Adoption is not a new experience for our families. Chris' mother was adopted out of an orphanage at the age of four. Chris' grandparents decided at the beginning that it was important for his mom to know her biological siblings. They helped reunite the siblings at birthdays and holidays as they grew up. Chris' mom is still in contact with her biological siblings.

Sara's aunt adopted two children as infants and had one biological son. Sara's family was open in talking about adoption.

Also, through teaching Sara has had the opportunity to work with and develop relationships with some families who have experienced adoption. Many of these adoptions have been international adoptions, so she has had the opportunity to experience firsthand the importance of diversity and bringing many cultural experiences into a child's life. Both Chris and Sara have known families who have adopted through their church family and know that they are resources that they can utilize as they continue on this adoption journey.

We love spending time together but also have separate interests. Together you may find us watching sports and movies, reading books and discussing them, or talking politics. We attend mass every weekend, and usually have a large family dinner on Sundays. We love spending time together and we love being with our family.

Separately, you may find Chris in the kitchen trying out a new recipe, perfecting his chili, or grilling. He may also be frying fish for the Knights of Columbus Lenten fish fry, or deep frying turkeys. During the winter, Chris can be found playing video games or working on computers. He also loves being outside. Outside he can be seen working in the yard, sprucing up the house, playing golf, or hunting.

On the other hand, you will find Sara more indoors. She loves teaching and she will be the first to tell you that teaching is more than just a job, it is a hobby. Sara enjoys making creative things for her classroom from bulletin boards to fun projects for her class. She loves books. Sara is in a book club, but she also collects children's books. She loves books and would love to share this hobby with our child. Sara is known to crochet blankets, decorate for the holidays, play some piano, and decorate our home. She also has a knack for always finding the perfect gift for someone to make them feel special or brighten their day.

1. We are a fun loving exciting couple waiting to find the missing piece to our family puzzle.

2. Chris loves to cook and he makes an excellent pot of chili! He has even been known to win the local chili cookoff!

3. Sara is a master coordinator and organizer. Everyone turns to her to plan any event or activity, and keep everyone on the right path. She thinks of every detail.

4. We love Christmas. We put up four Christmas trees in our house with one that is nine feet tall.

5. Chris is a Star Wars nerd. He reads all the books, knows the movies by heart, and even watches the cartoons!

6. Sara loves polka dots. She uses them in her classroom, wears them often, and even gets gifts full of them.

7. We love to go to the theatre! Musicals are our favorite and we try to see at least one show a year.

8. Chris is a jack of all trades, he is good with his hands and can do most anything! He’s our first call for help with all technology.

9. Sara loves Dr. Seuss. She has a collection of his books and stuffed animals to match, and would love to share them with our child.

10. We are creative and can accomplish anything together! (remodeling our house, decorating Sara’s classroom, making DVDs for special family occasions, and completing our adoption book and video)

We live in the same small river town in Missouri where we both were born and raised. Our families are close by and we have many opportunities to spend time together. We know our neighbors and our town is filled with many activities that make it a quiet hometown. There are many annual festivals with family centered activities that focus on bringing residents out and people together. Our church offers us the opportunity to grow spiritually and socially. Together these draw us into a strong community.

Our town has a good public school district as well as private schools. Sara teaches in our community and we hope to have our child attend the school that she is at. We are right down the street from the middle school and high school.

We own our own home and it is located on a quiet, dead end street. Our home is a split-level house with three bedrooms, a spacious living/dining room upstairs, and a family room in the basement. It also has a large backyard, and a park located nearby. We are within walking distance of the YMCA, the park, and one set of grandparents. Our community also has two swimming pools, one community and one private, many playgrounds and parks, along with many places to visit and enjoy. We feel that our home and community are the perfect place to raise a family.

Sara is from a strong Catholic family. She is the youngest of six and has a twin brother. Her mom and three of her siblings still live in town. Sara's other two siblings live in the state of Missouri and visit often. She has four nieces and four nephews who she has watched grow up and has recently helped many of them plan weddings. Also, much of her extended family lives close by. Sara's father passed away a few years ago.

Chris is an only child with divorced parents. His mother still lives a couple of streets away and his father lives about 30 minutes away. Chris' father's side gets together annually to hunt. He also has a step brother and two young nieces.

Family time is important to us, from Sunday dinners, celebrating birthdays, holidays, watching sports, and taking trips our motto is that everything is always better together. Our families love being together. Both Sara and Chris' families get together to celebrate many special occasions. We gather to watch Cardinal baseball and BBQ together. In the Fall, we watch and cheer on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. We take turns cooking and spend our weekends together. On Sundays, we attend Mass.

Chris' mom was adopted and has shared some of her experiences with us. Both our families are very supportive of our adoption plan and are eager to have a new member of the family.

We are on a journey to find the missing piece of our family puzzle. Journeys take us along many different paths, and our path is adoption. As you travel through this journey we admire your courage and strength as you begin to plan for your child. Adoption is a wonderful gift and a unique opportunity that we know would not be possible without you. Thank you for considering this option for your child and considering us. We are Chris and Sara and today our paths have crossed. As you take a moment to get a glimpse of our journey, we hope you will see that we have a great amount of love for each other, our families, our friends, our life, and our future child.

We met in high school and we have been married for thirteen years. We are best friends, great compliments to each other, love spending time together, and are still excitedly waiting to see what adventures will come next. Our journey together has taken us through many turns, paths and adventures. From the beginning, we have wanted our family to grow. Through the struggle of infertility, we realized that God was calling us in a different direction to grow our family. Adoption is the path that we will follow and through this journey we hope to have the opportunity to meet the child and family that God has chosen for us. As we have prepared for this journey we have spent time in prayer, reflection, and talking with many supportive people in our lives. A scripture that continues to speak to us is 1 Samuel 1:27 “For this child we have prayed.” From this we know that God is working to find us the child that is meant to be in our lives and fill the missing piece of our family.

We want you to know that family is so very important to us. Family isn't made from blood, it is made from love. Families are built on trust, love, and commitment. These are the pieces of the our family puzzle that we want to share with you and your child. We feel strongly about sharing love and family from one generation to the next. Family traditions and being together are at the core of who we are and part of this journey that we are on.

While we have never met you, we are praying for you and your child as you continue to make plans. If we should be the parents that you hope for your child, we will love them, encourage them, and help them thrive. They will fill the missing piece of our family puzzle. You too will become a part of our family.

Our child, yours and ours, will know the great love you had for them and the amazing gift you gave to us through adoption. You made our family dream a reality. As an important part of our family puzzle we will be more than willing to share pictures, letters, and emails with you. Also, we will share our child’s adoption story with them from early on, so they can know what a gift they are and you are in our lives.

Please know as we travel down the adoption path we are thankful for you and the child you are carrying. We hope to get the privilege of getting to know you better and continue on this journey together. We wish you the best as you plan for your child. You and your child will continue to be in our prayers.

Thank you for considering this wonderful gift and please know the great respect and admiration that we have for you as you prepare to plan for your child.

With hope and love,

Chris & Sara