Becoming parents will be a privilege and a role that we will take very seriously. Before we were married we had conversations about building our family through adoption. We adore spending time with our nieces, nephew and our friends' children. We are Godparents to several children and enjoy being involved in their lives.

What we expect to like most about becoming parents is giving unconditional love to our child as well as teaching him or her values that are important to us, such as treating others with respect, the value of hard work and helping others. These are core values that were taught to us, and we think they are important to pass on to our child.

We look forward to the big and small moments: all the firsts (walking, talking, first day of school, first lost tooth, riding a bike, etc.); the hugs, snuggles and cuddles; and the transitions from baby to toddler to kid to teen. We are excited to start our journey to becoming parents and creating memories with our child.

One of Kevin's favorite childhood memories is when his parents took him and his brothers to Disney World when he was 8 years old. Kevin's favorite rides were Space Mountain and the Haunted Mansion. The visit had such an impact on Kevin that he ended up interning at Disney World while in college. He can't wait to see the delight on our child's face when we are able to take him or her to Disney World.

Bridget's mom put a lot of effort into decorating the house for several holidays: Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, July 4th, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. When she was old enough, Bridget enjoyed helping her mom tape decorations on every door and cabinet in the house. Baking cookies and desserts was a big part of the holidays in Bridget's house as well. Bridget looks forward to creating the sense of anticipation for holidays for our child by decorating and baking for - and eventually - with him or her.

We look forward to curling up on the couch in front of the fireplace in our living room to read with our child, and eventually, to listen to our child read to us. In addition to reading, we like to take walks and bike rides along the lakefront trail. We can't wait to take a child to all the parks and playgrounds near our house.

Bridget likes trying new recipes, listening to podcasts and watching her favorite TV shows. She's thankful that Kevin enjoys most of the shows she likes so they can watch them together.

Playing tennis is one of Kevin's favorite hobbies. He also likes to do yard work, listen to music, and attend car shows.

Getting together with our families and friends is also what we enjoy doing in our leisure time. Kevin loves surprising our nephew by picking him up from school and taking him to their favorite ice cream parlor for an after-school treat. Impromptu picnics or dinners out with our Godson's family after evening Mass often make for a fun way to end the week. Last-minute get-togethers with Kevin's brothers and their families make us thankful we moved closer to them.

We are fortunate to live in an established, family-friendly city near a major metropolitan area in Illinois that has an excellent school system, a top 10 ranked university, three libraries, nearby museums and top-notch hospitals and medical facilities. For recreation our city has several beaches, bike trails, sports fields and parks. One park is a block away from our house that has a soccer field, a playground and an ice rink with a warming house during the winter months.

Throughout the year there are numerous events that our city offers such as free concerts in the parks, free movies in the parks, farmers markets, pumpkin fests, bike-ride events and a holiday tree lighting event. On our street there are several families with young children that our child will be able to grow up with. One of our neighbors has adopted two children from China. Our street has an annual block party in the summer.

We live in a two-story brick house that has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, dining room, kitchen, a large basement and a three-season front porch. We enjoy working on house projects in our free time. We most recently refinished the windows on the front porch, painted our living room and two bedrooms and added a fireplace to the living room. Our favorite place in the house is the front porch where we can read, eat meals and watch the kids on our street play. We cannot wait to welcome a child to our home.

Bridget's family recently gathered together at our house to celebrate her birthday. Bridget's family isn't all together very often because her sister and family live out of state.

We took advantage of the time together to play Trivial Pursuit, ride bikes, take walks, pick out pumpkins with our niece, enjoy good food both at home and at restaurants, cheer on our favorite sports teams, and take a boat ride. It was a wonderful visit.

The following weekend we continued the celebration with Kevin's family, who all live within about 30 minutes of our house. At Kevin's younger brother's house, we enjoyed getting a tour of Halloween decorations from our niece and listening to her big brother read from his new favorite book series. Celebrating birthdays is a big tradition in both of our families, and we look forward to future birthday celebrations with a child.

Both of our families are very excited and supportive about our adoption journey and adding a child to our family. Our 9-year-old nephew is particularly excited about having a cousin and often asks us for updates and was thrilled to participate in our video profile.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. We can't imagine the difficult decision that you are facing right now and want to let you know that you are in our prayers as you go through this journey. We hope that learning more about us will help you make a decision. We hope to meet you and to create a relationship that meets your comfort level. Whether that relationship is built through texts, emails, phone calls, visits, or a combination, we value the presence and involvement you choose to have in your child's life.

We met at church through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults program. We talked about building our family through adoption while we were dating because Bridget has a medical condition that's managed by medication, but makes pregnancy risky. We have been married for nine years and are very excited to build our family through adoption and become parents.

We have three nieces and one nephew that we adore spending time with. One of our nieces lives out of state so we only get to see her about twice a year but cherish the time we do get to spend with her. Our other nieces and nephew live nearby and we see them at least twice a month. We love playing with them on the swing set in their backyard, decorating Easter eggs and Christmas trees, swimming and going to baseball games. When it is time for us to go home after spending time with them they never want us to leave and neither do we. They are very excited about having a cousin to play with.

We are also Godparents to several of our friends' children. We enjoy being a part of their lives and seeing them grow and learn. We recently attended our Godson's First Communion. We were honored to be a part of this milestone in our Godson's life and to see how proud and excited he was.

We moved about 5 years ago to be closer to family. We love our neighborhood. There are many parks, bike trails, beaches, several libraries and an excellent school system. We both know the importance of a good education. We were purposely selective when picking a neighborhood to live in that is family-friendly. We have about a dozen kids that live on our block and enjoy watching them play together.

We love to travel and have been fortunate to explore several different countries. We also enjoy taking walks along the lake, bike riding, reading, watching movies, cooking and spending time with family and friends. We can't wait to experience these things with our child and create new memories.

During our adoption journey, we have taken many classes that have prepared us for becoming adoptive parents. The main lesson that we learned is the importance of having an open adoption and the benefits for everyone involved. No matter our level of ongoing contact, your child will always know how much you love them. We will speak openly about adoption in our home, and honor you. We would be honored to provide your child with a stable, loving and supportive environment.

We thank you again for you taking the time to review our profile. Becoming parents will be an honor and privilege for us and we will be forever grateful to you. We cannot think of a more selfless and brave act than considering adoption.

Sincerely,

Kevin & Bridget