Describe your childhood:
Adoptive mom?
I had a very happy childhood and many fond memories. I grew up in a small east coast town that if you blinked you were through the town. I have one younger sister and had a best friend that lived across the street. We were always out playing with the neighborhood kids, riding bikes, playing hide and seek or basketball. My mom worked part time and my dad was a school teacher, so someone was usually home with us. I had a very traditional upbringing. Birthdays and holidays with extended family; family vacations in the summer.
Adoptive dad?
My childhood was fun and simple. I grew up in a small town just outside of a large city. We had a small home in a safe, family oriented neighborhood. My father worked. My mother was a stay-at-home mom. My brother and I attended local public schools. We would usually ride our bicycles or walk to school. My brother and I would come home from school and play with our friends in the neighborhood. Many of these guys I am still friends with today. We enjoyed riding our bicycles, skateboarding and playing catch. Our family would get together every summer with our neighborhood friends and go group camping. Throughout the year we often got together with our extended family on the weekends since most of them lived nearby.
Tell us about your home?
We live in a Spanish style two story home with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The inside is very spacious and traditional. We find our home to be nice, cozy, and very comfortable. At the center of our home we have a large kitchen/great room where we cook, eat, watch TV and just seem to gather with family and friends. In the front we have a beautiful courtyard with a pretty fountain that we can hear when the windows are open. The backyard has lots of nice grass to play in and a beautiful pool and patio that we added and spend a lot of time in. We love our home and can’t wait to convert the extra bedroom into a nursery.
When you have a 3-day weekend, what do you like to do?
When we have a 3-day weekend, we enjoy taking our travel trailer camping with our family and friends. We enjoy going desert camping and beach camping. In the desert we ride our motorcycles and quads. At the beach we swim, ride bikes, play games and hang out by the campfire. There are a lot of nice areas to go camping within a couple of hours of our home.
Do you have pets? If so tell us about them?
We have one dog named Winnie. I got her from an animal shelter when she was about eight weeks. She was so cute! We still are not sure what type of dog she is. She looks like a small, thin black lab. She is a very good dog and very sweet and she loves people. She loves to play and be taken for walks.
What do you hope to teach your children?
We hope to be able to provide them good core values. We want to teach them to have respect for themselves and others. We want them to learn to be considerate, caring and a good honest person. We hope to be able to show them that good things come from hard work.
Describe your neighborhood?
We love our neighborhood! It is very safe and family oriented. People are always out walking, running or riding bikes. The neighborhood we live in is a planned development and everyone takes good care of their homes. We see nice landscaped sidewalks and fences around hills. We are about 10-20 minutes away from most everything that we could need; grocery stores, drug stores, schools, parks, hospital, etc. We have no neighbors across the street, just a beautiful hillside. Our neighborhood has a couple of trail heads where you can hike or bike into the mountains and hills behind us. Our location affords us great views of the valley below and the sunsets are awesome!
What will you tell your child about their birthmother?
We will tell our child that their birthmother loves them and made a very difficult and tough decision for them to have a better life than she could provide at that point in her life. We will let him/her know whatever she would like us to share with them. We will be as open and truthful as we can with our child, as we know there will always be questions that they will have.
It's Daddy's day - what activity do you want to share with your child?
On Father’s day, I would enjoy taking my child down to the local park to feed the ducks at the pond. I would then take them to the play area and push them in the swings and play ball with them. After all the excitement we had all day we would cool down at Baskin Robbins with a big scoop of ice cream!
What kind of education are you hoping to provide for your child - Private or Public?
Our child will most likely attend public school. The schools where we live have always ranked very high over all. The class sizes are decent and they are also very safe as far as public schools are concerned.
How did you come to the decision of adoption?
Jill and I decided to pursue adoption after having two unsuccessful pregnancies. Jill has two children from a previous marriage that we share custody of and we knew we wanted to expand our family when we got married. We decided on adoption after coming to the realization that all we really want is to raise a child together.
What faith will you raise your child?
We will raise our child as a Catholic. I was born and raised as catholic. Dave did not have any traditional religious upbringing. We feel it is important to provide them some type of organized religion as a good foundation to build upon.
How will you help your child accomplish their dreams?
Hopefully we can expose them to many things and expand on the things that they find interesting. We want our child to know they can accomplish anything they set their mind to. It takes a lot of hard work to accomplish one’s dreams and it is not always easy along the way but we will provide a good support system and always give lots of encouragement. We want to help build their self-confidence so they will always feel good about whom they are.
What kind of a relationship do you hope to build with your birthmom through her pregnancy?
We hope to build a strong loving relationship with her so that she will feel confident that we will take care of her child. We want her to have no doubt that we will love her child like our own and will raise them and give them all the tools they will need in life to be a great person.
How did you meet?
Dave and I were set up on a blind date by a friend who thought we would enjoy each other’s company. After talking on the phone a few times, we seemed to be hitting it off well and went out on a formal date. We were very compatible and a relationship easily blossomed.
What was your relationship with your parents like?
Both of us have great relationships with our parents.
Adoptive Mom?
My parents were both very involved in my upbringing. We did many things together as a family and one or both of my parents were always there no matter what we had going on. Today we live on opposite coasts but we talk on the phone often and we see them a few times a year.
Adoptive Dad?
My mom was always there when I needed her and even when I didn’t! She took really good care of my brother and me. My father taught me to camp, fish and ride motorcycles. He also taught me to be a great handyman!
What attracted you to each other?
I was attracted to Jill the moment I met her. Jill was absolutely beautiful! Besides her good looks, she is very well educated, smart, organized and hardworking. She was raising her two little girls, had just finished school and had started working when I met her. For me, I was most attracted to the enthusiasm and animation in Dave’s voice and expressions. He was so easy to have a conversation with. He also had a way of making me feel safe and protected.
Please describe your personalities:
Adoptive Mom?
Loving, caring, honest, hardworking, confident and strong.
Adoptive Dad?
Happy, easygoing, friendly, considerate, patient, and loyal.
What are your hobbies (please share those you enjoy as individuals and those you enjoy as a couple):
I enjoy exercising, reading, sitting by or swimming in our pool, shopping and decorating our home.
Adoptive Dad?
I enjoy being outdoors mostly. I like camping, hiking, riding mountain bikes and motorcycle riding. I also enjoy working around the house, washing the cars or tinkering in the garage!
As a couple, we love to spend time doing fun things as a family like playing games or watching a movie together. We also love to hang out with our family and our friends and their families.
When you close your eyes and see yourself holding your precious baby in your arms what are your thoughts regarding the birthmother?
I am so thankful to her for what she has given us. She will always be in our thoughts and we hope she finds as much happiness in her life as she has brought to ours.
How will a child enrich your life?
Having a child will make our family feel complete! It will give our girls a sibling and it will give my parents their first grandchild!
Why did you each choose the career path you decided on?
Adoptive Mom?
My career as a nurse is actually a second career. I decided after having such great care when I had my children that I wanted to be a caregiver as well. I returned to school when my youngest was one and excelled. After graduating I got a job as a nurse in the operating room and have never looked back. It is such fulfilling and rewarding work to be with people at one of their most difficult moments.
Adoptive Dad?
I have always had an interest in law enforcement and after watching a good friend go through the academy I became even more interested. I did a lot of research and found it to be a good paying career with excellent benefits. I returned to community college, studied criminal justice and really enjoyed it. I wanted a job where I could work outdoors, not behind a desk! I also wanted a career that kept me on my feet. This career offered both!
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