| Building Our Family (Why We Want to Adopt) We loved growing up in large families and always knew we wanted a home filled with many children, too. John is the youngest of six and Nancy is the third of five; and family has played an important role in our lives. Although it was challenging for us to become pregnant we were blessed with two beautiful children. We are now ready and excited to complete our family through open adoption. Our greatest joy comes from parenting and our desire is to provide another child with a loving, secure and happy childhood and upbringing. We have seen what a wonderful experience and blessing it is for a child to join a family through adoption as we have a number of close friends who have adopted as well as family members who have been touched by adoption. About Nancy (by John) When I first saw Nancy at a friend’s “hat party,” I noticed her big smile peeking behind the wide brim of her hat. Her eyes sparkled and I could instantly tell she was a happy and fun person. I love her and she inspires me with her sense of love, adventure and happiness. She easily makes new acquaintances feel comfortable from the get-go. She keeps a positive and upbeat attitude. She doesn’t let anything bring her down! Whatever Nancy does, she does it well, especially when it comes to our family. Nancy has put her heart and soul into raising our children as happy, polite, curious and fun individuals. Her top priority has always been family over career. She volunteers at the children’s school, enjoys time gardening and cooking (she and the kids make a mean mint chocolate chip cookie!), helping with homework and playing with Jack & Jordan. After attending both Cal (UC Berkeley) and then Duke for her MBA, she worked for several years in consumer software marketing, but currently loves her role as a stay-at-home mom, team parent and Brownie troop leader. What I love most about Nancy is her caring nature and that she is a wonderful role model to our children, showing them how to be loving people and good citizens, and all with a sense of fun and adventure. About John (by Nancy) John is my best friend, cheerleader and confidant. I knew after only a few weeks together that he was the right person for me as we truly balance and complete one another. He is intelligent, loyal, loving and kind. He is intensely committed to whatever he does – from running (he’s completed three marathons, including the Boston), reading nightly to our children and on his own, coaching Little League and soccer to spending time with his family and friends. Coming from a long line of San Francisco firefighters, John worked for the California Department of Forestry (CDF) fighting fires during his summer breaks from college and looks forward to someday becoming a volunteer firefighter in the Sonoma Valley. John is also an avid Cal Poly alum and fan – his friends joke that he loves talking “Polytics” because he talks about the school so much! John truly loves the outdoors, wanting to go on hikes or camping trips whenever possible. He currently works in brand strategy and marketing, yet he hopes to one day start his own business targeting “active seniors” in order to combine his business and engineering degrees with his dream of being his own boss. He often says the highlight of every day is coming home to Jack and Jordan. Watching him play with them, whether it’s a board game, roughhousing on the floor, or reading to them at bedtime is so special. The love he shares with them and with me makes me feel incredibly blest. He is an amazing father, husband and friend. About Jack Jack is a fun-loving, very athletic 3rd grader. While baseball is his favorite sport, he loves every and all sports that he tries, from soccer and basketball to swimming, karate and golf. Not only is he very talented from a physical standpoint, he also does well in school. He loves math and reading, but PE is his favorite subject. We have so much fun with him pitching to him in our batting cage, playing games or just hanging out reading together. Jack is a great big brother – playing board and card games with Jordan, teaching her some new soccer moves, and even read to her before she could read herself. They just laugh & have the best time when building forts out of blankets and pillows, one of their favorite things to do together. He’d love to share his fort-building skills with a new brother or sister.
