Adam, Jenna & Aiden
Hello!
We are Adam and Jenna Turner. We have an amazing son named Aiden who is going to be 7 in July. We
have been trying for three years to conceive a second child, but have come to the beautiful realization that
family is not just about genetics, but rather the love, respect, and support you give one another. No matter
how a baby comes into our life, whether naturally or through adoption, it’s a true miracle. We realize that
our dreams of adding to our family could not be possible without amazing people like you. We are unable
to begin to imagine the emotions you are going through with deciding to place your baby for adoption;
however, we are able to understand the tremendous strength, maturity, responsibility, love, and faith you
must possess to do such a selfless act. As parents, we know that you love your child more than anything in
the world, and that means doing anything it takes to provide your child with the best life possible. We feel
this quote says it beautifully… “Adoption is not a birthmother’s rejection but an unconditional love that
inspires her to put herself last and do all she can for her baby.” – Unknown.
Our beginnings
We met at Slippery Rock University through mutual friends, and found we had a lot in common. We were friends for
one year, dated for two years, and have been married for six. Our relationship now is stronger than ever. One thing we
have learned is that all of the things we deal with in life, whether they are good or bad, strengthen a couple and their
commitment to one another. We also treat our marriage like a partnership and share many activities together, like
chores, cook, buy groceries, take care of the dogs, and help Aiden with homework. Our son is able to see what a
healthy relationship looks like by seeing two parents that are in love and respect each other. We make a point to kiss
each other and say “I love you” every morning before leaving the house. Even though being parents is very important
to us, we understand we are better parents when our marriage is healthy and we are happy. The best part of our
marriage is how much fun we still have together.
Why adopt
We have chosen adoption as a way to build our family because we both love children. From the beginning of our
relationship, we have always talked about having at least two children. Jenna is very close with her sister, and Adam is
close with his four siblings. Although adding to our family was important, we waited to have a second child in order to get
more financially stable to better provide for a growing family. Jenna finished her Master’s Degree and now has more
time to commit to our family. Getting pregnant a second time has not been easy, and even though the past three years
has been difficult, we have grown as people, as a couple, as a family, and as Christians. Our plan is not always the same as
God’s plan, and He has provided us with hope in guiding us in our decision to adopt. We are the first to adopt in our
families, and everyone is super excited and very supportive. We do have experience with adoption through Jenna’s best
friend, Kayse. She was adopted at three months old from a single mother who could not provide the life she wanted for
her daughter. She could not be more thankful for the opportunities both of her parents have given her through the gift of
adoption. Kayse and her parents have been very helpful and supportive to us through this process. We know our child
will be welcomed with open arms and open hearts by everyone in our families and circle of friends.
Adam
I am a safety manager at a manufacturing/forging facility. I would describe myself as friendly, honest, helpful, patient,
motivated, creative, and dependable. I always put my family first. When I am not working, I coach Aiden’s soccer team,
help out at cub scouts, and love teaching him things like riding a bike, working in the garage, and how to take care of a
garden. Playing golf, softball, hiking, kayaking, watching sports, and fixing things up around the house are a few of my
favorite hobbies.
Jenna: “Adam is the kind of father and husband people wish they had. Aiden and I are very lucky to have such a
remarkable man in our life that constantly puts his family first.”
Jenna
From an early age, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. My dream came true when I graduated from college in 2009 with my
Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish Education K-12. I love languages and learning about cultures. My second year teaching, I
started my Master’s Program in Education with an emphasis in Spanish, and graduated from Clarion University last year. I
have been teaching Spanish at the high school level for the past six years, and really enjoy working with the students. I
also volunteer at my son’s daycare, teaching younger children Spanish after school. Two of my greatest joys in life are
sharing my love of learning with others and being creative. I am a true believer that laughter is the best medicine, so I
enjoy having a good sense of humor and try to maintain a positive outlook on life. Practicing gratitude on a daily basis
helps me appreciate all the wonderful things I have in my life. I would say that I am a well-rounded person, and enjoy a
variety of activities, like cooking/baking, reading, watching movies, listening to music, playing sports, kayaking, traveling,
spending time with my family and friends, and tackling projects around the house.
Adam: “She is the love of my life and my better half. She makes me a better person. She is sweet and charismatic.
Jenna has a personality that draws people in.”
Aiden
Aiden is an energetic, inquisitive, sensitive, thoughtful, intelligent, funny, creative little boy. He would make the best
big brother! He loves being around his younger cousins and helping out in any way he can. He prays every night for a
brother or sister, and was beyond excited when we told him our plans to adopt. He is also well mannered and social,
making him a good role model for a sibling. He loves school, playing outside (he’s a magnet to mud puddles),
swimming, soccer, pretending he’s a pirate, building things out of Legos/magnetic blocks, learning about animals,
doing science experiments, and his all-time favorite activity is doing art projects.
Although we both work full time, as a teacher Jenna has breaks throughout the year and summers off to spend with
our son. The daycare our son attends is wonderful, but does not accept infants. After taking a leave of absence from
work, our baby will be cared for by family or a highly-qualified private babysitter in our home for a few years before
attending the same daycare as Aiden.
