Adoption affected our family very directly as JJ entered foster care at age six, and four years later was officially adopted by his foster parents.

Unfortunately JJ's birth father passed away when he was two years old, and his birth mother struggled with mental illness, so when JJ was six, he entered the foster care system in Illinois. JJ spent about eight months in group homes before joining his foster parents in their home in the Chicago suburbs. While the beginning of JJ's adoption story was challenging and difficult for a young child, it ended with a wonderful home and loving parents.

JJ's adoptive parents were always interested in adoption and had fostered several children before him. The transition to his foster family was not without some bumps in the road but ultimately it was the place he could call home. JJ's birth family is from Chicago, so while he did not have contact with his birth mother, he was lucky to have a wonderful relationship with an aunt and uncle who lived just one town over from his foster family. It was important to continue that connection to his birth family, and JJ stays in regular contact with his aunt and uncle to this day.

We love to read, to travel, and to explore our local restaurants. Meredith reviews books as a hobby and JJ enjoys video and board games. We spend as much time as we can with our dog and foster dogs by going on walks and playing in our yard. We also love to spend time with our friends, who are some of our chosen family, and our family that lives close by. We spend a lot of our weeknights and weekends with JJ cooking and Meredith baking. We love to host family and friends over to enjoy delicious meals and spend quality time together!

We like to host friends and family at our house in every season for events like Cinco de Mayo, 4th of July BBQs, Friendsgiving, and of course Christmas parties. It's so fun to cook food and share with our friends and family. Some of our best memories in our home include these events and we're so excited to share them with our future child.

The biggest activity in our lives recently is fostering Golden Retrievers. Soon after we bought our first house we adopted a Golden Retriever named Rico from the local rescue. Rico has been a source of constant joy in our lives and so this year we decided to get more involved by fostering dogs with the same local rescue.

It’s been challenging and rewarding helping dogs move from difficult situations toward their forever homes, but we couldn’t be more happy to help. We truly believe that our pets are family members too and want to give them the best life that we possibly can. Pets have always been a part of our lives and we know they always will be. Our dog Rico is great with kids and loves spending time with the next-door neighbors. He always has a happy wag of a tail and a big kiss for anyone who will accept them.

We are both avid readers and our house has not one but two libraries in it. We love books, reading, and learning. We also are engaged with our town’s public library as well as enjoying the parks and lakes in the area. We have a good sized yard that backs up to a wonderful prairie. We like to barbecue and grill during the summer, as well as take our golden retriever, Rico, on walks in the neighborhood.

Our neighborhood is quiet but has a lively community where the neighbor kids play football or softball in the street. Halloween is especially great as our neighborhood is perfect for trick-or-treating.

The nearby town square hosts an excellent farmer’s market every Saturday in the summer, and the local park district has a lot of fun activities. The park closest to our house even has mini-golf! During the winter our town has a holiday light show and the local lake hosts an outdoor hockey tournament. All four seasons are beautiful where we live in northern Illinois.

We are from the Midwest and we live just twenty minutes from Meredith’s parents. We’re excited to share a close bond with them and often enjoy having meals together. JJ is an only child and Meredith has one brother who moved with his wife and children to Los Angeles last year. We’ve been traveling out to LA to visit them and have been so excited to explore a new city together as a family.

Meredith’s parents host Thanksgiving and Christmas every year and the whole family travels from near and far to spend the holidays together. We cook the holiday meal together, and spend time enjoying the wonderful Midwest seasons!

Meredith's parents own a local toy store and we have both worked there or helped out at busy times as needed. It's always a wonderful experience to go to the store and see all the new things and happy kids.

Not only has adoption touched our lives with JJ's adoption, it’s also part of our extended family. We both have cousins who were adopted, and they are a close part of the family. Our parents are so excited for us to adopt and can't wait to meet your child.

Thank you for considering us as potential parents for your child. We know this is a difficult choice and you must be feeling all kinds of emotions about the prospect of adoption. We hope we can use our own experience with adoption to support you in any way that we can during this process. We are humbled by your selfless act of love and courage to start this journey.

Since JJ was adopted we have our own unique experience with the process and relationships it comes with. Adoption has always been an option for expanding our family since it impacted JJ’s life in such a positive way, and we’re happy that we’re finally able to be considered.

We met during our first semester of college and have been together for fifteen years and married for seven. It's a little surprising to think about, but in only a few short years we will have been together for more time than we've been apart.

The best description of our relationship is: playful and caring. Every day we strive to do the best we can, enjoy our lives, and grow in our love. At this point in our relationship we are so ready to become parents. After the baby is born we’re excited to share so many moments of the child’s life with you, be it a quick text or call, school photos in the mail, or even potentially traveling to visit you in the future, if you so desire. As JJ was adopted himself and still has contact with people in his birth family, we know the value and beauty the relationship with you, the birth mother, brings to a child's life.

We couldn’t be more happy at the idea of being parents. There are so many beautiful places, moments, and traditions to share with a child and we can’t wait to experience them all.

We are thrilled to include a child in all parts of our lives from visiting Grandparents and extended family in New York and California, to traveling to other countries and learning about new cultures. We (Meredith especially as our resident baker) cannot wait to bake cookies, enjoy the park, and watch over playdates with the neighborhood kids. JJ is an avid video game player and can't wait for a little companion to enjoy all those games, new and old.

In raising this child we hope to teach them our values of love, hope, compassion, and being kind to one another. Since JJ is a college professor, a strong education is an important part of what we want for our child. The local schools provide excellent opportunities and have some unique programs. Our neighborhood is clean and safe, and has tons of kids who love playing outside all the time. We want to instill good values and encourage our child to try anything and everything. There are so many wonderful things to learn about in this world and we can’t help but be excited to witness and participate in our children’s discovery of them.

We know this is a challenging time for you and we’re so grateful that you’ve taken the time to read our profile and imagine us as potential parents. Please know that you’ll always be an important person in our and this child’s life. We want you to be included in their adventures, and keep watch over them as they learn and grow. Our gratitude to you for making this choice will be clear every day. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

JJ & Meredith