Meet our Families!!

About Us

Bill and Mari knew each other through friends, but after a chance encounter at a music store they began dating and knew that something special was happening. They fell in love after their first few dates which included a ten mile hike through the mountains on one of the most beautiful days they can remember. They were engaged and married in the next year and a half. Over the years their love has grown. Bill is musical, athletic and fun-loving. Mari is creative, playful and caring.

Bill's interests include skiing, hiking, and gardening while Mari spends time cooking, gardening, hiking. Together they both love music and play many instruments between them.

Our Son Sammy

Bill and Mari welcomed their adorable son Sammy five years after they were married. He is very excited for a new baby brother or sister. This family loves playing music together, going to Grammy's house, camping, playing with family and friends, visiting various fun places such as the playground, zoo, and beach. Mari loves being a stay-at-home mom. She and Sammy are always busy doing fun activities together. Bill loves to come home from a busy day at work and "jam" with Sammy in their studio. They especially look forward to spending holidays with the newest member of this family.

The Extended Family

Bill is an only child and his father passed away in 1996. Bill is very close to his mother and her sister and husband, Aunt Sue and Uncle Kenny. Bill has 18 first cousins, many of whom he sees regularly. Mari has a great relationship with her mother and older sister, Naomi, who is married and has two boys. Mari has a 16-year old half-sister from her dad's second marriage. Her relationship with her father has been challenging, but they have recently made strides to reconnect.

The Holidays

They love the holidays because it gives us them good excuse to get together with family and friends to enjoy good food and conversation. Christmas is huge with their family; they love to decorate our home, trim the tree, and sing Christmas carols together after sharing a Christmas Eve feast.

Talking About Adoption With Our Child

This couple will start talking about adoption with their child as soon as they begin to speak. Our hope is that the child will feel that they have known their adoption story their whole life and that it's not a secret. They will create an atmosphere where the child feels free to ask questions and talk about their adoption and birth parents.

Our Neighborhood

They live in a safe, family friendly neighborhood in walking distance to a quaint downtown. They have a fenced in yard with a swing set, sand box and paved area for riding bikes and playing basketball. They have great neighbors!

About us

We grew up in the same small neighborhood. Our parents knew each other so we had met years prior to meeting up again at a party for mutual friends. We danced and talked all night and have been together ever since. We were ecstatic when we welcomed our son Dante into our lives through Adoptions with Love. His amazing smile lets you know how much he is adored! We enjoy every minute with our sweet little boy.

Kelly's thoughts about Paul
Paul is the most kind, loving, supportive man I have ever known. He is always the voice of reason and is always there to make sure everything is ok. His strength and determination are some of the qualities I admire about him. He has a unique gift to always make a situation better and always make people laugh. Paul enjoys music, playing basketball, reading, watching sports and exercising.

What Paul says about Kelly
Kelly is a loving, caring, nurturing person. She is totally unselfish and always makes time for friends & family. She is also a voice of reason, often providing advice or just encouragement for loved ones. I remember countless times when she was on the phone or sitting with a loved one offering any help she could provide. There are so many things I love about her, but mainly it's her genuine, loving and caring personality beyond any words I can write. Kelly enjoys walking, music, watching sports, cooking, baking and entertaining.

Our Extended family

We both have large extended families, including 15 nieces and nephews whose ages range from 1 year old to 25 years old, and they are all very excited to welcome our baby home. Our favorite time of year is Christmas. We love to decorate our home and share the holidays with everyone we love. We invite both of our families and friends to celebrate the holidays in our home. We look forward to sharing our holiday traditions with our children.

Activities we look forward to

We look forward to doing everything with our child, including traveling, taking him or her to the park, the zoo, the aquarium or the children's museum, as well as things like snuggling up and reading him or her bedtime stories. We also can't wait to share all of our holiday traditions with our child.

Our Neighborhood

We live in a small, quiet neighborhood. There are many families with children living on our street. We have a park around the corner from us that has a playground, tennis courts and a baseball field. Across the street from the park is the grade school with basketball courts and to the right of the park are an ice skating rink and the middle school. Kelly plans to work part time after her maternity leave.

