David & Jim

David (left) and Jim (right)

Hi there! We’re Jim and David and we are honored to be included in this personal time in your life. We know you’re making a brave, caring, and selfless choice to help a couple who is not able to have children on their own. Should you choose us, we want you to know that this child will grow up with parents who will love and cherish them just as much as you do, in a home full of unconditional love and joy. We put this book together with the hope that it helps you with your adoption decision. We’d love to share a bit about who we are, how we met, our family, and our home. We hope this book will be our first steps with you on a beautiful and lasting new journey together. Thank you for taking an interest in us as adoptive parents! Let's get started!

We’ve been married for six years and toget...

Hi there! We’re Jim and David and we are honored to be included in this personal time in your life. We know you’re making a brave, caring, and selfless choice to help a couple who is not able to have children on their own. Should you choose us, we want you to know that this child will grow up with parents who will love and cherish them just as much as you do, in a home full of unconditional love and joy. We put this book together with the hope that it helps you with your adoption decision. We’d love to share a bit about who we are, how we met, our family, and our home. We hope this book will be our first steps with you on a beautiful and lasting new journey together. Thank you for taking an interest in us as adoptive parents! Let's get started!

We’ve been married for six years and together as a couple for nine years. We went on our first date at a burger joint in Chicago in 2016, and right away, we felt a strong and special connection. David really liked that Jim loved the opera, played the piano, and was super smart (he was teaching Game Theory and advanced math at the time at a university). Jim was drawn to David’s charm, his work as an actor, and his love of adventure. That first date started what has become nearly a decade of a fun, happy, and loving life together. We talked for hours about our shared love of the outdoors, the performing arts, travel, and most of all, family!

Our first big trip was to Hong Kong, and we were so thrilled to find someone else who liked to explore the world with curiosity and happiness. Jim had been to Hong Kong for work before and was excited to show David his favorite spots and discover new places together. David surprised Jim (and a lot of people there!) by learning some Cantonese, which made the trip even more fun and easy. Since that first trip, we’ve traveled to more than twelve other countries. We love to travel and can’t wait to show your child all the amazing places in the world!

After dating for a few years, we knew we had found not just our soulmate, but our best friend too. We got married on a rooftop in Chicago with all our extended family and friends around us. David surprised Jim by learning to play the guitar and singing a song during the ceremony. We opted for pie instead of a traditional cake and honored our families’ legacies of secret recipes by serving them all: pecan pie, key lime pie, apple pie, and bourbon chocolate pie! The day was perfect, with lots of fun dancing, delicious food, and so much love. We had always felt lucky to find each other, but after such a perfect celebration, it really felt like something bigger than us was blessing our relationship. As our marriage officiant put it, “As a pianist, Jim's instrument is often mathematical in style. Then we have David's vocal line. Both of these individual melodies could continue making music in this world solo and do great things, but how much more rich will this music be when joined together?”

After we got married, we moved from Chicago to the suburbs of Washington, DC. Jim had just completed his PhD in Economics and started a new job for a research company. David successfully shifted his acting career and was nominated for several local acting awards in his first year. Then, when the pandemic closed the theaters, David put his other talents to work. We bought a townhouse by a lake, and David worked hard to fix up the bathrooms, kitchen, and outdoor area all by himself. And while we loved that home by the lake, when Jim was offered a great new job in New York City, we were so excited to be closer to friends and families. Now, we’re finally exactly where we’re supposed to be! We live in Jersey City, New Jersey and our home has an incredible view of the New York City skyline, lots of families, parks and playgrounds, and great schools. We’re only five train stops to the best restaurants and Broadway shows in Times Square (yay fun!) and only three blocks from a Target (yay diapers!). We’ve found the best of both worlds!

Since we moved to Jersey, Jim has really enjoyed being close to city life again. He grew up in Connecticut and used to visit New York City every week for advanced math and science classes. After high school, Jim moved to Chicago for college where he studied physics. Then, he went to Barcelona, Spain, to get his Masters before going back to Chicago to finish his PhD in Economics which means that he is officially called Doctor (though his mom got him a shirt that said, “Not THAT kind of doctor!”). Even though Jim might sound like a big "nerd," he’s also a fun, smart, and curious person! He loves collecting cookbooks from all the countries he visits and making those meals for us at home. He also enjoys reading, playing the piano, biking, and checking out the cool museums and restaurants in New York City. There is always a lot of music in our home and David loves to sing along when Jim is playing piano!

David is also excited to be back in the city. He grew up in Kentucky and then got his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre at a university in Florida. After school, he toured the country in Grease, the Musical! for a year before moving to New York City to become a professional actor. Later, David moved to Chicago to get his Master’s degree in Acting. He has worked all over the country as an actor, singer, and director, and even won awards! David’s favorite part of being an artist is making people happy through storytelling. Acting has always been a big part of David’s life, but he also loves trying new things. David enjoys a fancy meal, jogging, doing yoga, and learning the language of the next place we visit together. He has always felt that learning a few words in another language is a powerful way to show respect for someone else’s home and to understand a little about their unique story.