Hello!
Thank you so much for taking the time to get to get to know us. We are Lindsey and Jeff and it is our hope that reading this will allow you to see into our lives, hear our story, and give you some comfort in working through the very difficult decisions involved in making an adoption plan for your child.
We have an immense love for each other, our son, and our families and are incredibly excited to share this love as we become parents for the second time, through adoption. Although this process is not something we would have ever foreseen we truly believe that we are on the path we were meant to be on. It is the path that brought us the most wonderful gift we could have ever imagined, our first child, Daniel, and we cannot wait to meet the next child we are destined to have.
Please know that we feel a great deal of compassion for you in going through this process. We respect the fact that you are trying to create the best life possible for your child and hope that you can find peace in your decision. It is our hope that you can see the future for your child in our story.
About Us
We met for the first time in October, 2001 through Lindsey’s cousin, and started dating in 2002. We were both quite young, but knew there was something very special between us. We dated for five more years before getting engaged in 2007 and then married in July of 2009. We are both very social, and active, so we like to keep busy. We spend a lot of time down at the beach swimming, kayaking, paddle boarding, and relaxing (or snowshoeing once the snow comes!) We also love touring around to different mountain bike and hiking trails.
We also like to travel, and have visited many places like Jamaica, Mexico, St. Lucia, San Francisco, and Chicago and on our honeymoon we travelled around Italy and Ireland. We also spent 10 days exploring Alberta several years ago which we absolutely loved. We very much look forward to having our children join us in the future so they can appreciate this beautiful world.
We both worked very hard to build successful careers, and bought our dream home in 2010. Once we had everything in place, we knew it was time to start building the family we had always dreamt of. For four years we tried to conceive a child and underwent several rounds of fertility treatments, with no successful pregnancies. Although this was a very difficult time, it lead to a lot of growth both as individuals, and as a couple. It was a very important part of our journey, and we knew with 100% certainty that one day when we are blessed with a child through adoption, that we would know exactly why things happened just as they did. That one day came in July of 2017 when we were chosen to be parents to our son Daniel who would be born just days later. Our hearts were stolen from day one and everything made complete sense – our happily ever after had found his way home exactly as he was meant to.
About Lindsey
I grew up in a small town outside of Stratford. I am the middle of three girls, and my sisters are two of my best friends. For most of my childhood my father worked as a farm equipment salesman, but then changed career paths when I was in high school and became an insurance agent. My father was also a volunteer fire fighter on the local Fire Department for 35 years, making his way up to Captain, Deputy Chief, and then Chief for the last several years before retiring from the force. My mom was a stay at home mom, who also operated a daycare in our house. There was always a lot of other children around which was great, especially as a young child. We had a very loving household, and were a very active family. We were always running around to piano lessons, baseball, figure skating, swimming, basketball and volleyball. My younger sister had a baby boy a year ago and Daniel just loves his little baby cousin. I have a very large extended family, especially on my mom’s side, which we are very close with. I have a lot of aunts and uncles, a significant number of cousins (which means lots of second cousins!) and we really enjoy getting together with them for holiday’s and other family celebrations.
After high school I attended Conestoga College and did a three-year program to get my Diploma in Business Administration – Accounting, and then continued for one more year through the University of Windsor to get my Bachelor of Business Studies Degree. After that I completed the programs and exams required to attain my Chartered Accountant designation. I spent the first several years of my career working in public accounting, and then spent the last eight years as the Financial Analyst for a Hospital. The title I am most proud of though, is Mom. There is nowhere else I would rather be than at home or down at the beach playing with Jeff and Daniel – they are my happy place.
Jeff’s Thoughts – I knew I loved Lindsey, and that she was the love of my life very soon after we started dating. She is now my best friend and soul mate, and makes me want to be the best man I can be. She is very compassionate, has a kind heart and is always ready to help someone in need. She is one of the hardest working and dedicated people I know. When she sets her mind to something, you better believe she will accomplish it. She also has a really great sense of humour and is a lot of fun to be around. I always knew she would be an amazing mother, but she has far exceeded anything I could have imagined. I just love watching her be a mom.
