Welcome! Meet:

Joel + Kristen

Inventory Manager / Physical Therapist

Wisconsin

Caucasian

Christian / Catholic

All About Joel & Kristen
Why Adoption?
Gallery
Family and Home
How We Met
Advice to Future Child
Perspectives on Open Adoption
Favorites

All About Joel & Kristen

We are a fun-loving Midwest couple who values time with family and friends, new experiences, and spend our days filled with love & lots of laughter! We appreciate all of the “little things in life!” and treasure our families dearly. We are always looking for our next adventure- whether that is traveling to new places, enjoying live music, festivals, cooking together, sports, traveling, and spending time outdoors whenever we can. Despite all of our common interests, we enjoy our individual hobbies too- Joel enjoys bowling in a league and Kristen enjoys crafting/baking. We are a strong Christian couple who attend church regularly, confidently knowing adoption is God’s plan for our future!

Why Adoption?

Since early in our relationship, we have always shared our mutual love of children and expressed our desires to have a family of our own. Unfortunately, this path hasn’t been easy- we have had a long struggle with infertility. In the early summer of 2023, we decided to no longer pursue any of the medical means of conceiving we were trying and switched gears to adoption! We completed our adoption home study by November 2023 & have been ‘live’ with our adoption agency ever since. We couldn’t be more excited for God’s plan for our family—open adoption! It has given us new hope and light!

Family & Home

We live in a small town just outside of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our home is on a dead-end street in a quiet neighborhood with many other families/children. We have a large yard & nursery waiting. Minutes away from our home are trails, the lake, sporting events, playgrounds, schools, our church, etc. We were both raised in loving families that value faith and Christian values, spending quality time with each other, taking pride in our heritage, and are built on hard work, respect, and kindness. We have large, close-knit, & supportive extended families– everyone is so excited to welcome a new little one!

How others describe me

Joel is considerate, understanding, loyal, empathetic, and has the patience of a saint! He loves watching/playing sports and bowls in a league. He also enjoys board games & keeping our yard immaculate. Everyone’s favorite uncle! He is a true explorer and has the most calming presence. He works as an inventory manager.

Kristen is kind, loving, generous, smart, outgoing, and determined. She is a social butterfly who is extremely loyal and empathetic towards others needs, always putting others before herself. She values her farm-life upbringing. She loves doing anything outside, crafting, baking, and spending time with her new nieces/nephew. She works as a Physical Therapist.

How We Met

We were matched through an online dating website in 2017. Our first date consisted of dinner at a restaurant for Joel’s favorite meal: fish fry. When Joel suggested keeping the conversation going by grabbing dessert after dinner, Kristen knew he was ‘a keeper’ when he suggested her favorite: ice cream!

Advice to Future Child

As parents, we will dedicate our lives to providing you with a loving, safe and nurturing home/environment that allows you to be curious, adventurous, and spread your wings to reach your full potential! As a family, we value humility, honesty, kindness, compassion and joy. In addition to having us as loving parents, you will be raised amongst an amazing extended family & community alongside you through life supporting/cheering you on! Be Brave, Be Strong! Know that we are here to support & love you every step of the way. We can’t wait to meet you!

Perspectives on Open Adoption

We believe open adoption is a lifelong commitment of maintaining an open relationship with birth parents, as this is definitely in the child’s best interest. We have seen open adoption work first-hand in our own lives/families. We are open to any form of communication & guidelines between us/the birth parents that are agreed upon. We are excited for the future to be involved in a loving, child-centered open adoption, one that builds a life-long relationship that nurtures the long-term growth/development of the child. We are so humbled and hopeful to expand our family through adoption!

Favorites

Joel

Favorite Movie: Green Mile
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: getting together with family for meals and games
Hobbies/Interests: cooking, golf, bowling, listening to music
Dream Vacation: On a tropical beach somewhere with loved ones
If I Could Choose a Superpower: mind reading

Kristen

Favorite Movie: The Blind Side
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Santa visiting ‘in person’ on Christmas Eve
Hobbies/Interests: gardening, baking, crafting, spending time with family/friends, sports
Dream Vacation: Hawaii
If I Could Choose a Superpower: time travel