John and Shannon

Our names are Shannon and John. We cannot even begin to imagine what you are going through at this moment. We are grateful, and thank you, for taking the time to get to know us. If adoption is the right choice for you, know that our openness and support go out to you. We promise to respect you and whatever level of openness and contact you want to have with your child. We are here without judgment and with understanding. You and your story matter to us. We would be over the moon with excitement and joy should you choose us as parents for your child. You will be the one who made us parents and we will always love you for that. Your child will be loved unconditionally in a home full of joy, kindness, and endless laughter. They will know compassion and understanding. They will have guidance and support. They will be surrounded by not only us but an extended family that will love them endlessly for the rest of their life.

With love,
Shannon and John

We have always wanted to grow our family; however, we didn’t know what that journey would look like for us, but we went into it with positivity and excitement. Adoption has always been in our hearts from the very beginning and is something we always knew we would do one day. After many years of infertility struggles and losses, we knew the path to adoption was where we wanted to go next in our journey. Even though it has been a long and emotional journey, we know together we can do anything. We cannot wait to be parents and have little ones in our arms. It is what our hearts have always wanted. Even though the journey to parenthood has been very long, we are so excited for this time in our lives. We are beyond blessed and so incredibly grateful to be surrounded by so many people who care for and love us; who have been here for us through this entire journey. As we want to be there for you in whatever way you wish us to be. We want to be the love and support for your baby. To guide them through life and watch them grow.

Family is one of the most important things to us. We are always spending time with them. We get together for holidays, birthdays, and just because days! We have family in the Midwest as well and we take frequent trips to visit them. We love the different seasons and activities that come along with that; hanging out at the lake during spring and summer, boat rides and swimming, pumpkin and apple picking in autumn, snow days sledding & drinking hot chocolate by the fireplace during the winter. We always make the most of these times. Plus, we love to travel and experience new things. We love hiking the beautiful mountains and trails that surround us. We enjoy swimming in our pool and our family and friend’s pools. A delicious cookout is usually accompanied with swimming. We have lots of people around us who love to cook including ourselves. We enjoy movie and game nights. We love going to sporting events and concerts. We also love just being homebodies. Shannon will sometimes relax with a good book while John is working on a house project. And there is always lots of animal snuggles! We would love for your child to be a part of all the fun and explorations. We see them in every part of our lives, living life to the fullest!

From the very first moment I met Shannon in 2008, I saw a woman with an immense capacity for love and nurturing, and I know that she will be an incredible mother. Shannon has always had a deep, natural instinct to care for others, especially children. Growing up, she was always helping her family—whether it was taking care of younger relatives, assisting her grandmother, or cooking meals for the people she loved. She has a heart full of compassion, and if anyone is ever in need, she drops everything to help them. Her love for family runs deep, and she brings a warmth and joy to those around her that is truly rare. Her smile is contagious, and she has a way of making everyone feel loved and special. She is incredibly thoughtful and intelligent. Her heart is so full of love, and I know she is ready to share that love with a child. Shannon has always dreamed of becoming a mother, and I know with all my heart that she will provide a loving, stable, and joyful home for your child.

John is the kindest person I know. He makes everyone around him happy with his witty humor and joy for life. You know you’re going to have a great time when he’s around. John is the handyman of the family and is always helping with projects. He has so much knowledge and skills and can fix almost anything! He has compassion for others. John has always been the one teaching our nephews and nieces about many life skills. They love learning, getting their hands dirty, and helping him. He gives them so much confidence! I can’t wait to see him teach our children, as he does with them. He is so patient and an amazing teacher. He is caring and loving. I know I can count on him for anything. He makes me feel special every day and I want our children to grow up seeing the love we have for each other. I want them to see the respect he has for me. He makes me feel safe. I know our children will feel the same and will know they can always count on him to be there, no matter what. Your child will forever feel safe and loved.

We live in a three-bedroom house with a backyard that includes a pool. We have a nursery ready for a little one and we want to add more personalized things to it just for your baby. We have three dogs and two cats who are all super silly and cuddly. Our home is super cozy and that’s what we love about it. We want everyone who visits to feel welcomed and at home. Our neighborhood is very family oriented. The community plans family events throughout the year. We have parks throughout the neighborhood that are just a short walking distance from our home. We live in one of the best school districts in the state and the schools are also walking distance. We enjoy riding our bikes and going for walks with the dogs. We are surrounded by beautiful mountains. We enjoying hiking, camping, and visiting all the different nature destinations in our state. Up north we get to enjoy cooler weather and snow. We love the sunsets here! They look amazing with the palm trees and mountains and the beautiful glow around them.

We are very close to our families. We call each other almost every day and a lot of weekends are hanging out together. We both have large extended families with lots of kiddos. We have some that live here in Arizona and others that live in the Midwest. We often take vacations together and often take trips to the Midwest to visit with family and enjoy the change in weather and take part in fun events and activities. Our families are incredibly supportive of our adoption journey and are over the moon excited for us and to have a new family member. When we first announced our adoption journey there were lots of tears of happiness. They are all amazing and we feel super blessed to have them in our lives. Your baby will have lots of aunts and uncles, a Nana and Papa, a Grandma and Grandpa, and lots of cousins and other family members to make memories with.

Racial and cultural diversity is a very important part of being human. We believe in acceptance and celebration of one’s differences. Even our own cultural backgrounds couldn’t be more different from one another’s. We welcome and appreciate open and honest conversations with those different from ourselves; and despite our variety in upbringings, we have the same interpretation of how to be culturally responsive: Learn what we can about a relevant culture. In today’s society, with information available at our fingertips, it would be irresponsible to presume that we could know the most important aspects of any culture outside of our own. We have the skill set and desire to help ourselves learn about any differences your baby and you may have outside of our own. We want your child to have a strong balance of knowing where they came from, as well as where they were raised.

We both love volunteering for a charity through John’s work giving back to the community and engaging with youths and their families. We also love volunteering for a local animal shelter. We have fostered many cats and dogs. We love being a part of them finding their forever homes. Plus we enjoy giving them lots of love and support until that happens.

We have many family traditions and would be so overjoyed for your child to become apart of this. We love celebrating birthdays and holidays. Birthdays are always a party. We always want those out of state to join in the fun too so there is always a group Facetime going so they can also have fun! We will all have cake so even far away we can all enjoy. When we are all together in person it’s a big party with lots of decorations and we make it fun and special for the birthday person. Halloween is always super fun! Family always flies out to our home and we decorate a specific theme. Everyone goes all out with their costumes. We love hearing from the families in the neighborhood that they look forward to our house every year. For Christmas we love to put up lots of lights and decorations. We visit John’s family on Christmas Eve and we like to walk through Winterhaven and enjoy the light shows that the whole neighborhood participates in. There are gifts and always yummy cookies handmade by John’s mom. We visit Shannon’s family on Christmas day. Which always starts with cinnamon rolls for breakfast. We do gifts, watch Elf, and hang out for the day. We go to firework shows for the 4th of July, family gatherings for Thanksgiving with lots of yummy food, and every summer we do a family reunion that includes camping, boat rides, kayaking, campfires, and so much more! We are open to new traditions and celebrations. We want your child to feel included and loved.

• Your baby will be loved unconditionally by us and our family for the rest of their life.
• We promise to give them every opportunity we possibly can.
• We will always be a source of comfort and support.
• We promise to give them a home and life full of love, joy, kindness, and endless laughter.
• We are here without judgment. We promise to respect you and any level of openness you wish to have with your baby and with us.
• We promise we will give your baby love and comfort in all moments.
• We would love the opportunity to get to know you and for you to ask us any questions you may have.