Talking about adoption with our child

We will tell our child their story by reading them the life book of his or hers that we will create, and of course we will tell our child everything we know about his or her birth parents. We will tell them how much they are loved by their birth parents and what a difficult decision it was for them to choose us to be their parents.

About Us

Debbie and Jason met in college while working on a project together. They started dating and have been together ever since. They are very family-oriented, form close relationships and bonds with their daughter, value learning and appreciate spending time in nature. Their daughter Charlotte enjoys a large extended family with 4 uncles, 4 aunties, and 5 cousins who all live close enough to get together often. Everyone is excited about welcoming a new family member.

Things we like to do

Debbie, who is a stay at home Mom, enjoys running, baking, playing and anything outdoors. Jason also enjoys running, genealogy, gardening and the great outdoors. They love exploring the world through their daughter's eyes and look forward to experiencing that with a second child.

Activities we're looking forward to

They take lots of family walks, trying to experience new things. They especially enjoy getting down to their daughter's level and trying to see things as she sees them. They know it's going to be that much more fun when there are two kids to enjoy playtime with!

Holidays at our house

Debbie and Jason enjoy the holidays so much, they do them twice so they can see everyone. They gather with Debbie's family one day and Jason's on another. They all sit at the table together and eat a lot, joke a lot, tell old stories and generally enjoy being together.

Talking about adoption with our child

They have already begun telling Charlotte about her adoption, about her birth mom and about how happy they were when they met her. Debbie and Jason plan to continue talking about it, in age appropriate ways, so that it becomes a normal, happy topic of conversation. Charlotte loves to hear stories, especially those about her! When they welcome their second child into our family, they will discuss adoption exactly the same way.

Our neighborhood

Debbie and Jason live on a residential street with lots of single and two family homes. Behind their house is an elementary school with a large field and two playgrounds that the family enjoys. Their town is home to numerous parks they love to explore.

Developing a relationship with you

Debbie and Jason are open to contact and meetings with birth parents.

Wafaa is a registered nurse and Shawn is very successfully self employed; he owns his own transportation business. They spend lots of fun time together traveling, scuba diving, doing outdoor activities, and going to the beach, bike riding, and watching movies. Waffa grew up in Morocco and Shawn was born in New York. Here is their story.

How We Met

Our paths crossed in 2002 when we met on a beach through mutual friends. Our relationship started as friends, but soon we were inseparable. We realized we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. We married in 2006 and started planning to begin our family. We could not wait to become parents! We were very sad to learn that we were unable to have a baby. We knew we could achieve the dream of parenthood through adoption which felt very comfortable to us.

Waffa says: Shawn is my soul mate. He is kind, loving and his sense of humor makes him very popular with adults and children! He enjoys helping people. He is happiest when our home is filled with family and friends. I know he will be fantastic father. He loves spending time with our nephews and niece. He plans beach days where he enjoy teaching our nephews how to swim and ride a jet ski. They often play WII games together and roast marshmallows over the fire pit. He is also very liked in the community. His job brings him great joy helping elderly people by providing safe and reliable transportation to doctor's offices, hospitals, adult day care or Sunday church services. It makes me very proud when I meet his clients and they tell me (what I knew already!) what a wonderful gentlemen he is. I can't picture my life without Shawn.

Shawn says: Wafaa is my love. She is very compassionate and kind. She loves her job as a nurse and taking care of her patients. Wafaa has a great sense of humor. She loves to cook and she enjoys having friends and family over to our home for dinners and cookouts. Wafaa has a lot of experience with children having worked as a nanny while she was in nursing school. She has wanted to be a mother for a long time. She is wonderful with our nephews and niece. She is very kind and easy going. I can't wait to share our love with our baby.

Our Interests

We both love the beach, the outdoors and traveling. We are very adventurous and enjoy doing many fun things together. We live right near a beach and we look forward to long walks on the beach with our baby and dog. We will take trips with our child to different states and countries to visit our family and learn about other cultures. We will raise our child in a very happy and loving family providing endless love and support.

