Letters

Hello, we are Alara and Valentina, thank you for taking the time to learn a little about us! Our story is like one of those paintings full of dots that, when connected, create a beautiful and unexpected picture of our life.

It's been clear to us since the beginning that our seemingly distant backgrounds were, in reality, very similar and somehow connected. Alara grew up in Turkiye and lived on a farm with her parents and sister. Valentina was born and raised in Italy with two siblings. Her family has lived on a farm for generations.

We both chose similar college...

I grew up in a coastal city in Turkiye (Turkey) with my parents and sister. My parents had a horse and dog farm outside of the city. Growing up, my sister and I played outside, rode horses, and climbed trees. I think that's when my adventurous and outdoorsy side started evolving.

When it was time for me to go to college, I decided to move away from home to Istanbul, the biggest city in Turkiye. I lived there for six years, made great friendships, learned to be independent, and got a degree in an international field. During this time, I also got the travel bug, and I was...

I grew up in Italy with my brother and sister. We lived on a farm and used to spend a lot of time outdoors, which I still enjoy doing now. When I was eight, I started playing volleyball. I enjoyed the team dynamics, and over the years, I joined semi-professional teams and would travel for tournaments and league games. Joining a local league when I first moved to the US allowed me to create new social connections. I still play now and grew a passion for yoga, CrossFit, and running. I'm excited to explore sports with a child.

I studied international business in college and moved...

The comments we get from our friends and family when they walk into our home are that it's cute, cozy, warm, and welcoming. It is a historic townhouse that was renovated before we purchased it. Everything inside is new, we love the spacious kitchen where Alara gets creative with her recipes, and we are thrilled to finally put the spare bedroom upstairs to use as the perfect baby's nursery.

With a big park only a couple of blocks away, and the cute historic downtown a short walk from home, our neighborhood offers so many family-friendly activities and events; we love the...

We've had many opportunities to confirm the saying, "blood doesn't define family; love does." Moving to a country far away from our families pushed us to create relationships with people who now feel like family members. This is in addition to the solid and strong bonds with our blood families back in Italy and Turkiye. Our extended family is spread worldwide, and we consider this an invaluable asset. Family for us is the center and the top priority.

We often have big family gatherings in Europe or the US, and we go on all kinds of trips together. With Valentina's siblings and...

We love an active lifestyle. We always make plans for the next camping trip, the next game we want to watch, or dish we want to cook. We host game nights with friends every week in the winter (can't wait for these to become play dates for our children!), and we coordinate a social soccer team with weekly games in the warmer months.

Valentina played volleyball growing up, and the lessons learned while playing on a team have been guiding her in her personal and professional life. We will give the child a chance to explore their passions.

When traveling, we enjoy...

Thank you for reading our story. We believe the universe worked on so many aspects of our past to allow for our first meeting to happen, and since then, all we had to do every day to unroll the story of our lives was to find more and more dots to connect.

We feel there is a beautiful story still waiting to be revealed where our dots will connect us to a child's life, extending this beautiful picture and aligning our plan to grow our family with your plan to give the best life to your baby.

Whether you decide to learn more about us or to look for a better fit, we want...

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