James and Jackie

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From Us to You

Dear Expectant Mother,

While we can never fully understand all the emotions you are currently facing, we will forever be grateful for the sacrifice you are making. We want to thank you for helping to fulfill our dreams of having a family. You are the most courageous and most brave person we will ever meet. We would like you to know that your child will have a loving home with two parents who will support them through all the good times and the times of struggle. We will do our best to raise your child to be the best person he or she can be. By choosing us and trusting us to provide your child with the best life possible, you are truly filling our hearts with joy and happiness.

Although we always knew that it was going to be a struggle to have a child of our own, we held out hope that we would be able to have children through a fertility specialist. It was one of the hardest days of our lives when we found out that would not be possible. However, it led us to this opportunity, one we are excited to have in front of us with your help. After educating ourselves more about the adoption process, we knew it was the right path for us. It brought us hope knowing that this process would help us live our dream of growing our family.

We assure you that your child will be raised in a family filled with love and support. Whether it’s family members close by, or family from across the country, they will love your child every bit as much as you. They are excited for us to start our family and are looking forward to welcoming another child into our family that they can spoil!

We will instill the best parts of ourselves in your child, whether it’s James’ work ethic or Jackie’s caring and kind personality. Our goal is to help your child be successful in every part of their life. We will ensure that they are provided with a quality education that will prepare them for their future.

At the same time, we will make sure they know where they come from and the heritage they bring. He or she will always know that you made a very courageous choice in order to give them the best life possible and for us to be fortunate enough to have a family.

We want you to know that you will always be remembered, and your gift to us will always be treasured. We can assure you that every day we will work to be better parents, better role models, and better people. We will never take the sacrifice you have made for granted.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, as we are sure you have read many of these letters. We are so happy that you have made it this far, and we can’t wait to meet you and get to know you. We want to know your story so we can make sure your child understands that you love them as much as we do.

Love,
Jackie and James

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Why We are Choosing to Adopt

It was known very early into our relationship that we both have a desire to grow our family together. We have two nephews and two nieces and have always dreamed of being able to raise children of our own. Jackie has been facing fertility issues and has known for many years that having a child of her own may not be a possibility. We decided that we would meet with a fertility specialist together. It was then confirmed that having children of our own would not be possible. After doing a great deal of research, we knew that adoption was the right choice for us. We want nothing more than to grow our family and are beyond thankful that adoption will allow us to do so. We can assure you that any child we adopt will be loved and supported not only by us, but also by our amazing extended family.

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About Jackie, by James

I truly feel that I have known Jackie my whole life. Since we met, I have grown into a better person. She is the most loving, caring, and kind person I know. Prior to meeting Jackie, I had moved several times taking different positions as a full-time college football coach. Once we got engaged, I made the decision to change my career. She gave me the feeling of being home and the thought of having a family with her made me excited for our future.

In addition to being loving and caring, Jackie has a very good sense of humor and always finds ways to make me laugh. Typically, the jokes she makes are at my expense, but giving credit where it’s due, they are still funny. The only thing more on display than her humor is her competitiveness, you cannot tell by looking at her, but she is easily the most competitive person I know. It makes a game night even better and is so much fun when watching a Mets game with her, but less so when the Steelers are losing though.

Jackie demonstrates patience and caring daily while teaching. She works in a school that teaches Kindergarten through Second grade. One of the most amazing stories she tells me is when her second graders come back to have her sign their yearbooks and when she gets to teach younger siblings of former students.

These traits show me how great of a parent she will be. Jackie has such a nurturing and caring personality towards children which shows throughout the time we spend with our nieces, nephews, and our friends’ children. There are so many of her personality traits that I know will positively influence our future children.

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About James, by Jackie

James thoroughly enjoys watching sports, especially the New York Mets and the New York Jets (Go Steelers!), and is very passionate when it comes to coaching. There is no doubt that he will be a phenomenal coach to your child, whether it be coaching them in sports or coaching them through the challenges of life.

