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Let us first say how appreciative we are that you are even considering adoption as a possibility. What an amazing and selfless act you are thinking of. We would like to take this opportunity for you to get to know us as a family. We hope that this will allow you to peek into our lives and find out if this is the direction you would like to take. Please know that God is smiling down on you and He is with you every step of the way. Thank you!
Donnie was married before, to his high school sweetheart. She unfortunately had an affair and things could not be resolved. The thing that I loved about Donnie when we were dating was that he was completely honest with me about his divorce. He explained to me that although it had been hard on him he learned that you need to have more balance and communication in a marriage. It was a hard lesson for him but I think it in turn has made our marriage stronger. Donnie has said to me numerous times, that he didn’t know love until he met me, that’s all I need to know.
Before Jacob (our 2 year old) we used to ride our motorcycle together, go out to dinner and see movies a lot. We live a very spontaneous lifestyle, Donnie will call and say, plan a trip somewhere and we will leave a week later. We like to go to a lot of concerts and to the city periodically too. One of our favorite things is to just relax, hang out at the house, and watch movies together. We each have a handful of friends that we will get together with as well.
decorate their home. Jen is a very giving person and likes to do things for other people. She helps out at church with the Sunday school and some other projects here and there. She also likes to organize parties and get togethers. 
that he is doing, looking for, or trying to accomplish. Lately, he has been pretending a lot, he plays with his train set, and his stuffed dog and kitty in the dog house, it’s endless all that he likes to do. He loves to play his drums and he is pretty good at it for a two year old. He loves to go to Donnie’s office, he’s like a little star there, everyone has to talk to him and give him high fives so he feels pretty special. He loves going to the neighborhood playgroups as he is very social, you can tell he is intrigued by people. We recently moved him to his big room and have started to explain that soon he would have a sister or brother in the nursery. I think he is still trying to grasp the concept, but you can tell he is excited. He loves to be a helper, so I think he will be a great big brother. I can’t wait to see him helping to hold the little one and feeding him or her. What a sweet thing to see!! 
I was born in Germany, lived in Georgia, Oklahoma and then ended up in Wheaton Illinois at 15 years old. I have loved this area every since. I grew up in my younger years as an Okie (Oklahoma) and then learned to love being a Chicagoan. I was the oldest of three with a sister and a brother and I loved to tease them. They pleasantly remind me of those precious days now that we are adults, they won’t let me live that down. We did have fun in spite of my mischief.
Our immediate Family consists of my Mom, Dad, Heather, Eric and Lauralee (Eric’s wife). All of them live in St. Louis with the exception of Heather, she lives in Chicago. We try to get together about once a month, and for most of the holidays too. Otherwise my parents go crazy without seeing Jacob. My dad is a Vice President for a large consulting company and has always worked very hard. He is planning on retiring in the next year, which will be so nice. My mom plays a huge part in our family, she takes care of our grandparents as they are getting older and have some health issues. Believe it or not I still have all four grandparents living. It is so awesome to me that our children will know their great grandparents as I grew up knowing mine. My sister lives in Lincoln Park and is a Dietician at Children’s Memorial Hospital. She is so knowledgeable in her field. We see her about once a month, either she comes here or we go there for a fun day in the city. Eric, my brother is the musical one of the family, he is a composer and is amazing! He works as a Music Director of a church and his wife Lauralee sings with him. They make a dynamite pair! We are so blessed with our family they love us unconditionally and are so supportive. They are so excited to add a new addition to the family!!
I grew up in Huntley Illinois for most of my life. I have a sister and a brother and I was the oldest of the three. My Grandfather and Father both have trucking companies so I grew up loving trucks. I have fond memories of helping my dad driving the trucks and even working on them. Even though my dad worked a lot to provide for our family he always took time on Sundays to have family day. We would go to amusement parks, water parks, fairs, you name it, we did it! They also allowed us to have small motorcycles so that was always fun to ride around with friends. My mom has a strong love for animals so we had llamas, miniature horses, large horses, goats, at least one dog and at least 15 cats. And believe it or not she still has all of those same animals, in addition – a Clydesdale horse and two dogs. So needless to say animals are a big part of our family. My immediate and extended family are all very close so we were always together growing up and still are today.
One of my regrets in life is that I didn’t finish college. I started to get busy with working and eventually decided to start my trucking company. The regret of not getting a degree fuels my motivation for our children to go to college. That is extremely important to me.
In our immediate family, I have my Mom, Dad, my sister Annie, and my brother Tommy. We have a pretty large extended family and they love to get together for birthdays, anniversaries and outings. There is never a dull moment, lots of laughter and plenty of fun!! My parents live 10 minutes from us and also have a house in Florida that we go visit when they are there. My mom (Nina-that’s what the boys call her) has an antique business and is very much into her 5 grandchildren. (all boys, she’s working on a baseball team!) She has Jacob over at least once a week for a playdate at our house or theirs. It’s a lot of fun for the kids at their house because they have all the animals to play with. My dad has a trucking company similar to mine, so we talk a lot about trucking together. My sister Annie has 2 boys, Mikolaj and Maks and my brother Tommy has 2 boys, Gavin and Travis so Jacob gets excited anytime we get together with them. My family is very family oriented and loves to enjoy life to the fullest! They too are very excited of another grandchild to add to the bunch!
We have chosen adoption to have our next child because I am not able to naturally conceive children (Jen). I had Ovarian Cancer when I was 12 years old and lost both ovaries to it. We were able to have Jacob through Invitro. We had some complications with the pregnancy, so we feel that God has led us to adoption to have our next child. We are so excited to add another child to our family as we feel like it’s the right time. Jacob is at a good age where he understands to be gentle. He loves children so I think he will be such a good brother and helper to mommy too. It’s amazing to know that God has it all planned out and knows the child for us, what a miracle! 
onnie and I both agree that it is very important to bring our children up in a Christian home. We want to instill those morals and values in them so they have security and foundation in Jesus Christ. We attend Willowcreek Church in Crystal Lake.
