Family Life

We are both Christian, and plan on raising the child as such.  We both enjoy music, concerts, hiking, traveling, and reading. Dan also enjoys golf and trains in Brazilian Jiujitsu. Heather and Dan are both big baseball and college football fans, while Dan is also a big fan of wrestling, soccer, hockey and basketball. We fully plan on exposing our child to all different types of music and introducing them to all different types of physical activity from a young age. We also plan on traveling with our child and exposing them to all different parts of the world.

We have two pets in our home. We have a Shih Tzu-Poodle named Max who is 9 years old. He is a little bundle of energy and joy, and is the cutest, and sweetest dog you could ask for. We also own a ball python named Noodles. Noodles is about 2 years old, and is super friendly. Noodles has even visited Heather’s classroom and was completely comfortable being handled by the kids. Max freely bounces between our half of the house, and Heather’s parents half of the house, while Noodles lives in a contained habitat in our living room.

Lifestyle

We live on the top floor of a split-level home with Heather’s son Ryan. We have three bedrooms in our portion of the house. Our home is located in a beautiful neighborhood of mostly families with children. Ryan currently is a freshman in high school, and he and Heather leave for work/school around the same time everyday. Dan is a professional musician and performs the vast majority of his work at night. We all make it a priority to spend as much time together as possible. With Dan being a musician and wrestling coach (in the winter), Heather being a teacher, and Ryan being an active member of his high school community, finding time to spend with each becomes a priority. We prioritize it even more, considering Ryan spends Friday night, and Saturday with his biological father every week. Every Tuesday night we go downstairs to Heather’s parents for a full family dinner. Ryan also spends a lot of time with his grandparents as they are very loving and kind to him.

When hanging as a family, we also spend a lot of time at the local bowling alley, as Ryan is an aspiring bowler who is currently a member of his high school bowling team. We also enjoy going out to dinner, in particular for sushi and hibachi. Ryan is a big sports fan, so we like to prioritize going to a new sports venue on family vacations.

Heather loves coming to Dan’s shows and supporting his music career. We also love going to see other bands play, we love to hike and we love to travel to new places in nature.

We both live a very active lifestyle and love to be outside whenever possible. Whether it’s walking, hiking, or just enjoying a morning on the front porch, nature is inspiring and motivating for each of us. Heather starts most of her mornings with Pilates, while Dan trains in Brazilian Jiujitsu for exercise.

Adoption

We would be honored to have an open adoption if that is something you are interested in.  We would love for you to have updates with photographs, messages and annual visits.

Diversity is important to our family because it helps us grow as people and teaches us empathy, respect, and openness. We believe that understanding and valuing different cultures, perspectives, and histories strengthens our relationships and prepares us to live thoughtfully in a diverse world. We want our child to grow up feeling proud of who they are and confident in navigating different environments, knowing that differences are valued and celebrated in our family.

Our family actively engages with diversity through our friendships, community involvement, and everyday choices. We intentionally expose ourselves to different cultures through books, music, food, art, and community events. If your child’s ethnic background is different from our own, we are committed to honoring and integrating that background in meaningful, ongoing ways. This includes learning about their culture and history, celebrating cultural traditions and holidays, and ensuring they have access to role models and mentors who share their ethnicity.  If we adopt a child of a different ethnicity than ours, we plan on exposing our child to his or hers birth culture, as we feel that it is very important for your child to understand their culture and roots. We plan on doing this with books, media, travel, food, and any other types of exposure that are unique to your child’s heritage.