Dear Birthmother,
Thank you for looking at our profile. Our names are Natalie and Eduard and truly there isn't anything else in the world we want more than to be parents. Although it is impossible to tell you everything about us, or show you all the love we share, we do hope this letter gives you a glimpse into our life together.
About Us:
We met when we were 15, fell in love and have been together ever since. We have been married for 15 years and our marriage is truly amazing. It is filled with love, laughter, friendship and affection. Our relationship thrives on mutual respect, honesty, sincerity, and kindness.
10 years ago we decided to move to Chicago from Ukraine. Since then we tried to conceive a child. After numerous treatments we were still not successful, but our relationship grew stronger as well as our desire and commitment to be parents.
Both of us were brought up in families that were built on trust, honesty, respect and love and family is very important to both of us.
What Eddy says about Natalie:
Natalie is a genuine and sincere person. She is kind, loving, giving and generous, creative and supportive. She works as a mechanical engineer and is very good at what she does. Natalie loves children and knows how to play with them on their level. She manages to teach kids new things even while playing with them. Natalie loves cooking, painting, reading, movies, music, site seeing, traveling, and working out. She is very creative and plays guitar well. Natalie collects antique books and has been collecting children's literature hoping that soon we will be reading stories to our little one.
Natalie's descent is a mix of Ukrainian, Polish, and French. She is a very talented linguist. She easily picked up the English language when we came to Chicago. She speaks fluent Ukrainian, Russian and understands some Polish, and recently learned Chinese for work. Natalie is a Godmother of her cousin Tania's daughter and the kids love coming from Toronto to Chicago every chance they get.
Natalie has a brother who lives in Kiev, Ukraine. She has 2 nephews who adore her. Natalie's father resides in Ivano Frankivsk, Ukraine, which is the town Natalie was raised in. She takes her linguistic abilities after her father, because he was a French translator working for geologists all over the world. She was born in Senegal, Dakar (western Africa) and due to her father's profession she also lived in Morocco. When Natalie was 8 years old her parents returned to Ukraine where she lived until we moved to America. Natalie will be a great mother when the time comes and I can't wait to see her in that role.
What Natalie says about Eddy:
Ed is my best friend. He is a very reliable and responsible person. Ed has a wide range of abilities: from cooking breakfast to building a house. At the same time he is very nurturing and kind. He is easy going and fun loving. Ed works as a programmer for a large prominent firm. He has a lot of hobbies and interests: fitness, literature, technology. His main hobby is building, designing and remodeling homes. He is a wonderful husband and I know he will be an excellent father. The kind of father who will encourage, care and always be there for his kids. Ed's priority is always his family and friends. Ed is one of 3 brothers. He is extremely close with his siblings. His brother Valera lives in Chicago and his older brother Victor lives in Russia so we speak on the phone regularly. Growing up, Ed's parents instilled that working hard and having pride in your work is very important. Most of all, his parents showed him and his brothers how important family is. Ed's mother and father both live in Ukraine. Ed's mother comes to Chicago for 3 months at a time yearly. She was adopted when she was 4 years old, and she can't wait until we welcome a new member into our family. It is a Ukraine custom that grandparents play a great role in raising children. They keep saying: "Children are our future." Eddy's Mom has an open visa and can any time be here with us and play a major role of raising a baby.
Our Home:
We live in a great neighborhood in the northwest suburbs of Chicago (about 40 minutes away from city) in a wonderful spacious cozy 3 bedroom home. The house has had a lot of attention over the years to make it comfortable. We've created a bright and cheery child's bedroom. Our kitchen is the heart of our home, and it's where we casually gather with friends. The kitchen opens onto the backyard deck where we have a gazebo. Our neighborhood is very safe and kid-friendly and the child will be around other children her/his age with whom she/he can play and grow up with.
Our Friends and Family:
We came 10 years ago to Chicago from Ukraine. We love living in the U.S., but at the same time we are proud of our roots and we keep our customs and traditions, which were taught during our childhood and up to the age when we left Ukraine. Before each Holiday we spend two days in advance preparing special dishes that pertain to that upcoming religious or national Ukrainian day. Every year on August we go to "Ukrainian village" in Chicago with our friends and celebrate "Ukrainian days", where we can enjoy watching dances, listening to old Ukrainian songs, eating delicious food and participate in a lot of interesting games.
We have a large circle of friends and we very much enjoy gathering our friends in our home for holidays or just dinners and movies. My grandparents from my father's side were Polish and I remember grandmother taught me how to make "pirogue", "nalisnyki", up to now those are my favorite polish dishes and my friends are looking forward to it every time when they visit us.
Our closest friends are Lester and Inga. We have watched their 2 children grow for many years. Their youngest son Max who is 6 years old can't wait for us to adopt and keeps asking when the baby is going to meet him.
Our friends and family are extremely excited about the prospect of welcoming another family member.
We know this is not easy for you, and we appreciate your amazing generosity in helping another family realize their dream of becoming parents. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our letter and please know that if you give us a chance we will create a very loving, safe environment where a child will be able to pursue her/his dreams and grow into a well rounded and happy adult. Thank you for reading this letter.
If you would like to know more about us, please contact Jennifer Mangiaracina at St. Mary's Services at 847/870-8181.
Sincerely,
Eddy and Natalie
