Håkan and Ella

Hello
Thank you for learning about us. It must be overwhelming—searching through these letters while planning your baby's future! While we cannot fully understand what you are experiencing, we admire your courage and commitment in your journey. Please know, if you choose us to raise your child, he/she will always know of your love.

WHY WE WANT TO ADOPT
Prior to adopting our daughter, Samira, adoption was always a part of our family-building discussion due to infertility. Adoption has blessed both our families and several of our friends, and we remain incredibly grateful to Samira's birthmother for blessing us. Since Samira was born, we can't imagine building our family in any other way. We are so excited to see what fabulous little person will complete our family!

ABOUT US
We met in college and have spent very little time apart since. Although we have different personalities, we share the same values and love spending time together. Our family is the center of our lives; Samira, age 3, and Gracie, our German shorthaired pointer. We own a home in South Minneapolis and love the convenience of urban living and easy access to the lakes, parks and bike trails. Håkan is a business analyst and Ella works as a marketing manager. We hike and bike together—all of us love the outdoors. When not doing those things, or taking Samira to swimming lessons, birthday parties or the park, we're hanging out with friends or working on a house project (Håkan is the handy one).

We are always looking for ways to make our home more comfortable for our family and friends. A unique thing about us is our international family. All our siblings married someone from another country. The ethnicities span six countries: China, Japan, Angola, Sweden, India and the U.S. Ella's parents live in Iowa and we see them often. Håkan's brother and wife live in town and are expecting their first child. Otherwise, it's a good thing we like to travel because the rest of Håkan's family is in Sweden, and Ella's brothers and their families are in Taiwan and Angola.

ELLA ON HÅKAN
Born in Sweden, Håkan came to Minnesota on a college scholarship. He loved it so much, he decided to stay, and we met two years later. Håkan is one of the kindest people I've ever met, Håkan and Ella and his commitment and loyalty are truly inspiring. Of the two of us, he's the quiet one. If anything needs fixing, he can do it. He loves everything about cars; from driving them, fixing them to even cleaning them. Most importantly, Håkan is a fantastic husband and father! He always has time for Samira: to read to her, teach her Swedish or take her to the zoo. Family is his number one priority.

HÅKAN ON ELLA
Ella and I met in college and she changed my life forever! She is such a loving and caring person. Ella is so generous to others, and loves being a mother. She puts great effort into cooking and planning meals. A creative mom, Ella is always thinking of how to keep Samira learning with activities, games, and of ways we can have fun together as a family. She loves to read books and write, practice yoga, walk the dog and make us laugh. In the summer she enjoys spending time in the garden with Samira, who is a big helper and loves getting dirty.

SAMIRA (HER NAME MEANS WIND IN HINDI)
We adopted Samira three years ago. She is biracial: Caucasian and East Indian, and a petite fireball. She loves books, puzzles (her favorite is Girls of the World) and playing board and computer games. Samira especially enjoys reading Swedish books with her pappa. She is strong-willed and intelligent, she is funny, laughs often and is very loving. Samira plays easily with all children and is indiscriminate with hugs. She is also very active and enjoys music, dancing, swimming and gymnastics. Samira is very excited to be a big sister!

OUR HOPES FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILD
It takes someone very special to make the adoption choice, and we want to assure you that in choosing us we will do everything in our power to validate your choice every day of our lives. We know we can give a child a truly happy home full of love, guidance, protection, devotion and laughter.

Thank you for reading our letter and best wishes on your journey.

Ella and Håkan

612-805-0572