Doug & Monica

We are honored that our family profile is being shared with you and hope that it provides a glimpse into our lives and reflects what opportunities and love we can share with your child. We respect your courageous decision to choose life for your baby and to consider the possibility of adoption. Preferred Gender: Either

Doug Monica Job Description Physical Therapist & Athletic Trainer at a Hospital Stay-at-Home Mom Education Bachelor of Science in Education & Coaching,Masters of Science in Physical Therapy Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting Favorites Dream Vacation Europe Dream Vacation A Safari in Africa Game Trivial Pursuit Game Monopoly Hobby Golf Hobby Cooking, Crafts & Gardening Quality about my Spouse Compassionate Quality about my Spouse Sense of Humor Tradition Going on Annual Summer Family Vacations Tradition Going on Annual Summer Family Vacations Children Mikayla-8 years old

We feel it is important to share with you information about our daughter, Mikayla since she could possibly become your child's big sister. Mikayla is 7 ½ years old and is in the first grade. She loves school and excels in reading and writing.

Mikayla is so excited about becoming a big sister and has already told her classmates about our family decision to adopt. Several children did not know what "adoption" was, so Mikayla explained it quite well. She even shared some personal information that Mom and Dad really didn't care to share (oh, well). The teacher was quite amused that day when she overheard Mikayla responding to a question from her best friends as to why her mommy couldn't have a baby in her tummy. Mikayla's quick response was "Oh, my mommy has rotten eggs"! One of the reasons why our IVF cycles failed was due to Monica's poor egg quality. The teacher said she rushed to the rescue and actually discussed adoption in their class that day. Mikayla was so excited when she came home and told us that everyone knows about our great news. She stated that her classmates wanted to know where they can adopt a baby because they want to adopt too!! Her class is very excited about our decision to adopt and ask often when this special baby will arrive!

She has already chosen some gifts for the baby - a giraffe rattle, the baby books "Five little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" and "I'm a little Penguin" (these were two of her favorite baby books) and a stuffed animal tiger. When Mikayla was 2 years old, we visited the Omaha zoo and went to the gift shop to pick out her favorite zoo animal. While browsing the stuffed animal aisle, she hopped out of her stroller and picked up a tiger that was lying on the floor. We tried to convince her to pick another identical tiger sitting on the shelf. She firmly said "No, this one is lonely and I want to name him Tiger". Until this day, she still sleeps with Tiger. She loves her stuffed animal so much that she said her new brother or sister needs a Tiger too!

Mikayla looks forward to playing pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo and reading baby books to her new brother or sister. She can't wait to play in the pool, build castles in the sand box, finger paint, and build a snowman with your child. She looks forward to playing games in the car on long vacations, riding the kiddie rides at amusement parks and helping your child feed the animals at the petting zoos. We know the special loving bond that Mikayla will share with her new sibling will be one that will last forever.

Doug's Soccer Team

There is nothing more important to us than our family. We love spending time with our daughter, her friends, and our nephews and nieces. We have included friends in family outings such as seeing a circus, visiting a children's museum, going to a movie, or simply spending the night. We always have so much fun with them and enjoy spending time with all our nieces and nephews.

Monica has a passion for planning parties for the children. She loves planning themed birthday parties for our daughter complete with decorations, cake, piñata and games to play. Some parties that she has hosted for our daughter and friends were: a Barbie Fun Night, Halloween Party and a Christmas cookie decorating party where the kids also made gifts for their parents. She enjoys teaching Sunday school, assisting with the school's book fair, and helping with carnival games at the annual Fun Night in our town.

Doug also has a passion for teaching kids about sportsmanship and teamwork which started in his prior career as a high school teacher and coach. Two years ago, we started a youth soccer organization in our community to provide a fall recreational sport for elementary children. He enjoys coaching our daughter's co-ed soccer team and also girl's t-ball team. Many parents have commented on Doug's positive attitude and patience with all the players. He emphasizes to the kids that the game is not always about winning but how you play the game and having fun.

Our Happy Home

We live in a ranch style house on three acres of land in rural Northwest Missouri. Our house has 3 bedrooms and a full basement which includes a large play area with a Thomas the Train set and play kitchen area. Beautiful large maple trees in our yard provide wonderful shade for outdoor games of croquet and playing baseball. A wooden play set with swings, slide and climbing rock wall in our spacious back yard seems to be the main attraction when friends and neighbor's children come to visit. There is plenty of room to run and play and our large barns make ideal hiding spots for a game of hide and seek. Our pets include 2 dogs - Riley (a beagle) and Bo (a puggle), Willy our cat and Princess the bunny. Much time is spent outdoors with our pets, relaxing and playing games or picking vegetables from our garden. We also share long walks where we enjoy seeing deer, wild turkey, squirrels, snow geese and lots of birds.

Sledding at a Friend's House

Our neighborhood and community is a great place to raise a family. Everyone is caring and knows each other, which make it a very safe place to live! We have many friends and neighbors who have infants and small children under the age of 3 that will make great playmates. Our community has a great school, a park, swimming pool, dance studio, community theatre, large baseball complex, horse arena, historical museum, soccer fields and a walking track. Annual events include the homecoming parade, Easter egg hunt, 4th of July fireworks celebration, Living History Days hosted by the museum (which we dress up in vintage attire & participate in as a family), and a Fun Night in August complete with carnival games, street dance & BBQ. What's great about our community is that we can enjoy its small hometown charm but still be close enough to larger cities to go on day trips, enjoying all the amenities they have to offer.