and our new little family, which will remain our
most important priority … always.
We are excited to become parents, and are looking forward to the
journey. We have both learned a lot from how we were raised by our
Dréko with our niece
families, and want to develop the same values in our own family.
Values like love, honesty, responsibility, respect and acceptance. We
want to sit down together for dinner at the table every night, and set
aside time for family, including vacations and visiting relatives.
Honesty is the best policy
We want to be honest with your child about adoption. They will
always know about you and your courageous decision. We want to
maintain contact with you in whatever capacity you are comfortable.
We are willing to offer pictures, emails, video chats and phone calls.
Your compassion for your child motivates us to provide the very best
for your child.

OurFavorites
Renée Brian
Dessert: Anything chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sandwich topper: Pepper Rings! Pepper Rings!
Season: Fall All
Footwear: Flip Flops Barefoot
Vacation spot: Maine Hawaii
Holiday: Christmas Thanksgiving
Sport: College Basketball Ultimate Frisbee

We are just a phone call away
If you have questions for us, or would like to get to know
one another more, we would LOVE to talk with you. A
member of The Adoption Alliance can be reached toll free
at 1-800-626-4324. They can answer your question and put
you in touch with us. Thank you for spending some time to
see if we could be the perfect match for your baby.
Hoping to hear from you soon,
Brian and Renée