We spend a lot of time with our extended families, but when we're not with them we love to go out to eat or cook. Tara's always finding new recipes or trying to recreate a dish that we liked from a restaurant. Jonathan has a woodworking shop and loves to create things to use around the house. Recently he built a mantle to put over our fireplace and he built a large porch swing that we have hanging on our back patio. In the warmer months we love to spend time outside, going for a bike ride or hike, or simply sitting on the patio to watch the sunset. Tara inherited the love of gardening and landscaping from her grandparents and she uses it to make our house beautiful. Last year we broke ground to create a large vegetable garden and grew enough produce to share with the entire family. Tara and her brother grew up spending as much time as possible in the summer at the pool, so we've continued that tradition. Throughout the rest of the year we have a membership at the YMCA where Tara swims laps. Jonathan also loves to work on anything mechanical, including our cars, truck, and tractors, maintaining them and keeping them in good shape. And of course we can't forget to mention that we love our vacations. We usually head down south to the beach four times per year in the spring and fall and we like to head to the Great Lakes in the summer. We're hoping to have the chance to head out west at some point soon to explore our national parks.

Tara About Jonathan: I truly feel so lucky to have Jonathan as my husband. I love his sense of honor and honesty. He is thoughtful, caring, strong, supportive, and dependable. I know beyond a doubt that I can trust him. And just as he's a wonderful husband, I know that he's going to be a wonderful father as well. He's patient and loves to spend time teaching and sharing his knowledge. I love to see him mentoring our nephews, teaching them about the animals and their habitats when we take them to the zoo, showing them different plants, trees, and bugs around our house, helping them to build their new Lego sets, and so on. Jonathan will be the dad that most kids wish they had—someone who pushes them to do their best, supporting, loving, and helping them along the way.

Jonathan About Tara:I love my wife, she is the perfect woman for me. I love how she smiles when she sees me no matter how bad things went that day. Tara is very loving and puts everyone else first. I can see Tara being a fantastic mother the way she keeps our home inside and out and I see it when she plays with our 2 year old niece-- how she is a natural nurturer and right at home caring for a child. Tara is incredibly smart and always actively improving our home. I can't wait to see her take care of kids one day-- she will be awesome at it.

Adoption is nothing new to Tara's family. Her aunt and uncle adopted a baby who they named Sara, and she has been the light of their life and such a joy to our entire family. Growing up, Tara and her brother treated Sara as a little sister, babysitting her, teaching her to swim, going to her special events at school and dance recitals. She's now finishing college and getting ready to start her career as an occupational therapist. We've often thought about what a blessing it's been that her birth mother decided to put her up for adoption; our lives definitely would have been so much emptier without her.

We live in a house situated on five acres out in the country in western Pennsylvania. We love our property, surrounded by cornfields and trees and friendly neighbors. But even though we're in a rural setting, we only have to drive less than 10 minutes to get into town where you'll find shopping, restaurants, coffee shops, the YMCA, and so on. A few minutes down the road is a pick-your-own blueberry farm that's open in the summer. There's also a canoe launch point on the creek a few miles away. We have a few different really nice bike trails close-by for biking during the warm months. We spend a lot of time in the summer at a nearby swim club where several of Tara's family have been members since she was a baby. They have a large main pool and baby pool there, and they offer swim lessons and a swim team. It's a great place to make new friends.

As far as education opportunities, in addition to its public schools, our area has access to an outstanding Montessori school for preschool and Kindergarten and a private school that offers great academics and sports while focusing on reinforcing strong spiritual values.

Family has always been a huge focus for the two of us. We each have our parents, brothers, sisters, a niece and nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins who live close by, along with Tara's grandmother. They are fun, loving, and supportive and we spend a lot of time together. We have a number of traditions, like going on beach vacations together, going for bike rides, having dinner together, hanging out at the nearby swimming pool, celebrating holidays and birthdays, and helping each other with projects around the house. One of our favorite traditions is our annual 4th of July barbecue picnic that we host at our house. Several of Tara's aunts, uncles, and cousins have birthdays within 2 weeks of July 4, so we will celebrate everyone's birthday together, singing to everyone individually until everyone's had their moment in the spotlight. We laugh because we're not great singers and the neighbors probably think we're crazy, but it's still a lot of fun. Since we live out in the country on five acres of property, we have plenty of space to set up outside. At the end of the evening everyone sits together around the firepit, and Jonathan and Tara's father set off fireworks.

When we told our families about our decision to adopt a baby, everyone was so excited and supportive. Anyone who knows us understands that we've always wanted to have a child, and they can't wait to welcome another addition to our clan.

Thank you for taking the time to read about us. We have so many blessings to share, and through this profile hopefully we've been able to give you a glimpse of the wonderful family and home we'd offer your child.

We were married in July 2021 and had hoped to be able to have children right away. We love being together as a couple, but for both of us, our ultimate goal has always been to raise a family. As time passed and we were unable to conceive, we started to consider adoption. Tara's family had such a wonderful experience when her cousin was adopted into the family, so it seemed like a good option for us. We first told our parents about our decision to adopt, then our siblings and extended family and friends. Everyone was so excited to hear that we would finally have the chance to start that family they knew we'd been dreaming of. We have so much love to offer-- we're hoping to have the opportunity to welcome a child into our home and hearts.

Our future child will be raised with a sense of family that will enrich his or her life. Not only will they have our support as their parents, but they'll also have our extended family to surround them with love and encouragement. We will celebrate strong American values-focusing on building a good work ethic and moral character, and providing the chance to pursue an education that will help them fulfill their dreams. Our ultimate mission will be to help form this child into someone who will make the world around them a better place.

From Day 1 we will celebrate the child's adoption story. Our attitude will show that adoption is something to be proud of. We will consistently reinforce that it was your love for them that led you to choose adoption, and we will always portray you in a wonderful way. As the child grows we'll be excited to share updates, pictures, and milestones with you via email so that you can directly see the blessed result of your choice.

We cannot tell you enough how thankful we are that you're considering adoption. If you would choose us as adoptive parents we promise you that the child will be loved unconditionally and will be surrounded by a big family with even more love to offer. They will be given every opportunity to succeed. And most importantly they will grow up knowing how much you love them and what you sacrificed for them.

Please know that we are praying for you as you're making this decision. We hope that any anxiety or worry over the choice that you face will be relieved by knowing that this child would be loved and cherished beyond measure in our home. So many good things can come out of your decision to adopt, and we'd love to have the chance to be a part of that story.

Sincerely,

Jonathan & Tara