We love preparing holiday dinners and gatherings with our family and friends. We host 4th July, and many summer BBQ's at our home. We are always spending time with our family and friends and their children. We are looking forward to having our child join the fun and the celebrations.

We plan to be open with our child about our story and how we became a family through adoption. We believe that every child needs to know their family history. We are open to letters, pictures and videos through Adoptions With Love. We want our child's birth parents to know and see that the child is in very loving home. We will provide support, guidance and love forever.

Our Home and Neighborhood

We live in quiet beautiful neighborhood within walking distance from a private beach. We are close to a public playground. Our home is the place where our family and friends tend to gather. Its very friendly and a family oriented neighborhood.

We are open to meetings with birth parents and will sent pictures and updates via Adoptions With Love.

How we met

When we were 20 years old Eric was on a bowling team with a friend of Julie's. We realized after we started dating that we went to Elementary, Middle and High School together. We never met before that moment after all those years! We have been in love since we met 16 years ago and this love has continued to grow with each passing day.

What we like about each other

Julie describes Eric: Eric is a kind and gentile spirit; he is calm and patient. Eric is the most giving man you could ever meet he would help out anyone in need. He is thoughtful and fun. He treats me like a queen! He likes to laugh and have a good time.

Eric describes Julie: Julie is a warm loving person whose love for children is astounding. She is funny and loves to tell stories to make me and others laugh. Julie has the ability to comfort me and is open with her love and affection. My favorite quality about Julie is her adventurous nature.

Our activities

Julie enjoys singing, crafting and being with friends and family. Eric is into motor sports and plays golf. Together we enjoy finding new adventures in life and are always up for trying new things. We travel to Maine each year on vacation. Our favorite places to spend time together are on the beach or snuggling at home with our dog, Phoebe.

Our extended family

We have 10 nieces and nephews waiting for a new cousin! 5 boys and 5 girls! So our child would break the tie!! We love gathering for the holidays. On Christmas Eve we start the day off at Julie's parent's home for a lunch and the annual photo in front of the Christmas tree. Then we head across town for Christmas Eve with Eric's family. We have a huge Italian dinner with family and friends and it is quite a party!! All the kids change into pajamas and they are read “The Night Before Christmas” and there is a crazy swapping of gifts!! Christmas Eve is the most fun day of the year for us because we get to see every member of the family in one day.

Our home

Our home is cozy in a sweet little neighborhood. We have three bedrooms and a basement that we are planning on turning into a playroom. There are is a little pond in our neighborhood and lots of wildlife. There is family of deer that live in the woods behind our home. Most importantly our home is filled with love and laughter.

How we will discuss adoption

We plan on telling our child from a very young age that so many people loved them and took extra special care to make sure they had life filled with love, laughter and family. We will do this throughout their life in ways that they will understand.
Our hope is to meet and learn as much about the birth family that is giving the greatest gift in the world. We also want to make sure that our child understands the process of how our family came to be and that they can communicate with their birth family.

About me

I am a very warm and caring Special Education Teacher who enjoys reading, traveling, swimming, going to the beach, cooking, shopping, and walking. The thought of becoming a mother is tremendously exciting to me and something I have dreamed about for a very long time. I am so ready to snuggle up with my baby and cherish every moment with him/her.

My wonderful family includes two great, supportive parents who can't wait to become grandparents and my sister who is very ready to be an aunt. I have six first cousins and fourteen second cousins and I am close with all of them. My best friend of twenty years is like a sister to me. All these people are fully supportive and excited to welcome my new beautiful baby to our family.

Holiday gatherings

Holiday gatherings are always special and spent together as a family. My parents host Thanksgiving and my cousin hosts both Christmas and Easter dinner. There are always a large numbers of people sitting together around the table laughing and talking, enjoying delicious food and each other's company. My parents host a fourth of July celebration at their summer home. The days ahead of these gatherings involve us all cooking all together.

