We have been married for 12 wonderful years. We have a happy marriage that has strengthened through the years. We both grew up in medium sized cities in Missouri. We met at college, fell in love, and dated for a couple of years before we moved to Kansas City and got married. We think that KC is a great city to raise a family. Todd is an engineer for the Federal Aviation Administration and works on the Air Traffic Control system. He has worked for the FAA for 15 years. Jill is a stay-at-home mom, where she spends her time providing a loving and safe home to Nicholas. Before adopting Nicholas, she worked as an account manager at a printing distributor.
Three years ago, after several failed infertility treatments, Jill’s cousin approached us. She knew of a young girl who was pregnant and wanted to find a family for her baby. We were thrilled! Nicholas arrived in our lives when he was just fifteen hours old. Nicholas has been a constant blessing to us. We have an open relationship with his birthmother. We send her updates and pictures several times a year. As Nicholas grew a little older, we knew that we wanted to add another child into our family. Nicholas is so excited about bringing a new baby into our family.
About ToddTodd is a wonderful father. He spends a lot of time with Nicholas in the evenings and on weekends. They play soccer in the backyard, go to the playground, and build castles out of tinker toys and Lincoln logs. Todd is self-motivated and a very hard worker. He has done most of the renovations on our 80-year-old house. Todd plays on an indoor soccer league and enjoys bike riding. He also loves computers. He has built several websites for friends and enjoys programming.
About Jill
Jill is kind and generous. She likes to help others and is a member of P.E.O., an organization that promotes educational opportunities for women. Jill is involved in a weekly Bible Study and is in charge of the children’s Sunday School program at our church. Jill enjoys being a stay-at-home mom with Nicholas. She is devoted to our family and wants it to grow. Jill loves holidays, especially Christmas. She collects Christmas ornaments and loves to decorate the house. She makes sure our holidays are always special and spent with our families and friends. Jill enjoys scrapbooking, reading and cooking.
About Nicholas
Nicholas is a kind-hearted and energetic 4-year-old. We have enjoyed watching him learn and grow. He has a good sense of humor and keeps us smiling. He is an independent thinker with a vivid imagination. He loves to play with puzzles, blocks, cars, and trucks. He attends preschool two days a week; he has many friends and enjoys going. He loves to sing the songs he learns at school and church. We have started reading adoption stories to Nicholas to help him to understand adoption. Nicholas is looking forward to being a big brother. He often asks about “his baby.”
Family & Friends
We cherish our family and friends. We enjoy going out to eat with friends and neighbors at local restaurants or getting together for a backyard BBQ with all of the kids. We often have friends from St. Louis or Joplin come visit for the weekend. A lot of our friends have kids the same age as Nicholas and many have new babies.
Nicholas’s grandparents live in Joplin and Columbia, Missouri. We see them often and they love him dearly. Todd’s sister and stepbrother also live in Joplin. His sister and brother-in-law have five children. Grace is 9; Matthew, Josh and Glori (triplets!) are 7; and Annie Kate is 2. Nicholas loves playing with his cousins and misses them when we go home. We enjoy spending time with our families; it is a very important part of our lives. Our families have been very supportive of our adoption pursuit. They immediately opened their hearts
to Nicholas.
About Pets
Before adopting Nicholas, we adopted two “pound puppies”--Watson and Indigo. Our dogs have been part of our family for eight years. Watson is a very gentle boxer mix and Indigo is a very loving lab/terrier. Both dogs love people and kids.
Home/Neighborhood
We have lived in the Brookside area for eleven years. We live on a great block. We get together with our neighbors twice a year - a fall picnic, and a Christmas party that is combined with a Christmas lights competition. Todd has won the artistic award for the last 4 years! We enjoy living close to the Plaza and Brookside . We live on a corner lot and have a great backyard for parties and BBQ's. Nicholas loves to play in his sandbox and wading pool in the backyard. Jill enjoys spending time in her flower garden and Todd grows a few vegetables every year.
Having been through an adoption, we know that it can be an emotional and trying experience. We understand you are facing many difficult decisions. We are a very loving family that wants to share our love with another child. Thank you for considering us to be a family for your child.
Todd, Jill & Nicholas