School pic
Helping dad plant the garden
Feeding the animals at the zoo
Sharing Christmas treats with mom
Our home
Our home has plenty of room for a new addition to our family. It has two stories, with a finished basement, attached
garage, and a shed for extra storage for bikes and toys. We have three bedrooms, and one is just waiting to be
decorated for a special little one! There are four bathrooms, a family room, a living room, a roomy kitchen, and the
finished basement, which is furnished and used as a game room. Our home sits on top of a hill surrounded by beautiful
mountains. The view is breathtaking in the fall. We have a big backyard with a small garden where Aiden loves to help
Adam. He gets so excited to see what he has helped grow. Our neighbors are all very friendly and the neighborhood is
quiet with very little traffic. There is a playground and community pool across the street, and the one hill is perfect for
sleigh riding in the winter. Aiden’s school and the high school where Jenna teaches are less than two miles away. We
have a public library, several churches, a few restaurants, a pharmacy, and a grocery store nearby. The Allegheny
Forest and Kinzua Dam provide opportunities for hiking, camping, swimming, and boating. It is also not that far to drive
into Erie or Pittsburgh for a fun family outing to the zoo, museum, Science Center, amusement park,
or to see a baseball game.
We love animals and have two dogs, Miley and Bailey. We may be a little biased, but they are the sweetest dogs ever!
They do extremely well around children of all ages and have never shown any form of aggression toward people or
other animals. Aiden loves to sleep on Miley and play with Bailey.
Our families
We have a wonderful relationship with our siblings, parents, and extended family. Jenna’s parents have been together
for 35 years and Adam’s parents have been together for 40. Together our siblings have blessed us with four nieces and
nephews, aged 2 to 6, with a fifth due in September! Family parties are never boring. Our aunts, uncles, cousins,
grandma, siblings, nieces, and nephews all come together on holidays and for special occasions. Our families are
suckers for themed birthday parties for the kids. For Memorial Day, Labor Day, and the Fourth of July, we usually visit
our families and spend time together going to parades, having a cookout, and swimming. Thanksgiving is spent
between both of our families; eating dinner at one house and having dessert at another. Our family also loves
Christmas, and it is a tradition to decorate together while reminiscing about where each ornament on our tree came
from. Adam’s mom hosts a caroling party where all the neighbors and family get together to eat, spend time together,
and go caroling around the neighborhood. Christmas Day and the day after are spent with both of our families. We
have time off the entire time Aiden is on Christmas Break; we get to spend lots of quality time together during the
holidays. My parents usually host a New Year’s Eve party, where we play board games and eat our traditional pork and
sauerkraut at midnight for good luck. For Easter this year we started a new tradition of hosting Easter at our house.
We had fun making cake pops that looked like baby chicks, and the kids had a blast during the Easter egg hunt. We
can’t begin to tell you how excited we are to share all of this and more with another child!
Family picnic
Easter egg hunt
Happy Birthday to Aiden
Jenna’s sister, dad & niece
Christmas goodies
Fun times
Our family works hard, but we also love to play and have fun. In the fall we especially love going to Port Farms where
we race down giant slides, sling pumpkins through the air with a sling shot, feed the goats, visit the bunny village, and
take our traditional hayride around the farm. In the winter, sleigh riding, tubing, building a snow fort, and making a
snowman are a must. Summertime brings amusement parks, zoos, and backyard camping, and every year, we take a
family vacation, which is usually to the beach. We have a timeshare that we can exchange for other ones around the
country and even internationally, so there are lots of fun places we plan on going in the future. Jenna’s parents have a
pool, and we love to have family cookouts and swim. Adam used to be a swim coach, and he taught Aiden how to
swim. The best thing we like about our family is how we don’t have to go anywhere special, we always find a way to
make our own fun. It would be amazing for us to be able to share these fun times with a second child, and for Aiden to
share them with a sibling.
Our faith & values
Adam was raised in the Catholic Church, and Jenna grew up in a Presbyterian church. We are raising Aiden in the
Christian faith, and we are currently attending the First United Methodist Church. It is a great church for younger
couples and children with lots of youth programs. As Christians, we want our children to share in our love of the Lord
and know His love. Through faith and guidance we want them to learn morals, forgiveness, humility, patience,
kindness, love, generosity, motivation, and empathy.
Our goal as parents is to provide unconditional love and support in a safe and nurturing environment. We try hard to model
the behaviors and values we hope to instill in our children. We want our children to treat all people with compassion,
dignity, and respect by first respecting themselves. We want them to know they have the ability to make a difference in the
world, be it small or large. We hope to give them the tools to overcome challenges in life, and to understand it is okay to fall
down as long as you keep getting back up. Education is very important to us, so we will encourage our children to do their
best in school and instill in them that learning can be fun as well as lead to amazing opportunities. No matter what they
choose to do in life, we hope they will do it to the fullest of their abilities and find happiness in what they choose.
Open adoption
We plan on telling our child from day one that they were adopted. One reason is that honesty is important to us, and
we would never want to try and hide such an important part of their life. We will also tell your child the sacrifice and
immense amount of love you have for them for making their adoption plan. We will explain that most children only
have one set of parents who love them, but they have two sets of parents who love them very much and want the
very best for them. When we first started discussing our
plans to adopt, we were unsure of having an open adoption
because fear got in the way of love and trust. However, the
more involved in the process we become, the more we are
changing our minds. As birthparents, you give the amazing
gift of life and a family to your child, and we want to respect
that by sharing their life with you as they grow.
Thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and
considering our family for your baby. May God bless you
while you make your decisions.
Adam, Jenna & Aiden
If you’d like to contact us • call toll-free 1-866-206-2936 • email [email protected]