4541John & KristenHello,Thank you for taking a few minutes to read our letter and learn more about us! We are both a little nervous to write you. Neither of us has ever made a choice even a fraction as brave and selfless as the one you are considering, and we cannot imagine what it must be like to be in your shoes. We are in awe of your courage and are so grateful to you for contemplating adoption for your baby.

In the years we have been together, we have created a happy life built upon love, respect, friendship, and a lot of laughing. We are so excited at the thought of being parents, raising children in our cozy home, and sharing with them our favorite things: cooking, sports, playing outside, the Cubbies, traveling, dance parties, the beach, and our families and friends. A life of love and kindness is very important to us, as is a good education, and we will work tirelessly to give your son or daughter the very best we can.

While we are more than happy to share notes and photos via text/website/ email, we would also love for you and your child to have a relationship, if that is something you want as well. If possible, we would like to get together every other month for the first year: taking walks, going to the park, cookouts, a pumpkin patch visit around Halloween, trips to the zoo and/or Children’s Museum, and to celebrate his or her birthday! If this seems too overwhelming, or you are yet not sure what type of relationship you want, let’s chat about what works better for you. After year one, we can come up with a plan that works for all of us, and most of all, ensures what is best for your baby.

Our lives will forever be intertwined because of your incredible gift, and for that we are eternally grateful to you. We hope this is the start of what will be a lifelong friendship between our families. A bigger family for this baby means more love, and as parents, we want nothing more than for our children to feel as much love as possible every day of their lives. We wish you peace and comfort as you continue your journey.

With gratitude and hugs,

John & Kristen

© 2016 Adoption Support Center, Inc. All rights reserved. 1

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KristenMy whole family has had a very strong influence on the person I am, and I am so grateful for them.  My mom is everything I could want in a mom: caring, kind, loving, supportive, full of hugs when you need them and a snap back to reality when that’s in order. She worked hard every day of our lives to make sure that my siblings and I had everything we needed. My dad is great with kids and will be a fun grandpa! From him I have learned to love people for who they are, perseverance, and a love of college sports and classic rock.  I am the oldest of 3 and have a younger brother and sister. They are genuine, hardworking, fun, and kind and are engaged to equally incredible people. All four will make the best aunts and uncles to our kids!

All my life, my mom’s parents have lived on a lake. As kids, my cousins, siblings, and I spent many summer days playing at the beach across the lake, riding bikes, tubing behind my grandparents’ pontoon boat (which was more like a lazy river the older we got), and playing games in the big side yard. Even now, we all make sure to go to the lake for a few days around the 4th of July. My Pop is gone now, but Gram loves having us all there, despite the amount of food in the refrigerator and the number of air mattresses in her living room. ☺  After a day outside, we cruise around the lake in the pontoon, cook out, and watch the fireworks together.

JohnI genuinely cherish the relationship I have with both of my parents. To me, they set the gold standard for parenting. As a child, my dad always took advantage of opportunities to spend time with me. He made me feel included, important, and to this day, he’s the first person I call to seek advice, request assistance or simply share a memory. My mother gave up her career to stay at home and raise our family. She’s the one that I wanted to chaperone my field trips, spray Bactine on my knees when I scraped them and give me a hug when I was feeling down. She has always and continues to put her family first and is willing to sacrifice everything and anything to make us happy. I am the middle child with an older sister and younger brother. Our relationships are competitive and fun-loving. They both have children of their own and I’m a proud uncle of adorable nieces and a nephew that always is smiling and laughing. Our family vacations were always close to home and included visits to the aquarium, zoo, and the amusement park to ride rollercoasters. We also enjoyed fishing, taking nature walks, and attending our local county fair where we ate elephant ears and fried vegetables and drank chocolate milk from the cow barn. We considered any time away from home and spent together a vacation of sorts.

