You may ask yourself why we are adopting. To start, we always envisioned having more than one child. We LOVE our son so very much and feel blessed to have him. And we knew, deep in both of our souls, that we were meant to have another child. However, due to medical issues, conception is not possible for us. Adoption was the most natural next step for us. It honestly felt like it is meant to be. We have many friends and family who have adopted. Adoption is and always will be a way to add to our family. Lukas, who will make the BEST big brother ever, has a best buddy at school who is also adopted. Lukas has all sorts of fun adventures planned for your little one. He plans to be the best big brother ever to your little bundle of joy!

We have a long and stable marriage and we feel incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to adopt. We cannot thank you enough for giving us the chance to become parents again! We love that adoption nowadays gives us the opportunity to know YOU and you know us. We would love nothing more than for you to always feel confident in choosing us as your child's parents.

We have many different traditions as a family and look forward to including your little one in our fun! Since coming together, we both have continued many traditions that we experienced growing up. We have also created many of our own over the years. One of our favorite traditions, which came from Erik's family, is our annual trip to the Christmas tree farm. We cut down our Christmas tree every year and we always do it the day after Thanksgiving. We work to put it up and decorate the tree throughout that weekend. Trimming the tree is so much fun! We have many sentimental ornaments from both of our childhoods and began adding new ones since we were married. This annual tradition is a great day for the entire family and allows us time to enjoy the tree throughout the Christmas season.

Another tradition, from both families is our annual beach trip. This has evolved over the years. Since we bought a beach home, we visit more frequently and our traditions involve all the fun we have there. For example, every year at the beach we ride bikes on the boardwalk, spend time on the boat, play mini golf and visit the beach. We also love dressing up for Halloween and coloring Easter eggs. Lastly, another of our favorite traditions has to do with food. This tradition came from Erik's family. It is a labor of love making pumpkin soup, pilgrim salad and frying two turkeys with all the trimmings for Thanksgiving. It’ a feast everyone looks forward to enjoying as we host our families for a cozy day of love, gratitude and yumminess!

We have many close friends and even a family member who have gone through an adoption. The closest person we know is Donna's cousin. She and her husband adopted their daughter 16 years ago as a newborn. We also have a very close family friend who along with her sister, were both adopted as babies. Next, at the beach our neighbor's daughter adopted a beautiful little girl as a newborn 5 years ago. Lastly, one of Erik's friends from high school is adopted. We have discussed adoption with our family and close friends that have made adoption a part of their lives. We feel so fortunate to witness the miracle of adoption up close and personally through our family and friends.

Our son's best buddy is also adopted. For us, adoption seems like a natural fit. Knowing all of these experiences and perspectives helped us to know that adoption is the true path to expand our family.

We live in the suburbs. Our neighborhood is very family friendly. Kids and parents are always outside - weather permitting. We have an annual Breakfast with Santa event at our parish, along with a Christmas program at our son's school. The school and parish host a Thanksgiving dinner/fundraiser that is a lot of fun every year.

We live in a four bedroom house with a fenced in back yard. Our favorite room is the family room, which has also become Lukas' playroom that he is anxious to share with a sibling. Our son often talks about having a sibling and showing him or her how to do things.

We live near several parks where we often meet for playdates with our son's classmates. In particular, we have one park with not only a playground, but a ride on choo-choo train and a merry go around that we often frequent in the spring, summer and fall. The local Rescue Squad also hosts public safety events and neat demonstrations for kids in the community. Erik has been a (volunteer) member of our local rescue squad since he was 16 years old and is the current Deputy Chief there. He was a paramedic for 6 years and is currently a Firefighter/EMT.

Donna is one of two children. She and her brother are eight years apart. Donna grew up in a small town and has a large extended family. Erik grew up an only child and lived near his grandparents and his aunt, uncle and their children. Erik's family is close by and Donna's extended family is less than an hour away. We have a son, Lukas and he is eight years old. Erik and I are kindred spirits and we both cherish family traditions. We love the holidays and summertime.

At Thanksgiving, we have our families together - we usually host dinner and have traditions that everyone has come to love and anticipate. We make pumpkin soup, pilgrim salad, fry two turkeys, fry oysters and have stuffed ham (oysters and stuffed ham are old southern favorites from Donna's family and so delicious!) Thanksgiving leads into Christmas as we road trip to a tree farm with our friends on Black Friday. We then celebrate with lunch at one of our favorite restaurants. We both enjoy decorating the house and Lukas has come to take part and enjoy these festivities. Seeing the holidays through the eyes of a child - especially Christmas has become very magical for us.

We spend a lot of time at the beach during the summer. We have a beach home in our local seaside town and it's our favorite place to be in the summer. We hope to share these traditions and more with your child.

We believe the Lord has somehow brought us all here for a reason. Please know, if you consider us as adoptive parents, your child will be embraced with the same unconditional love that we have for our son, Lukas. Your child will be surrounded by love and raised in a safe and nurturing environment. An environment filled with fun experiences during a lifetime of opportunities to learn and grow on all levels.

As you can see by our profile, we have a long and stable marriage. Our relationship is rooted in our love and respect for each other. We have been fortunate to establish ourselves in our careers and finances. We have planned a secure future for our son, as well your baby we are hoping and praying for. Our belief is the "sky is the limit" when it comes to education and achieving your goals and dreams.

We are not sure how to convey the love we already have in our hearts. Maybe because we have a child and know what it is like seeing the world through his eyes. We feel so blessed to have the experience of raising a child, knowing what it involves, and we’re fully committed to providing a lifetime of love and support to your baby. We look forward to sharing many exciting adventures and building precious memories.

We understand that this decision cannot be easy, especially making the decision based on photos, answers to questions, and letters. We hope that our family situation is the one you can envision for your child. We all live in the same imperfect world, yet our circumstances have brought us together. We feel there is something special about that. The family photos you have seen of us at home, during the holidays, and on vacation are what you can expect your child to experience as well. Our dream is to add your child to our family and love them forever. That being said, we want you to know that you will be updated on your child's life through letters, pictures, videos and calls on a regular basis. It's really up to you!

We cannot imagine how difficult this decision is for you. We want to comfort you and ensure that you have the confidence in knowing that your child is being raised by a good family, who will do everything for your child to keep him or her safe, healthy and happy.

Please let us know if you have any questions or want more information about us! We look forward to getting to know you!

Erik & Donna