About Jordan Jordan is a very happy child with a real belly laugh that is quite infectious. She always has a smile on her face and is very outgoing and fun. She loves to play dress-up, color, dance and sing while playing the piano. Jordan is very creative and artistic, something that shines thru in her 2nd grade class. She has a very pretty singing voice and loves softball, soccer and karate, too. Jordan loves being surrounded by friends and is always asking for playdates. She is a good mother to her “babies” and loves playing with her friends’ younger brothers and sisters. She will be an amazing big sister! She is looking forward to reading “Green Eggs and Ham” and “Amelia Bedelia” to her new brother or sister. Our Parenting Style As parents, we both feel strongly that providing a safe, supportive and love-filled home is very important to raising healthy and happy children. A child should feel loved and secure while having loads of fun and enjoying life! We are actively involved in our children’s lives and provide opportunities for our children to have many experiences and pursue their varied interests. We also believe that a fun-filled learning environment at home is essential. This means helping with homework and encouraging activities such as reading, art, music, sports and imaginary play. We believe each child deserves some one-on-one time with us, so we make a point of setting aside a weekend where we spend time doing whatever Jack or Jordan wants – going to a movie, camping, swimming, having fingers and toenails painted, having favorite foods and more. While we spend time with one child, the other is with grandparents having special time as well. It’s loads of fun for everyone and we look forward to continuing this tradition with our new addition. Our Home and Family We live in Sonoma, CA, in a beautiful country setting. The town is family-oriented and our neighborhood is quiet. Our home is perfect for a growing family, and the backyard is where we spend most of our free time outside playing with our children, gardening or playing with our dog, Rascal. We live at the end of a short gravel road which is perfect for riding bikes and scooters. We frequently take walks and bike rides where we are sure to see a wide variety of animals, including geese, jackrabbits, deer, cows, pigs, horses and llamas. You’d think we live in a zoo! We are close to friends and a wonderful school, so playdates and after-school activities are commonplace in our home! We spend a lot of time with our extended families as well. We are fortunate to have our parents and siblings nearby, so we are able to share holidays, birthdays, school plays, games and more with one another. Our families also have cabins to which we can escape. Nancy’s family has a rustic cabin in the Sierras where we build forts, fish or just listen to the wind in the trees and sit by a bonfire at night. John’s family owns a “shack” in Glen Ellen where he spent his summers as a child and is still a nice and close refuge for the family. What’s Important to Us Our children are our priority and family is the most important aspect of our lives. We eat dinner with our children every night, sharing stories about our days, our hopes and frustrations. Our Christian faith is also important to us. We attend a local Catholic church regularly, the highlight of which is donuts and hot chocolate after the mass! We also expose them to the Episcopal religion, as this is Nancy’s faith. There are so many fun traditions that we have carried on into our lives and new ones we are creating with our own children. We love the holidays. Every year we visit a local pumpkin patch and farm, gorge ourselves on a homemade Thanksgiving feast and start listening to Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving. We really get into the spirit of Christmas by going to Nancy’s family cabin to pick out and cut a Christmas tree and also make a gingerbread house from scratch. The last thing we do on Christmas Eve is read “Twas the Night Before Christmas” just as Nancy’s father did as she was growing up.. Jack and Jordan look forward to each holiday even more than we do! Education is also important to us. We are the first of our siblings to get masters degrees, and we hope to provide a strong education for our children that will enable them to pursue their dreams. We’ve enjoyed reading to them nightly since they were newborns and also exposing them to the world around us thru visits to museums and theaters, hiking & camping, helping in the community and more. In Closing We hope this letter has provided you with an understanding of who we are and the home we have created to build our family. We would be honored to offer your child unconditional love, a nurturing environment, patience and security. We will encourage a child's individuality, passions and unique talents. We will do everything possible along the way to ensure that his or her dreams are realized. Your child would be welcomed into our lives with open arms, surrounded by so much love of not only us, but also two very excited siblings and our wonderful extended family. We are open to communication on many levels including in-person meetings, letters and photos and will respect your level of comfort with communication. It is with deep gratitude that we thank you for considering us. We have much more to share about ourselves, and welcome any contact with you to learn more about one another. Please feel free to contact us anytime at NancyJohn_adopt@yahoo.com, toll-free at 877.801.2229 or on our website www.nancyjohnadopt.com. You can also call our adoption coordinator, Aimee, toll free at 877.909.2229. She is a birthmother also. Other people may say they understand what you are going through, but she truly does understand because she has been in your shoes before. She is very understanding and easy to talk to. She can also listen if you just need to talk. Or, feel free to talk with our adoption attorney, Susan Romig, at 800.462.3678. With Warm Regards, Nancy, John, Jack and Jordan | |
