A Life Book is your chance to introduce yourself to birth moms at CPO. This is the first step birth moms will take when choosing an adoptive family.
What to include.
Preparing Your Life Book can be as unique as you are, so have fun! Tell your story. Be creative. After looking at your Life Book, a birth mother should feel like she knows you. Here’s what you should include:
• An autobiography of both husband and wife. Include information on where you grew up, your siblings and extended family, education, occupation, hobbies, talents, interests, and your relationship with the Lord.
• Why you desire to adopt a child. Some refer to this as a “Dear Birth Mother” letter, but it does not have to be in letter format.
• Pictures! Pictures! Pictures! Lots of well-labeled photos are a must. You may want to include individual pictures of each of you, wedding pictures, couple shots, vacations, holidays, your children (if you have any), pets, your home, the nursery, each of you doing your favorite hobby or sport, and your extended family. Action shots are always great.
• A current photo of you (and any children) on the FIRST PAGE. We have seen frustrated birth moms toss books aside after looking through all sorts of pictures of random family members before they finally find a picture of the adoptive couple and their kiddos.
The format.
All Life Books should be created online using Shutterfly. It is easy to use and the books are sturdy enough to weather the wear and tear they are often subjected to as we cart them to birth moms’ homes, the hospital, etc. Here are some specifics:
• You can have a copy sent directly to Cheryl from Shutterfly.
• Do not use fonts smaller than 12 points. In our experience, 14-point type seems to profile better.
• Do not use fonts that look like script. Some girls have difficulty reading them.
• Make an extra copy of your Life Book for yourself if you wish. Once you are chosen by a birth mother, she will keep our copy.
Relax.
Don’t spend hours stressing about what to include in your book. Remember, God has a plan for you and your family! We’ve had girls chose couples because they liked the look of their cat, cheered for the same sports team, or simply liked where they had vacationed. So pray about it. And if you are not creative, find a friend or family member who can help you. If your grammar, spelling and punctuation aren’t great, have someone proof what you write. Do your best, but don’t stress.