Weekdays are pretty routine for us. Emily squeezes in a morning work-out and then has a three-minute drive to the clinic. The short commute makes it possible for her to sneak home over lunch to feed our dog, Cyrus. Adam's office is downtown, which is great for him as it is close to the rec center where he plays basketball after work a couple times per week. Adam is a self-declared "foodie," and working downtown provides easy access to his favorite coffee shop and go-to Mexican restaurant. In the evenings, Emily winds down by tuning in to a podcast or calling up her parents/sister while walking Cyrus. On his drive home, Adam often calls his mom to chat, and he sometimes joins Emily and Cyrus on the evening walk. Watching "Wheel of Fortune" during dinner is a must-do.

On the weekends, we are a pretty laid-back bunch! Emily likes to catch up with friends over coffee, hang out with her sister, and curl up with a good book. Adam enjoys playing basketball Saturday mornings, watching Husker sports or Netflix, horsing around with Cyrus, and working outdoors. We also like to treat ourselves to going out for breakfast, visiting nieces and nephews, or playing a card game or Scrabble.

Outside of our day-to-day life, traveling is what fills our cups. We are looking forward to a few vacations in 2024 - two trips to the U.S. East Coast for friends' weddings, and an international trip (site to-be-determined) is also in the works!

Emily About Adam: Adam has a kind heart and curious mind. He is always willing to go above and beyond to help others, and he loves learning about new things - whether it be other people, ideas, places, food…and the list goes on. Above all, family is the most important thing to him. He never hesitates to go help his mom and brothers with home projects and chores, and he makes it a point to make it to as many family gatherings as possible. Our nieces and nephews simply adore him - they love goofing around and cuddling with Uncle Adam. Adam's kindness and dedication to family leave no doubt that he will be an amazing father. He will always be actively involved in our kids' lives, encourage them in their hobbies and endeavors, instill strong values, and always show them that they are valued and loved.

Adam About Emily: I love that Emily is an independent person. She isn't afraid to do her own thing and thinks for herself. She challenges me in ways that make me a better person while also holding herself to those same principles. She's organized, thoughtful, and committed to her family and career. While she might consider herself a "homebody," she has done some pretty unique things, like riding an ostrich and bungee-jumping in South Africa. She's always looking to grow as a person, and I know she will instill that value in our children.

For us, family means a sense of belonging and familiarity. Family are the individuals you can depend on in good times and bad times, share traditions and culture with, and enjoy spending time with.

As for a lot of families, many of our family traditions center around the holidays. For the past few years, we have hosted Thanksgiving at our home - some years we have the traditional thanksgiving fare, but the past couple years we have gone rogue and had tacos instead! We spend Christmas Eve with Emily's immediate family, where her dad Mike and sister Elise are guaranteed to provide laughs, and her mom Susan makes sure everyone is welcome and well-fed. There is also always a Christmas gift exchange and brunch at Adam's mom Linda's house. The atmosphere at this event is energetic and merry, with the all the nieces and nephews excitedly ripping into presents and discovering what fun games Grandma Linda has up her sleeve.

Outside of holidays, some of our personal traditions are perusing farmers' markets, reading, and relaxing at one of our local coffee shops.

Our children will of course be a part of all our established family traditions, and we are excited to see what new favorite traditions are in store for us!

Lincoln, Nebraska is the place we call home. We like to refer to Lincoln as a "big small town" - it has the feel of a friendly small-town community, yet has amenities you find in a larger city - a variety of restaurants, shopping, sports, activities, community organizations and clubs.

We live in an established, quiet neighborhood on the south side of town. Many of our neighbors are young families, or older couples who are original residents of the neighborhood. Walking three blocks from our house will take you to a local elementary school and park with play equipment and a sand volleyball court.

We have lived in our house since the summer of 2015, and we have enjoyed making it our home. Adam has done several projects including building the island in our kitchen, re-doing the bathroom, and constructing the pergola in our backyard. When we have free time, Adam enjoys doing yard work and relaxing outside on the patio; Emily can often be found curled up on the couch reading a book or in the kitchen baking up something sweet. We love taking our dog Cyrus on daily walks and having get-togethers with our close neighbors.

Family has always been an important part of our lives. We are so grateful for their unconditional love and support that has helped us grow over the years.

Contact with family is woven into our days - whether it be Adam's mom calling during a Husker game to share excitement over a play, Emily's sister coming over for an evening walk, or Adam running over to his brothers' to help with a handyman project, or babysitting our nieces and nephews.

Adam has a large energetic family with many aunts, uncles and cousins, while Emily's family is smaller but tight-knit. Emily recently went to Minnesota to visit her aunt Karen and uncle Brian, who live near Lake Superior; a highlight of the trip was enjoying a home-cooked meal made by her uncle, who is quite the chef! Our nieces and nephews are always excited to play Legos and horse around with Adam, or cuddle and read with Emily.

We know our families will embrace our future children with open arms and an abundance of love.

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us and why we are choosing adoption. We understand you are making a very important decision for the child you are carrying, and we respect and admire your strength in this moment. We know you want with your whole heart to give your child the best home and brightest future possible, and we hope for the opportunity to provide exactly that. Please find comfort and hope with our promise that a child who enters our home will be cared for, respected and celebrated, encouraged to explore and grow in their interests, and loved unconditionally. If we are fortunate enough to have you choose us to be your child's adoptive parents, please know that from day one we will instill that they are loved by both ourselves and you, and that it was your love for them that ultimately guided you to this decision. We are strong believers in open adoption, and we very much want our children to have healthy ongoing relationships with their birth parents and birth family. We would like for you to share in and be a part of their milestones, experiences, successes, challenges, and just "everyday life." We look forward to meeting with you and sharing ideas for what that relationship could look like.

We are excited to learn more about you and the people close to you, but we can start by giving you a glimpse of who we are. We both come from roots in small-town Nebraska, and then first met during our freshman year of college in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska. We supported each other through our early 20s as we were earning our degrees and getting started with our careers, and then we married in September 2014. We have called Lincoln home for the entire time we have been married. We live in a safe and walkable neighborhood, with nearby schools, shopping and recreation opportunities. We are fortunate to have most of our family living in Lincoln or within a few hours' drive. Most of our time is spent being with our family and friends, working in our careers as an architect (Adam) and a physician assistant (Emily), and staying active with hobbies and interests - mainly taking care of our "fur baby" Goldendoodle Cyrus.

You may be wondering why we chose open adoption as the way to expand our family. We've always known we wanted children; exactly how that would happen was less clear. While the reality is we would require fertility treatments to have biological children, adoption was always an equal consideration. After several years of researching and soul-searching, we came to the decision that open adoption is the path for us. Once we made that decision, we were filled with a sense of clarity and purpose, and we haven't wavered in that.

Thank you again for taking the time to learn a little bit about us. We promise to care for and love this child unconditionally, and we will do our best to help them grow into a kind, caring, confident and independent individual. We look forward to embarking on this journey of new relationships and opportunities with you.

Sincerely,

Adam & Emily