We understand that adoption is a deeply difficult and personal choice. We pledge to be here for you now and in the future to support you and the child's relationship, at whatever level you desire.

Our large family means there will always be someone to talk to; you can't be lonely in a house with 8+ people! There are so many opportunities to learn from each other. Our children look out for each other, signing ASL for their older sister, Jasmine, being patient when Valerie excitedly repeats herself, and teaching Cecilia to tie her shoes.

We promise to provide a loving and caring home for a child. We give all our children the lessons, tools, and access to achieve greatness in adulthood. We will raise the child to be loving, kind, and generous - with the knowledge that they have two sets of caring parents backing them up.

Our family is large and overflowing with love. We support each other and grow together. We have been married since 2010.We met in grade school, dated through high school and college, and got married shortly after graduating. We have a deep love, respect, and silliness for each other and our children. We have four biological children, one child who we adopted through foster care, three small dogs, one indoor cat, two fish tanks, lots of barn cats, chickens, and bees.

We have been foster parents off and on for over five years (and are currently licensed) and enjoy welcoming children into our home and working with birth mothers and families. Our parenting philosophy is love, consistency, and natural consequences. We have experience parenting children with a variety of physical, mental, and emotional needs.

Kim is an engineering manager for a tech company and works from home full-time. She loves building engineers' careers and working with intelligent people across the globe. Justin has been a stay-at-home dad since 2010. He loves playing with children, goofing off, and being there for each of our children. We also live with Kim's retired father, John ("Papa"). Having three adults at home at all times gives our children the stability and freedom to enjoy their home and explore the world.

Justin is a goofy, silly, and loving parent who treats each child as an individual and loves interacting one-on-one time with each of them. He spends time taking care of household chores and running the kids to and from activities each day. He enjoys sharing his hobbies with our children, friends, and family - he often plays board games or video games with others. Justin is the perfect partner and parent, giving himself fully to each person he interacts with.

Fun Facts About Justin

• Occupation: Stay-at-home dad
• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Management Information Systems
• Hobbies: Video games, board games, painting miniatures

Favorites:

• Candy bar: Reese's Nutrageous
• Holiday: Halloween
• Relaxing activity: Reading in the hammock

Kim is loving, diligent, creative, and passionate. She does everything in her power to support her family's needs, whatever they may be. She works very hard at her job but has ensured that her work is entirely from home so that she can spend extra time with her kids. Kim is the organizer of the family, mastering the scheduling of all appointments, obligations, parties, and a million other things a family needs to do. Kim has a seemingly endless source of patience with which she deals with her kids and husband. She is fully committed to the needs of whomever she is interacting with, and this is part of what has made her a wonderful mother.

Fun Facts About Kim

• Occupation: Senior Engineering Manager (work-from-home)
• Education: Bachelor's Degree in Computer Art and Graphics, Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science
• Hobbies: cross stitching, quilting, reading true crime novels, playing video games, hiking, doing puzzles

Favorites:

• Candy bar: Milky Way
• Holiday: CHRISTMAS!!
• Relaxing activity: cross stitching in my rocking chair and building Legos

Jasmine is our 15-year-old daughter who joined our family through foster care in 2012 and was adopted in 2013. She was born prematurely, is deaf, and has autism. She has cochlear implants and uses a G-tube for nutrition. Jasmine enjoys coloring, swinging, and all animals.

Valerie is 12 years old, and loves music, video games, reading (mostly Captain Underpants), and jumping on her trampoline. She is welcoming to all our foster placements and is excited about gaining a sibling through adoption. Valerie was born prematurely and has ADHD.

Walter is 10 years old, and loves technology, video games, piano, and biology. He desperately wants a brother to share his hobbies with. Walter has depression that is treated with therapy and medication.

Evelyn is also 10 years old (she and Walter are twins). She loves art, baking, and guitar. Evelyn is fiercely independent and loves trying new things. She wants another sibling to play with and teach.

Cecilia is 7 years old, is a social butterfly and enjoys playing outside, art, and singing. Cecilia is extremely excited about having a younger sibling. She loves having foster children in our home and would love to be an older sister.

We live in Kim's childhood home on 30 acres of land - the house is almost one mile from any road traffic. Our house has five bedrooms upstairs, as well as two bedrooms in the basement. "Papa" John lives in a mother-in-law suite with his own kitchen and two bedrooms. We love spending time outside on the porch swing, playset, hiking in the fields and woods, picking wild blackberries, biking, rollerblading, and using chalk on the giant concrete driveway pad.

Our family is very close and loves being together. We spend a lot of time at home - playing board games and video games. All our family members are close to us, including Kim's brother, Justin's three brothers and parents (who are just five minutes away), and most of "Papa" John's 15 siblings and Kim's 50+ cousins. Family and friends are always nearby to help around the house, with the kids, and to be together. We frequently host holidays and board game nights with our family and friends.

John is a doting grandfather who is retired and spends his time in his vegetable garden, flower gardens, and greenhouse, and takes care of chickens and multiple bee hives. He is always around to help with his grandkids and loves to share his hobbies of gardening, baking, and watching old movies with them.

We were both raised Catholic and loosely follow Catholic traditions. Both of us feel that doing good in the world and being kind to others is more important than any one religious belief system. Our four younger children attend a private Catholic school. Their school is academically rigorous and highly diverse, with 60% POC, 25% Spanish-speaking students, and 30% on free or reduced lunch.

We love adventures and experiencing new things together. Our most recent vacations have been hiking and spending time at the ocean. Holidays and birthdays are always a big deal at our house. We love celebrating so much that our "Christmas" lights stay up all year and change color to reflect the current season or celebration.

We have always wanted a large family. As foster parents, we can help children and families for a brief period. We want to expand our family permanently and feel that adoption is the best way for our family to achieve that. We are open to adopting a child of any gender, race, or ethnicity. We love and support our children with their individual needs and culture. We both love parenting, and our children are ready to welcome a new sibling.

Thanks,

Kim and Justin