We love traveling and one day hope to make it to every state and National Park, but when time does not permit taking a long trip, we love hiking and exploring our property and the nearby trails that our state and local parks offer us. We recently started kayaking too. One of our favorite pastimes is listening to music while we put puzzles together. We have many of these saved and hung up in our hobby room at home. When Heather's nephew visits, we often do Legos together and we have many on display in our home. We love to take him to Dave & Buster's arcade, of course, we like going there without him too! From minigolf to bowling we love the typical American things, and when friends visit, we often have a bonfire on our property. Friends and family are always welcome. It's fun to see their kids enjoy riding on the farm equipment. Mike enjoys learning about CNC routing, 3-D printing and robotics and often tinkers with this and other electronics. Heather is learning about canning and trying new recipes. She loves to bake and always has a project or two in mind for the house. We both read in the evenings usually and Mike enjoys video games from time to time as well.

Mike's strengths are his patience, his ingenuity and his honesty. He is the calming force in the household, the one who always seems to make things right when things seem broken or wrong. There is no problem too big or too difficult; he will patiently work through it until the solution is perfect.

Heather's strengths are her ambition, her loyalty and her compassion. She is the nurturing force, the one who makes the hurts less painful and the struggles just a stepping stone to the next best thing. She will stick by your side no matter what and will advocate for you making sure all your needs are protected and met.

Together we balance each other very well. Heather is the more fiery, emotionally driven of the two of us and Mike is the calmer, quieter, analytical one who reminds us to breathe. Heather is the heart, but Mike is the soul.

We like to think that adoption chose us!

We were led to adoption with the knowledge that we would be great parents who could offer a child so much love and opportunity, but after the realization that we would not be able to become them on our own. Heather has been through a very long infertility battle which consisted of many trials and many procedures and even three failed pregnancies. This process was very trying and tested our faith and our resolve. It makes you wonder if your family traditions will ever survive, or if those visions and dreams of your future children will ever be realized. It makes you question whether you were really meant to be a parent at all and leaves you feeling a bit empty at times and definitely tests your faith. But we reached one conclusion through all of this, we are meant to be parents. How we become parents will just look a little different and we fully embrace that. There is a child who is meant for us; we feel that; we know that; and we cannot wait to meet them.

We live on 10 great acres in Wisconsin and are building a hobby farm. We live here with our two dogs, but soon will welcome goats since we recently completed work to the barn and pasture! With both forests and hayfields, there is lots to explore. We have apple trees, pear trees and a cherry tree that we love and enclosed gardens where we grow our own vegetables and yummy strawberries in the warmer months.

We live about one mile from the center of town where we have a farmer's market every Saturday morning from spring to fall and about 1.5 miles from the fairgrounds where the much-anticipated county fair is held every year. These same fairgrounds host events from tractor pulls to demo derbies, and various festivals and food events that we attend. There is a large park nearby with live music every Friday night in the summertime and this park also hosts the community pool with slides and splash pads to play at.

There are lots of children to play with in our area and many organizations to join like boy/girl scouts, 4-H, a local dance school and even a local theater group who perform at the old theater in the center of town. There are lots of local sports.

Because we have many lakes in the area, kayaking, swimming and sailing are popular in the warmer months. We love hiking the trails of the Kettle Moraine Forest formed from glaciers many years ago.

Everyone is super excited about welcoming a child and cannot wait to meet them! We have all waited a long time.

Mike is an only child, and we live close to his family. He helps his stepfather out with their family business from time to time and the two of them enjoy time together at the shooting range. Mike is very close to his mother and they both share a love of gardening and plants. We all get together several times a year for dinners at Grandma's house where she is always sure to make Mike's favorite bacon-wrapped smokies.

Heather and her older brother Tim share a birthday! He is married with one child who is autistic. They live in North Carolina, but Heather's nephew will spend a month with us every summer and we see them a few times a year and speak often. Heather's father is deceased, and her mother currently lives in New Jersey but is relocating to Wisconsin in the next year to be closer! We see each other a few times a year, but soon we can see each other every day. She cannot wait to meet her new grandbaby.

Where do we even start? We both have had quite a journey to get to this crossroad, but as we travel the rest of this journey together there are some things we need you to know.

You are brave. You are appreciated. You are respected. Among all the pros and cons, and ups and down you have chosen to pursue the most selfless decision you could ever make. A decision that will impact all of our lives in an extraordinary way. Please know that we will support you in this journey to whatever extent you choose. We will embrace you and your desires, and we hope to share in your family traditions, culture and heritage. Passing these down to this child will help continue your family legacy while you help us continue ours.

This child is wanted, wanted beyond measure. This child is already loved and will be loved unconditionally, not just by us but by all of our friends and family. We promise this child will never feel otherwise. They will be afforded every possible opportunity to be the person we all want them to be. They will have many experiences to see new things, explore and develop their passions. We will teach them the value of family and honesty, faith and education. We cannot wait to see what their future holds!

We have waited a long time for this moment. There was an instant connection as soon as we met. Mike is the calm, peaceful energy in our relationship and Heather is the fiery, emotional energy that he balances. Mike is spontaneous and adventurous and up for just about anything, and Heather is the practical, feet-on-the-ground, no upside-down roller coasters, analytical explorer. We have been married for a little over three years and together for about four and a half years. Mike works in a plastics factory right now, but he would be a stay-at-home dad to this child and grow our hobby farm teaching them about animals and how to care for them, milking goats and riding the tractors. Heather is a physician who practices family medicine, urgent care and obesity management, caring for patients of all ages. We have struggled with infertility and have endured the grief and loss of this process and the babies we would never come to hold. We are committed solely to adoption as the means for us to build a family. There is plenty of room and plenty of love if you choose to become part of that with us.

We wholeheartedly invite emails, text messages, photos, and phone calls, but would also welcome visits, shared vacations and other contact that may be important to you or for us. Never fear, we will send photographs and letters, kid drawn arts and craft projects, handmade ornaments, and other little things to you throughout the year. We hope to have your help in creating a lifebook for this child so we can document their history, your history and their life.

And finally, sincerely, Thank You. Two simple words that hold so much meaning. We feel so humbled to be considered for this most important decision. Please know that we do not underestimate the sacrifice you are making. Through tremendous heartache, there can be blessings beyond message. We have learned this along our journey to you and hope together we will share in the blessings sure to come.

With love and gratitude,

Mike & Heather