Meet John & Amanda
A video message from John & Amanda
A Letter from John & Amanda
Hi from Sunny Florida! We are John and Amanda! Thank you for considering our family for your child. Adoption is near and dear to our hearts as Amanda and her mother were both adopted and we were blessed to adopt our first child, Elizabeth Rose at birth. Our home is full of laughter, music, and the scent of chocolate chip cookies! We are open to communication and visits with you, as you feel comfortable.
About Us
We first met online, and then quickly found out that we were actually neighbors! We have been together for over 11 years and enjoy the life we have created together.
As a Family, we like to:
• Swim in the pool or ocean
• Visit the zoo / museums / amusement parks
• Sing and dance around the house
• Family movie night
We also love to attend a couple of Broadway plays every year. The weekends are family fun times, and we enjoy spending most of our time together as a family.
We look forward to welcoming our next child into the family to share in our fun and our love for each other. Elizabeth is looking forward to becoming a big sister and promises to share her toys.
Meet Amanda
John says: I adore how nurturing, kind, and loving Amanda is to everyone she comes in contact with. She loves being around children and is the best mother. Amanda’s goal in life is to make those around her feel comfortable and happy.
Amanda Enjoys:
• Reading books
• Baking custom cookie creations & bread
• Singing & Dancing in a Women’s Barbershop
She is very enthusiastic about being an event planner for a nonprofit and working with our Veterans. She loves helping others and is passionate about teaching our children that the world needs more kindness. She is such a warm, nurturing soul and has so much more love to give to our next child.
Meet John
Amanda says: John is funny, spontaneous, and cares for our family with his entire heart. He puts others before himself and works hard at making a wonderful life for us and our family. He works from home several days a week for a packaging company and loves his job.
John Enjoys:
• Watching sports (especially football and baseball)
• Hosting game nights
• Trying new restaurants / new cuisines
He is excited to share these many experiences with our children, teaching them how to score a baseball game properly and about our favorite vacation spot, Disney World. John knows Magic Kingdom like the back of his hand and quickly navigates us through the crowds.
He is a wonderful, hands-on father that is quick to jump in to play in princess tea parties, read, or go for a swim and make big splashes with our daughter. He looks forward to teaching our children to be confident and know they have a strong family foundation at home for support.
Our Daughter and Family
About Our Daughter, Elizabeth:
We adopted our daughter, Elizabeth, at birth almost four years ago. She loves all things princess right now! She is our girlie-girl and loves to dress up in costumes or “fancy dresses”. She loves to read and play in the pool and cook/bake with us.
John’s Family:
John has one older sister and his big Italian family grew up living on the same block. Even though we don’t live within walking distance of each other still, we are only 10 minutes away so we get to see the grandparents, aunts & uncles, and cousins quite often. The kids love to play together, and it is almost always someone’s birthday.
Amanda’s Family:
Amanda is the eldest of 4 (the youngest are twins!). She grew up all over the world and got the travel-bug early due to growing up in the military. Her sisters and brothers are all in the military around the country and we try to get together at least a couple of times a year with them; her youngest sister is currently in England, and we are planning a European family vacation to go and visit!
Our Home in Florida
Our home has 3 bedrooms with high ceilings in the living area and a lot of natural light shining through the windows. We really enjoy our open concept layout because it allows us to stay connected and have plenty of room for us to hang out. Growing up in big families, the kitchen is the heart of the home and where we spend most of our time.
Our backyard is fenced-in, and we have a swing set complete with swings and a slide. Elizabeth likes to call it a “princess castle” even though it’s green! We have a screened-in lanai and a firepit to enjoy those few days when the weather is nice enough to linger outside.
We have one cat, Dexter, which has been with the family for over 13 years. He has so much patience with children and loves to cuddle.
Our Promise
As parents, we promise to work our hardest to be the best parents for our children. We will support and encourage their dreams as well as guide, help, and comfort them in all that they do. We look forward to celebrating birthdays, Christmas, and the first days of school with our children. Your child will always know that they are loved and that they can grow up to be whatever they want. We are blessed in many ways, and we are excited to share those blessings with another child. We are open to any level of contact that you feel comfortable with, just let us know.
If you would like to learn more about us, please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.
Learn More About John & Amanda
| John | Amanda | |
|---|---|---|
| Our Education | Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering | Bachelors of Science in Hospitality Management |
| Our Professions | Packaging Consultant | Nonprofit Event Planner |
| Stay-At-Home | No, but works from home several days a week | No, but works from home a couple days a week |
| Our Racial Background | Caucasian | Caucasian |
| Some of John & Amanda's Favorites | ||
| Superhero | Superman | Wonder Woman |
| Movies | Miracle & Lion King | Princess Bride & Encanto |
| Ice Cream Flavor | Jeni's Salted Peanut Butter with Chocolate Flecks | Publix's Black Jack Cherry with Chocolate Chunks |
| Sport to Watch | Football | Baseball |
| Food/Cuisine | Indian (Tikka Masala) | German (Jägerschnitzel) |
| Animal | Dog | Sea Otters |
| Bucket List Travel Location | Barcelona, Spain | Rome, Italy |
| More About Our Family | ||
| Our Family Traditions | Making new memories with our children and including them in our family traditions is something we look forward to the most. *Bake Christmas Cookies and have a gingerbread house decorating contest | |
| Our Musical Interest | Music is extremely important in our household. John was a competitive swing dancer in college. Amanda competes internationally, singing with a women's barbershop chorus (think Pitch Perfect). We also like to visit some Broadway shows every year as they come into town. We always have music playing in the house. Sometimes we turn on the record player and have dance parties in the living room. We turn music on in the car (rotating who gets to pick the song) and we all take turns singing loudly for all to hear! | |
| 3 Things We Love About Where We Live | 1. We love our neighborhood. It's small with only 76 houses but everyone knows each other. Everyone stops to chat as they walk their dogs and Elizabeth knows all of their pet's names. We all are quick to jump in and help each other if someone needs a car started, or yard work done, or even just watching their house while someone is out on vacation. 2. Our neighborhood loves to celebrate together, and Amanda is on the Entertainment Committee. She helps focus on the annual Halloween contest, including treats for parents, kids and dogs. The neighborhood also has a Christmas light contest, and everyone walks around and views the houses and exchanges cookies. 3. The neighborhood is set back from the main road and you travel past fields of cows, so we love looking for them every day. It's nice and quiet compared to the surrounding areas and the school district is great for when our kids get old enough to go. | |
| Why We Are Adopting | Adoption has always been near and dear to our hearts. Amanda and her mother were both adopted and we continued the tradition with Elizabeth and our future children. We openly talk about adoption and have several children-appropriate books to help with the discussion. Amanda was told about her infertility issues when she was a young adult and, when we started dating, we discussed adoption and how it would be the perfect way to expand our family. We are forever grateful for the opportunity to expand our family. We've always wanted to have a large family (coming from large families ourselves) and have so much love and laughter to give. We look forward to having you a part of our family, however you feel comfortable. | |
| We Prefer a Child Who Is... | ||
| Age of Child | Newborn to 2 years | |
| Twins | Yes | |
| Gender | Either | |
| Sibling Group | Yes, oldest up to 2 years | |
| In Closing | ||
Thank you again for taking the time to learn about us. We look forward to getting to know you too! Your child will always know that they are loved and that they can grow up to be whatever they want. We look forward to teaching them kindness, joy, and to have fun jumping on the bed! We will always honor the openness that you desire and are happy to share more details about our life with you. We promise that your child will experience a lifetime of love and acceptance. |
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