Brendan & Jerrica
Brendan & Jerrica
When we first told our family that we were considering adoption, our family was over the moon! My grandmother wrote me a beautiful letter saying she remembers the first time she got to bring my mother home.
(My mother is adopted.) She wrapped her up and put her next to the Christmas tree and thanked God because she was blessed with the greatest gift.
Our Story
We met in 2017 on a blind date. At the time, we were trying to get out of the awkward group dates we were on. We helped each other out with excuses of why the other one had to leave and we have been together ever since.
We married in 2018 in Grand Rapids. We have a partnership because we are two people who have always had the same goal in life. We both have wanted a family since day one to share the love we have for each other with a child to raise and share those same ideals with.
Are we perfect? No. Do we argue about what type of birthday cake to buy for family birthday parties? Yes lol. But when it comes to the big things, the important things — we have each other’s backs. Always.
We take one day at a time. We support each other, love each other and help each other’s families through rough times. We make sure to not dwell on the small things and laugh instead of obsessing over the small mistakes or situations we go through. We have pets because we care and fall in love with any living being.
Our Relaxation & Fun
We enjoy going to go to the movies. We love all of the Marvel movies and any type of action films. During the summer we like to go to the beach and spend time barbecuing with family and friends. We also love to travel. We usually go to Traverse City once a year and pre Covid, we would try to go somewhere in the U.S for an extended vacation.
Our dream vacation is Hawaii. We have two dogs, Alfie and Winston. We take them wherever we can. For relaxation, we like to read, play Mario cart and listen to music. Brendan loves video games and RC cars. I love to garden and cook.
our adoption hopes
Gender: A Boy or A Girl
Ethnicities: Any Race and Ethnicity
Age: Newborn to 12 Months
Total of: 1 Child
a snapshot
of us
We Live In: Georgetown Township
Our Faith: Catholic
Pets: Both Cat(s) and Dog(s)
Kids Already: No Children Now
Child Care Plan: Family Member Child Care Licensed Child Care Center
Our Family & Friends
We are very close to our families. Brendan’s parents live only a quarter of a mile away and my father and stepmother are only 15 minutes away from our home. We see our family at least once a week. We enjoy having game nights with family and friends or having friends over to watch a Red Wings game.
Our Home & Neighborhood
Our home is a 3 bedroom and two bath ranch style home. Our neighborhood is considered middle class. It is a predominantly Caucasian area, but there are many ethnicities in our neighborhood. We live near a couple of big parks that are walking distance from our home. Our school systems are some of the best in West Michigan.
Education
Education is very important to us. We plan to help nurture our child and support him/her in any way we can and hope the child will continue with higher education or trade school.
Correction & Discipline
We believe a child will thrive best in an environment with a predictable routine and structure. We hope with discipline, our child will learn right from wrong and how to make good choices. We plan on carrying this out with clear communication and giving our child choices.
Our Faith Views
We are both practicing Catholics. Brendan grew up in a Catholic home and I converted to Catholicism in 2018. We have a local church that we attend regularly.
Brendan's Career
I work for a large data center located in Grand Rapids. I keep the facility and all the customer’s equipment secure. I provide access for certain people to conduct maintenance on their servers. I also help out with shipping and receiving. I enjoy working with the regular customers.
I will continue to work full time after a child is placed in our home. I plan on taking 2 weeks off to bond with our adopted baby.
Jerrica's Career
I work in banking. I really enjoy helping people make their financial goals become a reality and taking some of their financial stress away. I also love my coworkers and have made many lifelong friendships. Working for a bank also allows me to have holidays / federal holidays off, which is a big bonus!
I plan to continue working full-time. My employer offers 12 weeks paid Adoption Bonding time. My wonderful mother-in-law will provide child care when needed and Brendan has a few days off during the week.
Brendan
My family is originally from Detroit but we moved to Grand Rapids when I was very young. My family is Mostly Irish, British, French and German. I come from a very large family and we usually get together for big family parties and cookouts.
Jerrica
My family’s background is German, Italian and English. I have a small family but we are very close. All of my family lives close by and I enjoy spending time with them, especially my nieces and nephews.
I try to spend most holidays with my family. Some of our traditions are family dinners on Sundays and exchanging pajamas on Christmas Eve, which I still do with my sister.
Thank you for taking the time to read through our profile. Brendan and I have always wanted to be parents and have been trying since we were wed in 2018. We can not even begin to understand how hard this must be for you.
We hope you feel supported and loved no matter where you are in the journey. If you decide to make an adoption plan, we want to assure you that we promise to respect you and whatever level of openness and contact that you want to have with your child. We promise to provide and safe and loving home.
- Behavioral and Emotional Needs of Adoptive Children
- Child Separation, Attachment, and Bonding
Our ideal ongoing relationship is to have an open and healthy relationship. To be able to invite you and your family to birthday party’s and park dates and to keep open and contact.
OUR COMFORT LEVEL WITH DIFFERENT ADOPTION OPTIONS
- Very Comfortable
- Mostly Comfortable
- Unsure
- A Bit Uneasy
- Not Comfortable
Our ideal ongoing relationship is to have an open and healthy relationship. To be able to invite you and your family to birthday party’s and park dates and to keep open and contact.
Just one more thing...Our ideal ongoing relationship is to have an open and healthy relationship. To be able to invite you and your family to birthday party’s and park dates and to keep open and contact.