There is an old saying that farming isn't a job, it's a way of life. This way of life gives us the opportunity to spend our days together doing something that we enjoy. It teaches responsibility and work ethic from a young age, but also allows for the freedom to set our own schedule.

One of the best things about farming is always being outside and able to enjoy nature. We love the outdoors and look forward to sharing sunny afternoons outside with our child!

We also enjoy that every day offers new challenges and opportunities to overcome those challenges and better not only ourselves, but our business.

We feel that this will be a great environment to raise a child, and cannot wait to share our way of life with them.

In our down time, we like to relax on the boat we own with Bobby's brother Alec. There is a beautiful lake nearby that we enjoy going to. We like to tube, swim, stop at the marina for ice cream, or just cruise around the lake. We also enjoy fishing in the many ponds on the farm. Oftentimes our friends will bring their young ones over. It is a wonderful opportunity to relax and visit on a sunny afternoon.

Bobby loves to fly his remote control airplane on calm days. Patty likes to work in her garden, ride horses with friends or take pictures of the landscapes and wildlife.

We enjoy supporting local events, whether it is a fundraiser for the local cancer supporters group or one of many scholarship events. With our young farmers group, we put on a craft show and use the profits to help a family in need at Christmas time.

We have always had strong feelings about building our family through adoption, and have discussed those feelings since the beginning of our relationship. Patty has several cousins who are adopted, and Bobby's Uncle Charlie was adopted by his grandmother when Charlie was young. Charlie was a strong role model throughout Bobby's life, and someone he could always turn to to talk. These people have molded our definition of family. To us, family is as much who you can count on and who can count on you as anything else. After trying unsuccessfully to conceive, we knew that this was the right path for us.

We live in a small town in rural Missouri. Our community is very close-knit, and loves to gather. Whether it is Homecoming, the 4th of July or Christmas, we have a parade for everything, and the whole community turns out to celebrate. Though it is a rural community with small schools, the school system is filled with young, progressive teachers dedicated to educating our youth.

We are involved in several community organizations, and this provides a good opportunity for the kids to all gather and play. There are also several organizations focused just on the kids, like 4-H, FFA and youth sports leagues.

We live in a single-story, three bedroom home on the farm. We have a large yard with plenty of room to play. Our favorite room is the kitchen, where we love to cook together.

While the small town near us has a beautiful park, a clean public swimming pool and a community center, we have learned through the time spent with our young cousins that they prefer to spend their time on the farm horseback riding, fishing and going for rides on the side-by-sides and 4-wheelers, along with spending time with all the animals. We can't wait to share all of these things with a child of our own.

On Bobby's side of the family are his parents, Bob and Lynn, and his brother Alec with his wife Annie. Bob and Lynn love to travel, and are excited to share their trips across the country with a grandchild. Alec and Annie are hoping to start a family of their own soon, and are excited for their children to have cousins to share adventures with.

One of the most unique things about our extended family is that we not only live very close to Bobby's family, we also work with his parents and brother every day. It is a wonderful thing to have the support of your family not only in your personal life, but also in your professional life. We eat lunch together every day. In our leisure time, we go out on the boat with his family and our friends, and we have weekly barbecues with his family.

On Patty's side of the family are her parents, Tim and Sue, her brother Chris with his wife Kristy and brother Dave with longtime girlfriend Darcy. Summer trips to Michigan will include swimming in Tim and Sue's pool, gardening and baking with Sue, and learning to build things in the woodshop with Tim. Dave and Darcy live near Patty's parents, and can't wait to help spoil their new niece or nephew. Chris and Kristy live near Seattle, WA, and are so excited to be an aunt and uncle.

Though most of Patty's family lives in Michigan, we are still very close. They make frequent trips to the farm, and we all talk on the phone daily. We enjoy going up there for holidays and getting to visit with her grandparents and cousins, especially at Christmas time. We also really enjoy our yearly trips to visit Patty's brother in Seattle, and look forward to sharing these trips with a child.

Adoption is not new to either side of our family - we have several adopted family members that have been very influential in us becoming who we are today. This child will be the first grandchild on either side of our family, and everyone is very excited to welcome them in.

First and foremost, we want to thank you for considering us and helping us fulfill our dream of having a family. We respect you for considering this decision. We have been married for 12 years, and together for 17, and have recently decided to start a family. We have discussed adoption since the beginning of our relationship, and somehow knew in our hearts this was the path for us. After we decided to start a family and were unsuccessful in trying to conceive, it was more clear than ever to us that this was the right path. We both realize the best laid plans are the ones most likely to change, and are very willing to adapt the dynamic of this relationship as we move forward and it grows. While hard to get to know someone through a letter or profile, we want you to know that we are both honest, hardworking people who are devoted to family, however it may be structured. We can promise this child that they will be loved, cared for and protected.

As you know from our profile, there will be many unique opportunities growing up with us on a farm. Having been together as long as we have, we not only possess the financial means but also the personal stability to provide this child the opportunity to grow up loved, supported and safe. While we don't know what the future holds for either you or us, we are committed to sharing pictures and updates with you as they grow. We want to make sure that this child knows you, and are open to them meeting you if that is something that you decide would be best. Again, we realize things change and will be willing to adapt our relationship as time goes on. We respect your decision, and will make sure this child knows everything that led them to us was from love and wanting the best for them.

Not only are we here to support and nurture this child, both of our families will be involved and part of our support system. That support system will also include our many friends, along with our community. We want nothing more than for this child to never feel alone. We intend to instill in them the values that our families have instilled in us. Honesty, integrity and compassion are the foundation of the way we were raised. We want them to always know what is expected of them, and that they can come to us to help fulfill those expectations. We hope that this will give them the confidence to grow to become an independent and successful person.

Growing up, we were both provided with the opportunity to explore the things we were interested in. This allowed us to find a future that we both enjoy and are passionate about. We look forward to raising a child with those same opportunities. As time goes on, we will do our best to encourage our child to find their own path while providing guidance along the way.

Thank you again for taking the time to get to know us.

Respectfully,

Bobby & Patty