Adopting Parent Profiles

Jay & Joanna

Dear Birth Mother,

Life is full of choices. Some are small, easy, and hard to remember, while others are so significant that they partly define us. The choice you are making now is not an easy one, not by a long shot. Yet you are here, making it. That says a lot about you and the care you have for your child. There are a lot of people praying for you as you work through this decision. Our family is as well.

You're undoubtedly reading or going to read a lot of letters like this one — letters from people who have stories of their own, hoping to be considered as the family you will select to let raise and love your child. Whatever reason brought your eyes to our particular letter...we sincerely thank you. Our hope is that you are able to catch a glimpse of what makes us the unique family we are. And our prayer is that the Lord guides you in your important decision.

So who are we? Well, on the outside, our family is made up of four loving members, and two cuddly cats. Jay is 37 years old with an MBA who works as an Information Technology consultant. He loves his job because it keeps him challenged, while providing him both stability and a tremendous amount of flexibility. Joanna is 38, has an MA in Education and is going on her 15th year as a 1st/2nd grade teacher — a career she was made for. Jadyn, our oldest daughter, is 7; she has a terrific sense of humor, loves to paint, sing, and just about anything else that's creative. And Dasha, the current youngest in the family, at 5, is the resident gymnast. This girl was built for this sport and adores it!

Joanna and Jay met in college. We started as friends, traveling in the college singers & orchestra ensemble and then began dating after knowing each other for a year. We were married two years later in 1996. Having children was something we both desired, deeply. As life progressed and our marriage grew, we seemed unable to have children. After two years of testing, treatment, and a failed attempt at IVF, we were diagnosed with "unexplained infertility." Six months later we were thrilled as Joanna became pregnant without any medical help. 18-and-a-half weeks into the pregnancy, however, the baby was diagnosed with a severe case of anencephaly and did not survive the pregnancy. The sense of loss from this traumatic event is something we will never forget.

Continuing with a strong desire to build a family, we later felt God tugging at our hearts to adopt. It was the best decision we ever made! Our first daughter, Jadyn, was adopted at 16 months old from an orphanage in Russia. We fell in love with this adorable little personality. Later, we adopted Dasha from a small village in Russia. And yes, she captured our hearts quickly as well. It's as if these two girls were hand picked by God to be in our family. They were simply meant to be a part of us.

We currently live in Lake Forest, CA. in a safe, quiet, and kid friendly location. There are a number of terrific parks close to us which we frequent often. We're certainly no strangers to our community pool and Jacuzzi, as we all love to swim. We are members of a loving church family, have caring friends, and supportive family (Oh, and Jadyn wants you to know that our church has a terrific jump house, by the way). We regularly have barbeques, play with cousins, visit "nana", and eat sushi together. Our family is dedicated to being genuine people who mean what we say and say what we mean.

As we think about our family, we all agree that it's "not done" yet. What we mean is, there is someone else out there that we're waiting to add to our lives. Both Jadyn and Dasha are extremely excited about the new baby sibling that God has for them. They know that he/she is growing in their birth mom's tummy right now and pray for her every night at dinner.

We are more than ready to receive the child meant for us with open arms and hearts. After some time off initially, Joanna's regular schedule allows her short days as a teacher, while Jay has complete flexibility in his schedule to provide care during the day. We are stable emotionally, spiritually, and financially. Whether you choose our family or another, our prayer is that you find peace in your decision. That being said ... we look forward to meeting you!

Thank you.

Jay & Joanna

ADOPTIVE FAMILY INFORMATION AT A GLANCE

Father's Name: Jay	Mother's Name: Joanna
Occupation: Information Technology	Occupation: Teacher
Education: MBA	Education: MA
Religion: Christian	Religion: Christian
Age: 37	Age: 38
Ethnicity: Caucasian	Ethnicity: Caucasian
Hair Color: Brown	Hair Color: Brown
Eye Color: Green	Eye Color: Green
Height: 5'11"	Height: 5'6"
General Health: Good	General Health: Good

Year of marriage: 1996

Children: Jadyn was born on 1/13/2003 and adopted at 16 months from Russia. She has a sweet disposition, loves to read, and enjoys anything related to art or music. Dasha was born on 1/27/2005 and adopted at age 2 from Russia. She is charming and energetic. She loves and excels at gymnastics.

Interest and Hobbies: We enjoy spending time with family and close friends, watching movies, eating sushi, frequenting Starbucks, and taking walks in the park and on the beach. Jay likes BBQing and computer games. Joanna enjoys cooking and shopping.

Home: We live in a quiet, safe, and kid friendly location in Lake Forest. We are conveniently located next to parks, man-made lakes, and great schools.

Pets: We have two cuddly cats, Moscow and St. Pete. They are frequently found curled up next to our daughters and are very comfortable around children.

Finances: We are financially stable and able to care for a growing family.

Why are you interested in building a family though adoption: Adopting was one of the greatest decisions we ever made. It changed who we are, taught us to love, and made us better people. We can't imagine life without our two wonderful children and we are ecstatic to share our lives with another child. Our home and our hearts are ready.

Openness to Birth parents: As children develop in life their identity is formed by so many things. It's important to know who we are and where we came from. Our daughters were adopted from Russia, but have no access and no way of knowing their birth mothers. We have some information for them, but that does not replace their mothers' presence or answers in their lives. We are excited about an 'open' relationship with our next child's/children's birth mother. With the possibility of pictures, emails, and occasional visits, we would like our adopted child to be comfortable with who they are.

Childcare Plans: After some time off initially, Joanna's regular schedule allows her short days as a teacher, while Jay has complete flexibility in his schedule to provide care during the day.

Statement of Faith: We are Christians and part of a loving, down-to-earth church family. Basically, we are everyday people who believe in and are in love with God.

We are represented by Nightlight Christian Adoptions. If you need more information about us, or would like to meet us, please contact Nightlight toll-free at 888.933.2237 or fill out Nightlight's contact form.

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Nightlight Christian Adoptions is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) adoption agency, licensed by the states of California, Colorado and South Carolina to provide adoption services, and is Hague Accredited through COA. Nightlight can perform adoption homestudies for residents of Colorado, South Carolina and Southern California (Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties).