Rob's favorite way to unwind is doing something outdoors with Ashley and the dogs. He enjoys checking out local breweries and playing darts with friends. He also likes woodworking and has been building a workshop in his garage.

Ashley is passionate about taking the dogs for walks with Rob, cooking and baking, seeing live music (rock and roll!) and hanging out with family and friends.

We’ve been lucky to travel the world together -- from the Amalfi Coast in Italy to camping in Door County, Wisconsin. We love to see new places, and try new foods! We often take cooking classes while on our travels.

Most recently, we traveled to Costa Rica and saw incredible wildlife, including a variety of monkeys, tapirs, toucans, and anteaters.

We believe in openness in adoption. Any child placed with us will know their adoption story from the beginning and we will answer any and all questions they have.

We believe it’s important that children who were adopted know where they came from and will share all of the wonderful things we know about you.

We would work with you to determine the right level of contact that’s best for all of us; we want to make sure you still feel connected to your child.

We will show others in our lives that we are proud of how we built our family, celebrating you and referring to you with the upmost respect.

What’s most important is that we are creating an amazing life for a child, all of us together!

We’ve had many adventures together, but the one we’re looking forward to most is parenthood. We can’t conceive but long to build our family. We are absolutely certain that adoption is the right path for us, it's our view that it is a truly special way to form a family and what we were meant to do.

We can’t wait to watch our child’s unique personality grow and develop. We look forward to seeing them discover new things and learn their likes and dislikes.

We are ready to help guide them through life’s challenges, hoping to use even our most painful experiences to help them have the happiest lives possible.

We’re looking forward to the energy and unpredictability they’ll bring to our lives. Lastly, we can’t wait to see what they’ll teach us about life, and ourselves. We will cherish them. We also have two wonderful cousins who were adopted that we’re close with, should our child wish to seek their advice.

We love spending time with our families -- from beach days, to our annual trip to the pumpkin patch, to birthday dinners.

Rob was born in England and grew up in a small village in the countryside with his parents and two younger brothers. We have three nephews there with one more niece or nephew on the way. Although Rob’s family is overseas, we have regular video calls with them, visit them in England most years, and go on vacations together.

Ashley grew up in the western suburbs of Chicago and was raised by her two parents. She has an amazing older sister, Courtney, who has two kids of her own. Ashley is really close to her mom and sister, and sees them often. Ashley's dad was one of her absolute favorite people but passed away in 2017. An eternal goofball, she attributes her light-heartedness and sense of humor to him.

We also have two dogs, Clive and Finn. Clive is a 6 year-old mutt, a spunky ball of energy who loves to run and do tricks for treats. Clive is a huge fan of hiking, with the Michigan dunes being one of his favorite spots.

Finn is big hairy pup with an even bigger personality, who we adopted a little over a year ago. He’s a hilarious cuddle bug who loves spending time as a family, whether strolling the neighborhood or watching movies. Both dogs are great with kids and a huge hit with our nephews.

We live in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Illinois. Our house is situated in a beautiful old neighborhood on a tree-lined street. We were drawn to its charm. It has two stories and four bedrooms, with our favorite room being the den in the basement, where we curl up on the couch to watch our favorite TV shows and movies.

We love to garden. Our house is surrounded by flowers we planted to attract bees and butterflies. We grow a variety of vegetables in the back yard, including a variety of lettuces, zucchini, and peppers.

We also enjoy hosting meals on our back patio for family and friends, where Rob will often smoke a brisket or pork shoulder.

We are close with our neighbors and there are lots of other kids that live on our block -- including two young boys across the street from us.

Each year, all the neighbors on our street get together for a block party where we barbecue, play games, and the kids ride bikes in the street.

There are three different playgrounds within a short walk from our house, with large fields for kids to play soccer or throw a football around.

It’s also a relatively short drive from our house to the Lake Michigan beach, where we have a little sailboat.

Hello!

Our names are Ashley and Rob, we are incredibly honored that you’d like to get to know us. Please know that you have our deepest respect for considering adoption. We can imagine that it’s been a hard road for you to get here and that this is not a decision that can be taken lightly. We hope to help you in this journey, however we can.

A little bit about us -- we have been married for nearly six years and together for almost ten years. We met in Chicago, IL and have lived in the Chicago area for as long as we've known each other. We have a caring relationship and are deeply committed to one another. We also feel that it's important to find moments to have fun together each day.

As a couple, raising a family together is our top priority, and we know in our hearts that adoption is the right path for us. Having grown up on separate continents with different cultures, educations and careers, we found each other somehow and make one another so happy. We believe that celebrating each other's differences has given us the right mindset and level of openness to be adoptive parents, as well.

We promise you that we will love any child that comes into our home with our whole hearts. It will be the greatest honor and mission of our lives to keep them safe, bring them joy, and teach them about their culture as well as ours. We will also give them every opportunity we can to explore their passions and have adventures of their own.

Your child will know that they came from wonderful people who also love them very much, and want the best possible life for them. You will be truly revered in our household, your child will be reminded of your courageous and difficult decision and that you did what you thought was best for them. They will know that they were placed not because they weren't wanted, but because they were so loved.

In addition to sharing their own adoption story, we want to illustrate how special adoption is through children stories about adoption, and by providing them with access to speak with other people that were placed with adoptive families, like our two cousins. We want them to feel as supported as possible.

If you're comfortable with the idea, we also commit to staying in regular communication with you. We promise to send you photos, videos, letters, cards and emails throughout your child's life so you can see them as they grow up. We are also open to having ongoing phone calls and yearly visits as well as other ideas you may have for staying connected.

If adoption is your plan and you proceed with an adoption journey, we wish that you find peace in your decision. We hope to have the opportunity to meet you and learn any preferences you have for ongoing communication.

You have our full support in this decision, and we are humbled that you read our profile.

Gratefully,

Rob & Ashley