About Elliot & Kerri Gee

Dear Birthmother,

If you are reading this, then you have already begun to give people like us hope. Werealize that if it weren't for thoughtful people like you, we wouldn't be able to fulfill our own hopes and dreams of having a family – which would be a dream come true for us. Thank you so much for reading our letter.

I'll never forget the day that my then boyfriend (now husband), Elliot, and I first talked about being parents someday. On our date, we had walked through a beautiful park and noticed a Little League baseball game was being played.

Before either of us knew it, we were cheering for every child who came to bat. Elliot and I ended up talking for hours afterwards about how we envisioned ourselves as parents and we agreed on so many things about parenting.
Our names are Elliot and Keri Gee Semmelman and we've been married since November 2005.

We, along with our two adorable cats (Fricky & Sabre), live in our four bedroom house with a nice size backyard, on a cul-de-sac for kids to safely play, and within a very close drive to wonderful beaches, parks, and good schools. Our street has other young children and many wonderful neighbors.

Our blessings are many - we love one another so much! We have many special friends and come from loving families. We both enjoy what we do for work.

Elliot is a full-time computer analyst and on some evenings teaches aerobics. I have a home-based business where I do public relations (help people promote their causes and businesses) and am a professional speaker/trainer for a variety of nonprofit organizations and businesses.

Elliot and I both had happy childhoods. Elliot grew up in Los Angeles with two older sisters, a dog, loving parents, and in a home that was filled with lots of friends, music, and laughter.

Their family loved nature and they would go on trips to the beach, the mountains, and camping with an annual trip to Yosemite. I grew up in Orange County with one older sister, two older brothers, my twin brother, a dog, and loving parents, too.
We especially enjoyed playing games together, creating homemade Halloween costumes every year, and participating in sports and scouting activities – often times having my parents as the coach of our team and troop leader…which meant so much to me! Both Elliot and I have learned valuable lessons from our childhood that we’d love to pass on to our own child. Mostly, we learned how good it feels to give and receive unconditional love.

We are both in good health and able to do those things that we enjoy most, such as our recent 10-day vacation by car to Yosemite where we hiked, rode bikes, and then enjoyed a breathtaking drive down the California coast.

We also love creative writing, listening to music, dancing, sports, and watching movies. We really enjoy volunteering in our community, too.

Most recently we were co-captains of a team for an American Cancer Society 24-hour event. And, just as our parents did, we have enjoyed bringing family and friends together in our home for numerous holidays and celebrations such as Thanksgiving dinners and birthday parties.

One of the things we enjoy most is being around children. Elliot loved coaching a junior high basketball team for a season and I will always treasure the special memories of when I spent three summers as a camp counselor for elementary school aged children and many years as a recreation leader at local parks and schools.

With all of our blessings, there is one very important part we are missing – that is to have children of our own to love, nurture, and raise.

We both feel completely ready in our own lives and also as a couple to take on this very amazing role as parents.

Since we are not able to get pregnant on our own, and we've decided to not try all the modern day technology, we set our hearts and dreams on adopting a baby. Actually, ever since I was a child I talked about wanting to adopt a baby some day. Early on in Elliot's and my relationship, I shared this with him and he loved the idea. When deciding on whether to adopt a baby or a young child, our hearts keep bringing us back to adopting a newborn so that we could give them all that we have to offer right from their very beginning.

For whoever's child we have the honor of raising, we promise that the child will be forever loved, adored, respected, and have a very meaningful life filled with many special and fun experiences.

We will raise them with an understanding of the importance of laughter and fun. This part will come naturally since we ourselves love to be child-like!

From attempting ? to sing Karaoke and dressing up for Halloween in order to give out candy, we always create a lot of laughter and fun in our lives and for those around us. This will be an important value to pass on to our child. We'll also make sure he/she receives a good education because it will open up a world of opportunities for them. We'll enjoy reading to and with them, patiently helping them with their homework, and being there for them whenever needed. Lessons learned from our own experiences in school will definitely help. We especially learned a great deal in college. Elliot graduated from UCLA with a degree in Psychology. I graduated from California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) with degrees in Public Relations and Recreation Leadership. College was more than earning degrees, it taught us to strive for and accomplish our goals while also having fun and making lifelong friendships in the process. These are values we would love to instill within our child.

Please know that your child will be welcomed into a very loving family and precious group of friends. Though each of us has lost a parent – Elliot's father and my mom both sadly died of cancer – we are thankful that Elliot's sweet mom and terrific step-dad and my very dear father, are excited about our decision to adopt. They will be wonderful grandparents! We also have several siblings and nieces who live locally who will be attentive aunts, uncles, and cousins…and many other relatives near and far with lots of love in their hearts to give.

Our greatest responsibility and commitment to you will be to encourage and celebrate the baby's special talents and uniqueness, and to provide them a very loving, safe, and nurturing environment to grow, play, and learn.

Thank you so much for considering us to lovingly parent your baby. With much love to give, Elliot & Keri Gee