Steve & Colleen

Thank you for taking the time to read our profile and allowing us to tell you about our family. We have a home filled with love, warmth and laughter. We look forward to having the opportunity to share our lives with your child. We wish you the best in your decision process but we hope you choose us to make your child's dreams come true. Preferred Gender: Either

Steve Colleen Job Description Vice President of Sales Stay at Home Mom/Substitute Teacher Education Bachelor of Science in Business Bachelor of Science in Education 7-12, Certified Teacher Grades 7-12 Favorites Classic Movie Caddy Shack Classic Movie Pretty in Pink Hobby Golf Hobby Gardening Animal Our Cat Pookie Animal Our Cat Pookie Vacation Spot Outer Banks, North Carolina & Our Cottage on Lake Ontario Vacation Spot Outer Banks, North Carolina & Our Cottage on Lake Ontario Bedtime Story Good Night Moon Bedtime Story Good Night Moon Children Stephen-8 years old

After many difficult years of trying to conceive, we were blessed with Stephen, who is now six years old. Stephen has truly been a blessing in our life. Stephen is an active little boy. He just graduated from kindergarten and cannot wait to go to first grade. He loves to play outside, ride his bike and play video games. He takes Karate and horse back riding. He loves school and is an excellent reader.

Stephen is a very loving, caring and compassionate little boy. He is concerned for all living creatures, big and small. After learning about Earth Day this year, he took up the cause of keeping his environment clean. Now whenever he sees trash on the sidewalk, he yells out "litter!" and runs over to pick it up and throw it away. Stephen loves insects, birds, and other intriguing living things. To him, worms are not "gross"; they are an important part of the life cycle.

Stephen is so excited to have a sibling. He cannot wait to read to the baby and make him or her laugh. He always tells us that if the baby is crying he will make a funny face, and the baby with laugh. We have spoken to him extensively about adoption, as he has a cousin who is adopted. We feel confident that he understands how a new child will enter into our family. He talks a lot about having a brother or sister, since many of his friends have a baby brother or sister. He has been saving his toys and can't wait to share them. He will make a great brother.

Steve has an older sister who was adopted as a teenager. She was a best friend to one of his older sisters and spent a great deal of time with his family while growing up. As she got older, her mother and grandmother could no longer care for her, and Steve’s family adopted her. His adopted sister has a son who was adopted as an infant. We are Godparents to him. She has talked to us extensively about adoption and how she explained it to her son. She now lives with her family in Nevada and we have had the opportunity to visit her a few times. Family is very important to her and Steve is very close to her. We got to spend some quality time with her and her husband last summer when they attended Steve's dad birthday party in Boston and just this spring we were able to visit again. We always have a great time when we get together. We are grateful and fortunate to have the experience of adoption in our family and someone who knows firsthand the joys of adoption.

With Our Son Stephen at a Family Gathering

Within our immediate family and with our extended families, we have many family traditions. One tradition is our annual summer vacation to the Outer Banks, North Carolina. Every summer, we rent a beach house for a week with friends of ours and their two little girls. Every morning, we get up early and head out to the beach. We fly kites, swim, body- surf, build sand castles, soak up the sun, and take walks along the beach. After a few hours, we head back to the beach house, which also has a pool. Sometimes we spend the rest of the afternoon swimming in the pool, and other days we take bike rides to the historic lighthouse that is just up the road. The Outer Banks also has a herd of wild horses. We love to take the four-wheel drive truck out onto the road-less beach and search for the wild horses among the dunes. For dinner, we like to have fresh seafood native to the Outer Banks or traditional Southern barbeque.

We also spend as many holidays as we can with our families. For Christmas, we try to spend the holiday with both sides of our family. Steve's family usually visits us at our home in the few days leading up to Christmas Day. Then just the three of us typically spend Christmas Eve here in New Jersey, and we head up to visit Colleen's family on Christmas morning. Christmas dinner is always at Colleen's sister's house. We have lots of finger foods and Christmas cookies. Then we open presents and spend hours in front of the fire, while the kids-and by kids, we mean the small children and the ones in their twenties-play with the new toys and video games.

In the summer, a family tradition is for all of Colleen's family to get together in July at the cottage. There are usually several nights of barbequing, campfires and smores. The days are spent at the beach swimming and lounging in the sun and sand. Old friends from high school usually visit their own families around this time, and they typically gather at the cottage as well. It's a great time for both the family and old friends to catch up.