Introduction
Dear Expectant Parent(s),
Hello, we are Dan and Emma! Thank you for reading our story and learning more about us as prospective parents.
Our Story
Our story began in the summer of 2012 at Emma’s cousin’s wedding. We met during the reception where we danced together all night. We immediately began dating and moved in together a year later. In 2017, we got engaged in front of Cinderella’s castle on one of our trips to Disney World. We married in 2019 on the beaches of Saint Lucia, surrounded by just our parents and siblings.
We knew that conceiving a child would be difficult due to Dan’s childhood battle with cancer. After researching our options, we are excited that adoption is the course we are taking to expand our family.
About Dan
When we first started dating, I remember being extremely impressed by Dan, because he went above and beyond to take care of me. He has always been supportive of friends and family, who often sought his advice when going through life changes or tough times. As we’ve grown together over the years he has continued to take care of me and our pets in the most nurturing ways.
Dan is the cook in our family. Whether just making dinner for the two of us or grilling up a bunch of seafood for the extended family, everything he makes is delicious! He loves to play around with new recipes and is always looking to upgrade his sauces and pesto recipes. During the winter months, our house is filled with smells of chili, soups, and pot roasts.
He is so good with technology that he’s often stopping at Nana’s or his parents’ house on the way home from work to fix computer issues. He’s taught me how to play some video games and we love spending a rainy day battling it out in Mario Party.
I can’t wait for Dan to become a dad. I can picture him trying different recipes for a child, teaching them how to play video games, and being the big listener in their life. Watching him with his niece and nephew leaves no doubt in my mind that he is going to be a strong father figure.
About Emma
When we first started dating, I remember thinking that Emma was hard-working and caring. She was a manager at a late-night restaurant and treated everyone there as family. Some nights she would stay at the restaurant until three in the morning.
While I was waiting in Emma’s apartment for her to get home from her late work shifts, I spent time getting to know her cats, and by extension, her. While I wasn’t a pet-person until I met her, animals have always been so important to Emma. She enjoys her work at an animal shelter, and is incredibly passionate about caring for animals, constantly putting their needs above her own. In addition to taking care of our pets, she has taken up bee keeping, keeps an eye out for wildlife and bugs, maintains full bird feeders, and feeds the neighborhood crows.
Emma’s other interests include reading, doing puzzles, gardening, playing with our dog, and sometimes stargazing with me. I know Emma will be a great mother because all of her passions are rooted in nature and love. I can picture her teaching a child how to love bugs and not kill them, and why to leave a spider’s web up. I can’t wait to watch them create a vegetable garden or to see Emma bundling up a child to go look at the stars before tucking them into bed or cuddling up to read a goodnight story.
Our Home
We live in a home which we designed and built. Our living space has an open-concept layout, which fosters our love of spending time together. During the summer, we love spending time outside in our large backyard, playing with our dog and bird watching. Dan is often grilling and we enjoy a good fire pit on the cooler evenings. Emma can often be found in the bee garden tending to her honey bees and wildflowers. We have space for a veggie garden which we are excited to start building and cultivating. In the winter, we spend our free time cozied up in the living room watching snow storms through our big picture window.
Our Neighborhood
Dan’s parents are our next door neighbors on one side, and his brother’s family are our next door neighbors on the other side. There’s beautiful wetlands across from us, giving privacy and wildlife, too. The rest of the neighborhood consists of a few more of Dan’s family members, neighbors who have lived here for decades, and new families with young children. We live on a quiet road where young mothers walk by with strollers and families walk their dogs.
Our Community
Our town is on the smaller side and we are only five minutes away from a busy downtown area. We’re just over a half-hour from Boston where there is so much to do, from whale-watching to Red Sox games, the science museum, and so much more!
Our Family
We each grew up in two-parent households, and each of us has a younger brother. Our families are very loving and kept us busy! Our brothers were our first playmates, and we were close with our cousins. We cannot wait to share similar relationships and experiences with a child!
We know that Dan’s parents are some of the best grandparents ever. Living right between them and Dan’s brother’s family, we have witnessed this firsthand. They are so fun with the kids! Their grandchildren are their whole world and they cannot wait to welcome another child into the family to dote upon. Our niece and nephew are young children who would love to have a cousin living right door to play and grow up with!
Emma’s parents cannot wait to be grandparents! They are both retired, very involved in their community, and are eager to shift focus to spending their free time helping out and visiting a grandchild. Emma’s brother and his wife live an hour away and will be the most fun aunt and uncle. We make time to see each other and always have a great time together with lots of laughs.
Both of our families, and all of our friends, are so excited and cannot wait to help us welcome a child into our lives. They all support our decision to adopt and will be there for us, and more importantly, for the child who joins this family. A child in this family will be loved and nurtured by all of us.
Hobbies, Interests, and Traditions
Our family has several traditions throughout the year, which we cannot wait to share with a child! We love everything Disney and we visit Disney World every couple of years. We cannot wait to share that experience with a child!
Winter: Christmas parties and other holiday celebrations, pretty lights, magical Christmas mornings, and snow! We are so excited to create the most magical Christmas morning for a child. After the holidays, we usually take a fun and relaxing family vacation to somewhere tropical with Dan’s family.
Spring: We look forward to working in the garden or playing with our dog in our backyard. It is such a joy to plant something and watch it grow over the years!
Summer: Weekends are spent at Dan’s family’s vacation home on the water in Connecticut. Every July 4th, Dan’s parents throw a huge celebration there with friends and family, where we eat fresh whole lobsters and clams dipped in butter and watch local fireworks.
Fall: Halloween is a big deal in New England and we love decorating and watching spooky movies. We really enjoy watching the leaves change their color to striking red, yellow, and orange. Thanksgiving is usually spent with Emma’s family with lots of food and laughs. In addition to experiencing family gatherings, we cannot wait to bring a child apple-picking and trick-or-treating!
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read our profile. You are brave, loving, and nurturing to consider an adoption plan. Raising a child and being parents is something we both deeply desire. We can’t wait to experience the love that grows through nurturing a child.
We’re so looking forward to sharing our lives with a baby, and we will love them unconditionally. We will give everything we possibly can to help them grow up feeling loved, accepted, cherished, educated, safe, and surrounded and supported by family through throughout their life.
Regardless of how much openness that you are comfortable with, your child will know that they came to be a part of our family because of the loving decision that you made for them. We welcome an opportunity to meet you if you are comfortable with that, and will share photos with you so that you can see how he or she is thriving. If you would like to have visits, that is also welcomed.
We wish you all the blessings as you sort out what is best for you and your baby.
Sincerely,