Our Profile Book

One of our big projects was to create our "Profile Book." This is a collection of narrative and photographs reflecting our life, our home, our support system of family & friends, our values and our hopes for our family. This is the book that will be presented to prospective birth mothers that they use to "choose" the family best for their child. Our book includes about 100 photos and 5 pages of text. The following blog posts reflect the narrative from our book and a few select photos. Enjoy!

Profile Book Part 1: Welcome to our life

Jon and I met early in high school in geometry class; neither one of us even had our driver's license and our parents drove us on our first date! Who knew then that two high school sweethearts would continue to fall deeper in love as the years went along and would still find enough love to share with a beautiful child. Now in our early thirties, it is funny to think that we have spent more of our life together than apart. We continue to grow together and as individuals and have lovingly and unconditionally supported each other through the ups and downs of our life. Our relationship is built on mutual admiration, trust, and encouragement, as well as much joy, humor, passion, and love. We knew we would always have children and although the traditional routes to family through birth proved unsuccessful for us, a new, wonderful way to family through adoption became our destiny. 

Both of us have greatly valued our liberal arts educations which have provided us with the skills necessary to be successful in our careers and as citizens of the world. Jon works in accounting with a team that oversees the financial accounts of various national corporations. Jen completed her Master's Degree in 2004 and has worked as a Spanish teacher at the local high school since graduating from college. While we both are highly dedicated to our professions, we strive to find a healthy work-home balance. Like many families today, we both rely on our work not only to fulfill our career ambitions, but also to maintain an active, comfortable lifestyle with enriching experiences. The needs of our family always take precedence  and will ultimately determine our childcare plans after our initial period of adjustment. 

When baby arrives home, Jen will take an extended leave from her teaching job and Jon has flexibility to work occasionally from home. Our families and friends share in our joy of welcoming a baby to our lives and will generously support us with our transition to parenthood through their many talents of cooking, cleaning, and baby expertise.

Profile Book Part 2: Let me tell you about Jen

Jen is a wonderful, faithful, caring, and patient wife, daughter, sister, granddaughter, friend and teacher. Over the years I have learned a lot from her and I can’t wait to see her share her values, knowledge, and charisma with our growing family.  Through her many life experiences, from her upbringing to living in another country, she has developed many diverse qualities which reflect her own core values. Of them I think the most important are her courage and faith in others.

Jen exhibits courage to stand up for what she believes in, which at times has and will put her at odds with others. It’s not easy to stand up to peers and our community to do what we feel is right and even harder to stand up to the ones closest to you. Within the classroom she is often the biggest proponent for adolescents’ learning which at times can challenge norms of convenience, cost effectiveness, or simplicity.

Jen also has faith in herself and others. Those who know Jen remark on the confidence she has in the abilities of children of all ages to prevail despite the difficulties - large or small - they may face. I am often awestruck at her poise and calmness. Whether she is coaxing our little friend Ellie to finish her dinner, helping work through a "melt down" with her at the ice cream shop, or gently coaching one of her students through a difficult task, she maintains consistent qualities of patience, generosity and acceptance that others respect and aspire to emulate. 

Above all Jen is a thoughtful and loving person who is concerned for others' well being.  She consistently searches for the positive aspects in others and encourages them to build off their strengths and not to focus on their weaknesses. These traits, as well as her ability to promote consistency in discipline, set limits on behavior, and foster a loving, nurturing home environment will be assets as we move into our roles as parents.    

Profile Book Part 3: Let me tell you about Jon

Jon is my best friend of 17 years. He is the most generous, dedicated person I know. He gives selflessly of his time, his handyman talents, his computer skills, his friendship and his love. When he comes home from work, he greets me with a kiss, a hug, and a question, "What can I do to help?" He sets the table, he does the dishes, he shovels the driveway, he mows the lawn, he cleans toilets and bathtubs, and even, with a slight bit of resistance, washes windows and makes the bed. He walks the dogs, he takes out the trash, he rubs my feet and scratches my back, he does laundry and weeds my gardens. 

For our parents, he fixes their computer glitches and patiently provides tutorials, he does yard work, snow removal, and spring cleaning. For our friends, he has the perfect tool or gadget to fix any problem, he mans the grill at the neighborhood BBQs, he colors and build blocks with the kids, and is the first to snow blow a driveway when a neighbor is out of town. He does all of this without being asked, he does it with a smile and when people give thanks, his classic response is, "No problem!" 

Jon's ingenuity always finds or creates a solution for any problem, whether it be a basement in need of organization, a way to keep our dog in the back of our station wagon, maximizing space in the garage or recycling barrels for rainwater collection and composting.  Jon is a tinkerer, a handyman, and a Mr. Fix-it. There is no problem for which he doesn't find a solution and there is no task left undone.

Jon is witty and warm, friendly and fun. His great sense of humor makes light of any situation and keeps everyone laughing. He finds true pleasure in simple things: snuggling by the fireplace, a walk with the dogs, a cold beer on a hot summer day, a sunset drive on his motorcycle, a quiet Sunday morning with a big cup of coffee, coloring and reading with our little friend, Ellie. 

Jon has a heart of gold and if there were awards for "Best Husband," he'd surely win first prize. As a dad, he will parent with the same traits that I see everyday: patience, kindness, generosity, love, and fun. 

