Hello, we are Jared and Monica and we are so grateful for the opportunity to tell you a little bit about ourselves and to share our hopes of becoming parents through adoption.

Our story began in the fall of 2000 when we met on the first day of college and quickly became close friends. Within a year, we began dating and five years later, were engaged. We married in 2005 and just recently celebrated 15 years of marriage and 20 wonderful years together! We’ve come so far together and are truly best friends.

Along the road, it hasn’t always been easy for us, but we’ve worked hard at building the life we always envisioned. A couple of years into our marriage, we bought our first home and renovated it top to bottom. In between projects at the house, we enjoyed hiking, biking and camping with our pup, Penny, taking the occasional vacation and spending time in the kitchen with friends.

We tried to start a family for about a year and over the course of yet another year, we learned it would not be possible. But that did not get us down! We knew we were destined for a beautiful story, and immediately began the adoption process. In 2017, we were chosen by the bravest, most amazing and selfless birth parents and we are now the very proud parents of our daughter, Lidia. It is our dream to complete our family and welcome another child to our family through adoption.

Hello, my name is Monica and I love being outside, whether it be in the garden, the mountains or at the beach. I aim to be thoughtful and of service to others, stepping up for people in need or volunteering to host for the holidays. I am an empathetic person, always striving to be sensitive to others and consider things from their perspectives. Both in and out of my career in financial services, I am hard-working, trustworthy and respectful of others. With a wacky sense of humor, I enjoy a good laugh! In my downtime, I also love cooking, watching movies, and any excuse for a good dance party.

I love to travel and grew up in a bilingual household, speaking both English and Spanish. I eventually chose to pursue a Spanish degree not only to perfect my language skills but also because I had developed an interest in Latin-American history and literature. It has been important to me to embrace my heritage and I will always work hard at providing a child access to their individual heritage as well.

My greatest joy is my role as a mother. I never knew I could love so deeply; I have savored all the middle of the night cuddles and have loved being a teacher and witnessing all that my daughter has learned from me. It has been an honor to be the one she runs to, cries for and loves. I am so anxious to love another child just as much and to be that person for them as well.

Hello, my name is Jared! I would describe myself as someone who is very patient, easy to talk to, who enjoys good food, music and the company of friends and family. I have always enjoyed a good book, but I also enjoy going out and trying new things, having fun adventures and making memories with my family.

A real passion of mine is beer brewing, something that combines my other interests, cooking and science. I enjoy interesting foods and am often trying out new recipes; the more unique the food, the better! Every year, our daughter and I have fun coming up with a super special dessert to bake as a surprise for Monica’s birthday.

Prior to my career as a Financial Analyst, I worked in light construction, where I picked up skills that have come in handy over the years. In my downtime from the world of spreadsheets, I pride myself on being able to tackle the majority of projects at home. I also love sports, being outdoors, current events and good conversation; I can often be found either in lighthearted debates with friends, talking about the newest music released or engrossed in football stats.

These days, my favorite conversations are with our daughter, Lidia. I believe every conversation with a child is an important one, an opportunity to help them navigate a more complicated world than we grew up in, a chance to help them grow. I love explaining things in a fun, easy to understand way, and may have missed my calling as a teacher, so I’m told!

Lidia is currently five years old, and is very anxious to become a big sister, so much so that she has a bunk bed in her room because she wants to plan for her sibling. She is already talking about how she’ll be a helper and they will be best friends, which we can’t wait to see happen! She is very proud that we are an adoptive family and is excited to share that we are adopting again, that her brother or sister will have an adoption story just like her!

From about as far back as she can remember, Lidia has known her birth story. We have a relationship with her birth parents where we see each other from time to time and we stay in touch with photo updates. We’ve always made Lidia feel special for having a unique story, and explained how beautiful our family is because we were all chosen for one another. Every year we celebrate her adoption day, which is an absolute delight for her and another way to honor how we became a family.

