See those smiling faces? That's us, Jeremy and Jordan, pretty much all the time. Our friends and family would tell you that we are friendly, caring, loyal and a darn good match! In fact, Jordan told Jeremy on their 4th date that she was going to marry him (he was taken by surprise but figured it out for himself soon enough!) We have been married for almost eight years and have been there for each other through life's highs and lows, finding joy even in the hard times.
We have been blessed with a biological son who is five years old. He brings so much happiness to our family and we would love for him to grow up with siblings. Unfortunately, we have suffered multiple miscarriages and had a daughter who passed away days after birth. We have always talked about adoption and because we feel strongly about growing our family, we know that we are headed on the right path.
We are seeking a semi-open or open adoption. Years ago, a family member chose an adoption plan for her baby. Not a day goes by that we do not think of him and wonder what kind of young man he has become. We would love to work with a birth mother to discover what works best for all involved.
We love being parents and would love to share our love with more children. We can’t wait to welcome a child into our family through adoption.
Expectant mothers who choose to make an adoption plan may qualify for some level of financial assistance during their pregnancy. However, each person's situation and specific needs are different. Your adoption social worker can help you determine what level of assistance you qualify for and deserve. Many expectant mothers qualify for financial assistance to cover basic pregnancy and living expenses, including but not limited to - transportation reimbursement, utility assistance for phone, water, and electricity/gas, maternity clothing and supplements, etc.
It won't cost you anything. If you choose to place your baby for adoption, all of your medical and legal fees will be covered and you may be eligible for financial assistance with other pregnancy-related expenses.
Yes. Even if you don’t know the identity of the birth father, you can still choose to make an adoption plan. However, every adoption situation is different. The adoption social worker you’re assigned to will get to know you and your story first, and then guide you through the process accordingly.
You can make an adoption plan at any point in your pregnancy, even after the baby has been born. But, it's important to start the process as early in your pregnancy as possible. Connecting with those resources will allow you to gain access to important medical services, including prenatal care, to help ensure a healthy pregnancy.
One aspect of your adoption plan is the "Hospital Plan" an outline of how you'd like your hospital stay and delivery to go. You can craft this on your own or with the help of your adoption social worker. But everything is up to you. You’ll be able to choose who comes to the hospital with you, who is in the room with you during delivery, and how much time you’d like to spend with the baby before signing the final papers.
As part of your adoption plan, you'll determine whether or not you’d like to have an open or closed adoption or something in between. Open adoptions may include phone calls, messaging (via social media, email, or text), and/or periodic visits each year. Closed adoptions may include no contact at all or annual updates provided to the birth parent(s) by the adoptive family. Each post-adoption relationship is different and can vary based on what an expectant mother chooses in her adoption plan.
It is still over 100 degrees daily here and I am ready for it to be over! We have to find ways to enjoy this lingering heat! Our church last week had an ice cream social and homemade ice cream contest! We always enter and never win. Our last years' recipes included German chocolate ice cream, Key lime ice cream and cinnamon ice cream. This year we were rushed for time and didn't decide to participate until the day of! We both wanted to enter this year so we each made our own.
I made a vanilla base, and a homemade raspberry sauce to swirl in. Then I added dark chocolate raspberry candy bars to the mix and it was the perfect amount of tart and sweet with the chocolate and raspberry!
Jeremy decided to make a butter pecan ice cream and at the last minute decided to add maple syrup to it. He used his Uncle's maple syrup (his uncle has a maple syrup farm in Wisconsin). We stirred the butter, pecans, brown sugar and maple syrup in a pan until it made a thick maple caramel. It was so amazing!! We put little dropfulls of the maple pecan clusters in the vanilla and swirled it around.
Time for voting! Lots of people went back for seconds and thirds to taste all the ice creams to find their favorite. Pumpkin got 3rd place, Cookies and Cream got 2nd place and JEREMY's Maple Pecan got FIRST! He was so excited and couldn't stop laughing! He even won a $25 gift card to Coldstone's ice cream!
These are the kinds of fun traditions we would like to share with a new child. Traditions like these that allow for fun, creativity and community all while making sweet memories!
Jeremy's busy time is in the summer. He spends most days (and some nights) baling hay and working on the family farm. Lately, the days have been hot and he has been too busy to come home and grab a bite to eat. When that happens, we take lunch to him! Sometimes I make him a sandwich or a burrito but today we got Burger King while we were running errands. He was very happy. On most days, Weston will tag along in the tractor for a few rounds and "drive", but today he decided it was too hot! I feel ya buddy! Thankfully by the end of August most of the tractor work slows down and the office work (AIR CONDITIONING!) picks up!
Some people drink wine, sip tea, read a book, write in a journal or garden when they are bored, stressed or need to relax. I do some of those things too, but most often I find myself drawing. It's never anything fancy, and most often is just scribbles on paper. Recently though, I started taking my time and drawing in an art book. It is the neatest book; it has over 500 sketching prompts. They just say what to draw and give you a space for it. It is so fun! I used to not know what to draw, but this is neat because it gives so many ideas! These are a few of my favorites, and it makes me happy to see I've accomplished something!
Weston had a couple cavities and had to get fillings. I was really afraid that he would freak out and cry, but he totally surprised me and the dentist! He sat there and watched a movie on the big screen (what a cool dentist right?!) and loved the cherry smell of the laughing gas. Haha. When the dentist was done, he asked Weston if he still liked him and he said yes! He was so brave, and now has a happy and cavity free smile.
We had the most wonderful time at a marriage retreat, called "A Weekend to Remember." It's not often that we have time to focus on our marriage, and with our 8th anniversary around the corner, we signed up for this retreat a few hours from home. It was so much fun! We were able to get dressed up and go out to dinner, and spend the days in the conference learning about men, women, communication, and how to handle disagreements. It might sound boring to some, but the speakers made the whole thing so fun. We laughed so hard we cried, we had new conversations and learned tips to help strengthen our relationship. We truly believe that the strength of a family is dependant on the strength of our marriage, and it was a great time to focus on us and grow together!
We recently had the opportunity to move into Jeremy's great grandparent's home on the farm. It is so amazing to think that his Great Grandpa built this home in the early 1920's! We have spent the last year renovating it and making it our own, keeping some memories of the old home too, like this great fireplace. Jeremy has so many memories of Christmases and Easter's and card games here with all his cousins. We are so thankful that we get to carry on the family tradition and raise our family in this beautiful home!
Girls, you know how long it takes to find the perfect hairdresser; and once you find her you pray she never quits! Well the same goes for a barber! Jeremy has had a tough time finding the right barber the last couple of years since covid closed most hair/barber locations! I tried cutting his hair a few times, and it wasn't the best. LOL, But he finally found one that he likes. I made sure to take a picture so that he can show the guy next time just how he likes it. Isn't he handsome?
This year is flying by. We cannot believe our little guy is almost done with Kindergarten. He is loving math and had a lot of fun counting out his 100 goldfish for his project.
Each day, we hope and pray we will see milestones like this one with another child added to our family. We have so much love to give and all 3 of us are ready to bring a new child into our home.