When I dream about time with my child, I imaging making holiday cookies, story time at the library, walking the beach and collecting shells, jumping in the waves and digging in the sand to build sand castles. I imaging sledding on a fresh winter snow, going to the park to swing on swings and trying a slide. I will read bed time stories to my child all snuggled together, visiting the zoo, going to museums or the aquarium. And of course, I look forward to just spending quiet time at home just being together resting or playing.

Talking about adoption

I plan to read children's books about adoption and always maintain an open line of communication. I plan to discuss adoption openly and encourage my child to express his/her feelings about adoption. I will always emphasize how much my child's birth mother loved them. How hard it is to make a decision like this and that it is the best parents who are able to put the needs of their baby above all else no matter how much that decision may hurt. I will talk about how I will never be able to thank them enough or express my gratitude enough for the gift they gave me. I will always let my child know that I was given the best gift of my life, and that I prayed for, waited for, and wanted a child my whole life. I will emphasize that their birth parents made the decision to make an adoption plan for their child out of love and caring for them. I will let my child know they were loved from the very beginning of their life and all the decisions that were made were made out of love and the hopes of giving them the very best life.

My home

I live in a lovely, comfortable, two bedroom townhouse in a safe, suburban neighborhood in walking distance to an elementary school. There are several children in the complex and everyone is extremely friendly. There are always people out walking their dogs and children playing making it a welcoming environment to raise a child, making it a nice community to live in.

About us and how we met

Romi is a doctor, Rick is a paramedic. Jack is our 2 and a half year old son

When we first met, we spent a lot of time getting to know each other, our families and friends. We found we both love being by the ocean, being active and outdoors and spending time with the people we love. We got married in 2005 on a beautiful beach surrounded by our families and friends. We were chosen by Jack's birthmother in June 2009 and have LOVED parenting him. He is a sweet, curious, smart, healthy little boy who is going to be a great big brother.

What are our interests?

Romi enjoys yoga, walking/hiking, singing, baking, reading, playing piano.
Rick likes scuba diving, being by or on the water in any capacity, reading, snowboarding, cooking.

We love reading and snuggling with Jack. As a family, we spend a lot of time going to playgrounds, zoos, museums, parks and parties. Hanging out at home with our kitty Cole is a great way to relax too. Jack's current favorite toys are a fireman hat, a little red ukulele and a drum, a playhouse, a little farm with animals in it and toy race cars. He has an active imagination, pretending to be a barber or a doctor or Curious George. He also “cooks” delicious meals in his little house. We look forward to including another child in these activities, responding to their individual interests and expanding our loving family.

Our families are very important to us

Rick and Romi both come from relatively large families: Romi has 3 siblings and Rick has 5 siblings. Jack and his future sister or brother will be the youngest of the bunch, but will have 10 first cousins and many adoring aunties and uncles.
We enjoy seeing family and friends around the holidays as their support and relationships are very important to us. Most of our family lives within an hour and a half driving distance. We also feel that it is important for our little family to have our own special time around the holidays and to develop our own traditions.

Talking about adoption

We have been open with Jack from the beginning about his adoption story, making sure he knows how much his birth mother loved him and that she chose us because she believed we would be the right people to be his forever parents. We are making him a picture book of his adoption story right now that will be “hands on”—his book to read and re-read as often as he likes. We will do the same with our second child, explaining the special process of adoption and describing the child's birth parents as people who loved them and wanted to do the right thing for that child in difficult circumstances.

Our neighborhood

We live in a neighborhood that is its own community, but also has access to a small city. It is very child-friendly, full of playgrounds, puppies, families, and opportunities for child enrichment like swimming and music classes, museums and people from all different backgrounds.

How We Met and What we love about each other

Our first date was at a coffee shop. We clicked instantly and spent hours talking, feeling as if we had known each other for ages. We quickly realized how many interests we share and that we have very similar value systems, we knew we were meant to share our lives with each other.

About Janet, by Don: Janet is an intelligent, open minded woman with very diverse interests. She is fun to be around and has a nurturing, caring nature. When children are around she lets everyone see her inner child. She is often on the floor playing with them, making them feel as important as the adults. You can see how much she loves kids and what great a mom she will be.

