We love being parents and have always envisioned our lives with several children. We had our daughter in 2012 and started trying to have a second child in 2014. By 2017, when we had already had one miscarriage and no successful pregnancies, we began working with a fertility clinic. We tried various medical procedures, but unfortunately, they did not work. We now know that we cannot have biological children.

However, we also know that we were called to become parents to a second child. When we started researching everything about growing our family through adoption, it just felt right. It was not even a question for us. We are excited about the opportunity to grow our family through adoption and provide the love and support we know we have available to give another child.

Our daughter Emily loves swimming, playing basketball, riding her bike, or anything outside. She likes playing with all the neighborhood kids, but it bothers her that she is the only one who does not have siblings. She has been waiting to be a big sister for years and is very excited to have someone to ride bikes with!

We can't wait to create incredible memories with our new child and find their favorite vacation spot. We love to travel and go on several trips every year. It is fun to see new places and have new experiences as a family. In the last few years, we have visited San Diego, California, Riviera Maya, Mexico, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Colorado Springs, Clearwater, Florida, and Disney World. Our favorite vacation was Maui! It was unlike any place we have ever been, but a new child would be a great excuse to go back to Disney World!

Our families did not take vacations when we were children, so it is important to us that our children have the opportunity to travel every year. We usually like to go somewhere with a beach, but we went to the Rocky Mountains this past summer, which was awesome! Even though Orlando has no beach, Disney World is a lot of fun, and someplace we plan to revisit several times.

Our brother-in-law Jason was adopted as a child. We are very close to him, so we have seen his relationship with both his adoptive and birth parent. They all come to family functions and holidays and visit with our nieces and nephews, and they love it because it just means they have even more grandparents!

It has helped our brother-in-law have a stronger sense of identity. He knows why he has certain facial features, why he is tall, and even why he likes fixing things. It has also helped his children to have that same sense of identity. They all know where their dad came from and how all of his parents fit into the picture. They are an example of how adoption can work out very well for everyone involved.

We live in a town of roughly 20,000 people in Illinois. The location is excellent because we are within two hours of St. Louis to the west and Indianapolis to the east, and we are less than three hours from Chicago. It gives us many options for day trips to different city zoos, children's museums, outstanding parks, and other fun city activities. We are close enough that, when we are done, we drive home to our friendly, quiet town.

We live in a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house at the end of a peaceful and safe cul-de-sac. It is perfect for us to play basketball in the driveway, ride bikes, or skate because there is no traffic. Our daughter Emily loves playing with the many neighborhood children. They range in age from middle school to newborns. With so many young families in the neighborhood, the number of kids will probably keep growing! It is a highly family friendly town and neighborhood.

One of our favorite activities is going swimming at the pool. There are always kids to play with, and having the lifeguard that is always there gives us additional peace of mind.

There are many great parks and playgrounds, including a brand new one with a zipline by the lake.

Our daughter attends a private, Christian K-8 school, and we love the level of education and attention they provide with such small class sizes.

We are both close with our families. Katie has a younger sister, and Rob has an older sister and two younger brothers. We live within two hours of every member of both of our families, so we see everyone pretty often. We have five nieces and nephews combined and a ten-year-old daughter named Emily, who can't want to be a big sister. We go to Katie's Aunt and Uncle's house every year for their Fourth of July barbecue. We all love it because all our cousins, nephews, nieces, and friends come together to celebrate simultaneously. We play in the pool and hot tub, play bags and other yard games, and eat way too much food! The house is so close to the city's fireworks display that we always end the celebration by sitting in the front yard in lawn chairs and blankets, watching the fireworks.

Our entire family knows that we have been trying to have a second child for years but were unable to biologically, so they were all thrilled for us to find this extraordinary way to grow our family. We cannot wait to add this child to our family traditions and watch our family and friends love and embrace the child you have blessed us with.

We know you want to choose the best family for your child, and it is hard to tell if one family will be better than another. We don't know if anything we share will make your decision easier, but we will try to help as much as possible. These letters are probably all starting to sound the same, so if there are specific questions you have for us, please let us know. We promise to be completely honest and keep every promise we make.

We have been married since 2011, but we started dating in 2005 in our early twenties. We both grew up in St. Louis but moved to a middle-sized college town in 2015. It is a great place to raise kids and live a relaxed life. Our neighborhood has kids of every age running around everywhere and playing together. It is like going back in time 30 years when kids all played outside, and everybody knew everybody. In the summer, after the kids are done riding bikes or playing tag or whatever, they go into our backyard and catch lightning bugs. At first, we were not sure how we would feel about leaving St. Louis, but now we love it! If we need more shopping or restaurant choices, it is only about a 35-minute drive to all those things.

Our daughter Emily is in 6th grade. She loves playing basketball, which is fantastic because Katie and I love it, so it gives us another thing we enjoy doing as a family. She cannot wait to be a big sister. We are not exaggerating when we tell you that Emily asks us how this is going every single day. She is very excited.

When we are not outside, we like to watch movies. Our daughter is still pretty young, so it is usually Disney movies and those kinds of things. We like comedies or home improvement shows when it is just the two of us—pretty much anything on HGTV.

Communication with us and your child in the future will be up to whatever you are comfortable with. We have a brother-in-law who was adopted and has regular contact with his biological family, so we have seen that it can work well for some people, but we don't want to tell you what should work for you. Of course, we are happy to send letters and pictures, but we would also be happy to make calls, texts, e-mails, Facetime calls, visits, etc. You don't have to decide on those things now; we know what works for you could change over time. Please know that we are ready to talk about it when you are and are willing to be flexible.

We can't promise you that every moment of your child's life will be perfect if you choose us. No one can promise that. We will do everything possible to make as many of their moments perfect as possible. We promise that every conversation we ever have with your child about adoption will use positive language, and we will make sure they understand that they are loved by you and by us.

Rob & Katie