Profile Book Part 4: What family means to us

Our families are a huge part of our life and we regularly make the 3 1/2 hour drive to visit them. Although Jon's upbringing was relatively traditional as the only child of two working parents, Jen was raised between two households, as the only child to her single mom and the oldest of three siblings to her dad and step-mom. Despite the differences in our family units, we both were raised with strong family values, discipline, and lots of love. And even though they don't live as close as we'd like, our families are thrilled that we will have a baby through adoption and fully open their hearts to embrace the life of your child in our family.

Given the geographical distance between us and our families, our idea of "family" has extended to include our close friends - our chosen family - many of whom live right in our neighborhood. In addition to the love and support of our own families, your baby will be loved and nurtured by a generous and dedicated circle of chosen "aunts," "uncles," and "cousins."

As parents we will provide a stable, affectionate, active life for your child. We will parent with loving presence and firm, yet compassionate discipline. Although we are not actively involved in any church, we consider ourselves Christians and will raise your child with strong values of generosity, patience, kindness, responsibility, empathy, peace and love. 

Your child will experience all the joy and excitement that life offers and will find security and comfort in the arms of parents who will support, encourage, and praise. We will read stories together, take bubble baths, make cookies and share meals. We will travel together, ride bikes, go ice-skating, and snuggle. We will nurture your child to learn, grow, and reach their highest potential in all the opportunities they seek and those they have yet to discover. And as your child becomes "too big" for snuggling and bubbles, and as trust gives way to greater responsibility, we will continue to guide and give praise. Above all, your child will know that they are loved and cared for deeply and unconditionally, not only by us but by you, as well.  

Profile Book Part 5: Welcome to our home

After we both graduated from college just outside of Burlington, Vermont, Jen secured a job at the local high school and we both decided to settle in the same area. We love the peace and quiet that Vermont offers: fresh air, cool crisp fall mornings when the sun sparkles on autumn leaves, balmy summer days, a blanket of white after a fresh winter snowfall, and the distinct scent and sight of freshly cut grass. 

Our laid-back lifestyle embraces a variety of outdoor activitiessuch as hiking, bicycling, skiing, and snowshoeing. We also love being close to the diversity of Burlington, a small college city on the shores of Lake Champlain, which is home to many cultural and musical festivals, farmers' markets, bike paths, and unique cafes, shops and restaurants. 

In 2003 when we set out to look for the home we would raise our family in, we fell instantly in love with this one! It is located in a family-oriented suburb of Burlington in a community that proudly supports its excellent schools and recreational opportunities for children. It has ample space for our growing family with extra bedrooms, a finished basement and a fenced-in back yard. In addition, our neighborhood is also home to many of our closest friends, including our best friends, Jeannie, Chris and their daughter, Ellie, who are like family to us. We share meals, celebrate birthdays and enjoy vacations together. To Ellie we are "Auntie" and "Uncle Jonny" -- she is the apple of our eye and is so excited to be a "big sister" to our children.

In summer we enjoy the neighborhood pool that is just across the street, as well as tennis and basketball courts. Afternoons, evenings and weekends are filled with the sounds of kids playing outside, whether they be riding bikes and skateboards, playing flashlight tag, sledding in winter, digging in sandboxes or flying high on swing sets. We know this will be an ideal spot to raise children.

In the running...Now the wait begins!

We had a great home visit with our social worker on Tuesday evening. She spent about 2 hours at our house, gathering more information about us, our home, and our hopes for our future baby. She gave us the unofficial "seal of approval" for our home study, which means that we are officially in the running for a baby! The official report will be filed in the next couple of months, but since we meet all the criteria, we can now be considered for potential matches. Our preferences for our baby are very open, so she estimated that we could expect our placement within two years. Although two years seems long, we are optimistic that it will happen sooner.

The last few months have been busy and eventful, between meetings with our social worker, pediatrician, preparing our application and profile book, and reading up on adoption and related topics. The completion of the home study is bittersweet - it's great to have it behind us and be on to the waiting period, but with it, our momentum has slowed to a crawl. 

I think the next few posts will be excepts from our profile book. Other suggestions as we begin the wait???? Thanks for your continued good wishes. We are so grateful.

Final stretch of the home-study

Last week Jon had his individual interview with our social worker at the Lund Center. He can't share too much with me about it until I have my individual interview with her on Monday. We also met with a pediatrician at Essex Pediatrics to discuss issues related to medical history of birth families and risks they might pose, along with risks of pre-natal substance abuse, to a baby. It was a great experience and I'm really glad we met with him. He was very helpful and attentive and was also very positive about adoption in general. We both felt very comfortable with him and very optimistic about his support through the adoption process.

Today I finished the final touches on the adoption profile book. It is a collection of photos and narrative about our life, families, friends, beliefs and hopes for our family. I have to say I love iPhoto - upload photos, write text, proofread, and with a click it is sent into cyberspace to be printed! Amazing! We ordered 4 copies, one to keep at home and three for our social worker to present for potential matches. We also forward one electronic copy for her to easily transfer to other agencies out of state. In future posts, I will copy some of the text from our book for you to read. It was very fun and special to make together and is a true testament to the bountiful love we share together as well as the love and support we have in our lives from our friends and family.

Monday I will meet with our social worker and then Tuesday she will come to our house for our home visit. After that, it's a matter of waiting for a call! Who knows how long it will take. Keep your fingers crossed for us!!!