Dear Birth Parent,
We are Tim and Jessica and we are extremely happy that you are taking the time to read about us. Even though we can’t fully understand what you are going through and the decisions you are trying to make, we know you are a strong and courageous person because you are considering adoption. This short introduction won’t tell you everything about us but we hope it makes you want to learn more about who we are, our life together, and all we have to offer. Our dream is to welcome a precious child into our life and provide all the love, support, and nurturing we have to offer.
Our Relationship
We started law school in August of 2005 at SIU and, despite the very small class sizes, managed to not meet until the summer after our first year when we happened to attend a birthday party for a mutual friend. After dating for three years, Tim finally popped the question on Christmas Day in 2009, surprising everyone. On July 3, 2010, we were married in a small church in Jessica’s hometown and celebrated with all of our family and friends.
About Jessica
I grew up in Kentucky as the youngest of three- with an older brother and sister. My family loves spending time together and there is never a dull moment with us. My brother and sister each have four young children so there is always a lot of excitement and activities with the kids. I am very close to my nieces and nephews. I love watching them grow and I spend time with them every chance I get. With all these kids in my family, our child will have plenty of playmates. I am also very close to my Mom’s sister who has been like a second mother to me. She was blessed with three children whom she adopted, and those three are the younger siblings my parents never gave me! My entire family is excited about us adopting and looks forward to having a new baby in the family.
About Tim
I grew up in southern Illinois and was an only child for seven years before my younger brother was born. Both of my parents came from large families so I have a lot of aunts, uncles, and cousins. My Mom has three siblings, my Dad has five siblings, and all together I have twenty-one cousins. As you can imagine, I was never bored or alone growing up! I am also close to my Mom’s extended family. My grandpa has ten brothers and sisters and I am friends with a lot of their grandkids. I absolutely love sports and anything that puts me outdoors and can’t wait to enjoy those things with my child.
Our Home and Community
In 2011 we found the perfect first home, and after applying a fresh coat of paint, made it ours. We have three bedrooms and the house is on a quiet cul de sac. The large backyard is perfect for our annual fall party where we invite our family and friends to our house for a barbeque. Our neighbors have been wonderful- always looking out for each other and lending a helping hand. We have a small dog, Chloe, and an orange cat named Stewart that live inside. They are both well-behaved and are always good for entertainment, especially when they feel frisky.
We are both attorneys in a small town so we never go out without seeing someone we know. Tim is involved in several community and religious groups in town which has also helped us meet a lot of really nice people. This is one of the perks of living in a small town and we find it refreshing to get to know a lot of people and who share a sense of familiarity that you just can’t find in a big city
Our town has both public and private schools, but we already know our children will go to the Catholic school attached to our church. It offers preschool through eighth grade classes and is just down the road from our office. Plus, the school’s enrollment is less than one hundred and we think the small class sizes and individual attention will provide our children with learning opportunities they might not get in larger classes. We also want our children to learn strong Christian values at school- not just at home.
Dreams for a Child
We always knew that we wanted to have a family and started trying to get pregnant soon after our wedding. Unfortunately, we realized that things weren’t going to happen easily. After two years of trying to conceive, we began discussing adoption. Adoption was a simple choice for us because we both knew any child is a blessing from God. We want our home to ring with the same laughter and love we knew growing up.
Our jobs offer us a great deal of flexibility and we definitely plan to take advantage of that after welcoming a baby into our home. We are going to take time off from work to grow into our new roles as parents. We will both have to return to work at some point, but plan to stagger our schedules and work from home as much as possible to avoid daycare. This flexibility will also allow us to attend school events and special activities. Our co-workers are extremely supportive of us and our decision to adopt, making it clear that they are more than willing to make whatever adjustments are necessary for us to balance work and family life.
Thank you
Thank you again for taking the time to read about us. We look forward to hearing from you, answering your questions, and getting to know you, too.
Please feel free to e-mail us at [email protected] or call our adoption counselor Tobi Ehrenpreis at 800-869-1005 or text her at (847)366-6351
