Dear Expectant Mother,
We are so grateful that you would consider us as you make this decision. We know you are so brave and courageous, and bringing a child into this world is such an act of hope and love.
We promise to honor that gift. Your child will be taken care of, loved, and encouraged to express and develop whatever gifts God shares with them. They will be nurtured and their curiosity enriched with art, music, travel, sports, and play. We promise to welcome them into our family so that they will join in our family traditions but also get to create new ones.
They will learn to draw and sew with Jenn (if they want), create robot battle areas and talk movie plots with Josh (if they want), play dress-up and superheroes with their two big brothers (if they want), or introduce us to entirely new things.
We wish you the best as you make your choice and wish you peace in whatever your decision. We would be so happy and excited if you chose us for your baby and forever grateful for your part in expanding our family. Your baby will be adored and celebrated for the wonder they are.
We are Josh and Jenn, and we are best friends. We love to travel together and love to visit the beach. We met 12 years ago and have been married for almost ten years. We bonded over our surprising love of children’s television and good food. We still make day dates to have morning coffee out or afternoon tea. Josh is from northern Michigan, and Jenn is from Southern California; we spend a lot of time visiting or hosting family from both places. We have two boys, Lucas and Gareth, who keep us on our toes and smiling. Josh works as a partner at an accounting firm, and Jenn works as a designer and product manager at a tech company. On weekends, you can find us rambling outside, crafting or doing DIY projects (Jenn), reading or mowing (Josh), or relaxing at the beach.
We live in a ranch-style home (one story, which is great for all of us to be together) in suburban Illinois. It has a fenced backyard—the open kind, where we can see into our neighbors’ backyards and say hi or have impromptu playdates. We did a renovation a few years ago when we moved in, so everything is updated and modern—plus Jenn got to use her design skills! We love this neighborhood because it is so family friendly—so many parks, shops, and restaurants within walking distance and great schools. Families here have a great time celebrating holidays. Halloween is a neighborhood visiting affair, and holiday light displays are fun and characterful.
We each have two siblings and a good number of cousins we grew up with. We are both the oldest children in our families and are close to our parents.
For the Fourth of July, we often go up to northern Michigan to celebrate with Josh’s parents, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even best friends from high school as there is a big summer festival in his hometown. Catching the Blue Angels, fireworks, and Ferris wheel are highlights for us.
Jenn’s mom’s family is originally from Hawaii, so we’ll usually gather there once a year with her parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles to visit family, eat as many delicious foods as possible, and get some time in at the beach. We love wandering tidepools together, snorkeling, and seeing if we can spot any sea turtles or monk seals on our beach walks.
Adoption is something we have always thought about when thinking about having a family. We have family members who were adopted, so we grew up with adoption as a part of our family. More recently, we have friends who have happily adopted. We’re excited about the possibility of welcoming a new baby into our home and our lives. We know it would be such an amazing blessing and can’t wait to see how this journey of a baby joining our family will change us for the better.
