Introduction
Dear Expectant Parent(s),
Hello, we are Ryan and Chrissie, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to tell you a little bit about ourselves and to share our hopes of expanding our family through adoption.
Our Story
We met in high school through mutual friends and started dating immediately after college.
In 2016 we were engaged and, a year later, got married on a beautiful fall day in New England with nearly 200 of our family and friends. We have been married for nearly six years, together for over 13 years, and friends for over 17 years. The following year we bought our house and turned it into a home. We have always enjoyed each other’s company, and we each love watching our love story grow over time.
In 2019, at 27 weeks pregnant, after a routine prenatal appointment turned scary quickly, Chrissie spent nearly three weeks hospitalized. Although we hoped to stay pregnant longer, Olivia came at 29 weeks, spending nearly three months in the NICU. We were cleared for a future pregnancy, but in the fall of 2021, we devastatingly lost a baby at 22 weeks pregnant. After this experience, we decided to expand our family through adoption, as we knew Olivia will be a great big sister. We adore watching her grow into the amazing person she is and look forward to this same joy with the next child we parent. It is our dream to complete our family and welcome another child to our family through adoption. Thank you for taking the time to consider us.
About Ryan
Knowing Ryan for half his life has been an amazing experience as I’ve watched him grow into the husband and father he is today.
Ryan is a major fan of all our home sports teams, particularly the local NFL team. During the fall, you can find him enthralled in conversation about football stats over a good craft beer. He is a great cook who loves experimenting with new recipes – the spicier, the better! He loves Taco Tuesdays and holiday baking. Wrapping Christmas gifts is one of Ryan’s favorite things to do each year. We often call him our own “Buddy the Elf”.
Ryan is a security officer by trade and an amazing dad by nature. He is the most supportive husband and dad. Don’t let his quiet nature fool you into thinking he’s an introvert; he loves hanging out with friends, and especially our family.
About Chrissie
When I met Chrissie, my first thought was, “Someday, I’m going to date her.” We became great friends right away; her outgoing personality made her super fun to hang out with, and she quickly lights up any room. My favorite quality is her ability to love and be loved. She can put a smile on anyone’s face with one of her many witty jokes; she loves a good pun.
There isn’t anything she loves more than being a mom. She amazes me every day with how great she is, being so patient, warm, loving, and attentive to our daughter. Her drive to be the best mom and wife has materialized into so many great moments. She loves finding fun things for us to do, from family trips to the zoo and parks in town to weekend excursions, to just being silly around the house.
Chrissie has a love for music and can almost always be found dancing to any song. She is the hot shots basketball champion among all our friends. Her favorite way to end a day is hanging downstairs with our family for movie night, followed by a quick story in bed, something our family wishes to continue for many years to come.
To close it out, her love for fun and outgoing personality are infectious, but at the end of the day, she just wants to be home, cuddled up on the couch with her family. Creating a family with her has been my life’s greatest blessing.
Meet Olivia
Meet Olivia, our bubbly, energetic, and very independent four-year-old. Olivia loves playing with her princesses and playing dress up for hours! You can often find her singing, dancing, coloring, or reading books. She is a very sweet and determined girl who could play all day and night with her friends, yet still loves to cuddle us before bed. Olivia loves her dolls, whom she takes very good care of – all this practice will make her the best big sister!
Our Home
We live in a classic ranch-style home in the suburbs of a major New England city, with a nice big yard filled with beautifully colored leaves in the autumn season and lots of room for fun, running, and outdoor play all year round! Our favorite parts of our home are our living room and playroom. The living room is where we gather family and friends often or just relax when it’s just the 3 of us (and Donut!) after a busy day or the weekend. Our playroom, which has a big screen projector, is where we watch movies together as a family creating special memories with our popcorn nights and Disney favorites. We know from watching Olivia with other children she’s going to be a great big sister to a future child and will teach them the best movies and movie snacks during these nights or how to play all kinds of fun games in our living room.
Our neighborhood is full of kids of all ages. All year round, in rain, sun, or snow, you hear kids outside playing games like street hockey, basketball, and Relievio (a team-based hide-and-seek game). There are multiple parks within walking distance of our home, where we spend a lot of time while out for family walks with our dog, Donut, a black lab mix whom we rescued in 2015. Donut is now ten years old and loves to cuddle up next to us (well, on us, as she’s our silly 75 lb. lap dog). She is loved by all who meet her and is our friendly neighborhood greeter.
Our Family
We both come from very loving families. We enjoy seeing our parents and siblings weekly as we live within 15 minutes of just about all of them. Our parents love being grandparents and spend as much time as they can with their grandchildren! They can’t wait to add another grandchild to the bunch to shower with love.
Ryan has a younger sister and brother-in-law, while Chrissie has a younger brother and younger sister; all live nearby and are often found hanging with us. Chrissie’s dad lives a little further away in a coastal town, where we often visit during the summer for beach days! We both also have numerous cousins who live nearby that we interact with and see throughout the year.
Our entire extended family is excited to welcome another child into the fam! We love to have movie nights on our home projector, eat lots of popcorn and play games together. We gather both families together for holidays and BBQs. We have weekly pizza Fridays with friends who live nearby with kids our daughter’s age. Everyone is so excited to welcome another child into our fun!
Hobbies, Interests, and Traditions
All year round, there is always something going on in our family. Over the years, we both have had a strong interest in golfing and enjoy being out on the course. We both love going out with friends, trying new restaurants, having a good dance party, attending a concert, or just spending time together at home. “Doughnut Sundays” have become one of our favorite traditions; trying out different shops around the area, making a new week start off great!
In the spring and summer, we keep quite busy! We can often be found at the pool or lake swimming and making the biggest splashes possible. With family and friends up at the lake, we often enjoy playing card games, board games, mini golf, etc. – in large and small groups. Every summer, our family has an annual family reunion that revolves around a major wiffleball tournament (35 years running!) that includes trophies, t-shirts, and lots of bragging rights.
We have lots of traditions with our friends, especially in the fall! We have Friendsgiving with friends and their families, as well as seasonal apple picking and hayrides.
Christmas Eve is a must where we have over 40+ people in attendance, including aunts, uncles, cousins, and their children, and involves a major holiday gift swap for all ages. Winter is our favorite time to build snow angels and a good snowman. We also love skiing in the wintertime. We are a family that likes to be active; the options we have as a result of living in New England are endless with all the different seasons!
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to get to know a bit about our family. We are honored that you would consider our home for your baby.
We promise to keep our home filled with love, happiness, and laughter. We pledge to provide a baby with all the encouragement and support they need to reach their dreams while reinforcing their background, helping them to be proud of where they came from. As in our relationship, we hope to handle the tough times with humor, patience, and respect.
We will honor you, and the child will grow up knowing the love you showed for them even before birth. We wish you all the best in whatever choice you make. We absolutely love being parents, and we can’t wait for our hearts to grow even bigger than we ever thought possible.
Sincerely,