Dear Birth Parent(s)

Dear Expectant Parent(s), 

First off, thank you so much for taking the time to learn a little about our family. We can only imagine what you may be feeling as you make this life-changing decision. We may not understand what you are going through, but we want you to know that we are scared as well.

It is terrifying to put yourself out there with all the other people trying to adopt too. However, we feel confident that everything we have done in our lives, has led us to this point right now—adding to our family through adoption. With that being said, thank you for considering us at this important time. 

Here is a little about our family…

Our names are Richard and Mari. We have been married for eight years and have two children, Winston (4 years old) and Eve (2 years old). We love being married to one another and we love our little family. Although they bring us such joy now, there was a time in our lives where having children was full of trials and hardships. Our son Winston, came in January 2014 after extensive fertility treatments over two years. We thank God every day for the blessing that he is in our lives. Then, in 2015, we attempted to expand our family through more fertility treatments. Although we were able to get pregnant, Mari was unable to keep the babies, and we miscarried twice. At that time, we believed strongly, that there were more children waiting to join our family. We began the adoption process, and after a few months in, we learned that we had miraculously conceived on our own. In August of 2016, our sweet Eve joined our family. Even yet, we know that God has a plan for us and we are all excited for our family to grow through adoption. Winston and Eve pray every night that their baby sibling will be led to our family. Learn more about us individually on our About Us and  pages.

Saturday bike ride up Provo Canyon.

We are a fun-loving family that enjoys doing just about anything together. In particular, we love to be with extended family and friends whenever possible. Our favorite activities include playing in our backyard (especially with neighbors), exercising at the gym, eating really good food (we love ethnic foods), traveling the world (this Spring, we went to Europe for two weeks), and doing other outdoor activities such as swimming and hiking. Currently, our recent obsession is pool time, bike rides, and raspberry picking. Yum Yum! We love summer days! At the same time, we also enjoy lounging in our PJs, playing our new favorite game Sushi Go, and binge watching Netflix and Hulu with one another. 

On our Sound of Music Biking tour around Salzbury.

We are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and our faith is very important to us. Church is attended every week, and prayers are said daily in our home. We value faith, honesty, integrity, hard work, service, and love for everyone. These are principles that are taught in our home every day and by example. Equally important, we value family relationships and we’re looking forward to a healthy relationship with our birth family.

We have a high level of respect and gratitude for birth parents. We know this must not be easy for you, but we respect that you’re exploring your options while considering what is best for your baby. Putting the needs of your child before your own is one of the most notable traits of a good parent. Should we have the blessing of raising your child, we would love for there to be ongoing communication between our families and we are committed to working with you to figure out what that looks like. Most importantly, we want you to know that we will never forget you or your sacrifice in bringing our family together. We will teach your child who you are, where they came from and the gratitude we have for your selfless act of love. 

We wish you courage and peace as you make this difficult decision. Know that every day we

are praying for you and are excited to one day meet you. One of our favorite quotes is by Jeffrey R. Holland, a great man in our Church. “Keep your chin up...Trust God and believe in good things to come.” We believe this will be the case for you, as well as us, at this time. If you would like to learn more about us, please visit our About Us page or our Pick Us Page or Our Facebook Adoption Page. If you're already convinced we're the right family for you and your baby, please email us at mariserrao84@gmail.com. Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to learn about our family.

With love, 

Richard and Mari Oto
(Win and Evie too)