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Kristen’s thoughtsabout our relationshipMy favorite thing about John is how he constantly makes me laugh. Even after a long day, I can always look forward to him cheering me up within minutes of being home. He has been my rock throughout our highest highs and lowest lows. In everything I do or don't do, he is my biggest fan. John works tirelessly and happily to make a beautiful, joyful life for us, and I am beyond lucky to be the beneficiary of that. His dedication to our family projects from every part of his being, so much that I cannot begin to imagine how he will burst at the sight of our baby(ies). I am over the moon excited to see John as a dad! I know our kids will just melt him. He is patient, kind, and hardworking. In his quiet way, he will effortlessly impart those same values to our children from the second they meet. It will be the greatest joy of my life to see him with our children. This is what I’m most excited for … to watch them together, and experience the bond we create as a family.

John’s thoughtsabout our relationshipMy wife is the single most important person in my life. I often tell her that I’m more in love with her now than I was 30 seconds ago. That always gets her to smile or giggle, but the truth of the matter is that it’s a fact. The choice to marry her was easy – she’s the kindest, most outgoing, intelligent, and genuine person I’ve ever met. She has strong morals and is someone who I greatly respect and admire. Kristen has so many natural maternal instincts. If given the chance, she will smother each and every child she encounters with hugs, kisses, and baby talk, the likes of which you have never seen before. Her patient ways minimize frustration and create a sense of openness that children love. Traveling with Kristen is always one of my favorite things to do. Whether it is a road trip or flight across the country, there’s nobody I’d rather be sitting next to....Kristen makes all of life’s journeys worth taking.

Fun Facts• John works with middle schoolers and is able to connect with many

of them through his love of superheroes, Legos, and video games.• We love following our college sports teams, especially Purdue &

Butler basketball! John’s hat collection is evidence of our allegiance to the Cubbies. A trip to Chicago for baseball games is one of our go-to summer activities.

• Our favorite things to do include summer festivals, road trips, fishing, antiquing, boating, & taking strolls around our neighborhood.

• On a weekend at home, you can find us at the farmer’s market, trying new restaurants, & doing projects around the house.

• Kristen loves all kinds of gardening: flowers, herbs, & veggies. She also enjoys cooking for

family & friends, but would rather experiment with new things than strictly follow a recipe.

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Kristen JohnBorn: 1985 1980Height: 5’6” 6’3”Complexion: Fair FairHair / Eyes: Brown/Hazel Brown/BrownReligion: Catholic CatholicEducation: Law Degree Master’s DegreeOccupation: Attorney School CounselorMat/Pat Leave: Yes Yes

We have been married since 2012 and are very excited to be parents!

Home and CommunityWe moved into our first home in the summer of 2014. We knew we wanted an older house and found one with a lot of character: brick exterior, hardwood floors, a yard that’s gone through a complete renovation in grass, a garden, and flowers, and just enough projects to keep the “fixer upper” in us satisfied. ☺ Our street is full of families with kids that range in age from newborns to teens. We are sandwiched in between the best neighbors anyone could ask for, people that have made us feel welcome and loved since the day we moved in. We feel very safe in our home and have a fenced in back

yard. Several festivals take place near us throughout the summer and early fall. Another bonus of our neighborhood is the walkability/bikeability; we’re very close to the local library and swimming pool, as well as quite a few restaurants, shops, and parks.

Why Adoption?About a year after we got married, we began our attempt at starting a family. After a few months of trying to conceive the old-fashioned way, we realized that we

would need a little help. At that point, we discussed both fertility treatments and adoption as ways to bring children into our home. Over the course of these last three and a half years, we tried a variety of fertility treatments. Though one of our IVF transfers was successful, we ultimately miscarried at just under 10 weeks. Somewhere along the way, we realized that what we wanted more than anything was to be parents and raise children together, regardless of whether we had them biologically or we were given the greatest gift we could possibly imagine through adoption. What we have found to be so reassuring and uplifting throughout is the unwavering

support, encouragement and love shown by our close friends and family. They have been present for all the ups and downs of our journey – comforting us in our sad moments, yet always reminding us to stay positive because our happiest times are still to come. They share our excitement for this next step in growing our family, and their joy serves as a welcome reminder that we have so much to be grateful for, and that our baby will be blessed to have such wonderful people in his or her life.

Thank you for considering us!

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