Dear Surrogate Mom,
We truly believe that you are the kindest and most giving woman in this world. Every person has goals in life, and ours has always been to have a family and lovingly raise children. We are the sort of couple that discussed having children even before our wedding details were finalized. Without your help, we would never be able to fulfill our dream. We will make you a forever promise that our baby will be loved, supported, cherished and respected every day. The child that you are bringing into our family is already loved.
Our Family
We hope this letter helps you understand our marriage and family.
We have been married since 2004 and dated two years before our marriage. After our struggle with infertility and miscarriages and a hysterectomy we decided surrogacy was the next step to build our family, as we both very much want to be parents.
A little from Maria
I grew up in New Jersey as an only child. I was raised in a house with my Mom, Grandma and Grandpa. Every Sunday we had great fun with each other as the children and grandchildren always came to our home. I was the youngest of 13 grandchildren so I always had someone to play with or helped the “ladies” make dinner. We took family vacations every summer at the beach and often traveled to friends & families homes in New York State, Massachusetts and Washington D.C. My Grandpa really enjoyed historical sites and so they always made sure we learned something new on vacation. We often visited Walt Disney World and until this day visit there every December and March.
I love to collect rocks and our garden is scattered with memories that have come from all over the world. I took tap, jazz and modern dance lessons for many years and still enjoy dance.
I’ve traveled many places in the world and have become an avid photographer over the years. I use my photos to raise funds for non-profits and almost have my book finished.
Other interests are cooking, reading, gardening and museums.
I attended college for English but life steered me in other directions. Most of my working experience has been in a non-profit world and in assisted living marketing positions.
My Husband
What I love most about my husband is his ability to make me laugh, and always see the light at the end of the tunnel. He is as smart as he is kind. Gregory is also a great listener. We often spend time sitting in our sun room chatting about the day. Greg and I are always up for an adventure and have shared so many special times together writing this letter makes me see how truly blessed I am. He often surprises me. One of those days was when he asked me to marry him. It was when we were living in Boston and had just done some shopping and were heading home on a cold, windy November day. He grabbed my hand and took me into the Four Seasons hotel. We went into the tea room for high tea. We ordered tea and pastries and he excused himself. In a moment the waitress came over with glasses of champagne and I told her I was sorry but they weren’t ours. I felt someone next to me and there was Greg on his knee asking me to be his wife. Gregory gives the most loving hugs and makes the best crab cakes on earth!
A little from Greg
I grew up the youngest of four kids. I have 2 older sisters and an older brother. My parents worked hard and gave as much time as they could. We took frequent road trips and we still laugh at all the pinching and tickling that took place in the back seat. There were always cousins and family friends coming and going.
I work as an Electrical Engineer and am just completing my Masters degree. During my life I’ve had opportunities to work with all kinds of people and serve our country while I was in the Navy, I taught water survival school and was also stationed on a ship. The Navy gave me life long friends and the chance to see so much of the world.
Besides traveling with Maria I enjoy skiing, golf and scuba diving. I swim as much as I can and look forward to teaching our children how to swim.
My Wife
One of the first things I admired about Maria is that she has so much integrity. She says what she thinks and she does what she says she will do. She has very high standards for herself, which is why she is someone who you can trust. People are attracted to her kindness immediately. Her love for children is amazing, she lights up when the nieces and nephews are near.
Spending time with your best friend is always good but when your best friend is your wife it’s complete joy. Her laugh can fill a room! Her eyes sparkle and my “home” is where ever she is.
Our Dog, Lily
Our family also includes our dog Lily. She is a shih tzu that is true tomboy. She loves to play and travel with us in the car. She is wonderful around children and several of the kids in our neighborhood come to have play dates with Lily. She doesn’t shed and is hypoallergenic. She has a basket of toys and when we tell her to get a specific toy she gets it right! We play catch with her in the backyard and take her for walks in the park or around the lake. As she has aged she has stuck with Maria during all her surgeries, all the babies we have lost. She has really added to our lives.
Family Life
With Maria’s photography and writing she is home full time. Greg works Monday-Friday and is just a few months away from completing his Masters degree. Dinner is always eaten together and we enjoy eating outside in the nice weather. One night of every weekend is movie, pj night.
Both of us put a high value on education, and we want to raise our baby with the best education available. We will celebrate accomplishments as a family and learn from mistakes as a family.
Having lots of extended family and many nieces and nephews to love we enjoy crowded houses on holidays and celebrate the milestones of our nieces and nephews. All the kids are very excited to have a new baby in their lives.
Sadly both of our Dads have passed but we have two wonderful, energetic, loving and inspiring Moms that can’t wait for our family to begin. They have been pillars in our lives while dealing with miscarriages and infertility.
Our Home and Neighborhood
Our neighborhood is about a 30 minute drive from NYC. Our neighborhood has so many children it is wonderful to see. They range in age from one to sixteen years old, and as a result in the summer there are always bicycles peddling up and down our street. Sometimes one of our neighbors will inflate a waterslide and many of the neighborhood kids will be there getting wet and having a great time.
We have several large parks within 5 minutes of our house and a petting zoo with a beautiful carousel and children’s train just 3 towns over.
We have a Memorial Day parade that passes our house every year and Greg marches with the veterans. We meet in our downtown park for the ceremonies and a large community cook out.
Values and Traditions First and foremost, we will raise our child to believe in God and teach them they are never alone.
Our Christen faith is very important to us. We hope to instill in our children the love of God and the knowledge that He wants the best for us. It would please us very much to see our kids sense the strength of God’s love, peace, and the feeling of belonging that the Church provides. Honesty, kindness, graciousness, and family are the most important to us.
We think traditions encourage a sense of family unity. Together we have each brought traditions to our family and have created our own new traditions.
As we mentioned before, we have our “family movie night.” We also like to take long weekends at the beach. Days walking on the beach, flying kites and roasting marshmallows as the sun goes down our some of our favorites. Sunday’s in the fall we like to go apple and pear picking.
We visit Walt Disney World often and look forward to seeing Disney through our child’s eyes. Every chance we get we head to the beach. We love the beach year round.
Our Thoughts on Openness
We both think it is very important for any child received into our home to learn about how he/she came to be with us. We will be open at all times to their questions when they are wondering about all aspects of their lives.
We will always emphasize how their surrogate Mom was such a giving, special woman and without her our family would never have been complete. We have so much respect for you and would be so grateful if you made our dream come true.
Thank you for reading about us~
With the warmest thoughts and gratitude.
Blurred Lines But Hope 