About Don, by Janet: Don is easy to talk to and gets along with everyone. He can always find something in common with a stranger and easily gets into conversations anyone. He is also really creative. He is caring and compassionate, very devoted to the people he loves. He is wonderful with my nieces and nephews, as well as with the children of our friends. His is going to make a great dad!

Interests and things we like

We both love traveling. We especially enjoy camping and hiking. We also enjoy the symphony, other types of live music, movies and live theater. Janet loves to cook and bake and enjoys trying out new recipes. She enjoys hosting get-togethers for friends and family. Her favorite sport is swimming. She also loves to read. Don is an avid pool player. He also enjoys golf, bowling, tennis, darts and chess. He is also very creative and is into photography, woodworking, and poetry.

Sharing the responsibilities

Janet is a college professor and is currently on sabbatical from work. She has a flexible schedule and, will be teaching only two days a week for a year. Don will arrange his schedule so that he is home with the baby on those days. We are thrilled that we won’t have to use day care for at least a year.

Special activities we're looking forward to

Education is very important to us and we look forward to reading books together and sharing our love of learning and knowledge. We are also excited to share our sense of adventure and love for nature, including a love for travel and exploring our surroundings.

Family and holidays

Our holidays are filled with love and laughter. We spend Christmas and the Fourth of July with our extended family at Grandma Judy’s, when the whole family gathers for a week of festivities. We spend time with our nieces and nephews, sledding and skating on the lake in the winter, tubing on it in the summer, and making 'smores in either season.

Talking with our child about their adoption story?

We will always be open and upfront with our child about adoption. We will have children’s books about adoption so that it is a part of our conversation from day one. We will answer questions openly and honestly, in an age appropriate way. Our goal is to have the story of our child’s adoption become a beautiful and meaningful part of his or her life story. Janet has had many brushes with adoption in her life, including adopted friends, parents of adopted children, and a dear friend who placed a baby for adoption. These experiences have shown us firsthand how important it is to be open about adoption from the very first.

Our home and neighborhood

We live in a small, ethnically diverse city. Our home is a two story Victorian in a residential neighborhood. Nearby are several wonderful places for children to explore and play, including a children’s museum and a Spray Park that has all sorts of sprinklers and fountains for kids to play in during the hot summer months.

About us and how we became a couple

During our three year courtship, we loved doing many of the same things: hiking, camping and taking the canoe out on the ocean. We got to know each others families when we would take our young nieces and nephews apple picking, to visit the animals on Debbie's family farm or just out for ice cream. We were married in a town by the ocean 7 years ago. Debbie is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist and Glenn is a carpenter.

What we like about each other

Glenn says Debbie is warm, loving and caring toward others and loves planning gatherings. Debbie loves how Glenn interacts with their 15 nieces and nephews and can easily tap into his "inner child." He loves teaching them how things work. I look forward to watching how he will teach our child on how things work in his own unique and fun way.

What we like to do

Glenn enjoys boating, diving, snowmobiling. Debbie likes working out and competing in fitness and athletic competitions, gardening, shopping, reading, and spending time outdoors; either taking long hikes, canoeing or spending time on her family's farm with her nieces and nephews. Both love to travel.

Family Traditions and starting new ones

We look forward to teaching our child our family's traditions as well starting some of our own. We look forward to teaching and giving our child love, patience and give them the opportunity to explore and become their own person. Teaching our child how to care for animals on the farm, how to swim, as well as the simple but precious moments such as reading a bedtime story are things we look forward to.

Our extended family and special times together

Glenn has three siblings with 8 nieces and nephews. They all live in nearby towns and we often have the kids for sleep-overs and to swim in the pool during the summer months. Debbie has three siblings with 7 nieces and nephews ranging from age 6-15. They all live in her hometown about an hour away. Many have their own pets on the farm such as horses, pigs and chickens and are learning to care for and respect other living creatures, which is something we both feel is very important.

Our cookie decorating party with nieces and nephews and friend's children at our home every year has become quite the tradition. We love seeing the excitement in our nieces and nephews facing when they open a new toy that they have wanted. During the summer, we either spend time on a lake near Glenn's brother's summer home, or by our pool. Our neighborhood has a July 4th block party that includes fire works and activities for the children.

