Here are a few basic facts about our choice to adopt:

What is an open adoption: Open adoption refers to the sharing of information and/or contacts between the adoptive and biological parents of an adopted child, before and/or after the placement of the child, and perhaps continuing for the life of the child. Our hope is that our child will know who their birthparent(s) are and that they will have some kind of ongoing relationship. We want our child know their whole story about who they are and where they came from, and know how much they are loved both by us and their birthparent(s).

Why are we adopting: We are adopting for a couple of reasons. One is that we have always wanted to adopt. We believe that there is a great need for adoption currently. The second reason is that due to Jenn’s health. Jenn was diagnosed with Undifferentiated Connective Tissue disease in 2012. Due to this diagnosis, we believe that it is safest not to pursue having biological children. Both Jenn and I have always wanted to have a family and believe that adoption is the best way for us to build our family.

 Why Nightlight Christian Adoptions: The previous agency we worked with closed their infant domestic infant adoption program soon after we brought Eleanor home. When we began looking for a new agency, we found Nightlight Christian Adoptions. We chose Nightlight for two reasons; (1) They are a Christian organization that provides counseling and support to expectant parents and (2) they support only open adoptions. We love that we have the opportunity for our child to experience love and support from not only us, but from their birthparent(s) as well.

Open adoption is very important to us. While typically the child is the only focus of an adoption, open adoption has proven to be more beneficial for all parties involved. We believe that in our choice to adopt a child we are also choosing to be in relationship with the birth parent(s). We believe that through open adoption, this entire process can be redemptive for the adoptive parents, the child, and the birth parents.