Jen and Jeff
Hi, we are Jen and Jeff – we got married in 2010, adopted Dev in 2011 and have laughed and had fun every day since. We are excited and ready to welcome a newborn into our family and make Dev a big brother! We promise that we will provide your baby a loving home, surrounded by family and friends.
OUR FAMILY LIFE
We are an interracial family – both Jeff and Dev are biracial. We love that the area we chose to live in is very culturally diverse, and known to be very family and adoption-friendly. In fact, there are two other adoptive families on our block. We have an open adoption with Dev’s birth parents and will continue to stay in contact with them for his whole life.
We live in a three-bedroom house with a big backyard. We laugh a lot and always have music playing – Jeff plays the guitar and drums, Jen plays the piano and Dev plays basically anything that makes a noise, so we have a blast singing and dancing.
We love being home and doing art projects with Dev and his cousins, building legos or just playing with all his cars and “guys.” And, we love to be outside, too. We ride our bikes around the neighborhood, play in the backyard, go for long walks and go to parks, museums and the zoo with friends. We go camping and hiking a lot – our last camping trip was with six other families and 15 kids! We are eager to include another child in our adventures!
OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
• Elementary school two blocks from home
• Summer block parties – families get together for a BBQ, kids play games, do arts and crafts and have a great time
• Kid’s music studio, dance studio and art studio one block away
• 10 parks and a large community pool within walking distance
• Kid’s museum and a zoo nearby
• Great place to raise a family!
ABOUT JEN
• Lived in the Chicago area for 15 years and grew up in Michigan
• My parents and younger brother and his family live in Michigan – we see them a lot
• I love to read, be outside and have friends and family over
• I have a sweet tooth and would eat pie all day if I could
• I work part-time in internet marketing so I have plenty of time to do fun kid stuff!
• Being Dev’s mom is the greatest thing ever and I can’t think of a better dad than Jeff!
A LITTLE FROM JEFF ABOUT JEN
I have never met a more intelligent, caring, funny and beautiful woman. Jen’s a great mom because of these traits, and also because of how she was raised – to value education, to respect others and to be honest. Sometimes it’s hard for me to remember what life was like before her. I am honored to be her husband, to be a part of her awesome family and to raise kids with her. She is my heart and I honestly cannot believe how lucky I am.
ABOUT JEFF
• From Oak Park, Illinois and the middle of nine kids – three sisters and five brothers!
• Most of my family is close by so we get to see them a lot
• I’m lucky to have a career that I love as an attorney for a large charity organization, and have plenty of time to be with my family
• I’m pretty handy and can fix almost anything and love to work on home projects with my little helper. I can’t wait for a second little helper!
• Huge Chicago Bulls fan, which is mandatory in our household!
• The most important responsibility in my life is to be a great husband and dad.
A LITTLE FROM JEN ABOUT JEFF
One of the first things I learned about Jeff was how much his friends love and value him. That told me that he has a good heart. He’s also one of the funniest people I know – he makes me laugh every day and is a great storyteller. He’s very athletic – he always has a ball in the trunk in case a game breaks out – and is also very sensitive and sweet. He’s my best friend and I love being his wife.
ABOUT DEV
• He’s a dance machine and can rock out to any song
• Loves to go to the park and run around with his cousins and friends
• He thinks that Santa is the coolest guy ever and will probably still be singing Christmas songs in July
• Quesadillas and blackberries are his favorite foods and he loves to help mama cook
• Gives great hugs and cuddles and has the best laugh
The center of our family is Dev – we laugh everyday and have so much fun on all our adventures together. We are excited to add a newborn to our world and there are grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousin and friends ready to love this baby!
OUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS
We spend a lot of time with family and friends – we go on yearly beach vacations with both families and we rent a house in Michigan every summer and the grandparents and kids have a blast together. We spend holidays together and have weekly dinners with friends and family.
Adoption is part of our family story, beyond Dev. Jeff’s youngest brother is adopted, and we are great friends with the family that adopted Dev’s biological cousin, Matai. The boys are just four months apart and love playing together. We see them often – it’s been so fun watching the boys grow together and we love that they have this special bond for life.
We will be supportive and open with our kids and will do our best to make sure that they know they can always come to us about anything. We can’t wait to see what interests our kids develop and we’ll encourage them to find the things they like to do.
We nurture, protect and love our son every day of his life and can’t wait to share that love with a new baby. We’ll make sure that your child will always know the love you have for him or her, too.
THANKS FOR READING ABOUT US
We hope to meet you one day. You can email us at [email protected]. You can also talk to our adoption counselor, Maggie Benz at 800-869-1005 or text her at 847-366-6343. You may also send Maggie an email to: [email protected]
With sincere thanks and deep respect,
Jen and Jeff