Talking about adoption with our child

We plan on being very open to our child regarding how we became a family. They will know how much their birth parents love them and we will share information regarding their birth family.

Our home

We have a Cape style home with three bedrooms and an office. It has a large deck that we enjoy having dinners on during the summer. Our garden has become a favorite for wildlife such as chipmunks, rabbits, squirrels, and various birds such as beautiful humming birds, doves, woodpeckers and cardinals. We live in a quiet family neighborhood with several families with young children that enjoy riding their scooters, bikes and taking walks. We are excited about sharing our nightly stroll through our neighborhood with our child and eventually with a new puppy. We are near a pond, walking trails and a short ride across town to the beach and ocean.

Our Story

We met on a high school trip to Italy over Christmas break. We got to know each other while walking around Rome, Florence and Venice! We began dating then, and have been together ever since! Our families knew each other since we were babies!
We married in 2004, and hosted a wedding in a local barn with all of our family and friends. It was an amazing celebration, and we still hear about how much fun folks had at our wedding and how it was very "us."
We welcomed our son Jack through Adoptions With Love in 2010 and cannot wait to make our family a fouresome!

Our Jobs

Bil works in IT, and is able to work from home many days.
Kelly works at a biotech company. She has reduced work hours to be home with Jack more. Both of our jobs are very family friendly and flexible!

Our Interests

Bill loves to spend time outside, and has been taking sailing lessons. He loves family hikes and camping trips. Kelly also enjoys the family time outside, and loves to swim and knit. We enjoy taking trips with Jack, and frequently go to the aquarium, children's museums, and local farms, and can't wait to do this as a family of four!

Our Family and Traditions

We are very close to our extended families, and Kelly has 13 cousins, Bill has nine. There are also now ten second cousins. We see them often. Summer time is full of family graduations, cookouts and camping trips.
Holidays are a huge family affair. From Thanksgiving through New Years, there are many family parties and celebrations. On Christmas Day, we stay at home. After Santa has come, we make a special breakfast and get ready to host Christmas Dinner with the grandparents, aunts and uncles.

Our Children's Stories

We began telling Jack his story when he was born, and we will do the same with our second child. It is something we talk about regularly, even though Jack is still very young. We want our children to grow up having their story be something they've always known and they are very comfortable talking to us about.

Our Home and Neighborhood

We live in a small town. Its about an hour from the city but has a country feel. We have a large fenced in yard that has hosted many barbecues
with friends and family. There is plenty of room for Bailey to run while Jack plays on his swing set. There are many children in the neighborhood, and we are just a few blocks from the elementary and high school and town park. We love to spend time by the water, and the town has several lakes and rivers and the ocean is 10 minutes away. We both love the area and think it is a great place to raise a family.

Our Story:

We met at a party for a friend of David’s who was getting married in Paris and was having a going away party for those people who could not travel to the wedding. David offered to buy Amy a drink and later in the night asked Amy to dance. This was the beginning of not only a wonderful relationship, but a friendship as well.

Our first dates included going out to dinner, going to local sporting games and going for bike rides. We quickly learned that we had many similar interests.

Amy about David: David works hard and enjoys unwinding at the end of the day by cooking a nice meal we can enjoy all together as a family. She loves that he is so helpful around the house.

David about Amy: Amy is a loving, caring and nurturing person. She is so family oriented and always puts her family first. Amy is a fantastic mother!

David enjoys: fishing, soccer and cooking.
Amy enjoys: first and foremost, being a mother, running, skiing, swimming and baking.

Extended family

We both come from large extended families. David has a brother and a sister who have seven year old little girls. David also has many of cousins in Ireland with young children. Family gathering with all the young children are always filled with lots of laughter. Amy has a large extended family as well. Amy has many younger cousins in the area who love playing with James, as he is now the newest addition to the family. Amy also has a younger sister who lives very close by who is the best Auntie in the world. Both of our families love James and are looking forward to welcoming a new little one. We are a family that enjoys being around family and friends around the holidays. They are always filled with lots of laughter.

