We chose to adopt because it has been medically recommended that Allison not carry children due to a history of heart problems. Once this difficult decision was made, Allison's sister offered to be our surrogate. Thanks to this gift, we now have a beautiful daughter named Norah. She is the light of our lives! She loves all things Disney and insists on wearing princess dress-up dresses as her clothes each day.

After Norah was born, Allison's sister offered to surrogate a 2nd time with our last embryo. Unfortunately, it didn't take. This is when we seriously thought about adoption and foster care.

We knew we wanted a bigger family. We became foster parents first, fully knowing and supporting that foster care's 1st goal is reunification. We currently have a 3-year-old foster son. He has been a part of our family for almost 2 years. He is a playful, smart, and energetic boy. He has added so much fun to our household. He and Norah are true siblings, loving on each other one moment and fighting the next! He loves anything to do with sports. He always has a ball of some sort in his hands. His future in our home is still unknown, but we would be blessed to be his forever family.

Two years into foster care, we chose to also adventure into private adoption. We still feel called to be foster parents, but we also would like to grow our family while Norah is young. Not only is foster care written on our hearts, adoption is as well. While challenging at almost every phase, we have overcome the odds and made a beautiful family to call our own. We cannot wait to add another member!

Allison About Kevin: Kevin is the kindest person I know. He is always thinking about how he can be helping others. He would give the shirt off his back if he thought it would make someone smile. He volunteers his time to be our daughter's soccer coach. He excels in his career and continues to seek out ways he can improve. He loves his family well and provides for them in any fashion he can. I always knew he would be a great dad, but he has blown my expectations out of the water. He loves playing with the kids and thinking up silly games. He is so fun and goofy with them, but firm when needed. Kevin puts our marriage first. He makes sure we have time for one another in the hustle and bustle of life. He also picks up the slack at home when I need it. He is a true teammate in our marriage and we parent together really well. I am so blessed to be building this family with him.

Kevin About Allison: Allison is truly one of a kind and I consider myself lucky to just be in her life, let alone be her husband and the father of her children. Personally, she has every characteristic you look for in an amazing mother. She is caring, comforting, and easy to approach, but also knows when to stand her ground with discipline. It's a perfect balance. She is also extremely organized, coordinating our busy schedules with ease, which she doesn't get enough credit for. Professionally, she has achieved every career goal that she has put in front of her, from getting her Master's degree, to becoming a successful Nurse Practitioner at such a young age. She is the best role model I could possibly ask for my children. I love her so much.

It is very important for us, as a family, to expose our children to cultural diversity. We are completely open to adopting a child of a different race and are committed to them knowing, culturally, where they originated from. Our foster son is Black/Hispanic so we are currently living the day-to-day with a child of a different race. We surround ourselves with friends of all races, we have a very diverse neighborhood, the schools the children will go to are diverse, and we strive to provide books, dolls, and cartoons that show all cultures and races. The beautiful thing about open adoption is that the child will know who/where they come from so they can explore their culture as fully as they would like, with our help and openness.

We both come from very close and loving families and we are so blessed to be able to say that. To set the stage, we met each other down in Treasure Island, FL, where both our families have been vacationing for decades. We continue to vacation as a large group each year which has only helped further connect our immediate and extended families in ways we could not have imagined. So much love and fun exists in our lives because of both of our families.

Kevin's parents are divorced and both remarried. Each step parent has become an integral piece to our family, and we are fortunate that both sets of parents get along very well and attend all family events possible. He has two older sisters and is extremely close with both of them. When together, Kevin's family loves to play games, laugh, listen to music, and if the weather is nice, relax around the fire pit or grill. Normally, those family parties go well into the night. Kevin's family could not be more supportive of our journey to adopt.

Allison's parents have been married for 41 years and live close by. She has one older sister who was our surrogate and carried our daughter, Norah, who is now four. Allison is very close with her mother and sister. When we hang out with Allison's family, it is usually for a tee time, cookout or to watch a sporting event. We love to feed each other and just catch up. Allison's family is so excited to grow by one through adoption.

We live in a cute little suburban subdivision in the state of Illinois, an hour outside of Chicago. We live three blocks from the elementary school. We have three parks within walking distance which have ponds and bike paths as well. Our neighborhood is very racially diverse, which is important to us. We live in a cul-de-sac which allows for us to take the kids on bike rides or run around out front safely. We also have a fenced in back yard with a sun room (our favorite room!) and a stone patio with built-in fire pit. We love spending time back there with our kids and dogs.

Inside, we have four bedrooms and a finished basement, full of toys, games and entertainment for our kids and their friends. We have lived here for two years and have quickly made this house into our home.

Nearby, we have access to lots of fun places, including water parks, driving ranges, sports fields, and nature trails. While our immediate neighbors do not have little children similar to ours, we have met plenty of families with young ones at the nearby park. Our neighborhood has various food trucks visit throughout the year and also an annual block party. Trick-or-treating on Halloween is our favorite time of year to get together with the neighborhood.

We want to begin by thanking you for your incredible strength and bravery in choosing life for this precious baby. We recognize that this is a difficult time for you with many heavy decisions to be made. Please know that you are prayed for daily, not only by us, but by our family and friends. You are loved beyond measure and we hope you feel that through this letter.

We have been married for 6 years. While dating, we discussed our dreams of being parents and having multiple children. After we learned Allison couldn't carry children, our hearts were heavy because we had always wanted a big family. We knew God had other plans for us and that He would show us another way to make our dream family a reality. Through surrogacy, foster care, and now adoption, we are building our perfectly unique family. This journey has taught us about strength, patience and faith and we are forever grateful for the opportunities that have been presented to us.

Our daughter, Norah, could not be more excited for a sister/brother. She talks about "the baby" daily and is constantly telling everyone that we are adopting. She loves being a big sister to our foster son and is always looking out for him. We are confident she is going to be a great role model for our new addition. Our immediate and extended families are very supportive of this process. We are both family oriented people and understand the importance of having their full support along the way. We are looking forward to having them continue to share their love with this child as well.

In our free time, we love to travel and be outdoors. We live near a few great parks that the kids love to play at and bike rides across the neighborhood have become a staple in our routine. We like to camp, take the boat out on the river, but mostly, just be with family. We love "practicing" sports and playing with the dogs in the backyard. We can't wait to add another little human to our family to continue making memories.

We are completely supportive of an open adoption. We would like you to be as involved as you would like to be in your child's life. We are open to pictures, letters, emails, phone calls/face times, and/or visits. The more people loving a child could never be a bad thing. Having a child know who/where they come from is invaluable. We have gained so much knowledge by already being foster parents, so we understand the importance of children knowing their story. We never want their adoption to be a secret or a taboo thing to discuss. We want them to know their Birthparents, if that is what everyone wishes.

Thank you for taking the time to glimpse into our lives and to consider us in your adoption plan, if you chose to make one. We can wholeheartedly promise that your baby will be loved beyond measure and they will always know the love you have for them. You are loved and continuously in our prayers.

With love,

Kevin & Allison