One of our favorite family traditions is birthday cake baking. The birthday person chooses a design and we all set to work in an attempt to make our cake look like the design. Over the years, we have set harder and harder challenges. We have made giraffes, hedgehogs, armadillos, whatever the birthday person chooses. What we like most about this tradition is the laughter. Doing things together as a family is always fun, and the children really love to be involved in the cake decorating. We laugh throughout the whole process. Picking a design, thinking of how we can make it, then the extreme mess up we usually make whilst putting it together. Then, the final result is always very amusing. We seem to get close to what we want, but they never look professional. All we know is lots of love and laughter go into making the cakes, and this always makes them taste even more delicious!

Jeremy's dream job would be to own his own BBQ restaurant. He loves to grill and smoke meat. We love spending time in the yard swimming and grilling. Jeremy loves the cooking and Nicola loves the eating! Jeremy also loves sharing his knowledge, and learning more about his craft. Jace is just now beginning to help his dad on the grill and Jeremy is excited to teach our new addition all about his love of grilling too!

Nicola started making furniture a couple of years ago. Someone commented that she was 'crafty' making her wooden signs, and she thought, 'I'm not crafty, I'm a carpenter'. So she made a six foot table! Nicola is very independent and thinks nothing of completing jobs around the house such as painting and laying flooring. Learning new skills is always fun!

Together, we love to explore new places and both find visiting ghost towns fascinating. There is something surreal about walking around abandoned buildings and streets. Wondering what happened there, who lived there etc. Nicola loves photography and trying to capture these places on film.

When we are not working, grilling, swimming, or exploring, there is nothing better than time at home, just relaxing on the couch watching shows and being together.

When we met, we both knew that something very special had started. Jeremy had two children from a previous marriage and Nicola was anxious to be the best stepmom that she could be. We tried to have a child together to complete our family, but finally we accepted the fact that this wasn’t meant to be. When we heard about domestic adoption, it was as though our prayers had been answered. It felt instantly that this must have been the plan for us from day one. It was insane, the strength of the feeling! To be blessed with a child together would be a dream that neither of us thought would be possible.

Family is the most important thing to us, and even though we are not blessed to live close together, we make sure we find time for visits and as much time as we can together. Jeremy’s parents live in Georgia. His father is retired air force and his mom stayed at home raising the boys. Nicola’s parents live in England. Nicola’s dad worked in the steel business and is since retired. Nicola’s mom looked after children in their home and now volunteers at a hospital. Nicola’s parents fly to the US twice a year to visit and we try to go see them when we can. It is important to us that all of our children spend time with their British and American family.

We are the youngest in our families and both have older brothers. Jeremy’s brother lives in Florida with his family and we enjoy our time there, swimming, cooking out, and relaxing on the beach. Nicola’s brother lives in France with his fiancé. They have a house in the country and a second home in the mountains. When visiting we enjoy seeing their local area, tasting the local cuisine, and enjoying the different pace of life. We also experienced skiing on a glacier in July, which was bizarre! After our visit to Europe, Kylee said that she didn’t think she would see the world the same way. It definitely opened her eyes to cultures outside of America.

We live in a small town just minutes from the lake and fifteen minutes to a vibrant college town. Living so close to a fun town and center for arts guarantees there is never a shortage of things to do. We have enjoyed music and food festivals on the square and a rodeo comes to town each year which is always great fun! Being near to a lake, we have access to beaches, fishing and watersports. Jeremy has been learning to wake surf and is determined to succeed!

Our house is located on a very quiet street at the end of a cul-de-sac. We have no through traffic and children can play safely. Our house is large with 4 bedrooms, each with their own bathroom. We have 2 living rooms and a fantastic shady front porch. There is a grassed back yard perfect for games or relaxing, and a fenced off additional yard with a swimming pool. We love our home and are excited to prepare a room for our new addition.

Thank you for taking time to read about our home, life, and family. We realize that it is hard to get a true feel of people you have not met through reading a profile, but if you could see what we have in our hearts, you would know that we are excited to bring a child into our lives.

We are both very down to earth and have worked hard to get to the place we are today. A life with us will involve mostly normal family routines, like going to the park, or visiting with friends and family, but will also involve travel. We want our children to grow up to be world citizens. To have compassion and understanding, and to be inclusive of all people regardless of religion, race, culture and lifestyle. We shall teach our children to be tolerant and forgiving and to always treat others the way that they wish to be treated.

Please know that your child will be welcomed into a secure and loving home. We have been married for five years and have a beautiful home and are financially stable. Jeremy has two children from a previous marriage who will make great older siblings for your child. They do not live with us full time but spend most holidays and summer here. They are excited to have a little brother or sister and will make great play mates and role models. There will never be a shortage of love for this child!

With teaching, Nicola has time off for all holidays and summer, allowing her to spend more time with a child. Jeremy, although retired US Air Force, works at a local business in town and has flexible shifts. Our jobs offer us flexibility and will enable us to spend lots of time at home as a family. Our parents also plan to fly in more frequently to spend time with us and our newest addition. We don’t think any of our family wants to miss a second!

We know that the love you have for your unborn child is great and powerful. How can anyone really convince you that they may love your child equally? We hope that you will give us a chance to prove ourselves to you, to be amazing parents to your child. Should you desire, we would love to keep you involved through letters, emails and photographs, so you may share precious moments and milestones in their life and gain comfort from seeing how much they are loved and cared for. We can also arrange a visit when the time is right.

We plan to honor you in the story of your child’s adoption. Nicola has taught young children for over 14 years and understands the importance of being open and honest with them. We plan on their adoption story being part of their life from day one through stories we will tell them about the magical moment we were chosen to love them as their Mommy and Daddy. We will tell them how they were loved so much by you and that you searched the world to find parents perfect just for them.

We cannot imagine the intense feeling you have, to do right by your child and the fear you must carry about the decision you are making. We want you to be comfortable with your choice and help in whatever way we can. We look forward to getting to know you.

With love,

Jeremy & Nicola