On November 3, 2012 we welcomed our son into the world…Abram Joshua Gunning!  We arrived at the hospital about an hour after his birth and we brought him home with us 2 days later, the adoption papers were signed yesterday – November 19 and it is official we are his forever parents.  This has been one of the most surreal and beautiful experiences of our lives.

At the end of September we were connected to a young woman who was expecting and considering adoption through a mutual friend.  Over the next few weeks we met with her and she decided she would like to place her baby with us for adoption.

He was born 15 days early and right on time, if you ask me.  We have committed to an open adoption and Abram will know his birth mother and other family members.  We look forward to the journey ahead and we are thanking our might God for His faithfulness in answering our prayers and desires to have a child.  We are overjoyed and give Him all praise.

So our family has indeed grown and we look forward to what lies ahead…

Pete & Leila

Anyhow expectant mothers please beware!  If you find a family on parent profiles or another site and you want to pursue them, I advise you to contact the couples adoption lawyer directly or if you feel comfortable you can contact them.  Not all agencies or adoption consultants are bad, but there are definitely some out there that just want to make money.

I on the other hand just want to bring a baby into our home…and will hopefully manage to avoid all the shady ‘adoption’ people out there in the process!

Leila

Leila’s Mom

Leila’s Dad

Leila with her brother (Jamil) and sister (Rita) on our wedding day

Rita and her husband Delmond

And here are some of Pete’s family…

Pete and his mom, Yvonne

Pete and his parents (John & Yvonne)

Pete with his eldest sister, Rhonda

Philip (Pete’s brother), Gail and their daughter, Kayla

Pete’s with his niece and nephew, Ben & Belle

Pete’s sister, Sharon

The whole family at our Australian Wedding Ceremony

G’day (that’s what we say in Australia)!  I was born and raised in Sydney, Australia.  I was raised in a strong Christian home by wonderful parents and  I have 3 siblings who are all older than me, I am the baby in the family.

Pete with his 3 siblings

After graduating high school I did all sorts of things from real-estate, hospitality, and was even a postal man (on a motor bike) for a little while.  Eventually I went to study at a Youth Ministry focused Theological College, I did a two year degree in youth ministry and during that time I worked with youth at my church.  Once I had finished my degree I went on to get a job at a Christian missions organization called African Enterprise.  It was here I had the opportunity to lead short-term mission trips to Africa.

Pete holding a little girl in Kenya.

I loved going to Africa, even though it was always heart breaking and hard work.  The people were amazing and usually even though they did not have much they had faith and those that did not were thirsty to here about Jesus.  My favorite country that I went to was Uganda, and I hope to get back there someday.  African Enterprise was hard work work, but I grew a lot and it was this job that brought me to meet Leila!  We met just when I was completely not looking to meet anyone.  Much less a girl from the US.  It took me a while to warm up to actually having a relationship with her and then let’s just say I was in for a real adventure!

During this time I also lived at the beach in Sydney and enjoyed lots of surfing, hanging with friends, church and life by the beach.  It was a beautiful area and worth it even though I had a long commute to work.

Pete and Leila on mission in Fiji with Year 13

Once Leila moved to Sydney and we started dating I had a new opportunity for work arise.  So I changed jobs and went to work for the Youth Ministry College I had attended, I helped to run a new program they were starting called ‘Year 13′.  It was a Christian program designed as a ‘gap’ year for students who had just graduated from high school.  So, I got to work with lots of 18year olds and also plan a mission trip each year for them.  I loved this job and stayed there for 5 years until we moved back to the US.

Pete relaxing on the snow after a hard day snowboarding!

Some other things about me are, I am much more introverted and laid back than Leila.  I am usually a pretty quiet guy in big groups, but love the one on one discussions.  I love doing things with my hands from building projects to learning how to garden.  Leila thinks I am very handy  because I like fixing things.  I also enjoy bike-riding, surfing, snow boarding, spear-fishing, horse-back riding and am hoping to start kayaking soon.

At this stage I am working on launching a personal training business and being a weightloss mentor.  It has been a big shift in work, but I am looking forward to helping people be healthier and fit.

My faith is also a big part of my life and I continue to do my best to lead our family in a way that honors God and to serve the Lord in all I do.

We can only imagine how you might be feeling right at this moment…the decision that you are making about your child is not an easy one, but certainly a brave and courageous one.

We are a loving, kind and hopeful couple that have been married for almost 5 years.  We have always wanted to grow our family through adoption along with biological children.  At this stage in our life we have been trying to conceive for 4 years and have not been successful, this in itself has been a tiring and heartbreaking journey of grief.  However, we just moved back from Sydney, Australia and are ready to begin the adoption process here in the USA!  As I said before it has always been on our hearts to adopt and we are ready to begin this journey of finding the child that God wants us to have.

