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Darla Jolene and Thomas Shane
Florida

Basic Info

Darla Jolene

Age: 47
Sex:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion:

Thomas Shane

Age: 46
Sex:
Race/Ethnicity:
Religion:

Child Preferences

Age: Infant to 7 years old
Sex: Female
Max Number of Children: 1
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, Unknown

Special Needs the Family is Open To: Mild Physical/Medical Disability, Defiant, Difficulty in Attaching, Prenatal Drug Exposure, Academically behind due to poor attendance, Speech or Language Impairment, Exposed to Domestic Violence, Child in Residential Treatment, Child has had a disrupted adoption, Multiple Placements, ADHD, Diabetes, Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, Willing to Maintain Contact via Mail with Bio Family, Willing to Maintain Contact with Past Foster Parents, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Grandparents & Other Relatives, Willing to Maintain Contact with Bio Siblings, Sexually Abused in the Past

Environment

State: Florida
Neighborhood:
Residency: Single Family Home
Years Together: 10
Children in the Home: 1
Pet(s):

Work

Darla Jolene

Occupation: Special Education Teacher

Thomas Shane

Occupation: Automotive Equipment Operator

Adoption Agency

Agency: ImPower
Worker: William Marallo
Worker: wmarallo@impowerfl.org
City: Rockledge
State: Florida
Zip: 32955

Family Description

Hello, we are Jolene and Tommy. We are both in our late-thirties and we were born, raised, and currently reside in Mims, Florida, which is close to the beach and Kennedy Space Center. We are blessed to have both sets of our parents that love us very much and have been married to each other for 40 and 43 years now! They are excellent examples of what marriage should be and they are great parents! I (Jolene) graduated high school in 1994 and pursued my college career shortly after when I received a scholarship to attend Mars Hill College in North Carolina and was accepted on their championship clogging team, Bailey Mountain Cloggers. I have been clogging (it’s like tap dancing) since I was only eight years old. It is one of my favorite pastimes and hobbies. I competed for many years and I achieved the title of National Champion Clogger with two national champion titles. I am still a member of Indian River Cloggers in Merritt Island, FL. I am a Florida certified clogging instructor and I have recently taught the beginner classes for our club. Prior to graduating with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 2002, I served as a substitute teacher for all grade levels, an instructional assistant in pre-kindergarten and I taught Spanish to elementary school students. I began my full-time teaching career in January 2003. I have taught in both Brevard and Orange county public schools. I have taught kindergarten, second grade, fifth grade, and intensive reading for all grade levels 8th-11th. Tommy and I met in 2004 and were married in March of 2005. Shortly into our dating, we found out that our dads actually worked together when they were teenagers and our families get along very well. Both sets of our parents live within ten miles of each other and us. We are very blessed that they are such an active part of our lives on a daily basis. I decided to return to school in 2009 for my master’s degree in Education Media Design and Technology at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL. I currently teach special education in a multi-age classroom in Brevard County. Tommy graduated high school in 1996 and has since been working for an environmental company. The company works to restore Florida Scrub Jay habitat by maintaining the habitat through removal of invasive plant species and regular prescribed burns. After being laid off in April 2014, Tommy has gone to work for Brevard County Public Works. Tommy is an avid deer hunter and regularly hunts with his dad. He also likes to take the boat out and go fishing in both fresh and salt water and we are thankful to live so close to the water! Sometimes on the weekends we cruise around in a 1957 Oldsmobile to the local antique car shows. Tommy’s most important pastime is watching Florida Gator football in the Fall and we are both pretty big UF fans! We are also very active members in our church, The Pentecostals of Titusville, and we have a wonderful church family awaiting the arrival of the newest member(s) of our family. Tommy and I have always desired a family, but haven’t been able to conceive naturally, so we began to pray for direction in our lives. We decided that adoption would be one of the avenues we would explore on our journey to parenthood. We are actively seeking God’s guidance in our lives and in the lives of all that we may have the experience of loving in this lifetime. In 2013, we were blessed to adopt our son, Shane from Brevard County, Florida. Shane is now 7 years old and adjusting nicely. Shane is in first grade and is doing very well academically. He plays baseball at Mims Little League, where Tommy and I both manage and coach his team. His favorite position is catcher. As we continue to pray for God's guidance, we have decided to move forward in expanding our family once more.

