Jason and Jennifer have been married 10 years and have three amazing children that are the biggest joy in their lives. Their two sons are biological and their daughter was born from their hearts. Their oldest and their youngest children have dwarfism. Jason and Jennifer’s family is defined by their love for each other and their faith.
Jason and Jennifer met and started dating during their first year at St. Francis College in Loretto, PA in 1995. They both entered the same major of Electrical Engineering, and later transferred to Penn State University in University Park, PA to complete the program. After graduation, they both became employed by the same engineering firm and moved to Annapolis, MD to start the next chapter of their lives.
In 2003, Jason and Jennifer were married in a small ceremony by their close friend and priest from St. Francis College, and the ceremony and celebration were attended by family and close friends. In 2007, they were blessed with welcoming their first child, Simon, into their family. Simon was diagnosed via ultrasound at 17 weeks gestation to have dwarfism, and he was born at 29 weeks gestation weighing just 1 pound 5 ounces. Miraculously, he was healthy and grew to put on weight to be able to go home with his parents after 7 weeks in the NICU. Simon continues to grow and develop, and is a very happy, healthy, enthusiastic 6.5 year old. Despite seeing several doctors for his skeletal dysplasia/dwarfism, he is yet to be diagnosed. In 2009, Jason and Jennifer were again blessed with welcoming their second son, Jude, into their family. Jude does not share the health characteristics of his brother, but they do share the same high energy and excitement for life. Simon and Jude are the best of friends, always together whenever they can be. In 2012, after 3.5 years into the adoption process and with the help of Little People of America (LPA) Adoptions, Jason and Jennifer were blessed with welcoming home a beautiful, healthy baby girl, Lucy Mei, whom has achondroplasia. She was two months old when they welcomed her home, and the family was in love even before first being able to hold her in their arms. All three children love to sing, dance, and play together. Lucy Mei is always looking to see what her big brothers are doing, just as Simon and Jude love to show Lucy Mei what they are doing and teach her new things.
Jason works for a different engineering firm now and enjoys his work. His hobbies include photography and building projects for the boys. Jennifer is still employed by the same engineering firm as when they first moved to MD; however she has been able to work out of their home since pregnant with Simon. The balance of working from home and being a stay-at-home mom can be challenging at times, but she loves being able to have so much time with their children. Her hobbies include painting pottery and photography, as well as finding new ways to educate their children. Simon is currently in first grade at Catholic school. He is involved in performing arts and choir, and he loves playing soccer and riding his bike. Jude is currently in preschool. He loves building with Legos, playing with trains, playing soccer, and anything that involves being outdoors. Lucy Mei loves dancing anytime she hears music, playing with musical toys, cruising around, and practicing to stand on her own. Jason and Jennifer love hearing all of the giggles as they play.
When Jason is not working, the five of them are almost always together. They enjoy family game nights and movie nights, which often turn into indoor camping nights. They enjoy building Legos together and making art projects. When the weather is nice, they have a great time going for walks together to their community beach and playing in the sand and skipping rocks on the water. Simon, Jude, and Lucy Mei love playing in their back yard and going to the local parks, and really enjoy having play dates with their friends.
Once learning of Simon’s skeletal dysplasia while Jennifer was pregnant with him, Jason and Jennifer joined LPA. They have met and become friends with so many amazing families through LPA that have become like a second family to them. They always look forward to their LPA gatherings and meeting new families.
Jason and Jennifer feel it is an important part of the day to all sit down to dinner together at the table. It is a wonderful time to share stories about their day. They also feel it is important to have prayer and story time as part of the children’s bed time routine. Simon and Jude are always excited to pick out their books for story time every day. Simon is now at the age that he loves to sit and read or tell stories to Jude and Lucy Mei, which is very sweet to watch as Jude and Lucy Mei sit and listen.
One of the family’s favorite weekend activities is going for little road trips. They like to pack a picnic lunch and spend the day out at a park, driving to see family and friends, or going to museums.
When Jason and Jennifer first found out about Simon’s diagnosis, they were unsure of what to expect for the future . . . they did not anticipate just how much fun and excitement would come into their lives, and what big personalities all three of their children would have. They also did not expect to be welcomed into a new family as they have with LPA.
