Our Introduction Letter

Hello:

We are so grateful you are taking a minute to read about our family and consider us as adoptive parents for your child. We admire your strength and determination to give your baby life and your selfless love to consider adoption. We are sure you are facing a very difficult and challenging time, and we pray every night that you will be strengthened as you make this decision for you and your child.

We both love adventure and being outdoors, which led us both to work at a summer camp for families in 2005. We had so much fun being best friends during the summer that we decided to start dating in the fall. Eventually, we fell in love and decided  to get married on August 10, 2006. After seven years of marriage, we are more committed to each other and more in love than we have ever been. We have also been blessed with a very bright and talented five-year-old boy. 

John earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and a Master’s of Public Administration, and he is currently an Officer in the U.S. Air Force. Despite having a demanding job, John has struck an amazing balance between work and family life. He takes time each day to be with Lindsay and to play with Caleb. Last year John built his own road bike (we both love cycling), and he included Caleb every step of the way. Caleb enjoyed many trips to the bike store and hours in the garage working with John. Now they love to ride bikes around the neighborhood. 

When his work does require him to be away from us for longer periods, he finds ways to stay a part of our lives. When we were engaged, John had four weeks of basic training, and during that time he left a present for each week with his roommate for Lindsay to pick up. We have had many family dinners with John on speakerphone, and when he is gone he can expect many phone calls and pictures from us. The uniqueness of military life has brought us much closer together as a family.

Lindsay graduated with a degree in History Teaching. She taught middle school for one year, but since having Caleb has been very fortunate to be a full-time mother and plans to continue doing this throughout her life. She loves to create healthy, yummy recipes for the family. She does have a sweet tooth and believes goodies are best when they are homemade. Each year Caleb and Lindsay create fun, themed birthday cakes for each member of the family. Caleb decides what each person’s cake will be, and helps with the cooking and the decorating (last year John’s was fishing, Lindsay’s was camping, and Caleb’s was a spaceship). She is a firm believer that there should be freshly baked cookies on the first day of school each year, a tradition she got from her mother.

Lindsay still has a love of teaching and desires to instill a love of learning in each of her children. We feel the most important thing for a child is to feel unconditional love. We also think children should  have lots of time to play and explore their world. We have tried to cultivate Caleb’s natural interests, like science, with learning more ourselves about the topic as well as taking family trips to museums and planetariums, and doing fun science experiments at home. (Caleb’s favorites have been throwing things down the stairs to see how different objects fall and the classic mentos and Coke explosion). We believe that it is best to focus on the good of a child and to help them build on their strengths. We want our children to feel loved and accepted whatever their interests may be.

Both of us grew up in loving, supportive families where faith was important and values and morals were not only taught but practiced in our day-to-day living. Even though military life keeps us far from our families geographically, we are extremely close in other ways. Lindsay comes from a family of six girls and seldom does a day goes by when she doesn’t have contact with at least one member of her family. John and his twin brother, his only sibling, still enjoy hiking and camping together every chance they get. Caleb simply cannot get enough of his cousins, and they can’t get enough of him. They love when he comes to visit and spend all their time playing what he wants to play and making sure he is included. We make it one of our top priorities to visit family as often as possible, usually several times a year. Our families are extremely supportive of our decision to adopt and will welcome any baby with love, joy and acceptance.

Military life has created a unique family situation. We have been so blessed to travel the country many times over.  Lindsay likes to say, “Life is short and military assignments are shorter,” so we do seize every opportunity to get out and see anything and everything around us. We especially love trying new food everywhere we go. We have enjoyed everything fresh seafood in California to Bison Burgers in Montana. 

We are an active family. Our summers are filled with camping trips and hiking, while our winters are filled with skiing and indoor excitement. Caleb’s favorite family tradition is snowshoeing and cutting down our own Christmas tree every year. We also enjoy the simple things of life, like making pizza together and watching a movie on a Friday night, or watching college football in the fall with chili and cinnamon rolls. We love getting together with friends for BBQ’s (John makes amazing BBQ!) or homemade sushi nights (one of Caleb’s favorite foods). Because we do move so often, our family has become the center of our lives. Moving so much has made us extremely close because we know that family truly is what matters most. 

Once after we babysat two little girls for an evening, their mother commented to Lindsay that her children’s personalities have never shone like they do after they leave our home. This comment was made while we were spending two months in a military hotel for training. Even though we move every few years and sometimes have unique situations, the feeling in our home or hotel room or wherever we may be doesn’t change. We strive to have a happy home where all who enter can thrive and feel included. Mistakes can be made, messes will happen, but love is always felt. 

We are a family with a deep faith in God and Jesus Christ. We attend church each Sunday and strive to foster peace and love in our home through daily family prayer, scripture study, and family dinner. Despite the challenges we’ve faced trying to have another child, we know that God has watched over us and led us to adopt a child. We believe that every child in our home will be protected, nurtured, and loved his or her entire life. Each will be accepted in every way and will be given the best opportunities to grow, learn, and play in a loving home. Our parenting philosophy is one of love and nurture. A child that is shown good examples and given kindness and love when he or she makes a mistake will want to do good and show that same love to others.  

We would love to provide you with an open adoption if you choose, and will help you feel connected to your child. We love you, we admire your strength, and we hope that you will remember us as you make your decision.

Love,

John and Lindsay and Caleb