Letters

We grew up together in a fairly small town. Though we didn’t know each other well, we shared classes and friends at school. Tom even worked at the very same Italian restaurant that Karen frequented with her dad! But it wasn’t until our 10-year high school reunion that we finally made a real connection. We exchanged numbers that night, and the rest is history!

We dated long distance for about a year and a half, but that finally changed when Tom joined Karen in New York City. What hasn’t changed is our love for dumplings, pizza, cheesesteaks,...

I was raised in Pennsylvania, just five minutes away from Tom. I grew up working at a local flower shop and waiting tables at Applebee’s. I’ve always been a Disney fanatic, and went to Disneyworld with my family almost every other year as a kid. I am still super close with all of my family members, and now Tom’s family too!

I spent most of my early adult life working as a dancer/aerialist. I worked for cruise ships, Tokyo Disney Sea (a total dream come true!), and in magic shows around the globe. I’ve lived in Japan twice (I love...

I was raised with core values rooted in hard work. I’ve been working since I was 15-years-old, when I started as a dishwasher at an Italian restaurant. While I never would have imagined myself as an accountant, I’m very glad that I chose this as my career path! I consider myself lucky to work for such an amazing firm. They are very family-oriented, and have given us the chance to travel the world and have such cool experiences like bathing elephants in Thailand and visiting the snow monkeys of Nagano in Japan.

Even though we have gotten to travel...

On the weekends when we’re not visiting family, we are usually out for a walk enjoying Central Park or perhaps just lounging on our roof space. We have been known to enjoy a paint night, or just a simple night at home cooking a meal together. We try to cook at home most of the week, and we reserve dining out for the weekends. Tom is the master Italian chef, but Karen whips up a great meatless creation on the stove or a carnivorous dish in the crockpot. The crockpot, we have discovered, is the secret to a really tasty, easy meal!

Traveling will always be...

Despite our many travels abroad, day-to-day life with us is simple and sweet. We love a good coffee in the morning, and we both work from home very easily. Weekends don’t have to be busy to be fun, and we love a relaxing weekend at home. Tom’s dad made us a nifty game machine, so we have access to tons of fun video games at home, too.

When Tom heads out for a run in the afternoon, Karen will roll out her yoga mat or microformer here in the apartment. Once the evening rolls around, we can probably be found reading, tuning into a movie...

We are happiest when spending time with our parents and close-knit friends. Plus, the recent purchase of our first car has made it even easier for us to travel home at our leisure. We are sure these trips will only increase when our family grows.

Holidays are super important to us. We love to take in the holiday lights around Christmas, and who can say no to a table full of homemade cookies and pies! We have some professional entertainers in the family (Karen's cousin's band is Japanese Breakfast!), so things are always lively and entertaining.

We don’t have...

We are so grateful you took the time to read our book and start to get to know us. We know that it takes a lot of courage and love to consider an adoption plan. We deeply respect your decision to consider adoption, and appreciate you considering us as adoptive parents.

Throughout our journeys, both together and apart, we have learned a lot about life and feel well-prepared to be parents. We have a ton of love, patience, and time to offer a child, who will in turn be given the space to grow and expand their own sense of self under our careful watch. Being...

Hi! We are Karen and Tom. Thank you for finding us! We can only imagine the many feelings you have at this very moment and we appreciate your taking the time getting to know us. We have always talked about growing our family through adoption, so this is us embarking on a very special journey that is close to our hearts. This book is a collection of significant memories, important people, and a tiny glimpse into the life we hope to share with a child. We look forward to connecting with you and our stories potentially combining.