About Us

We are Jo and Jeff from Chicago.

We met as students 10 years ago and have been true partners ever since. In that time, we have faced every opportunity and challenge together.

We met ten years ago playing beach volleyball. Jo was an experienced player and captaining the team while Jeff was just trying to keep the ball in! Jo's confidence attracted Jeff, and Jeff's fun-loving demeanor attracted Jo. A few weeks later, we had our first date at a movie theater near campus,  and have been together ever since.

We have chosen adoption for our family because we have seen its ability to make beautiful families that celebrate similarities and embrace differences. We are very close to Jo's siblings, three of which were adopted, and learning about their experiences has deeply impacted our decision to adopt. 

Our Home and Neighborhood

Our home is a big house with a yard and a beautiful back deck where we spend every minute we can when the weather is nice. Our favorite activity is sitting on the deck, enjoying the warm summer breeze while we grill dinner. We also live within walking distance of 7(!) playgrounds where the neighborhood kids play. 

Our local school provides an amazing education, with a diverse population of students and lots of extra-curricular activities. It's walking distance from our house and has very involved parents. Recently, as we were walking with our dog Hans there was a youth baseball game happening at the school. Hans tried to run into the field and steal the ball. Luckily for us, the outfielder got there first and prevented Hans from running away with the ball!

Fun Facts

• ABOUT JO - Jo grew up on a farm in a small town and was raised with 'community' as a core value. She loves being a part of our city and has an entire bookshelf of books on Chicago history and neighborhood walks.

  Jo is always interested in learning about a new topic and devours books! Recently, she was reading I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" and then did a running tour of the sites in the book!

• ABOUT JEFF - One of Jeff's favorite hobbies is tennis. He will play or watch every chance he gets! Jeff is quite athletic and very good, but he just loves to play and will play with whoever he can find - which is often Jo.

  One of Jeff's ongoing passions is practicing his Spanish. He's a near-fluent speaker after spending time working, studying, and traveling in Mexico and Peru. He practices his Spanish with our Spanish-speaking neighbors every chance he gets.

Thank you again for letting us be here

From the bottom of our hearts, we are very grateful that you have taken the time to consider us as adoptive parents for your child. We know this must be an emotional process and we have the utmost respect for you as you try to decide what is best for you and your child.

While this book is about us, if you do choose adoption and our family to join you in loving this child, we are excited to get to know YOU as well over the course of the next few months and the many years to come. The gift of adoption would be the greatest joy of our life. Thank you for considering giving us this chance. May you find peace and strength as you decide.

WITH LOVE,

Jeff & Jo