We are the proud parents of an 8-year-old boy named Ljubo, which is Serbian for "love." Ljubo lives up to his name every day. He loves everything, especially animals. He hopes to be a cowboy zoologist artist when he grows up, and we can't wait to see what cowboy zoologist art looks like!

Ljubo is a big driver of what we do as a family, including moving to the country to raise chickens and go fishing. Ljubo loves spending time with all of his cousins and his friends. He enjoys playing at his friend Shane's dairy farm. He is learning how to milk cows. He also loves soccer and horse riding. Ljubo and Abbie have started taking horse riding classes together.

We chose adoption because it is a natural part of our family already. We have several family members who were adopted and adoption is a very special part of our extended family. We made the decision to adopt as a family, which included Ljubo's desire to be a big brother. We had many struggles with trying to have another baby and Ljubo asked why we were not adopting. We talked about it and concluded that since adoption is already a major part of our family, it is only natural that we adopt as well. We feel like we have so many blessings in our life and we want to share our blessings with another child in our home. We see adoption as a gift, not just for us, but for a child as well.

We consider ourselves to be a very laid back, "go with the flow," family. We work hard so that we can have the resources to enjoy what we love in life.

We live on a small hobby farm. We love that we are able to have swimming, fishing, gardening, etc. all on our property. This means we can enjoy so much any day we want! Our lifestyle has focused more on leisure and fun since choosing to move to the country.

Animals are a major part of our life. We currently have 15 chickens, three geese, and two dogs. We love raising our chickens and finding delicious eggs every day to eat! Living on a hobby farm is a lot of fun, because we can learn and explore animal life daily. Our two dogs, Dixie and Pippa, are always looking for snuggles and a good hand for belly rubs. We are also hoping to get goats sometime this year, but Abbie hasn't decided yet if she wants milking goats or just pet goats. We love animals and love the lesson of responsibility that having pets can teach a child.

We also love to take trips as a family and make adventure out of every day. Jovan really wants to go to Thailand and we are planning to make it a grand family adventure!

Adoption has affected us in a big way. We are proud to have six adopted nieces and nephews from five different cultures. When we started dating, Jovan's sister, Jackie, and her husband, Steve, were in the process of adopting Danny and were also fostering Christopher and Angel, which were eventually adopted as well. They later also adopted Anna.

After our son was born, Jovan's sister (Wendy) went to China and adopted Charlie. A few years later, she went to Columbia and adopted Valentina.

Each of these children were adopted through different channels and under different circumstances. This gave us an honest and direct appreciation for the many different ways adoption can touch a family. This also made choosing adoption an easy choice for us, because our relationship with adoption grew as adoption grew within our family.

We live in a three-bedroom home that sits on top of a hill overlooking our private pond. We love spending long summer days at our pond swimming and fishing. We also enjoy hiking on our 12 acres of property that has a large open field and wooded areas perfect for spotting birds, bunnies, and deer.

Our favorite room is the "West Wing," which we named because it is on the west side of the house. This is our family room where we watch movies, play games, and have sleepovers with friends.

Even though we live in a rural area, friends are easy to reach. Our neighbor's older children enjoy playing with Ljubo and are always eager to babysit. A child would enjoy play dates with friends that live on real working farms, where they can milk cows and play with goats.

Our community is made up of many small towns that are next to each other. There is a lot of community pride and neighbors are always helping each other out. Our grade school is very small, which allows for a lot of personalized education for each child that attends.

Family is a major part of our everyday life. Abbie's mom (Grandma) and dad (Pa) are an easy 40-minute drive away. We spend many nights with grandparents staying for a few days to play and help with chores.

Jovan's father (Deka) is also close and will stay over while celebrating Serbian events. Deka is from Serbia and we enjoy learning and celebrating that part of the family culture. One event we celebrate is Slava, which celebrates the family patron saint. Our Slava is on May 6th and we celebrate St. George The Dragon Slayer. Abbie makes the Serbian bread with a coin in it, and whoever finds the coin, will have good fortune for the year.

When Pa and Grandma are over, we spend time making improvements to the house and the farm. After the work is done, we relax by the pond and enjoy some fishing or swimming in the summer. In the winter, we spend our days sledding and making snowmen. Every day is a new opportunity for fun and adventure!

Important decisions are never made lightly and we know you are making a very tough and important decision for yourself and your child. As a family with six adopted nieces and nephews, we know the impact adoption can have on a child. We have seen firsthand how our nieces and nephews have grown into amazing and loving people. Our hope is that we can also give that kind of love and devotion to a child through adoption. We want nothing more than to share our blessings and love with another child.

We are Jovan and Abbie, and with our son, Ljubo, we are hoping you will allow us to share our blessings with your child. We have been happily married for 11 years, and have been together for a total of 17 years. Ljubo asks us all the time, "when are we adopting a baby brother or sister?" He has such a positive and bonding relationship with his adopted cousins, that we know he will extend that bond and love to an adopted sibling.

As a family, we love spending our days learning and working on our new hobby farm. We picked up and moved out of the city and into the country looking for opportunities for more family time, and our decision has not disappointed. We believe that these blessings should be shared with everyone we love. Our love of nature drives our farm life. Our pond allows us to swim and fish in the summer, and ice skate in the winter. We believe that there is so much we can learn through a close connection with nature. Ljubo is in a constant state of learning through caring for chickens and growing his own food. Living off what we make also helps us grow closer together as a family. Imagine your child spending their day becoming tuned into all of the wonders and beauty of nature. From exploring the woods, to swimming in the pond, the possibilities of child inspiration is endless.

Creating a positive, multicultural home is very important to us. Our family extends to include cultures from all over the world. This creates a very positive and loving environment that celebrates what makes each of us unique. As part of our family, your child will not only be immersed in our family traditions, but we wish to establish and continue any traditions you feel are important as part of your family culture and heritage. Your child will grow to know and appreciate every part of who they are. We feel strongly that having love and respect for who you are is vital for a child to grow and be the best they can be.

There is nothing more important than feeling confident that you have made the right decision for yourself and your child. We are open to exchanging letters, pictures, arranged visits, zoom or Skype calls and email with you, if that is something you would like. We want you to know that if you choose to entrust your child with us, we will do everything in our power to raise them to love themselves and their family, and to grow to be the best possible person they can be.

Sincerely,

Jovan & Abbie