One morning in March 2019, we received the most exciting phone call of our lives where we learned we had been selected by a courageous young mother as the parents to her baby girl. In the six weeks leading up to the birth of our daughter, Sydney, we began the process of building our relationship with her mother. After a few weeks of emails and text messages, we were able to meet with her face to face, just days before Sydney was born. We were invited to be present in the hospital for her delivery, and have maintained contact with her mother ever since. We often FaceTime, text, and email, and have been able to visit in person several times.

Early in our marriage, when beginning to think about having children, we began encountering setbacks. For six difficult years we faced frustration, sadness, grief, and loss as we experienced miscarriage, infertility, and eventually the loss of our newborn daughter, Mary. Each hurdle took an emotional toll on us, but we never doubted that we still wanted to be parents. Eventually we decided that adoption was our path forward.

While adoption was not part of our original plan, we could not be more excited to pursue a second. All family stories are unique, and we are thrilled that adoption will be part of our story to share with our child. Our vision for our home has always included children, and we are grateful for the opportunity to expand our family through adoption.

On a day-to-day basis, we make sure to focus on the important things, such as our marriage, our home, our family, our faith, and our careers. We wouldn’t be where we are today without working hard on these.

When we’re home, we enjoy cooking together, getting together with friends for dinner or games, and having family come for weekend visits. On Saturdays during the fall, there’s probably a college football game that we have our eye on (unless our daughter wants to play in the yard!). We also keep busy by exercising. Tiffany is always trying new workout videos, and Eric loves to head out on long bike rides. Whatever we’re up to any given day, we are thrilled with the idea of sharing our happy home life with your child.

When the basics are in order, we’re almost always planning our next big adventure. From experiencing great art, history, and food in Paris and Rome, to walking through the lush green countryside and ancient villages of England, to hiking glacier-capped mountains in the Canadian Rockies, to soaking in the dramatic rugged shoreline of coastal California, or even skiing the mountains of Colorado, there’s always another adventure on the horizon! As we expand our family, our focus will remain on our responsibilities, but we are committed to continue exploring and introduce your child to many memorable experiences.

About Tiffany:

About Eric:

We live in a warm and inviting two-story home located in a lovely tree-lined subdivision. Our house has five bedrooms, a finished basement, and a large fenced-in back yard. The spaciousness is a big plus when our family comes to visit, with plenty of bedrooms, and both indoor and outdoor space.

Our back yard is one of our favorite spaces, as Sydney enjoys the swing set, playing in the sandbox, and especially running around with her cousins when they visit. During the warmer months, nothing is better than a little playtime before grilling and having dinner on the patio.

The community we live in has so much to offer. The town itself has been named one the best places in the country to raise a family. While it is in a suburban area, its small-but-vibrant downtown, and the friendliness of our neighbors, gives it a charm that helps it feels like a small town. Our home is walking distance from many beautiful parks, the local library, many of the schools (which are some of the best in the state!), the Fox River, and all of the restaurants and shops in the downtown area.

While we love the coziness of our town, we also enjoy being only an hour outside of Chicago, with all of its big-city culture and excitement. We are excited to fill some of the empty space within our home, and continue taking full advantage of all our wonderful community.

We are blessed to be very close with both sides of our extended family. Our family has continuously supported us on our journey to become parents, and is excited about our decision to pursue a second adoption.

Eric has both a brother and a sister, and Tiffany has one brother. We have two nephews and one niece, all under the age of 9. Both Tiffany's parents, as well as Eric's, have been married for over 40 years, setting a great example for all of their children and grandchildren. All of Eric's and Tiffany's parents have retired, and are looking forward to spending some of their newly-found free time visiting their future adopted grandchild.

Eric's sister, brother-in-law, and three children live nearby. We never miss the kids' birthday parties and often attend their sports and school activities. It's been heartwarming to see the way they've bonded with our daughter. Other times, Eric's parents' home becomes the gathering point, which makes for great family fun with Mom's cooking and a short 5-minute walk over sand dunes to the beach on Lake Michigan.

Tiffany's family lives in California, but a little distance can't keep them from regular FaceTime calls with us. Sydney especially enjoys asking to call "Grandpa and Paw Paw" two to three times per week. While we may see them less frequently, our visits tend to be longer (quality time!).

Although your journey and ours may not have been what either of us planned, we are hopeful that our paths have crossed for a reason. As you contemplate this difficult and important decision, we hope our profile has given you a genuine look inside our lives, especially our values, our desire to add to our family, and a picture of the life we would provide for your child. We believe that we will be led to the right mother, and the right mother will be led to us. We thank you for considering us.

While it's true that our road to parenthood was long and challenging, our patience was eventually rewarded with the adoption of our daughter, Sydney, in 2019. From the moment she was born, Sydney has warmed our hearts. Guiding her as she grows and develops has proven to be as fulfilling to us as parents as we ever could have imagined. Still, we believe the time has come to add the next piece to our family portrait, and we offer you our sincerest commitment to raising your child with the same love and support we've shared with Sydney.

From the time we were married nine years ago, every major decision we made had our future children in mind. From which jobs to take, where to buy a home, down to what vehicles to purchase, each decision was made from that perspective. This helped us create an environment that we believe is very safe and comforting for children. Socially, we have been blessed with a great support network, especially our family, our friends and neighbors, and our church community. Everyone close with us has been very supportive of our adoption of Sydney, which came as no surprise to us. We know they'll continue to support us as a family, just as they always have, as we pursue a second adoption.

In raising children, we have been guided by our values, setting an example at every step. These values are rooted in our Christian faith, and include developing strong character, work ethic, and respectfulness. While we strongly believe in formal education, we also recognize that many important life lessons are learned outside of the classroom. We are excited to expose our children to as many enriching experiences as possible, including sports, music, art, travel, and any other area a child expresses interest. We believe the life skills a child would learn with this foundation will not only help them reach their potential, but also help them become valued members of their community.

Your child's story will be unique, and we believe in celebrating that uniqueness. We also believe in filling in as many gaps in that story as possible, and only you can help us do that. A healthy relationship between us would be an ideal situation for your child's development. We want your child to know about both of his or her loving families, not just ours! Following the adoption of our daughter, we've built a close relationship with her birth mother. We regularly share photos and videos, have FaceTime chats, and have had several visits, including one with her birth grandparents. We would imagine that many birth mothers fear being forgotten, but we want you to know that we are committed to developing a similar relationship with you.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge your courageous decision to choose adoption. Many couples like us have exhausted all other avenues, and people like you offer the greatest gift anyone could ever offer. Your decision speaks volumes about your character, and we wholeheartedly thank you for your selflessness.

Sincerely,

Eric & Tiffany