Hello!

Our names are Jackie and Derek and we are so excited you are reading our letter!  We are a happy couple with light-hearted and playful personalities who enjoy road trips, trivia, movies and adventures.

We have been wanting to be parents for a long time now and are thrilled to be starting the adoption process. Jackie has known her whole life she would not be able to have children and has always wanted to adopt, just like her parents did when they adopted her oldest brother.

If you choose us to raise your precious baby, we want you to know they will be coming into a loving, kind, happy and healthy environment. We hope you enjoy seeing a peek into our lives and that you are able to connect with something in our story that puts your faith in us to raise your child.

About Us

We have been a couple for 6 and a half years and just celebrated our second wedding anniversary in August. We met at a mutual friend’s birthday party where we bonded over the video game fruit ninja. Little did Jackie know that the guy who was trying to teach her how to play a game (she already knew how to play) would become her husband. After our first few dates we quickly learned how easy it was to spend time with each other and how compatible we were together. Everything just felt natural. We used to love just finding a scenic spot to park and sit and talk for hours.

We both love our lives together and we still get excited to come home after work to see our best friend. Our fun and playful personalities make laughter a constant in our household. We also both enjoy trivia and are frequently asking each other questions from things we have read and play along with Jeopardy almost nightly.

We have taken many vacation trips together including road trips. Each one is a mini adventure and we usually have a go with the flow attitude throughout. Since Derek is originally from Pennsylvania, we have taken a few trips there, so he could show Jackie where he grew up.

As we said before, we find ourselves acting like big kids at times. This can be seen in Jackie’s love for Disney and Harry Potter and Derek’s passion for video games. We also love to go to amusement and adventure parks. Both of us work hard at our respected jobs and feel we should not carry work home with us, so we can enjoy evening time together.

We have been in our current home for a year and a half - a 3 bedroom ranch style on a quiet 4-house cul-de-sac. We share our home with our 2 cats, Linus and Lucy, who were named after the Peanuts characters. We tend to play traditional roles when taking care of the house; Jackie focusing mostly on the interior and Derek focusing on the exterior. We are always willing to help each other with the various tasks which need to be done. We feel it is a joint effort in making and keeping a house a home, which is something we want to instill in our future children.

Our home is located in central Rhode Island and we love living here because of how diverse everything is, and how there is always something to do. We are a short drive to many beaches, hiking and biking trails, and other fun activities like mini-golf, trampoline parks, and movie theaters. Since Rhode Island is so small, we never have to drive far to find our next fun outing.

We share the same morals, faith and love for God, and are a part of our church community by giving talks to marriage preparation classes where we discuss communication and problem solving skills that we were able to grow during those times we would sit in the car for hours.

About Jackie by Derek

After meeting Jackie and learning more about her, I knew she would be my wife and the mother of my children. I was enticed by her caring nature, kindness, and personality. Neither of us were looking for a relationship at the time we met, and were surprised the other was just the person we had been looking for in life.

I soon found out her immediate and large extended family are a loving and wonderful group of people. We see them frequently at weekly dinners and holiday occasions. They have seen us grow as a couple and look forward to us being parents.

Jackie is a middle school teacher and is passionate about helping students to understand and better themselves in and out of the classroom. She will be just as adamant about our child’s education, checking homework and ensuring they have everything they need each day to succeed. She wants to see our kids in activities like music and sports, will get them to practices, and enjoy their recitals and games.

Jackie’s hobbies include being outdoors whether at the beach or hiking a trail at a park, going to yoga classes, or simply staying home relaxing and watching movies. She is an avid reader and her favorite series is Harry Potter. Jackie and I travel often on vacations and relish the sense of adventure we get from going to different places in and out of the country.

Our marriage is a healthy and stable one and we look to each other for support when needed. Overall, we both have had many great experiences over the course of our lives and want to share that same feeling with our children. I have no doubt Jackie will give her son or daughter the best childhood possible and ensure they live life to the fullest.

About Derek by Jackie

I cannot wait to see Derek as a father. Watching him interact with children is one of the many traits I fell in love with. I have been able to see how his loving and caring personality draws children to him. He effortlessly starts playing with them, showing them how a certain toy works or helping them find something they lost. He also shows his nurturing personality with our cats by talking to them, playing with them, and taking care of their every need.

In our marriage, Derek has been a dedicated and faithful partner, someone who I can count on one hundred percent. I worried growing up that I would not find a man who would accept that I could not have children, and therefore not biologically father their own child. Derek was able to prove me wrong, never once wavering in his love for me or his commitment to our relationship.  Derek will bring this same dedication and commitment into fatherhood. I have no doubt in my mind that he will be at every baseball game, dance recital, and karate practice that our children will attend, sitting beside me cheering them on.

Another trait I love most about Derek is how hard of a worker he is. He gives complete focus and dedication to all his projects. I am constantly amazed and proud of his accomplishments and ability to complete what he starts. He’s recognized at work for his ability to instill this same strong work ethic in the people he works with, building a team and community in his workplace. I know our children will benefit from watching him and I can’t wait to celebrate as a family all of their accomplishments.

I have often daydreamed about what parenthood will be like. I can already see waking up in the middle of the night, walking into the living room and finding Derek holding our child with a smile on his face. I can also picture Derek showing our children how to play video games and teaching them how best to get to the next level and practicing karate forms out in the yard. I just know how amazing Derek is going to be as a father and how we are going to complement each other as parents.

What we have to offer a child

Our house is bursting at the seams with love and is the perfect size to grow a family in. We hope to send our children to private school, but like that our area has an amazing public school system also.

Our child will most definitely be adored by their grandparents. Both of our families are so excited to have a grandchild, which will be the first one on either side. Lucky for us family and friends are already offering to help with babysitting. Jackie’s brothers have also expressed how excited they are to be able to teach their future niece or nephew how to play baseball, soccer, or any other sport they might be interested in. Even though they will want for nothing, we will make sure our children are raised like we were and appreciate everything they have and work hard for what they want.

We want to have our children grow up in a structured environment where they know what the rules and consequences are. We want them to be an active member of the family, helping out when appropriate, and also making sure they fully enjoy their childhood and can just be kids.

We look forward to going on family vacations to different places in the United States and the world to make sure our children are well rounded individuals. Many of the vacations Jackie went on were with extended family as well, which is something we both want to continue with our families.

Thoughts on Adoption

As we mentioned earlier, Jackie’s oldest brother was adopted when he was an infant so it is something her family has experienced before. Since starting this process we have had nothing but positive support from everyone we have told.

If you choose us to be your adoptive parents, we would be truly honored to be at the birth if you are comfortable with that. After the birth, we are more than willing to send pictures and updates as often as you would like. We plan on sharing age appropriate details with our child about their birth and adoption story from the beginning. Our goal is to have a smooth process overall for everyone involved.

We have been praying about this for a long time and feel we are ready for this next part of our journey. Looking forward, we’re so excited to love a child unconditionally and take care of all their needs. We hope you choose us to parent your child.

If you have any questions please contact Cindy at A Loving Alternative at 800.556.5635.

Thank you so much for reading about and considering us.

With all love and respect,

Jackie and Derek