Traveling is one of our favorite things to do together! Though we've loved all of the vacations we've taken over the years, like kayaking with sea turtles in Hawaii, road tripping on the California coast, and touring European cities, our favorite spot to travel to is much closer to home. Danielle's family has a lake house about an hour away from our house. We visit the lake house as much as we can throughout the year. It is a great place to relax and unwind. During the summer, we lounge on the beach or at the pool, take walks through the forest preserves, and get ice cream from the local store in town. Our dog loves to take rides on the golf cart around the neighborhood. There are lots of great restaurants and farmers' markets nearby. There is a side porch and hammock that are perfect for afternoon naps! In the winter, we go sledding, put together puzzles, hang out by the fireplace, and play board games or ping pong. When we are at the lake house, time seems to go a little slower. It is our favorite place to visit!

Frank is an enthusiastic woodworker and an overall "Mr. Fix-it." He built a work table that folds up into the garage wall and our mantle for our fireplace. Whenever one of our neighbors needs help, he's the first person they call. Frank also loves to garden. He has such a green thumb! He has grown mushrooms, herbs, flowers, and more. He planted hydrangeas for our garden in the backyard since they are Danielle's favorite flower. Frank also tends to several bonsai trees.

While Frank loves to work outside, Danielle's hobbies generally happen indoors. Danielle is an avid reader. Whenever she has downtime, her nose is generally in a book. She also loves to bake. Danielle is the designated "dessert-bringer" for gatherings with family and friends. She makes pies, scones, cookies, cheesecakes, and cakes. Every year, she bakes nine to ten types of cookies with her mom and sister-in-law for Christmas. Frank's coworkers at the firehouse look forward to them every year!

We also love to spend a lot of time together. We both like to exercise. Danielle enjoys cycling, yoga, and pilates. Frank likes to swim, lift weights, and ride bikes. We love to cook new recipes together. We also love to take advantage of all of the great resources in our city. We go to museums, cheer on our favorite teams, see movies and comedy shows, go out to dinner, and take long walks in the surrounding parks. For quiet nights at home, we love puzzles and board games.

Our dog Poppy is one of the loves of our lives. Since the moment that we brought her home, Poppy has been a consistent source of joy and happiness. She brings out the best in us every day. She makes us laugh when she gets the "zoomies" around the house or tries to steal food from the dinner table. She reminds us to be friendly to everyone we meet. Poppy is a local celebrity in our neighborhood! She loves people, kids, and other dogs. We cannot take a walk around the block without her stopping to greet neighbors and dole out some kisses and sniffs to anyone who will take them. She is truly the friendliest and most loving dog around! Having a dog has also taught us a lot about patience and consistency. She reminds us to empathize and support each other. Poppy is very intuitive. She seems to know whenever someone has had a hard day. She cuddles right up to that person and snuggles right onto their lap. More than anything else, though, having Poppy in our lives reminds us to be present with each other and those that we love. She reminds us, sometimes literally, to stop and smell the roses!

We live in a great neighborhood in a vibrant, diverse city. There is always something to do in and around our area! There are world-renowned museums, lots of parks, great restaurants and shops, street festivals in the summer ... and more! We love to walk with our dog Poppy to the coffee shop for a "pup cup" of whipped cream in the mornings and go out to eat at night. There are several parks and playgrounds within walking distance from our house. Kids and families are always there to play on the playground or in the pool, for sports leagues, summer camps, and picnics. On the weekends, dogs run and play fetch in the baseball fields. Our neighborhood school is ranked as one of the best in the state, and it's only one block from our house! We have great neighbors too! We get together with them and their kids for dinners, movie nights, and birthday parties. Our neighborhood gets particularly excited for Halloween. People come from all over the city to trick-or-treat and show off their costumes.

Our two-bedroom townhouse has lots of space for family activities. We watch movies in our den on our first level and sit outside on the patio in the afternoon with friends. Danielle loves to cozy up with a book with Poppy on the couch in the living room. Frank loves to build and fix things in the garage. We can't wait to share all of this and more with a child!

Family is incredibly important to us. We feel very lucky that both of our families live close by. A child will have many opportunities to be surrounded and loved by their extended family members.

Frank is one of five children and Danielle is one of three. Frank has two brothers and two sisters. His youngest sister and her husband have a daughter, our niece Eleanor. His youngest brother and his wife are expecting their first child very soon. Eleanor is so excited to have more cousins to play with!

Danielle's parents are eagerly awaiting their first grandchild. Danielle's dad is an attorney who loves children. Danielle's mom works part-time at a church and cannot wait to babysit. Danielle is very close with both of her brothers and their partners.

Because we all live within 20 minutes of each other, we see each other very frequently. We often have dinners and play games when we are together. Frank helps with lots of home projects for both sides of the family.

All of the members of our families are very excited and supportive about our adoption plan. They cannot wait to love and spoil this child!

We are so grateful that you have taken the time to consider us. We know that this is not a decision you will make lightly, so we are truly humbled at the opportunity to share more about ourselves and our story.

Danielle has been an elementary school teacher for over a decade. She taught first and second graders for seven years. Now, Danielle is a reading specialist, working with struggling readers in kindergarten through fifth grade. She loves children and is passionate about building a child's confidence through reading. Being with children daily, Danielle can't wait to help her own children learn and grow.

Frank began his career as a chemical engineer. For nine years, he designed and built equipment for companies to reduce their environmental impacts. Though he enjoyed the challenges of engineering, Frank longed to interact with people. A few years ago, he left his job in engineering to become a firefighter. Through becoming a first responder, he has been able to pursue his passion of helping others.

We met in the summer of 2011. Danielle was out to dinner with one of her childhood friends. Frank, who was at the restaurant for a high school reunion, approached their table and immediately made her laugh. We had our first date two days later and have been inseparable ever since! We've had a lot of adventures together over the years, like traveling the world, buying our first home, and navigating career changes. As with most relationships, we have been through ups and downs, but we've worked through those challenging moments to come out stronger and more in love than ever. As we look towards adoption, we know that our greatest adventure is yet to come.

For several years, our focus has been on expanding our family. After years of fertility treatments, we discovered that we are unable to have biological children. We have always talked about adoption as a way to have a family. We had hoped to have both biological and adopted children, as both of us wanted to have a big family. While part of that dream has shifted, we are so excited to begin our adoption journey. We know that we have so much love to give a child and are so excited to become parents.

Our families are very important to us. Both sides of our family live nearby, so we see each other often for dinners and other activities. Danielle's family has a lake house about an hour away. When we are there, we relax by the beach or pool and spend quality time with each other. Our families are incredibly supportive of our adoption journey. They are enthusiastically awaiting a child to love as one of their own. Our dog is also anxiously awaiting a new playmate!

We can only imagine the difficult decisions that you are facing right now. We are inspired by your selflessness and your strength. We know that this time is filled with emotions; we hope to provide some comfort in expressing our promises to you. We promise to love your child unconditionally with our whole hearts. We promise to honor your child's background and culture and to always be honest and open about adoption. We will protect and cherish your child by providing a safe, nurturing environment for your child to thrive. We will teach them to work hard and to have big dreams. We will fill our home with giggles, bedtime stories, and snuggles. More than anything, we will strive everyday to be worthy of the difficult choice you are making.

We want you to know that we view open adoption as a lifelong commitment. We will share updates about your child's growth and milestones through photos, emails, or letters. We are open to making arrangements for visits when the time is right. We will make sure that your child knows how much you love them and honor you through our words and actions. You will always be a part of your child's story and our family.

Frank & Danielle