I can say without hesitation that James is the most motivated and hard-working person I have ever met. He puts full effort into everything he does, whether it be at home or at work. I know that he will teach these traits to our future children, encouraging them to be the best person they can be. At home, James provides a sense of safety and security. He is a very kind and lovable person who can get along with anyone.

James is someone I have always been able to rely on and confide in. He is always right by my side supporting me each day. Your child will be very lucky to have such a reliable and supportive person as their father. I see James’ love for children through every interaction he has with our two nephews and two nieces. They are always excited to see James and thoroughly enjoy getting to play with him! Many of my favorite memories with James are from times we have spent together just hanging out at home. I am very excited to create many more happy memories with James as we grow our family.

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Lifestyle

We live a very happy and active lifestyle. This includes morning workouts together before work, Saturday morning pancakes, and listening to music. We thoroughly enjoy making home cooked meals and spending time talking about our days. On the weekends, we can be found meeting up with friends and having Sunday night dinner with Jackie’s parents every week. Video chatting with James’ family is also something we enjoy doing weekly.

Since we met, we have always enjoyed spending time with each other. Outside of work, we enjoy spending our time together going for walks around our neighborhood during the spring, summer, and fall months. During the winter, we spend our free time watching movies and playing board games.

We look forward to adding a child to our family and can’t wait to spend time having play dates and visiting the neighborhood playgrounds.

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Careers and Passions

Jackie knew she wanted to be a teacher from an early age and has been teaching kindergarten for 8 years now. Her career has been everything she hoped for and very rewarding, both with the students she has taught and her coworkers with whom she has become very close.

James went through a career change moving from the world of coaching college football to having a position in banking. This career change came as we discussed having a family. While coaching was a great passion of his, he felt it was a difficult job to balance with having a family and making sure he would not miss any of the little moments. He loves his new position. He is always up for the challenges his job brings and enjoys that his job allows him to constantly learn and grow.

While we both excel in our careers, we have passions outside of work. Jackie is very active with our church’s music ministry. She is a cantor at masses weekly and is a member of the choir, singing every Easter and Christmas. James still loves to coach all sports and tries to coach part-time. He is very much looking forward to coaching youth sports if your child is interested in participating.

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Home & Neighborhood

Our bi-level home is located in a very quiet neighborhood right around the corner from Jackie’s grandmother. It is the neighborhood Jackie’s mother grew up in. We have a three-bedroom home with two and a half bathrooms. There is a large backyard with plenty of room to run around and play games. We have a very spacious deck which also has a screened-in porch underneath. We love having family and friends over and spending time with them in the backyard whenever the weather allows.

You will always find the neighborhood children outside playing and families going for walks together. The sidewalks are very large and have plenty of room for walks with strollers and children. Our neighborhood has an ideal setup for a young family, with a community pond for fishing and a playground. In addition, we live less than a quarter of a mile from the local elementary school, where Jackie went to school as a child. The school has large fields for sports and activities as well as a newly replaced playground.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

We both have the opportunity to work jobs that have allowed us to meet people of many different races and cultures. The elementary school that Jackie teaches in is very diverse. She is privileged, each day, to be able to play an important role in the lives of young children of various races and cultures. Many of the tasks that come along with James’ position at the bank involve international banking. Many of his co-workers, whom he communicates with daily, are located in different countries.

James grew up in a very culturally diverse area on Long Island and was very lucky to possess a large friend group from all different cultures. He also spent ten years in college athletics doing community outreach and interacting with people of various races and cultures.

Although we were not raised in multi-racial households, we are committed to further educating ourselves about races and cultures different than our own. We want to celebrate your child and educate him or her about their race and culture to the best of our ability.

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Vacations & Leisure Time

We have been very fortunate to be able to go on several trips a year. We currently do an annual trip to the Outer Banks, where a large part of Jackie’s extended family rents a beach house. This is typically the highlight of the summer, with a fun week by the ocean. We are currently working on scheduling trips with James’ family as well!

Along with vacations, we do enjoy traveling in our free time. This can include weekend trips to Hershey or to Pittsburgh for a concert. We currently have a bucket list of places to go, which consists of several places James has lived during his time coaching football.

