Dear friend – welcome!

You may wonder why a single female would choose to start a family this way, and the truth is that I cannot see myself NOT making this choice. I have for many years tried to become a mother and through adoption I can fulfil that dream. For me it was a natural decision; having grown up with an adopted cousin and having many friends who themselves were adopted, I feel confident that I can lovingly support and help a child understand how this family came about. Having seen my cousin, who came to us from Korea and closed adoption, battling with not knowing anything about her ancestry, I am also a firm believer in open adoption. 

Though I will never understand the difficulties you are facing in making this important decision, I respect the courage of your choice in wanting to give your baby the best possible future and I hope that you find peace with your decision. I understand that you want a family that is perfect for you and your child and I thank you for taking the time to review my profile and for considering giving me the opportunity to raise and love your child.

I am an energetic, positive person and I enjoy spending time with friends and family. Some of my interests include reading and keeping physically active whether it would be hiking or biking; diving; travelling and exploring other cultures through architecture, food, music and more - interests that I look forward to sharing with any child that I am blessed to raise. Food is an important part of my life; I love to cook, something I learned from my Grandmother, and I often have friends over for dinners and culinary experiments. Creative and performing arts are also an important part of my life. Having gone to a school for musically gifted children, I have a deep appreciation for the arts and am a frequent visitor at theatre, opera and symphonic orchestra performances.

I was raised in Sweden where I have a younger brother, as well as parents, many aunts, uncles, cousins and their children. I have a beautiful house on a lake side that I try to visit twice a year; I love walking in the woods with my family’s dogs, mushroom hunting; swimming in the lake and just spend time with my family. They also come and visit in the US quite frequently and we meet in other countries at times as well. My family is extremely supportive and my brother and his two children, together with the rest of the family, are very excited to welcome a new cousin and grandchild.

In the US I have a wonderful group of people around me, which I count as my large extended “family”, and that I spend time and Holidays with both in the immediate area but also in countries around the world. They come from near and far and are truly depicting the wonderful diversity of the city as well as the country. As it is important for me to feel connected to my cultural heritage and our traditions, I also value the same in others which is something I will make sure to honour in any child I raise.

I work for the United Nations and prior to that spent the majority of my adult life in the Swedish Armed Forces as an officer. I feel fortunate to be working for an organization that has done so many wonderful things throughout the world, and that continues to do so on a daily basis. It also provides me with an endless amount of diversity in terms of colleagues and friends from all over the world with different background, beliefs and cultures - something I truly appreciate and look forward to sharing with a child.

I am fortunate enough to work for an organization that appreciates children and that encourages you to stay home; my immediate plans are to do just that for the first 4-6 months. I live in an area of Manhattan that is full of parks, playgrounds and sports fields and as I look out my windows, I see the East River as well as the closest playground and there are lots of families with children in the area. Future education plans include a wonderful international kindergarten just around the corner from where I work, as well as other international schools.

I hope you have the confidence to see how much love and laughter your child will receive from a close-knitted as well as extended family, with other adopted family members, and where openness and understanding is key. I promise your child love, support and every opportunity to develop into a loving and responsible person.

Sincerely,
Anne Hammenrudh