Lidia is a child who is very loving, thoughtful and has a big heart for other people. She loves playing games, doing crafts, having fun with friends and helping around the house. She loves being wherever we are and helping in the kitchen or in the garden. She’s a very active kiddo and loves dancing and making up stories and performing for us!

We currently live in a unique contemporary house in a quiet seaside town in New England, one of the oldest in the country. We are fortunate to be close to a big city like Boston, but enjoy the benefits of living in a small, close-knit community.

Our home is on over two acres in a dreamy meadow-like setting, surrounded by woods on all sides. It has everything we ever wanted for our family: a yard for children to grow up kicking a soccer ball around, a long driveway for riding bikes, and enough space to invite all our friends and family over. From our windows, we see deer, turkeys, foxes and rabbits enjoying our yard. Our favorite little visitors are all the dragonflies that show up to enjoy our flower gardens all summer, which inspired the name of our little slice of heaven, “Dragonfly Paradise.”

As far as the house itself, it has four bedrooms so there will be plenty of room for our family to grow. We have soaring high cathedral ceilings, which has encouraged Monica’s love for Christmas trees – so much so that she’s trying to put one in every room of the house! There is also lots of deck space for the kiddie pool and playhouse, a screened-in porch to escape the mosquitoes and curl up with a good book, and our home’s most unique feature – a two-story greenhouse attached to the house. There we enjoy starting seedlings in the winter months and growing tomatoes through the summer!

We grew up in very similar families and households, each of us with a younger brother. Our parents, all hardworking and dedicated to putting family first, encouraged us both to study hard and do whatever it was that would bring us joy.

Monica’s parents live in New Hampshire and are an easy drive from us. Until the pandemic, Monica’s mother would come down and watch Lidia a couple of days a week. She would speak to her in Spanish, which helped give her a good bilingual foundation. Jared’s parents are a little further away in Pennsylvania but have a second home in Maine, which we are able to spend a lot of time at as a family. They are there seasonally, which gives us the opportunity to have them much closer to us half the year.

Our families were beyond excited – more like ecstatic – when we adopted our daughter Lidia. She is the only grandchild on both sides of the family at the moment, so to say they are attentive grandparents who love and spoil her greatly is an understatement.

As you can imagine from what you’ve read so far, we do love the outdoors. With Monica’s parents close to the White Mountains, we usually plan a couple of camping trips up there or visits to Acadia National Park near Jared’s family home in Maine. We’ve spent so much time there over the years, we’re often putting together recommendations and itineraries for friends who are visiting for the first time!

We are fortunate to live close to one of the most beautiful beaches in New England, so typically late spring through summer, you can find us there – for the whole day or even just a quick beach dinner picnic! Sometimes we’ll spend a Saturday night at the bowling alley or get some pizza and have an outdoor movie night on the projector screen.

At home, we enjoy cooking together and having family game nights, which are always great fun. And because we have so much space outdoors, we’ve really expanded our love for gardening. We’ve taken on growing some vegetables, and tending to our 15’ tall tomato plants grown in our attached greenhouse.

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit about us. We can’t imagine what you may be feeling as you consider this incredibly difficult decision; you are so brave for doing so. Please know that we already think the world of you and are so grateful that you are taking these steps to provide the best life for your child.

We want so very badly to adopt again. We love being parents and are yearning to make our family complete. We miss the sweet sound of baby laughter and holding a little one close. We know first-hand how beautiful adoption can be and are anxious to welcome another child into our family, where he or she will have that shared experience with our daughter.

We would like you to know that if we are chosen as their family, we will always do everything in our power to support this child and provide them with every opportunity they dream of. We will be their biggest cheerleaders on and off the field and their place of comfort when they need it most. This child would be fiercely protected and loved so very much.

Just as we currently provide updates to our daughter’s birth parents, we would be happy to extend the same to you as well, if that is what you are seeking. Our thoughts and prayers will be with you during this journey. We wish you all the best as you make the decision that is best for you and this child.