4511Dave and JenDear Birth Parents,Thank you so much for allowing us the opportunity to introduce ourselves and share with you what makes us a family.

We are Dave and Jen. We have excitedly talked about adoption even before we were married! Jen was adopted at a young age and Dave has a close cousin that came into our family through adoption. Because adoption has been such a positive experience in both our families, it is important for us to create our family the same way

Children are a large part of the happiness in our lives. Being an aunt and uncle has provided us countless moments of pure joy, moments of never-ending laughs, moments of happily-destroyed Lego sets and pillow forts, moments of cleaning up !nger paint o" a smiling dog and lots of moments where the smell of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies has !lled our kitchen.

We have been blessed to experience many adventures over the last !fteen years as we grew up together, graduated from college together, traveled the world together and built a home together. Now we are ready to grow our family together. Loving a child, raising a child and nurturing a child in our little family is the next adventure we cannot wait to have.

Our family and friends are very supportive of our decision to adopt and will excitedly welcome a child from any cultural background into our family.

We are so touched by your sel#ess and loving decision to consider an adoption plan. Words cannot express how honored we would be to play a role in your life’s story. We hope we have shown you what makes us Dave and Jen and why we are ready to become parents. Our promise to you is to be loving parents, to create a safe and warm home, to !ll it with laughter and music, and through an open adoption with letters, pictures, and visits, be grateful to you always

With Admiration,

Dave and Jen

© 2016 Adoption Support Center, Inc. All rights reserved. 1

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JenI often say that I was lucky enough to have two moms - one mom who made me and one mom who helped make me, me. At the age of three, my birth mom died in a car accident. I was an only child, so my dad became my world. He valiantly played the role of mom and dad in a time when single dads were not as common, nor accepted, as they are today. Eventually, my dad met the woman who would become my new mom, bringing with her a young son and daughter of her own. We soon became a blended family adding a new baby sister just a year later. Growing up, my parents owned their own business, specializing in custom-made furniture. The #exibility of owning their own business allowed both parents to be very involved in our lives, and with four children growing up in our home, there was never a dull moment. From Scouts to sports to piano lessons, my parents served as coaches, troop leaders, carpool drivers and constant cheerleaders.

We vacationed each summer at the beach and spent many weekends at our family cabin, hiking, telling ghost stories around the !re and playing games of Scrabble; it became a family milestone when one of us kids would !nally beat mom at a game! I hope that I will be able to raise our child in the same caring environment that was created for me growing up. I believe that I can be as patient as my parents were, allowing our child to explore any avenue they are interested in even if it means late nights or hectic evening schedules.

DaveI grew up with my parents and younger brother in a small town. My dad worked, and still works, as an electrician at a local college while my mom worked part-time to help take care of my brother and me. Though we didn’t have a lot of money, my parents were very creative at coming up with low-cost, but fun ways to spend family time. Mom would take us to “!nd treasures” at yard sales around town and Dad coached our little league teams and took us on long bike rides in the country. We often took trips to the state parks and forests to hike.

For holidays we would travel to visit my mom’s family in New York or my grandfather’s Italian restaurant outside Chicago. The secret family spaghetti recipe was always worth the 3 hour drive. Even in my teen years, my parents would pull out all the stops and allow me to host video game parties with my friends that would last until morning. My artist grandmother, who we would see quite often, always nurtured my creative side through the arts and encouraged me to speak my mind and think for myself. Just as my parents created fun experiences for me and my brother growing up, Jen and I can’t wait for trips to the Children’s Museum, !nger painting with great grandma and exploring the outdoors.

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Jen’s thoughtsabout our relationshipDave is full of love for life and has a great sense of humor. His concern for others led him to his current position at a leading sales company where he helps small businesses become more successful. He works for a great organization with bene!ts that not only include health insurance, but an on-site daycare, community garden, gym and 24-hour family health clinic. After the workday, Dave likes to relax by playing one of his four guitars on our back deck.

Time spent together always involves being active! We love to hike, bike and walk our dog throughout the city. Sports have always been important to us. We often host Sunday Colts football cookouts, attend Pacer basketball games and Indy 11 soccer games, and even catch baseball when the Indianapolis Indians are in town. This year we will celebrate being together for sixteen years. During that time we’ve made each other happy and life more fun! Our next adventure is to be parents. We can’t wait to make a child part of our family!

