- Call us: 1-877-276-1011
- E-mail us: stoterau@prodigy.net
- Contact our attorney David Baum:
- Within California: 1(818) 501-8355
- Outside of California: 1(800) 795-2367
- E-mail our attorney: adoptlaw@ix.netcom.com
Hello!
Before we tell you our story, we want to focus attention on you to thank you for the amazing decision you are making. Adoption is not only a brave and admirable choice on your part, but an incredibly compassionate gift that is priceless to the receiver(s). You will be giving a lucky couple, whether us or another, the greatest gift in the world, and for that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
It seems we were always meant to meet each other. The stars and moon were in alignment for some time, but for whatever reason the initial “meeting” didn’t happen until much later… We are Corinne and Jeff. Both of us were employed at a Southern California grocery chain (within a mile of each other) throughout college, but did not meet at work. We both attended college at UC Irvine (we majored in the same field!) but did not meet there. The two of us finally met at an “establishment” in Newport Beach one summer evening. A mutual friend introduced us, we got to talking, and talking and talking and, well, the rest is history…
We share a lot in common — a love for music and a mutual admiration (maybe obsession?) for U2. Being fanatics we flew to Ireland to see the band play in their native country along with another 199, 998 other people! This trip, of course, was before we started a family of our own. In April of 2004, our lives changed forever as we transformed from a “couple” to a “family” when the first of our two sons was born. Yes, we still like to go to concerts, however now we stay a lot closer to home and the headlining act usually includes “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” on the set list!
Corinne is a school psychologist assigned to two elementary schools and one high school. She obtained a BA in human behavior and doctorate in clinical psychology having worked her way through school as a grocery store cashier for 13 years. Needless to say, Corinne enjoys working with children of all ages. A bonus in her line of work is the wonderful vacation time – winter break, spring break, and the entire summer off! Jeff owned and operated his own restaurant delivery business for years, but ultimately decided to pursue graduate studies in sales and marketing. He completed his MBA and now works as a marketing manager at a major medical device company heading a team dealing with pediatric care, where Jeff is touched on a daily basis by saving the lives of infants and small children with his products.
Although we have much in common, our childhoods were different. In his teen years, Jeff enjoyed playing basketball and tennis on a competitive basis. One of his fondest memories was having floor seats on several occasions at Los Angeles Laker games and shooting the ball with Magic Johnson during the warm-ups! Jeff ADORES cars and learned everything about engines by rebuilding an MG from scratch with his father.
As a child, Corinne played the piano, was active in Girl Scouts, danced (tap, ballet and jazz) and was passionate about drama and theatrical productions. Truth be told, if Corinne had not gone to school to pursue her career in psychology her other option was always to “make it” in Hollywood. Although she and her brother were both involved in some commercials and television shows as children, juggling school and a job made the process too difficult as she grew older.
Our oldest son, Nolan, is our four-year old “artist.” He likes anything to do with music and is constantly singing. We hope to start him on the piano in the next few months as he is very eager to learn a musical instrument. Constantly teaching his younger brother new things, he is compassionate, loving, likes to “read” books, do puzzles, color, watch videos, and anything involving Spiderman. Landon is our 2 year-old “boys boy.” For him it’s anything outside the house: drawing with chalk on our patio, swimming in our pool or exploring the backyard. He idolizes his older brother and would love to have a little brother or sister. Landon adores Elmo and has also recently begun to build his own Thomas the Train tracks. Like his brother, Landon enjoys books, and asks for one after another at bedtime; making his “good night” routine a bit longer than expected!
Of course, we can’t forget to mention our dog, CJ. She is a beautiful Samoyed and is WONDERFUL with children. The kids use CJ as a living pillow to snuggle with and sometimes as a step-stool! CJ comes camping with us and accompanies us on our jog stroller “outings”. Being a sled dog, this is probably her most favorite activity and it certainly helps out whichever of us is steering the stroller!
We enjoy travel as well… having been to Costa Rica, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Hawaii. It’s exciting learning all about the local cultures, sights and sounds of each place. Most of the international travel was before we had children, but we were brave enough to take our oldest son to New Zealand (at 17 months) and both of our boys to Hawaii in late 2006 and in the Spring of 2009. Because air-travel with young children can have some unique “challenges,” we bought an RV in December of 2006 to continue our love of travel in an easier way. We have journeyed all over California and the boys love the trailer and are always excited when we start packing for our next destination.
This past summer, we did a “house swap” with Corinne’s parents! Corinne’s father recently retired and wanted to “downsize” while we were looking for a bigger space for our family, complete with a larger yard and a pool! Each child now has their own bedroom, with an extra to spare just waiting for our new addition! Although it is a bit “strange” to once again live in the house where she grew up, Corinne is excited to make new memories in it. With an excellent school district and a neighborhood filled with children to play with, we are only an hour from the mountains, a half hour from the beach, and a hop, skip and a jump from Disneyland.
Although it is hard to believe how quickly time has gone by, we have recently celebrated our 10-year wedding anniversary. Both of us feel very blessed to have come from two families who also continue to enjoy “wedded bliss”: Jeff’s parents for over 45 years, while Corinne’s parents will soon celebrate 40 years together. We attribute a great deal of our commitment and unconditional love for each other to these phenomenal role-models and spend as much time as we possibly can with our extended families.
Both of us are incredibly excited about adopting a child and believe that being a parent is the most important job in the entire world. We are actually quite familiar with the adoption process and how rewarding it is: Corinne has several friends who have successfully adopted amazing children, Jeff’s best friend is adopted and Corinne’s father is adopted too! Truth be told, Corinne would not be here today if it wasn’t for a special woman who made such a wonderful choice. More than anything, we would like to be a part of this incredible process and have a happy ending as well!
We look forward to providing a loving and supportive environment for our new son or daughter. The two of us want our children’s lives to be filled with joy, laughter and fond childhood memories. We’ll want to provide the necessary structure but at the same time allow our children to fulfill their own dreams. Both of us promise to provide a quality education and supply each child with opportunities to explore their own unique interests. As a couple, we have all the love, experience and resources to make that a reality!
Thank you for reading our letter and considering us for your baby. We’d like to speak with you by phone 1-877-276-1011 or exchange e-mail stoterau@prodigy.net. You can also speak with our attorney if that helps you feel more comfortable. His name is Dave Baum and can be reached toll free at 1-800-795-2367 or by e-mail at adoptlaw@ix.netcom.com. If you’d like, Dave can provide you with more information about us. We know you will find him easy to talk to as he is an adoptive parent himself and has been through this process before. If you would like to meet us, he can help coordinate that as well. No matter which way you choose to contact us, we really look forward to getting to know you and thank you for this amazing opportunity!
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