As you get to know us and other families, we hope that you find one that fits the image you have in mind for your baby. We will respect and support your feelings and thoughts. Our hope is to create a trusting relationship with the expecting mom or couple who chooses us.
We are thrilled about welcoming another baby into our home. We have always imagined ourselves with at least two children, maybe three. Our five year old daughter, Eliška, (pronounced Elishka), has been asking for a baby sister or brother for years. We are certain that adoption is the right choice for our family.
We are both professionals and love our careers, however we cherish our family time and the simple things. We started out as friends who would spontaneously grab our rollerblades or bikes and head out for a spin of some sort. Then one day we went for a day trip to Philadelphia to see some exhibits, skate, and enjoy some cheap eats, and we have been together ever since. We got married in 1998. Although exploring and traveling as parents requires a little more planning, we still love the spontaneity of packing a bag of snacks, loading up the bikes, filling up the car with gas, and taking off for an adventure.
About Jan
Few people love their jobs as much as I do. I followed in my father’s footsteps, earning my doctorate in civil engineering. I have worked for the same firm for more than a decade and it could easily end up being the only firm I ever work for. I design foundations for buildings in this country and in Europe.
I grew up as a city kid in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. I am the middle child of three. My older brother, Fanda, is married and has two children and they live near Prague. My younger sister, Eva, is studying architecture in Paris. I came to the United States in 1993 for graduate school, after undergraduate studies in Prague and Glasgow, Scotland. Despite the distance, we keep in touch weekly with our Czech family with web cameras. Eliška and the children spend a lot of time giggling and singing songs, Eva and her boyfriend also love to make Eliska laugh with their antics, and I can talk for hours with my father about international politics, engineering projects, and family stuff. We fly to Prague once a year and my parents fly to the U.S. every year. They can hardly wait for another grandchild.
Jan's Parents strolling in Prague. Aunt Eva and Eliska.
I spent my summers as a child at chess camp and my competitive side really comes through when I play speed chess on the weekends with friends. I also like to play street hockey and soccer. My favorite sport to watch, though, is ice hockey and I am always loyal to the team with the most Czech players.
About Stacey
Although I provide counseling a few hours each week, I am primarily a stay at home mom and have been for most of the past 5 years. I will be home full-time with the baby we adopt. When our children are both in grade school, I will return to work part-time as a clinical social worker. I received my master’s degree in 1995 and after working in foster care for children with special needs, I worked in special education, conducting evaluations and providing therapy to children and their families. I really enjoy helping families realize their strengths and find hope to overcome life's most challenging obstacles. I wish I could convey how much hope and inspiration I find in the day-to-day experiences with people who do not take the little things for granted.
I volunteer a lot of time to Eliška’s community preschool and to community projects. I typically get involved with public gardens, cooking for families who have lost their homes, advocating for families who are threatened with deportation, and raising funds for programs and services for children with disabilities. I thrive on being surrounded by genuine, kind people and I feel very fortunate to live in a neighborhood with lots of trustworthy, generous souls.
Stacey's Mom and Dad Stacey's Sister and her Husband
Growing up in Maryland I was one of two girls. My younger sister, Shelly, who still lives in Maryland, is a very proud aunt, who loves to take Eliška swimming, horse back riding, out to eat, or to the park. She always finds reasons to buy Eliška new books, puppets and other toys that she comes across in her work as a kindergarten teacher. Eliška was delighted to be the flower girl in Shelly’s wedding in August 2007. My parents live about two hours away and they visit every few weeks for a few days at a time. They love to play games, do puzzles, and read stories with Eliška. “Grandma” loves to share her gift for reading aloud and growing flowers and vegetables. “Pop-Pop” loves to share his expertise about trains and model airplanes, although he is happy to dress a doll and comb her hair too, because he is putty in a child's hands. Eliška really looks forward to her "sleep-overs" in Maryland with Grammy and Pop-pop.
When I get a night out, I prefer to hang out with the girls at the knitting shop or a favorite restaurant. I stay connected with the incredibly creative knitting community through blogs and our local modern knitting shop and I love to knit gifts for friends and Eliška. Over dinner or coffee my friends and I can talk movies, books, and politics for hours.
About Eliška
Our daughter Eliška was born in 2002. She is a creative, playful child with a great sense of humor. She goes to pre-school and is very excited about starting kindergarten next year because she is eager to read. Eliška loves school, riding her bike, pretending outside with her friends, playing with dolls, listening to stories, and any type of artwork. She takes an art class with a local artist and she had her first “show” this year. Eliška looks forward to having a sister or brother.
Eliska's birthday party Stacey and Eliska at Sesame Place
Life at our place
Our home always has that “lived in” feeling because Eliška always has a make believe scene set up and we usually have books and newspapers all about because reading is very important to us. Music also plays a big role in our lives and we have many opportunities to enjoy live music. We take Eliška to performances every few weeks and we are fortunate to have musician friends who play guitar, drums, and other instruments, so we enjoy impromptu shows pretty often. Jan has recently taught himself the guitar and loves to tell Eliška about his grandfather who was a composer of big band music.
It is really important to us to eat dinner together each day. On the weekends we share big dinners pretty often with our neighbors and the children are very close. Our family is outdoors whenever weather permits, grilling, gardening, or swimming at the town pool just down the block. We really enjoy hanging out in our backyard watching the children run, climb, pretend, or decorate the patio with sidewalk chalk. We both gained an appreciation of gardening from our grandparents. Jan's grandfather kept gardens at at castle and Stacey's grandfather farmed for a living. We love bike rides, long walks around the neighborhood, visiting local shops, outdoor concerts, events at the art museum, and going to productions at the community theaters. This town is a great location for us because we can take a short train ride to the city and we can just as easily get to a beautiful mountainous area with canoeing and hiking trails.
Typical summer scene in our backyard Eliska and friends on our swing
Our town is made up of people from different races, ethnicities and religions. Our community is very accepting of adoptive families and families of mixed races and cultures. Many of Eliska’s close friends are adopted or have adopted siblings, and we are close to their families. We know that our child we adopt will always have friends and neighbors who were adopted and we believe that this strong community will support our child and our entire family in many ways. We have selected a grade school that has a significant number of children who were adopted and many who are of races and ethnicities different from their parents. We feel comfortable welcoming a child of any race or background in to our family.
If you choose us to become adoptive parents, you will always have special meaning in our lives. Your child will know about his or her birth family in loving ways.
We are eager to hear from you….please call our toll free number, 1-866-573-9722. If you have any questions about the legal process, feel free to call our attorneys, Denise Seidelman and Nina Rumbold, who specialize in adoption: 1-866-962-3001. Their website: www.adoptionlawny.com.
All our best,
Stacey and Jan