This profile comes to you with warmth and respect.

I honor your huge heart, trust and courage as you consider open adoption. I deeply respect all the feelings you are having about your life right now and wish I could pop out of this computer or phone and hug you. I would love to listen to your story and learn about your dreams for yourself and your child. I'd like to help those dreams be reached.

I am excited and humbled that you are reading this. It is a bit weird trying to tell you who I am through words and photographs. I hope it gives you an idea of how much love I have to give a child and how excited I am to be a Mama. What a journey for us both!

If your journey leads you to becoming part of my extended family, I welcome you and your child with friendship, trust, support and so much love.

About Me

I'm a teacher, an animal saver, a lover of nature and music, a loyal friend, and a maker of magical happenings. I am a happy and grateful person who knows it is amazing to be alive. I appreciate each new day and celebrate that by living life to the fullest. 

I was born and raised in Michigan but have lived in California half of my life. This helps me have solid values, a grounded character and a big heart, while also having a great sense of humor, a wild imagination and an endless sense of wonder about this incredible world. 

Here in Oakland, I have created a beautiful, healthy life filled with family, friends, music, nature and meaning. I have built up so much goodness, my cup is truly running over! It is from this place of abundance and love that I deeply want to be a mother.

I feel so good about open adoption as a choice that I know that growing my family this way is meant to be. This is the perfect time in my life to fully love and care for a little human being and I can't wait. 

Everything seems to have led me to this moment of being a mother and helping a child to joyfully become whatever they dream to be.

 

My Family

I have a big and awesome family living right near by. I am blessed to enjoy the company and support of five smart, kind and HILARIOUS siblings and some adorable nieces and nephews. They can't wait for a new, sweet baby to join the family!

We get together often to celebrate birthdays, or just to hang out. Each summer we go on an epic adventure to the beautiful Yuba River (clear green water and smooth white rocks-incredible). We splash around all day, tell tales by the campfire at night and laugh a lot. 

Each family member is different, offering a wide variety of skills and passions to teach a new child. My talented niece Cynthia is also adopted and she can't wait to be a special cousin to this baby. 

I have two sets of parents who are crazy excited and very ready to be grandparents. One set lives in the surfing town of Santa Cruz, the best weekend getaway ever. My father was a professor and is a writer. He taught me to believe in who I am. My stepmom is from Spain and is one smart cookie who speaks four languages. She makes all my dad's clothes. I can't wait to see what she will make a little baby.

My mom and stepfather live in Walnut Creek - very close to Oakland. My mom is intelligent and funny. She was a teacher and always helped her students in any way she could. When she taught kindergarden, she always brought home the class pet, like ducklings and chicks. I think that is why I started loving animals. 

I must admit, these grandparents will try to spoil this baby. I will try to control them:)

I know that one day I will share my life with a warm, intelligent man, but I did not want to marry just anybody in order to have a baby. When the right one comes along, we will know it!

 

My Home

I own a big, comfy home in Oakland, California that I call the Brooklyn Oasis. It is sunny, colorful, open and imaginative. Everyone feels at home here. I share the house with three wonderful friends, Cate, Molly and Ian, and two very cool cats, Nimba and Elphia (who are the bosses of us all).

Good conversations and creative projects are always taking place around the big farm table, while healthy food cooks in the kitchen and the kitties sprawl wherever they please. I love the community feeling at my house, but I also have a little section just for the baby and I.

My neighbors are from many countries, are very sweet and share fruit from their trees and fresh chicken eggs. I have a big, green yard with vegetables and a flowerbed, redwood trees and a campfire area. My friends and I even built an awesome stage where we have garden concerts. What a great spot for a magic show, puppet show or play for a child and their friends. 

Oakland is busting open and becoming one of the most vibrant, creative and beautiful cities anywhere! There are musems, parades, amazing art and music everywhere. There are playgrounds, and parks, farmer's markets and even a fairlyland. It is a wonderful place for families. 

My house is also close to nature. We can search for ladybugs on a redwood hike and spot migrating birds on a lake walk. We can stroll hand in hand on the beach and watch whales spouting water out at sea. 

