We lived in Colorado for ten years; since moving back to the Midwest, it has been important for us to take a yearly trip back to the mountains for a vacation in the winter. Each year, we make a trip for an extended weekend to one of our favorite mountain villages -- Breckenridge, Vail or Beaver Creek. Sometimes the trip is just the two of us and other times we have friends join us from the Midwest or meet up with our friends from when we lived in Colorado. In every scenario, we enjoy the crisp mountain air, skiing, snowshoeing, good food and then cozying up by the fire to unwind for the evening before doing it all again the next day. As our family grows, we look forward to teaching the child how to ski and laughing as we all explore and make new memories in an area of the country we used to call home.

We both love to travel, both domestically and internationally, and explore new places. While we consistently do a yearly trip to the mountains, we always try and pick a new place to explore, as well. Our weekends are otherwise spent reading, enjoying the outdoors, playing around with Sancho, or spending time with family and friends.

We have an extremely tight-knit group of friends whom we consider family. Most of our friends have young children, ranging in age from one to eight years, who would be cousins to a child in our family. We share a passion for cooking and get together consistently for cooking adventures where we all try something new and different. Summers include spending the day outside and gathering around a fire in the backyard for s'mores. We enjoy Badger athletics and our weekends include Badger football in the fall and basketball in the winter. Our friends are all from the Midwest, so we enjoy heathy rivalries over football tailgates and March Madness. We can't wait to have a little one to share our lives and adventures with!

One of the most important things a parent can do is put their child first, above everything. The role of a parent is to nurture, develop and instill life's important values -- for us, this means instilling the importance of honesty, integrity, hard work, respect, and family. It is our job to be there for our child and to support them as they grow up and develop their own sense of self. We are most looking forward to seeing the world from the eyes of a child. We are looking forward to seeing a child grow and experience all the joys of growing up, but also being there for those difficult times, as well. Being a parent isn't going to be easy, but we are committed to being supportive and learning from each other and the child along the way. There is nothing in this world that we want more than to be parents and we are thrilled at the opportunity to become ones in near future.

We recently bought a home in the suburbs of Chicago -- close to the train for an easy commute in to the City for work and weekend adventures, yet far enough removed so there is a true community feel. Our community is very active and has summer programs and activities centered around each holiday, including annual pancakes with Santa. Our neighborhood is made up of many ethnicities and kids ranging in age from newborns to high schoolers. There is always someone outside riding bikes, playing basketball, walking dogs, or heading to the park up the street.

Our lawn has a built-in mini snow hill for having fun during the Midwestern winters and we have plenty of space, both inside and out, for fun and adventures. We spend a lot of time outside when the weather cooperates, spending time gardening, sitting on the patio and making s'mores by a fire in the backyard. Two blocks away there is a forest preserve where we walk the trails and enjoy the changing fall colors and wildlife.

We have a close-knit family who couldn't be more excited about our decision to adopt. Our parents both live close to us and they are ecstatic about becoming first-time grandparents! We enjoy casual weekends together throughout the year, often times centered around Wisconsin Badger sporting events, but we look forward most to when we host everyone in our home for Thanksgiving. Nothing is better than the entire family waking up together under one roof, sharing stories, laughter, and good food together for an entire weekend.

Scott is an only child and Allison has two sisters that are ready to spoil this child rotten. One of them already has requested to be called Auntie B and the other already has Badger gear picked out for their first tailgate. They couldn't be more different but everyone is so excited for us to adopt and bring a new member in to our fun, energetic and loving family.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us as a couple. We admire the courage and selflessness it takes to consider adoption for your child and can't imagine how difficult of a decision this must be for you. If we are chosen to parent your child, we will provide a home full of love and support as we foster a thirst for knowledge and teach him or her how to be a trustworthy and hardworking individual who cares about others.

We started dating in college and always knew we wanted to have a family together. After college, we continued dating and established ourselves in our careers - Scott in healthcare consulting and Allison in human resources. We got married in 2013, back on campus where we had met, and have been happily married for over ten years. The only thing missing from our lives right now is expanding our family and we are so excited for what the future holds.

Every decision we have made the last five years has been to prepare us for welcoming a child in to our home. We moved from Colorado to Illinois in order to be closer to our families and the strong support system they provide. Since moving to Illinois, we have purchased a home in a diverse suburb with an excellent school district and adopted a puppy labrador retriever named Sancho. He absolutely loves snuggles and humans of all ages and sizes! Our home has a large yard and plenty of space for our family to grow, explore and house many adventures and memories.

Despite all of our preparations and dreams, we have been unable to conceive biological children. We went through many rounds of infertility treatments and were told it wasn't meant to be. While that wasn't the easiest news for us to hear, we were there for each other during the roller coaster of treatments and disappointment. Through it all, it deepened our desire to have a family and that's what brought us to adoption.

We are enthusiastically awaiting the opportunity to grow our family and are excited to provide your baby with a loving home. Our parents are ecstatic to become first-time grandparents and our siblings cannot wait to become aunts. We also have a close-knit group of friends that we consider family; these friends all have children ranging in age from one to eight who would be immediate role models and big siblings. Everyone in our life is so supportive of our decision to adopt.

We recognize your decision ahead is not an easy one. We will always be honest and open with a child in regards to adoption and the role you play in their life. We will ensure your child knows how much you love them and the decision you made was difficult, but was made for them. We will share with you your child's growth and experiences through photos, emails, and letters, if desired, and are open to making arrangements for visits when the time is right.

Thank you again for allowing us the chance to share a bit of us with you; we hope that you will consider allowing our dreams to come true through adoption.

Sincerely,

Scott & Allison