Pete and I (Leila) are very open to how and who God might bring to us.  We have no racial or gender barriers in regards to a child.   Pete and I have many friends and family with different racial backgrounds and we see everyone as a child of God no matter what color or race.  We have also both spent time in different countries with different ethnic groups and people of all colors, we love the different ways God creates each one of us.  We truly want to adopt whatever child God brings into our life.

Private adoption is an opportunity for you to choose the future for your child with the family that you believe will best love and care for your child.  We would work privately together with an adoptive lawyer to complete this process.  We would also make sure you had an adoptive lawyer to help guide and walk you through this process.  We also want to work with you on the level of openness you may or may not want with your child.

If you are interested in speaking to us you can contact us directly or  contact our Adoption Attorney, she is a fabulous adoption attorney and helps both adoptive parents and expectant mothers.  For a non-agency private adoption you do not need to contact an agency.

We thank you again for going through these steps to find the right family for your child.

Many Blessings,

Leila & Pete

I was born and raised in a small town in rural Virginia.  I have two other siblings, a younger sister and an older brother.  I had great years of growing up in the country and doing all sorts of things.  I was probably a little bit of an over-achiever and wanted to do just about everything… so I played softball, soccer, basketball, tennis, took dance, did pageants, was a cheerleader and worked hard in school.  Ultimately I loved school and tried to make the most of the opportunities given to me.

When I finished high school I moved to Boston, MA to attend college.  After spending 2 years in Boston I transferred to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.  This was a big move across the country and it was during this time that my life had some big changes as I began to grow deeply in my Christian faith and develop a much more personal faith with Jesus.

My Headshot for Acting!

After graduating from college I went on to pursue acting for several years, while working as a live-in nanny.  I was so thankful I pursued this dream, even though my path changed and I did not ever actually make it ‘big’ in Hollywood!  I did manage to do some very small scale projects and I had a fabulous acting coach.  Overall it was a good experience and it led me to different things and who knows maybe my days of performing will come back someday.

Leila with two of my favorite students on the ski slopes

After acting, I started teaching pre-school which was a perfect fit for my love for kids and creative energy.  By this stage I had tons of experience working with young children from babysitting, to live-in nanny, camp counselor, children’s ski instructor and working in the nursery at church.  I taught at a faith based school and worked with the oldest class of 4-5 year olds.

Leila in Kenya at a girls school

I loved living in California and had great friends there and a great church.  While I continued to grow and be nurtured in my faith I kept dreaming of going on a mission trip to Africa.  Finally over the summer of 2005 I had that opportunity! And I headed off to Kenya with a small group of Americans from my church.  It was there that my life really changed again…because I met Pete, who I eventually married.

Leila petting a kangaroo in Australia.

Once I met Pete I headed down to Australia after 6 months of emailing to see if our relationship was a possibility!  Australia is a beautiful country and it was exciting to discover a new place.  I enjoyed living there and made many wonderful friends.  The beaches, the wildlife (kangaroos), the cafes and city life are all fabulous.  After we were married I moved to Sydney permanently and we lived there for the first 4 years of our marriage.

A few other things I love are people, cooking, eating good food, skiing, throwing parties, church, hanging with my girlfriends, working with young children, performing and playing games (especially scrabble and cards).

Leila at a ‘foodie’ picnic, holding my lemon-ricotta cheesecake.

The first wedding cake I made last year.

Some of my favorite things to cook are desserts…pies, cakes, creme brulee, crumble and chocolate mousse! I definitely have a sweet tooth, but am otherwise a very healthy eater.  My all time favorite dessert is creme brulee and I also love anything with raspberries.  Last year I actually made my first two wedding cakes, I am hoping to one day have my own cake business.  Cooking has always been an interest and a passion since I was a little girl.  My mom always let me experiment in the kitchen, which is why I think I love to cook.

On the ski slopes one of my favorite places to be.

I also love the mountains, snow and skiing!  I don’t mind winter as long as it is snowing.  I grew up at the base of a little ski resort in Virginia and learned how to ski when I was about twelve.  In high school I got trained as a junior ski-instructor and then went on to become a certified ski instructor, I primarily taught children.  The mountains in Colorado are my favorite.

 

I have had all sorts of different jobs in my life so far and met all kinds of people.  I love meeting new people and I also love the Lord Jesus.  Church and Christian fellowship are a big part of our lives.  My faith has been the foundation of my life for almost 13 years and I am so grateful for the many ways God has carried me on this life journey so far…