Our Photos

Love to take walks in the park

Horse riding lessons

Blowing Bobbles with niece & nephews

Get ready, its bike riding time

Hanging with the boys, nephews

We are big huggers

Story time with niece & nephews

Enjoying more time with our niece

Birthdays are special

Home sweet home

Fun with silly string

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Eric & Contessa

Welcome to our Garden!
Greetings!
We are Eric and Contessa. We would like to welcome you and thank you for taking time to look through these pages where we attempt to share with you our little part of the world. We are so thrilled and excited at the prospect of growing our family! We realize that you are feeling emotions of many kinds. Just know that your selfless act of love shares with us the greatest gift of joy and blessing that we will ever know. We are so thankful for you and your ability to make such a thoughtful, caring, and heartfelt decision that will truly be the most life changing experience of our lives. Please allow us to help you through this adoption journey in any way that we can. Our goal is that we ALL find peace-of- mind in the decisions we now make.

Sunshine in our garden (An Introduction)
We fell in love shortly after meeting in September of 2003. After dating for a little over a year we became man and wife in a sweet little church in St. Louis, Oklahoma on December 4, 2004. We love each other now even more than we did then!
We love new adventures! Our annual trips to the beach and lying out in the sun on the sand or jumping in to the ocean for a swim are treasured moments. Every year we find a new bonding activity. Some examples include salsa and ballroom dance classes, golf lessons, and SCUBA diving lessons. Our most recent bonding experience has been horse-back riding lessons. We love spending time together embracing new challenges and we have a huge love for animals, especially horses (and of course our Bichon Charm!)
We began trying to have a family immediately. We tried every fertility treatment available and were left with nothing but our deepening desire to be parents to a sweet, special baby boy or girl. We are thrilled to build our family through adoption and realize that this is the path that God has intended for us! Our entire family shares our enthusiasm over our adoption plan. They have supported us at every stage of our lives and can’t wait to shower a little one with love and affection, oh and don’t forget the toys!
We relocated to Arkansas to be closer to Contessa’s seven nieces and nephews. Family is very important to us and since we had no success starting a family of our own we wanted to be near her sisters’ little ones. Then we moved into our dream home; a three-bedroom, open-design home in a golf-course community with a pool and tennis courts. A mixture of young families and retired persons share our neighborhood. Soon after, we began fertility treatments.
We are very involved with our church and enjoy serving others together. We have taught children’s bible hour, vacation Bible school, and Sunday school classes together. We want our children to grow up with the heart of a servant and will teach them about service to others throughout their lives.
The seeds are planted…(a little background)

From Eric:
Contessa’s unwavering devotion to children permeates every aspect of her life. Her place as the eldest of four sisters provided her early experiences with children. She chose a career nurturing children through speech therapy and later as a special-education teacher. Her seven nieces and nephews enjoy their “Aunt Tessa” and her taking them home from school at the end of the day, reading them a book, riding bikes, or even something as simple as blowing bubbles out on the lawn. Her sisters rely on her for advice, assistance, and moral support with their own children. Contessa is meant to be a parent, and a child would be blessed to call her “Mom.”
Contessa enjoys theatre, cooking, and crafting. She loves sharing herself with others through singing and acting. She has found a second home among her “theatre friends” at a few of the local community theatres in our area. Contessa sings beautifully and acts with passion and energetically performs each role or song whether it be comedic, dramatic, or a simple song such as Happy Birthday! I am her number-one fan and have attended most every performance. She also loves to cook for her friends and family. Around the holidays rousing smells and sights fill our kitchen and keep us all coming back for more. Whether it’s a big holiday meal or simple backyard grilling, Contessa makes it the best experience she can for her guests with great food, friendly chatter, and beautiful accommodations. Other past times for a Saturday afternoon include curling up with a good book or crafting. She loves to bedazzle her school spirit t-shirts. She adds sparkle to all she does.

From Contessa:
Eric is a man of uncompromising integrity, loyalty and responsibility. He gives generously. He is the sweetest man I know! He hails from Oklahoma. In high school, he played sports such as baseball and football. He attended college at Oklahoma State University. While there he obtained two degrees; one in Mathematical Education and the second in Accounting. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and works as a Tax Manager. He excels at his job and is a great supporter in other ways as well. Eric is my best friend. Our nephews love playing with “Uncle Eric”. I can’t wait to see him as a father to a lucky child.
Eric’s interests include a love for family, great literature, and learning about horses and following their lineage. Eric and I do most everything together and he relishes the time we spend with our nieces and nephews. Eric especially loves riding bikes with “the boys” (our nephews). Eric can speed through a novel faster than anyone I know and found his love for literature through his mother. As a hobby, Eric greatly enjoys riding horses and spending time with these majestic animals. He studies race horses’ bloodlines, statistical odds, and previous race experiences.
Tending the family garden (Getting Ready for Kids and Why We Want to Adopt)
When we think about being parents, we think about passing on the unconditional love and stability that our families provided us. We trust that this foundation, coupled with the happy way we live, will help instill in our children a strong sense of integrity and compassion. We wish to raise children who celebrate their spirituality, hold fast to their own moral philosophies, and relish in the small beauties of life. We want them to have fun while understanding that life can be a demanding learning process. We also want them to know that hard work can be fulfilling. On a daily level this means we want our children to have fun positive experiences. As babies, they’ll have toys and games that challenge them physically and mentally in a warm, safe environment. We will encourage them to be creative and work with others. We’ll teach them to play ball and swim. We’ll do chores together. We’ll wash the dog, sing together, eat cake and ice cream, and celebrate the holidays. We’ll go to church together and volunteer together. We’ll support them when they struggle, applaud their successes, and guide them when they make mistakes. We will love them every day!

Wanna grow our gardens together?
We also understand that being the best parents we can be may include helping you during your pregnancy. We care about you. We will assist you with your pregnancy-related needs to the fullest extent possible. Before and after birth, we are willing to stay as close or as distant as you want. We share a common goal, the happiness of your child, and we wish you all the best.
So now the next move is up to you. We wish there was more we could do to help you in this process. If our letter makes you think we might be a good match let us know. We would love to speak to you on the phone or meet if you’d like. To learn more about us or speak to us on the phone, please contact Cindy at A Loving Alternative, 800-556-5635. We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Eric and Contessa

Contact This Family

To talk to this family, please call Cindy at 800-556-5635 or by sending an email below