Special activities we look forward to

David is an avid sports enthusiast who is looking forward to coaching and participating in all of ours child’s sporting activities. Amy loves to read books, doing crafts, and building sand castles at the beach with James and can’t wait to share this with another little one.

Telling our child about their adoption story

We both believe that it is very important to speak to our child openly about adoption. Although James is still a bit young we have already started talking to James about adoption. We have many children’s books that are very helpful in explaining adoption to young children. We believe that the more we explain and the more open we are in answering questions, the easier it will be for them to understand the choice of adoption. They will grow up to understand that it was a difficult decision for their birth parents to make, however it was a decision made out of love.

Our home and neighborhood

We have a bungalow style home situated in a quiet family oriented neighborhood. There are a lot of young families in the neighborhood with lots of young children. During the summer time all the children enjoy running around and playing on the swing set in our backyard. There are also three playgrounds within walking distance to our home. There is a great School system in our town.

About us

We met at a mutual friend's barbeque. The timing was right and we hit it off immediately. We quickly realized how much we had in common and that we shared many similar views on life, love and family. Through all the tough times we have been through we believe that our love and respect for one another has grown. We believe that marriage is a partnership and when one partner is down it's the other partner's responsibility to help carry the load. Each day Liz loves Keith more. She says he's a very happy go lucky person who always sees the good in people and the positive side of each situation. Keith is grateful for how kind and generous Liz is to everyone around her, especially family. We believe as a couple we can weather any storm.

How we spend our time

We both love to travel, whether it is some exotic locale, or a trip to Florida to visit family or just jump in the car and head off on a road trip to the beach for the day. Liz is an avid reader and cannot wait to read to her child some day! Keith is a sports fanatic. He loves to go to local ball games and is usually accompanied by a nephew or niece. Sometimes he can even drag Liz along. They both like to take walks with their dogs. Both Keith and Liz agree that spending time with friends and family is their favorite past time.

Life with our child

Keith and Liz cannot wait to teach their child about the world. We look forward to taking long walks and exploring. We can not wait to spend days at the beach, traveling to Disney World, and some day going looking at colleges! We also want our child to know they can be anything they want and that as long as they believe in themselves they can do anything! Most importantly they want them to know we believe in them!

Family

We have 11 nieces and nephews ranging in ages 5 months to 17 years old. Holidays and gatherings are chaotic fun filled with fun times and lots of laughter!

Our home and Neighborhood

We live on a pretty, tree lined, dead end street in a large development with several other families who have small children. They live in a cute cape style home with an absolutely huge fenced in back yard. Our dogs love to play in the yard but are looking for a child to play ball with!

How we met and fell in love

We belonged to the same gym, and after a few months of noticing each other from afar, Bob introduced himself to Sarah. From our first conversation, we felt an immediate connection. Bob asked Sarah out, and within our first several dates it was obvious to both of us that we had met the person we were meant to be with forever. Our love is deep, honest, and true and continues to strengthen. Seven years to the day of our first date we were blessed with the adoption of our son, Jack, through Adoptions With Love in 2009. Having Jack in our lives has been the most incredible gift. Yet we know our family is not yet complete, and we have more than enough love and room in our hearts and lives for another child.

What we love about each other

Sarah sees Bob as kind, considerate, loving, genuine, and hard-working. He always has accepted me for who I am, and does the same for anyone he meets, never judging and always treating them with a warm, open, respectful heart. He is an incredible father – gentle and patient. Bob sees Sarah as very warm and compassionate. As a mother, she is deeply nurturing, affectionate, and caring – she also loves to be silly with Jack. We both have a strong sense of adventure that we hope to instill in our children. The thing we love most about each other, is that we make each other laugh, every day! We strive to raise our children in a home that is filled with laughter and love.