About Jeff
I grew up in the small town of Port Elgin with my parents and older brother. My dad was an engineer and my mom was a teacher. Despite being born with bilateral club feet, requiring corrective surgery as an infant, I was very active in sports playing hockey and soccer. When I was in high school I discovered mountain biking and my love for this sport. I have travelled all over North America for bike trips, my favourite being Utah, Colorado and British Columbia. Another life changing event happened in high school when the car I was a passenger in was hit by a drunk driver at highway speeds. I had many shattered bones, including my right femur. With rehab, physio, family support and strong determination I was back walking and biking within 18 months. This experience taught me to never take a moment for granted and to live each day to the fullest.
After high school I went off to Mohawk College to become an engineer technologist. However, halfway through my second year, I was offered the job of a lifetime as a Nuclear Operator and I took it. I am very lucky to have been doing a job I love for 17 years now. I had many great experiences during my relatively short time at College, but the best part was that it allowed me to meet the girl of my dreams, Lindsey.
Lindsey’s Thoughts – Jeff is very light-hearted and a complete goof – never missing an opportunity to make me smile. He is a kind, caring, and thoughtful husband, father, son, brother and friend. I just love watching Jeff be a dad! You can just see the pride beaming out of him and he just has so much fun. One of Daniel’s best friends actually tells his parents he wants to go play with “Daniel’s Dad” when they say they are coming over! He is most definitely a kid at heart, which is why kids tend to flock to him when we get together with friends or family. He loves getting down on the floor for play wrestling, has no problem playing dress up, and kids always want to get one of his famous “cheeseballs” (a really goofy crumpled up hug). It literally melts my heart watching him interact with all children, but especially Daniel. Jeff is the love of my life, my rock, and my very best friend and I cannot wait to watch him grow as a father.
About Daniel
Our sweet Daniel was born in July 2017 and we have been with him since day one. He has grown from a very content and chill baby into a very social, funny, spunky and active little dude. Just like his mom and dad, he is a total beach bum. He is incredibly kind and gentle and will make the absolute best big brother. We love that Daniel will have a sibling that will also join our family through adoption as it is something that will make their bond and connection extra sweet.
Our Home & Community
We live in a wonderful small town along the shores of Lake Huron. We have a large yard with lots of room to play, and back onto a forest so we get to enjoy the beauty of nature and visits from deer! We have a spacious open-concept home including 4 bedrooms and a fully finished basement (that is pretty much a fun zone!), so there is plenty of room for our family to grow.
We absolutely love living close to the beach, and take full advantage of being able to walk through peaceful trails, and along the beautiful shoreline. We have 5 parks within walking distance, including one at the community centre which is right across the street. In the winter, the community even makes an ice rink of the ball diamond. We have a wonderful community of friends and children who are very excited to welcome your child into their lives.
Our Vision for the Future
We have built a wonderful life together, and are very excited to bring a child into our family. Lindsey will be staying at home for the first twelve to eighteen months, with Jeff also taking at least eight weeks off as well during this time. Lindsey will then be going back to work 25-30 hours per week and your child, along with big brother Daniel, will go to a wonderful local daycare just minutes from our home that is ran by a friend of ours.
We were both raised to be kind and respectful, and accepting of people of different ethnicities, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic backgrounds, and we will most definitely be raising our children to have these same values. Although we are not part of any specific religious denomination, we are spiritual and welcoming of all faiths and beliefs. We want your child to feel completely supported, yet also confident in being independent.
We would very much like to have an open adoption. We believe that children benefit greatly from maintaining connection with their birth family. We look forward to working together to create a plan that is comfortable for you, which we hope includes visits a few times a year, and regular contact via email, text or a private blog. We understand that you may be looking for a closed adoption, or that circumstances may change for you and you may lose contact at some point. Please be assured that in this case, we will make sure that your child knows where they came from, and that they are loved, and we will welcome you back into our family when you are ready. We have a great relationship with Daniel’s birth family. We firmly believe that there can never be too many people in a child’s life to love them.
Thank you
We want you to know that we will love your son or daughter unconditionally, and will do everything possible to ensure they always feel secure and loved. We have a huge support network of friends and family that will also love this child beyond words. We want your child to know where they came from, and it is our great hope that you will remain an integral part of their life. We will raise your child to truly understand and appreciate that you made an adoption plan for them out of love, and your hope for them to have the best future possible. We wish for you the strength and support you need to make this very difficult decision. Having gone through the adoption process once before, we have a very deep respect for all this entails. Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know our family.
Love,
Lindsey & Jeff