While we both typically have less free time during the week, we enjoy spending it working out and enjoying time by our fire pit. Weekends give us the ability to venture a little further with friends for dinners and date nights.

We can’t wait to incorporate time at the playground and play dates, as we have several friends in the area with young children.

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Our Families & Friends

Our family and friends are the greatest support system we could ever ask for. They will always be in our corner and cheering us on!

We are very close to Jackie’s parents, Joe and Joan, who have been married for 35 years. We see them very frequently since they live less than a mile away. Jackie’s grandmother lives just around the corner, so we spend a lot of time with her as well. Jake, Jackie’s older brother, also lives close by with his wife, Amy, and their two kids Connor (5) and Chloe (3). Her younger brother, Jared, and his wife Caitlin live just about an hour away. With Jackie’s family so close, we are always having frequent gatherings and spending time together. We are excited to surround a child with nearby family who will love them unconditionally.

James’ parents, Cathy and Mitch, have been married for 36 years. They live in New York. His older brother, Dave, lives in Nebraska with his wife, Laura, and their two kids Ben (6) and Ellie (4). James also has a twin brother, Pete, who lives in New York. Although James’ family may not be close by, we are very close to them. Since we moved into our house, we have enjoyed hosting them for holidays throughout the year. We even do virtual game nights, which are a lot of fun!

We have several friend groups, from those who we work with, to ones we grew up with and went to school with. These friends are always there for us and are looking forward to the time when we have kids. Many of our friends are currently growing their families, so we look forward to having play dates and partaking in other fun activities with the kids.

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Family Traditions

Birthdays – We love celebrating each of our birthdays and we each have a special tradition to go along with our birthday. Jackie’s birthday request is always to order a white cake with fresh strawberry filling and whipped icing. This is surprising to James because he knows Jackie’s love for chocolate! During our first year of dating, Jackie made James a home-cooked meal, which was French Onion Chicken. This has now become an annual birthday request from James! We are very excited to add more birthday traditions as we grow our family!

Thanksgiving – Thanksgiving is a holiday that we get to spend with both of our families. Jackie’s dad always makes a Thanksgiving meal, and we get together with her extended family. We also host James’ parents and twin brother around Thanksgiving. James always cooks a Thanksgiving turkey on our smoker and Jackie loves baking the pumpkin pie!

Christmas Eve – We have been passed down the job, by Jackie’s aunt, of making the homemade pierogies for Christmas Eve dinner! After dinner, we head to church as a family, where Jackie sings with the church choir. One of our newest traditions, that we have created ourselves, is enjoying hot chocolate and a Christmas movie when we get home from mass.

Christmas – The past few years we have enjoyed having breakfast and exchanging gifts in our home. We then see Jackie’s extended family for a meal at her grandmother’s house, where we enjoy the homemade bread made by Jackie’s dad. The week between Christmas and New Year is a time we spend with James’ extended family. We enjoy decorating cookies with his niece and nephew and going for rides with them to see Christmas lights.

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Our Relationship with Our Parents

We both have very strong relationships with our parents. Jackie sees her parents almost daily and talks to them several times a day. She is a daddy’s girl and her mom’s best friend. James does live further away from his family, so while not spending lots of time physically with his parents he communicates with them very frequently. He has always had a strong bond with his parents. While growing up, he was always counted on to be home in times of need when his parents needed help with any situation.

Between the two of us, we believe that having a strong relationship with our parents has prepared us to raise a family of our own. Our parents have taught us the true meaning of family and will support us every step of the way.

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Our Promise to You

Our promise to you is that we will do everything we can to give your child the best possible life we can. We promise to love your child unconditionally. We will provide them with a loving home and a large extended family who can’t wait to meet them and love them unconditionally. We will always do our best to make the best choice possible for your child and to provide him or her with the necessary tools for them to learn and grow. We promise to help your child get through all the highs and lows of life and to give them endless support.

We will never be able to thank you enough for the sacrifice you are making to make our family whole. Our promise to you is that your child will be raised knowing that you are our hero and that we have the utmost respect for you. They will be taught from a very young age that you had chosen us to be their family and that without your sacrifices, our family would not be complete.