Dear Friend,

Thank you for taking the time to know a little about us; we are very excited for this opportunity. We want you to know that throughout this journey we are here for you in any capacity; whether it be listening, sharing, or just being present. We cannot begin to understand what will ultimately be the most difficult decision that you will have to make, and we would like to commend you on your strength and courage at this time. We would hope that after reading our letter, you will see what a close-knit family we have and how excited we all are to welcome another family member. 

Well we should probably introduce ourselves:) We are Jim & Christa Wittke. We met thirteen years ago and wed on 2/20/2000 at 2 p.m. – can you guess that one of our favorite numbers is two. Our son, Parker, is 20 years old and a United States Marine serving in California – words cannot describe how proud we are of him. As was evident when we met, we were going to be an immediate family because Jim has always had custody of Parker. We knew that our desire to have more children was strong, yet we wanted to give the three of us adjustment time, so we waited several years before trying.  After five years of infertility testing, procedures, and many losses, we now know that adoption is the path that we were meant to take. We have seen a grief counselor who showed us that we have an incredible sense of faith and that our life has led us to the journey that we are on now. We have always embraced life's struggles (which have been many) and looked at them as part of who we are today.       

Parker was eight years old when we were brought together, and the next few years proved to be a challenging time for all of us as we adjusted to being a family. Through becoming a blended family, we are able to better understand that a child can never have too many people that love him/her in their lives. We have also learned that relationships are not always perfect, but they are still worth the struggle. This is why we choose to have an open adoption so that any child that is placed with us will know the love of his/her biological family as well as our family's love. 

Some information about Christa:  I come from a very close-knit family that includes my Mom, Dad, and two younger sisters, Michelle and Terasa. My ethnic background is mainly Italian so Sunday dinners, birthdays, and every holiday are a must, being talkative is the norm, and most importantly there is a strong commitment with unconditional love. I grew up in Oak Lawn and attended Catholic elementary and high schools; I attended college and am licensed as a Physical Therapy Assistant working part-time seeing home health patients over the summer and work full-time as a 5^th grade teacher in a Western suburb of Chicago. My parents raised us in a loving and nurturing environment where my Mom was able to stay at home and my Dad worked very hard to provide for us. We attended church regularly and always had family dinner every night. Just a few of my many memories from when I was a child: swimming in the backyard pool; ice-cream being fed by two spoons from my Dad; going to Venture with Mom and getting an Icee; spending weekends at my grandparents house; every summer camping in a tent and spending a week in Wisconsin Dells; going to Walt Disney World every couple of years; night time stories read by Dad; Mom being a leader for my Brownie Troop; Dad and Mom coaching my softball team; words cannot express how fortunate I am to have such loving, caring, supportive parents; I would not be the person I am today if it were not for their unconditional love. I am very much a people person with a bubbly personality, and am dedicated to every task ensuring the end result has been given 110% by me. Activities that I enjoy are: reading, playing games and spending time with family, walking the dogs, meditating, swimming, spending time in downtown Chicago, and vacationing. I tell my students that you can never read enough because it opens your mind to another world. 

Some information about Jim:  my family includes my Mom and Dad who live in Missouri and younger brother, Michael, who lives in Florida. My ethnic background is German/Polish and Lithuania. I grew up in Orland Park and attended public schools and completed Catechism through my parish church which we attended on a weekly basis. I enjoyed playing baseball as a kid, was in cub scouts with my Mom as a den mother, as well as racing my BMX bike at the YMCA, where they had the local dirt track. I loved swimming in our pool and half the neighborhood had one, so my friends and I would pool hop from one to another. I would have to say that I was lucky to have my Mom stay at home with my brother and I, and when my Dad got home from work we all sat down to dinner together. In high school I spent a lot of time on the swim team and was recruited to the gymnastics team which sort of interfered with swimming so I didn't join. As a family we went on vacations to Disney, the Smokey Mountains, and Colonial Williamsburg to name a few. I attended Moraine Valley Community College for a couple years, but never was able to finish because of raising Parker full-time. I worked full-time at UPS for 20 years until an unfortunate work related injury occurred, which required me to have low back surgery. I now work part-time at Lowes in the flooring department and have unlimited time to be a stay-at-home Dad. I have a strong sense of hard-work and dedication to tasks. Activities that I enjoy are: baking and cooking, walking the dogs, crossword puzzles, hands-on activities, going to the gym and swimming, spending time with family, vacationing, and walking around downtown. I would have to say that my main focus now is cooking and baking, if you can think of it, I can make it. Just ask Cindy, (our social worker at St. Mary's) I made her muffins for our meeting, specifically blueberry. I would like to say that the Sunday paper doesn't get by without me grabbing and completing the crossword puzzle.

We live in a south suburb of Chicago which has earned the title of "Best Place in America to Raise Kids," bestowed by BusinessWeek magazine, and Chicagomagazine named our city one of its "20 Great Towns & Neighborhoods". We have lived here for 16 years and can say that our community has so much to offer: the public schools consistently do well on state tests; our Catholic church is down the block – we chose this church because of the warm, friendly attention that we are given; we are within walking distance to parks; the rec center, which has a pool and water park for kids, and library are within a quick car ride; the neighborhood has many younger, diverse families whom we talk with when walking the dogs or just sitting outside; and we also live a short distance from the rest of our family. We are proud owners of two bichon-poodle mixes; a female named Lacy, and a male named Louie. As with our past two dogs, we have a special gift that brings us together with dogs who have medical needs; Lacy has epilepsy and Louie has environmental allergies that require shots.  They add much joy and excitement on a daily basis and thoroughly enjoy play time in the yard with neighborhood children. 

Our upbringing has taught us the true meaning of family: unconditional love and support.

We promise that any child/ren will be loved, nurtured, supported, and given guidance to be their own person. It is important to us that a child grows up knowing their true heritage, and we welcome the opportunity to openly share this experience with you. We look forward to meeting you so that we may have a chance to know each other better. We are keeping you and your family in our thoughts and prayers.

With open hearts – Jim & Christa Wittke