Talking about adoption with our child

We often tell Jack about his birth mother – about how much she loves him. We show him pictures of his birth family, and tell him the story of how we all met and the memories of the time we spent together. We will also tell our next child how much they are loved by their birth family. We want to share our children’s adoption story from the very beginning in a continuously comforting, loving, and supportive way. We plan to embrace all of their questions as a child or as an adult the same way – fearlessly, gently, kindly, and honestly. As we already do with Jack, we want to teach our children about his or her birth parents by remembering them, recognizing their love, and sharing whatever details are known to us at age-appropriate times in our children’s lives.

What we like to do

We love to take long walks, vacation on the beach or in the mountains, visit the playground, and spend time with our families, which include six nieces and nephews very close in age. We also enjoy cozying in at home, watching a movie or playing games. As a couple, we enjoy going out on dates to a nice dinner or a night visiting with friends. We are both big sports fans – particularly hockey and football. Sarah loves to bake, and Bob enjoys working in the yard.

Our Families and Traditions

Our families are very excited to welcome another baby. We are very close with our families, and are very loyal to each other. We frequently get together for dinner, barbecues, and birthday celebrations. Holidays are full of delicious family meals. There is always abundant energy, fun and laughter among the seven cousins!

Our Home

We live on a quiet street with many young families and friendly neighbors who all look out for each other. We have a large fenced-in backyard, and Jack loves to play with his trucks and blow bubbles outside. He also likes to ride his bike up and down the sidewalk in the front. We can walk to the town center for ice cream or to visit the library or playground. Our town hosts many family activities, such as summer concerts and festivals. We also live right outside a big city, and frequently take Jack on adventures to the city.

About us and how we met

We met at work. We secretly had a crush on each other but our timing was never right. It wasn't until a few years later that the stars aligned and we began getting together outside of work. We got married in beautiful Maui, Hawaii.

We both love the outdoors and traveling, biking, hiking and kayaking. Dave is a movie fan and graduate of film school. He also enjoys home improvement projects and has take on many remodeling jobs around the house. He is a big sports fan, both playing and watching and can’t wait to take our son or daughter to their first game. Dave is a talented artist who likes to paint and draw. He loves to spend time with his nieces and nephews often ending with piggyback rides and tug-a-war games. Michelle loves to bake, providing everyone a supply of holiday treats. She also is becoming an avid gardener and love music, dancing and reading.

Dave says Michelle is the most open, loving and caring person I ever met. She has a kind and giving soul. She is quick to put the needs of others first. Michelle is hard working, funny, compassionate, and caring.

Michelle says Dave is extremely funny, exceptionally loyal and a teddy bear full of love. Dave is also quite the artist and has the patience of a saint -- he can work on something for a long time without wanting to give up.

Families and holidays

We have 11 nieces and nephews that can't wait to meet their new cousin. Most live only a short drive away making for many family gatherings. We both have cousins that joined us through the wonder of adoption. Holidays for us are a time for family to get together. We are excited about starting our own family holiday traditions with our new son or daughter.

Activities we look forward to as parents

We are thrilled to begin sharing the world with our child. We are looking forwarding to traveling, playing, and most of all sharing our love. We can’t wait to take trips to the zoo, museums, aquarium, and the park for lots and lots of play time. We both are looking forward to enjoying the bonding moments of reading bedtime stories together. Our child will feel much loved and free to express themselves so that when the time comes for them to be independent, they are as ready as can be. But most important, we want our child to be true to themselves, finding what matters most to him/her.

Telling our child about their adoption story

We believe in sharing the incredible story of how we became a family with our child. Letting them know that they are so loved by two families and that want the best for them. We will create an environment where he or she can become a strong confident person knowing that they are loved and wanted. We will encourage openness so they are comfortable asking questions about the process that brought them to us and about their birth parents.

Out home and neighborhood

Our home is a cape-cod style on a quite suburban street in a family friendly neighborhood. We have a large yard that we love to spend time in playing with our dog Emmitt and barbecuing with family and friends. Our home backs up to a park and pond that is away filled with the sounds of children playing. There are fishing tournaments for the kids every spring and ice skating in the winter.

We live in a neighborhood filled with young couples and lots of children. We can't wait to join them on a walk with the stroller or family bike rides. Our town has lots of family activities and excellent schools.