To us family is a big word encompassing a lot of people and there is nothing more important than family. Their love and support means the world to us and our children. We have spoken to every single person in our family about our decision to adopt and we have everyone's blessing and excitement.
Janet's Family Easter Sunday
Todd is very close to all of his siblings and family. His brother, Uncle Mark is an assistant manager at Todd's Restaurant. His sister Jill lives about 2 hours away and her family which includes 4 boys and a foster daughter live on a farm which we often visit and let the boys enjoy playing with their cousins and all the animals. Todd's mom "Grandma Brenda" lives close and often treats the boys to movie days complete with all the movie munchies that grandmas "have to" get. Todd visits Ohio once a month to see our son Ryan. Ryan has 2 sisters in Ohio who love Todd; they are part of the extended family. Todd's father and step mother live in Ohio and Todd and Ryan spend one weekend a month at their home; often times Christian will accompany Todd on these monthly visits where they spend the majority of the time playing and watching football. Todd's younger brother Michael also lives in Ohio; he is married to Janet's best friend of 22 years Julia. They too are expecting a baby this summer. We are all excited that the babies will be so close in age and plan to spend as much time as possible visiting each other.
Janet is the oldest of 3 girls raised in a close knit Catholic family. Her parents are still married and the entire family live with-in 10 miles of each other. Janet's mother is a stay at home mom, now grandma who loves rocking her grandchildren and giving them "too many" Otter Pops. Her dad "Poppy" is always up for a day at the arcade. Janet and her sisters are exceptionally close and best friends. Susanne is a police officer and is known as "Aunt Suepy". She and her husband Uncle Nate are known for taking the kids on special birthday shopping sprees which always includes a new pair of "skater" shoes. Jennifer is a teacher and coach and lives with her boyfriend of 5 years Alex. Jennifer has a 6 year old boy Parker who loves spending lots of time with his older cousins and is really looking forward to a new baby so he can be the older one. Christian has 2 little sisters that live nearby and they are part of the family too often coming over to swim. Birthdays and holidays are big events in our family especially Christmas which involves everyone including Janet's grandparents and Todd's family coming to our house and eating prime rib. After dinner chaos erupts as presents are torn open in a whirlwind. The night always ends with coffee and serious games of trivial pursuit while the kids open and play with every single gift they received.
Our House and Neighborhood
Our Home
Our home is tucked away on a quiet street at the base of a mountain in Arizona. Our community is full of children. All of our neighbors have kids and the street is safe enough that it is often packed with bike riding and skateboarding children. There is a community center within a mile that has a huge playground and offers all kinds of courses like arts and crafts and dance. Since we are so close to the mountain we have beautiful hiking trails within steps of our doorway and often catch a glimpse of amazing wildlife including coyotes, roadrunners and quail. Our home is a spacious 2200 sq foot home which is centered around our kids. They have a sleeping room decked out in sports paraphernalia as well as a play room with video games, toys and even a mini refrigerator. We just converted part of our 3 car garage into an office so the room that was the office can be transformed into a nursery. Janet paints murals so the house is full of custom painting and it is safe to say this child will have a room fit for a princess.
Our Back Yard and Mountain View
We have a beautiful backyard with a heated pool and spa. We have a large yard and Todd takes a lot of pride in his grass. It is perfectly soft and green. The boys often play football and soccer out there and we are just waiting for a little one to run barefoot in it. We can't wait to put a swing set and playhouse out there. We have a swing in the backyard and at dusk the entire family will sit in the swing and watch the beautiful pink Arizona sunset. Our home is large enough to host parties and holidays as we often do but still comfortable and intimate. It is the perfect house for raising children.
American Adoptions, a private adoption agency founded on the belief that lives of children can be bettered through adoption, provides safe adoption services to children, birth parents and adoptive families by educating, supporting and coordinating necessary services for adoptions throughout the United States. For more information on American Adoptions please call 1-800-ADOPTION (236-7846).