Preference Description

We would like children that enjoy the outdoors, attending church, and enjoy lots of family outings/gatherings. We have an 8 year old son and an awesome dog that loves playing with kids!!

Introduction

Hello, we are Jolene and Tommy. We were both born, raised, and currently reside in Mims, Florida, which is close to the beach and Kennedy Space Center. We adopted our son, SJ, in 2013 and we have an awesome dog named Paisley. We stay busy with extracurricular activities for our very active 8 year old. He is regularly involved in little league baseball and he will be playing football starting this August. My (Jolene) hobbies include clogging and scrapbooking. Even though I do not regularly attend classes, I do participate in various workshops when it fits into our schedule. Tommy's hobbies include hunting and watching Florida Gator football. We like to take the boat out and go fishing in both fresh and salt water and we are thankful to live so close to the water! Sometimes on the weekends we cruise around in a 1957 Oldsmobile to the local antique car shows with my parents.

Child Preferences

We are looking to extend our family through the adoption of a little girl up to age 7. We want our son to have a little sister to play with and look after. We are a loving and affectionate family with lots of love to share!

Home and Community

We live in a small town on the East Coast of Florida. This is the town we grew up in and we know just about everyone. Our local elementary school is amazing and we could not ask for a better and safer place to send our children. Our son will be starting second grade very soon! We live on 2 acres next door to my (Jolene's) parents. We do not really interact with our neighbors much, but we have a large group of friends that have children for our son to play with. He is also very active in Mims Little League and coming soon, Pop Warner football.

Parenting Experience

I (Jolene) am a special education teacher for children with diverse backgrounds and varying ability levels. I have my Florida Teaching Certificate in the areas of Primary Education (PreK-3), Elementary Education (K-6), Middle Grades Integrated Curriculum (5-9), ESOL (K-12), ESE (K-12), and Reading Endorsement (K-12). I am currently working for the Devereux-Threshold Center for Autism with students with autism and intellectual disabilities. I have a very diverse behavioral management background. I am CPR/First Aid certified and am regularly trained in Safe and Positive Approaches, along with some ABA training.

Tommy worked for an environmental company for over 12 years on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The company worked to restore Florida Scrub Jay habitat by maintaining the habitat through removal of invasive plant species and regular prescribed burns. After being laid off last year, Tommy currently works for Brevard County Public Works. Tommy is an avid deer hunter and regularly hunts with his dad and was excited to get to take our son on hunting trips with them last year. Tommy has been coaching our son's little league baseball team for the last two years and his summer fun softball league this year.

We have both attended and completed the PRIDE training for adoption in Brevard County, Florida and we are being educated daily by our amazing son. Tommy and I have attended some online webinars regarding parenting after adoption and are willing to continue any necessary training to meet the needs of our family.

Support

We are blessed to have both sets of our parents living close to us that love us very much and have been married to each other for 41 and 44 years now! They are excellent examples of what marriage should be and they are great parents and grandparents to our son! We have a large extended friend group that has accepted our son as their own and would be excited to share that love with another child. We are also regular members in our church, The Pentecostals of Titusville, and we have a wonderful church family awaiting the arrival of the newest member of our family.

Motivation to Adopt

Tommy and I have always desired a family, but have not been able to conceive naturally, so we began to pray for direction in our lives. We decided that adoption would be one of the avenues we would explore on our journey to parenthood. We are actively seeking God's guidance in our lives and in the lives of all that we may have the experience of loving in this lifetime. In 2013, we were blessed to adopt our son from Brevard County, Florida. He is now 8 years old, adjusting nicely, will be in second grade this year, and is doing very well academically. He plays baseball at Mims Little League, where Tommy and I both manage and coach his team. His favorite position is catcher. As we continue to pray for God's guidance, we have decided to move forward in expanding our family once more.