Dear friend,

We are a preacher and a teacher who are very grateful for this very important decision that you are making. Even if you d o not choose us, we want you to know that we are very proud of you and the decision that you are making. Most importantly, we hope that you are proud of yourself because you should be.

Let us tell you a little bit about who we are. Our names are Eugene and Jennifer and we are a family deeply committed to faithful living under God's guidance. Together, we participate in many activities, including church and school activities that are part of our careers. As a family, we enjoy golfing, playing Scrabble, working in our yard, watching M*A*S*H and Scrubs reruns and vacationing at the beach. Our favorite beaches are St. Simons Island, Georgia and Orange Beach, Alabama, both of which we look forward to sharing with a little one in years to come. We also spend plenty of time with Tommy and Tyler, Jennifer's sons from her first marriage, as we cheer them on during  their football, basketball and baseball games, and attend school functions. We also enjoy weekend visits with them in between sports seasons. Tommy and Tyler live with their father though we have joint custody.

Eugene is a Methodist minister in his fourth year the United Methodist Church. He pastors four rural churches, each quite different from the others. He preaches three times each Sunday, always tailoring the sermon to meet the individual churches' needs. We equate it to raising siblings with markedly different personalities! This is our first appointment, and we look forward to many years of ministering to United Methodist congregations. In his free time, Eugene enjoys studying theology, Greek and Hebrew. When he is not studying, he enjoys running and hopes to run a marathon in the future. He is also quite a fan of movie trivia, often trading lines via email with his brother.

Jennifer recently completed her Master's degree in education, with certification in English. She currently works as the Title I instructor for a high school, tutoring students individually or in small groups to improve their reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar skills.  Jennifer enjoys reading and photography, but her favorite pastime is music, everything from Frank Sinatra to 80s pop and beyond. She has been singing since she was a little girl and still sings in church, in her classroom, in the car - everywhere!

Our Christian faith and our relationship with each other has been our greatest inspiration to adopt. We actually knew before we married that we would be an adoptive family, and we are traveling this road secure in the knowledge that God will add His blessings to the journey. As Christians, we believe that we are all adopted children - adopted into the kingdom of God, who loves each of us with an everlasting love no matter how we came to Him. Secondly, we have already formed a strong, loving family that includes Jennifer's two sons. Eugene and Jennifer are obviously not related by biology, yet there is unconditional love. Eugene is not related to the boys by blood, and yet he has opened his heart to them in millions of ways. We look forward to bringing a new child into this family and loving him or her with that same unconditional love.  We do not know how to thank you for what you are doing, except just to say "thank you." It seems hardly enough for something that will touch someone so deeply. Our prayers will be with you in the coming days as you make this very important decision.

Your friends,Eugene and Jennifer