Dave’s thoughtsabout our relationshipWho thinks you’ll meet your soul mate in high school? Well, for us, that’s exactly what happened! We met at our after-school job working at the local ice cream shop and our families became quick friends. After graduating college, many globetrotting adventures together (twelve countries visited so far!) and too many dates to count, we got married in a beautiful outdoor setting with 300 of our closest friends and family. The opportunities we’ve had to explore life together have resulted in a marriage with a strong foundation of trust, respect, communication, and the most important thing - laughter!

Jen is incredibly caring and big-hearted. She wants everyone around her to be happy. Jen has an exciting sense of adventure, which led her to a career in international education at a local college. She loves helping students learn about the world. This semester she took on the challenge of becoming a professor and we are enjoying the connection she continues to make with her students. Jen's job allows her to have summers o" and she enjoys yoga and planting veggies in our tiny garden. I am excited to see the adventures Jen has in store for our family as we become parents.

Fun Facts• We host an annual 4th of July party for family and friends- you can

see our city’s !reworks from our front porch! • Christmas holidays were especially fun in Jen’s family as we went

to the same tree farm each year to cut our own Christmas tree. Dave and Jen have continued this tradition.

• Each Tuesday we visit Jen’s parents’ house for a family dinner. Dave’s dad and grandmother live 3 blocks down the road from Jen’s parents and often join us.

• We are blessed to be the aunt and uncle to three adventurous nephews, Aidan, Gavin and Vance, and two young nieces, McKenna and Elaina.

• Being an aunt and uncle has brought us much joy and their young critiques have helped Aunt Jen improve her chocolate cookie recipe into one of the best in the neighborhood!

• We enjoy camping at the family cabin, in the cabin or in a tent, it’s always fun!

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Jen DaveBorn: 1982 1982Height:$$ $ $ 5’ 1”$ $ $ $ $ 5’ 2”Complexion: Fair FairHair / Eyes: Brown / Hazel Brown / Brownish-GreenEducation:$ $ $ Master’s Degree$ $ Bachelor’s DegreeOccupation: Dir. Global Education E-Commerce MarketingMat/Pat Leave: Yes, plus summers o" Yes

We have been married since 2009. We are the proud dog mommy and daddy to our 7 year old Pointer Mix rescue pup, Auggy. Auggy keeps life fun and interesting! We love taking him on long walks to a nearby canal where he loves to swim. Auggy is famous in our neighborhood; he loves visitors and peanut butter treats, but especially gets excited when the nieces and nephews come over to play! His latest talent is learning to howl along with Dave’s guitar.

Home and CommunityWe are very lucky to have two places we call home- a hundred-

year-old house and a family cabin. We purchased our old house a few years ago and have loved restoring it to its original character. With two bedrooms, a basement entertainment room, and a backyard complete with a hammock, we are proud of the home we have built for our family. Living in one of our city’s historical districts, we have access to a city bike trail right outside our front door.

From a range of ethnic restaurants to neighbors from di"erent cultures, our neighborhood is diverse and very welcoming. A park, library and community garden are all within walking distance from our front porch. We are active in our neighborhood association and just !nished helping add new equipment to the park. We can’t wait to try out the new swings with our nieces

and nephews. We can’t think of anywhere better to live, but when we need a break from the city, we head to the forest for family cabin time!

Why Adoption?When we talked about the desire to add a child’s voice to our home, we both felt that adoption had a place in our lives and future plans. Jen was blessed to be adopted by her mom when she was young. Her mom helped shape her into the person she is today. Dave has a close cousin who came to his family through adoption, as well. Since adoption has played such an important role in our lives, we felt it was important for us to consider adoption for our family.

We want to be able to provide a strong, stable, loving foundation that will give our child the opportunity to thrive just like Jen’s mom gave her. We are excited to see what the future holds and can’t wait to meet you and learn about your hopes and dreams for your child. We would love to share an open adoption with you. While Jen didn’t get to grow-up knowing her biological mother, she did learn about her and has been able to experience the love of her biological grandparents as well as her mom and dad. Because we both have traveled extensively, and met many wonderful people from di"erent cultures and upbringings, we’re absolutely open to welcoming a child of any background.

Thank you for considering us!

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