Jeff & Diane

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us better. We are very excited about adopting a baby and giving him/her a life full of happiness, love, and encouragement. We truly admire your courage to consider adoption for your child. We adopted our son Brandon in 2008. He has shown us how much joy a baby can bring and how much unconditional love we have to give. We wish to share that love and will always put your baby's needs above our own. Preferred Gender: Either

Jeff Diane Job Description Federal Agent who Investigates Environmental Crimes Office Manager for the State of New Jersey Education Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Studies Associate Degree in Computer Systems Favorites Animal Moose Animal Bear Dessert Pecan Pie Dessert Ice Cream Dream Job Turf Manager on Golf Course Dream Job Motherhood Dream Vacation Canoe to Kobuk, Alaska Dream Vacation Return to Alaska Leisure Activity Reading Leisure Activity Sitting Around a Campfire Children Brandon-1 year old

Sharing a Hug

We adopted our son Brandon in 2008 and we are very excited to begin another adoption story. Initially we were scared, but we became very comfortable when we met Brandon's birth family. We visited his birth parents, brothers, sister and their friends several times before Brandon was born. We even had the opportunity to spend time with one of Brandon's birth grandmothers. These opportunities will enable us to explain to Brandon why his birth parents chose adoption and how much his birth family loves him. We enjoy preparing and sending Brandon's birth parents and birth grandmother our monthly "email updates" and photos. They really look forward to these.

One of our nephews is adopted. His adoption story has been very positive. He feels very comfortable discussing his feelings about adoption and has helped us to decide to adopt again. He is very excited about discussing adoption with Brandon and our new baby.

Our neighbors adopted a little girl. She has become very connected to Brandon through their commonality. She will be very excited to learn that we will be adopting another baby. Her and her parents have promised to help Brandon understand his adoption story.

Beside our neighbors, we have close friends and coworkers that have or are in the process of adopting. All the children are different ages and races. This creates a valuable support structure for everyone involved, especially the children - a group of friends that share something special in common.

Watching Daddy Decorate the Tree

Our favorite tradition is Christmas Eve at Diane's brother's house. Most of our extended family comes for a huge dinner and then we all go into the family room to exchange presents. Then someone sneaks away from the party and puts on a Santa Claus costume. One of the adults acts like they hear something on the roof. This is the cue for Santa to come into the room. He enters while shaking sleigh bells and saying "Ho, Ho, Ho," then we all start singing Jingle Bells. He sits by the fireplace and hands out presents to everyone.

Another tradition is when we visit a new city we try to attend a mass. This started on our first trip to Montreal, Canada. When she saw the breath-taking Montreal's Notre-Dame Basilica, Diane wanted to attend Sunday mass there. Unfortunately we were leaving the city on Sunday. Since Jeff always complained that Diane took too long to get ready in the morning, he promised Diane he would take her, if she was ready for the 9 a.m. mass. That Sunday Diane was out of bed and ready to go before 8 a.m. They both enjoyed the mass so much they put church plans into every vacation.

Our newest traditions are to honor our son's birthparents. The day before Mother's Day is birthmother's Day and the day before Father's Day is Birthfather's Day. We buy "Thinking of You" balloons, write notes to the birthparents on them, go to the beach and let the balloons go. We captured pictures of our son sleeping through his first Birthmother's Day ceremony, but knew that he was there in spirit. Hopefully next year's ceremony will be more exciting for him.

Jeff Loves to Get His Hands Dirty

Diane Can't Wait to Teach Our Children How to Swim