We have two children, Max age 7 and Aubrey age 5. Max is our builder, designer, engineer - his favorite toys are blocks and Legos. He asks many questions, always trying to figure how things work - and he wants to know it all. He is kind, happy and quite adventurous. He enjoys soccer and learned to ride his bike without training wheels this summer. Max has an outgoing personality and an amazing memory.

Aubrey loves art - coloring, painting, stickers. She adores her brother - they are very different but best buddies. Aubrey likes horses and pretty much anything Max is playing with. She is full of imagination and pep. She takes dance, gymnastics and swimming lessons. She can be stubborn at times and also quiet and shy.

Max and Aubrey are beyond excited for a brother or sister and we can assure you that they will love that child dearly. When we first talked with them about adoption, they turned our 4th bedroom into the baby's room, complete with toys, books and handmade pictures. They look forward to a new play mate.

Samantha has two biological sisters, one that she's never met. Samantha's mother got pregnant at age 18, her parents forced her to move out during the pregnancy and then place the baby for adoption. Samantha's mother has never tried to find Jennifer, her first daughter - out of love, knowing that if Jennifer wanted to find her, she has all resources to reach out. While it was difficult for Samantha’s mother not to know anything about her daughter, she also came to understand that she could not take care of this child because she was a child herself. You will not have to wonder about your child knowing who you are. This child will know his or her adoption story. While we will be this child’s parents, this child will know he or she has a loving person who gave he or she life and cared so much about this child that she chose adoption. We would open our hearts to you if would like to be part of this child’s life.

While we feel blessed to have two biological children, Samantha had very difficult pregnancies. We would love to have another child but fear the risks of having another child are too great. As adoption is close to our hearts, we are excited to embark on this journey to find our child.

Currently our favorite vacation spot is located north of Miami in Deerfield Beach, Florida. We have been going to this area every winter for the last three years. It is a great area with beautiful beaches, good food and a lot of parks and other activities for the family. We really enjoy having a very simple plan for these vacations so we don't have the stress of being anywhere at a specific time. We tend to be very laid back and just do what feels right for the day. We try to soak up the sun as much as possible! We love to build giant sand castles in the sand or just simply walk along the beach and look for shells. We’ve met sea turtles and native fish at nature centers and even found a place where the kids were able to meet and kiss a dolphin. Many days involve a stop for ice cream or another sweet treat. We truly try to enjoy the time together as a family - letting the kids play while we enjoy sharing in their smiles and excitement. We can’t wait to have another little one join us on these adventures.

We promise Wisconsin is much more than farm fields and cheese! Our home is on a 1 1/2 acre lot, there is room to run, climb trees, and play on the swing set. We have a deck that starts in the back of our home and wraps all the way around to the front - it's huge and a wonderful place to enjoy warm summer days.

Our favorite room in our house is the family room, while its cozy with a comfy couch and fireplace what we love most about it is that, more often than not, there's a huge train track built on the rug, or it transforms into a store, school, or the cushions are off the couch being used as building pieces of a fort. The family room is home to crayons, markers and paint that have colored countless pictures.

We enjoy Saturday morning farmers markets, weekly trips to the library for story time, taking walks in nature preserves and visiting all of the local playgrounds. We enjoy the community pool and local park splash pads in the summer and many days involve an ice cream treat. In the winter, we enjoy local events complete with horse drawn carriages, hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows and lots of holiday cheer.

Samantha's mother and Rick's father and step mother (Rick's mother died when he was in middle school) live about 20 minutes from our house - we definitely enjoy grandparent time. Samantha's sister lives about an hour away, she has two children.

Rick has 3 sisters. One is married with two children - they live out of state, but we Skype/FaceTime and enjoy visits every couple of years. One is about an hour away and has never been married, she's big into tech, always has fun video games for the kids to play together. And one is married with 5 children she home-schools - they live 3 hours away. We enjoy holidays, birthdays and special events with all our family and extended family - there's always a bunch of laughter from the kids playing and fun conversations between the adults. All of our family is open and supportive of our adoption - they look forward to meeting our newest family member.

Thank you for your selfless love for this child, we know you are reading this because of that profound love - you have a beautiful heart.

We first met 10 years ago online and in a way, it feels as though we've come full circle now writing online to you. Before we first met, we both shared our excitement and hope to have children someday. We dated for a year, married shortly after that and have truly been blessed with a love beyond measure. We now have two children, Max and Aubrey, whom we adore, but we are excited to grow our family even more through adoption.

As this baby is growing in you, our hearts are growing with love for a new baby - and so much more than a new baby, a son or daughter - a child with the whole big world in front of them. Becoming parents has been a tremendous experience. Is it easy? No. It is exhausting, frustrating, yet so very wonderful and meant to be for us. Watching our two children grow has been nothing short of beautiful, and we look forward to watching another child grow alongside them. Max and Aubrey are beyond excited for a brother or sister! In their eyes, this child is a play mate, a best buddy, a friend - someone to share giggles, play hide-and-seek with, someone to explore and learn with, and so much more.

Each child is unique and so very special. This child will know his or her adoption story. We will speak of you often and assure the child that you love him or her very much. This is one of the many things that will make this child remarkable, cherished and adored. We will nurture this child, encouraging kindness and responsibility, supporting self-development and teaching trust and empathy.

Childhood is such a short, precious time. While we enjoy attending local events and taking vacations, we try to balance that with the true simplicity of play. Children have such imaginations, it is so fun to watch a room transform into a fort or a pile of blocks become just about anything. We enjoy spending lots of time outside - exploring the backyard, swinging high into the sky on the swings or appreciating the ever-present beauty of nature. These simple things represent part of our daily life, a life we are eager to share with another precious child.

We are blessed with wonderful family and friends. This child will have grandparents within 30 minutes of our home, aunts and uncles that are always super fun, and nine cousins to play with. We have extended family here in Wisconsin, Illinois, South Carolina and Florida. We have friends near and far with children of all ages. We also have a close-knit community at the private Christian school the children attend, it's been a blessing - Max and Aubrey love going to school. Someday this child will attend school there as well.

We wish you strength as you are making this decision. We understand the difficulty in considering adoption and how much love you must have for your child, for that, we admire you. If you choose us as parents for your child, we will welcome you into our lives with open arms. We are hopeful for an open relationship with you, but above all, we will respect your decision regarding the relationship you would like to have with us and this child. We would enjoy yearly visits, FaceTime, phone calls and written letters. This child, we are sure, would be honored to know you and have you know him or her.

This child will have a life full of love, support and opportunities.

Our love,

Rick & Samantha