Quotes about Amy

"Amy has been a second mother to me since I knew how to crawl. In a moment of a 13-year-old crisis, she was the first person I turned to. Amy is a loving, creative, intellegent, thoughtful, and warm person. Any child that gets to call her their mother is beyond lucky"

Alison, 13 years old

Amy is a kid magnet. Children are always drawn to her playful, warm spirit and creativity. She is also one of the most grounded and responsible people I know and that is quite a combination. I have two children who I love more than anuything in the world - and I have no hesitation entrusting them to Amy's care. I know they will have wonderous adventures and always be cared for and safe. Any child would be truly blessed to have Amy as a mom.

Christina, good friend (and hopeful auntie)

 

 

Passion and Fun

I love kids and animals, and they have been the focuses of my career. I have an elementary school teaching credential and a Masters degree in education and ecology. I think I might have the coolest job in the world; I work at a zoo and my job is to help wild animals, like elephants, chimpanzees, birds and bears. Through my job, I have been all over the world and made many great international friends, so a child placed in my care will grow up to know jungles and savannas and have aunties and uncles from wonderful countries around the planet!

For fun: I like a life with plenty of fresh air, and often set out on hikes and explorations around this incredible Bay Area. I am a half-mermaid for sure, and love any time in rivers, lakes and pools. My son or daughter will learn to swim early so they can safely share a love of water with me. I also enjoy being in the backyard and caring for the fruit trees or just pulling weeds while smelling the sweet jasmine and observing the hilarious antics of the squirrels. I play a little ukulele, accordion and washboard. Dancing is a favorite activity and I have been swing dancing for 15 years.

I have piles of books and especially love children's literature. I like to write and just finished a children's book about cats that play music! I am also a semi-professional photographer (www.amygotliffephotography.net). I will take zillions of photos of this child and special moments will be captured and shared as he or she grows.

Community

I think people thrive when they have a village of people around them. I seriously can't believe my luck in this area!  My friends and I have been building a community called The Soup. Our large "village" gathers each summer for camping, music, connection and play. Adults and children alike have the time of our lives. We cook and eat good food, take classes from each other, wear crazy costumes and dance a lot! It is a dream come true for the kids in our community. I don't have the words for the fun that we all have together. We also offer each other an incredible amount of support throughout the year and help each other with all the challenges of life.

I have created some pretty amazing experiences for the kids and adults at Soup, like treasure hunts, animal-themed balls, wild rumpuses and time travel parties. I can’t wait to make large and small magical experiences for this special little person every day.

I also have a monthly musical community that I started called the Moultrie Jam. We get together to share food and play acoustic music. Kids are welcome, and often fall asleep safe and sound, their dreams enhanced by laughter and guitars. Community is everywhere in my life and I will never lack for a helpful hand nor a ridiculous amount of fun. This child will be bathed in the support and sheer joy of a real village.

 

This Child's Life

This child will have a wonderful, joyful and sweet life. They will be unconditionally loved and surrounded by family, support and community. They will have friends of all colors from all over the world. Our lives will be filled with learning, fun, nature and creativity. This child will have a dog, go to summer camp, count fireflies and wish on stars. They will swim in clear rivers and climb trees that they know the names of. They will eat tomatoes they planted and be kind to spiders. When the time is right, they will see herds of elephants, prides of lions and monkeys in the jungle canopy. They will be capable and happy citizens of the planet. They will make the world a better place. They will be someone you will be proud of.

My Commitment to You

I will love this child with everything I have, unconditionally

This child will be treated with kindness and gentleness

This child will get the best education possible and their life will be filled with inspiration and learning

This child will be honored for the unique individual that they are, and their own light will shine as brightly as possible

This child will be kept safe and I will prioritize their well being over all else

This child will love and appreciate their heritage and have connections to people of their birth culture

This child will have a special and lasting connection with you in the way you are most comfortable with

We will celebrate all daily victories large and small, and we will always celebrate you

This child will be so very happy

 

Thank you so much for reading this letter. I truly hope to hear from you.