Mark’s Extended Family Touring New York City

We both have been raised in Christian homes and feel blessed to have supportive families. We all live within eight miles of each other and have a lot of family gatherings, playing games, cooking supper for each other, or going out to eat for a birthday. They are all very exited and supportive of our decision to start a family through adoption.

Sharon’s Extended Family on a Weekend Getaway

Mark is the second of five children. He has a brother and three sisters. His oldest sister Diane is single and has her own business programming computers. She is currently taking classes for her private pilot license. Naomi is married and has three cute little children. Her husband works in a woodworking shop where they make bed posts. We like to go to their place to play with the twins and Alex and eat their delicious chicken wings. Mark’s youngest sister Mary got married about two weeks ago. His brother Mike is married and they are expecting a baby any day! Mark has a close relationship with his brother and they both love working with horses. His Dad owns a construction company and has been in the construction business for over thirty years. His Mom is a housewife. She is a very good cook. Her specialty is boneless chicken breasts with mashed potatoes and gravy. They are a close knit family and take annual three to four day mini vacations together.

Sharon is the youngest of three children. Her sister is married and has four adorable little girls. Sharon does a lot of babysitting for her sister; those girls are her pride and joy. Her brother is also married and has a cute little girl. She has many fond memories of her growing up years living in the country. Her grandparents lived next door on a farm. All her close relatives lived in the same community. Her Dad is a mechanical engineer at Wayne-Dalton and has worked there for over twenty-two years. He is a deacon in their church and is one of the best steak makers around. Her Mom is a housewife and also a very good cook and baker. She makes a delicious pecan pie and always has a good supply of cookies and other baked goods on hand. They always did things together as a family such as camping, annual fishing trips, and weekend getaways. Sharon's parents are looking forward to their first grandson or another cute little granddaughter.

Our Home

In 2002, the year we got married, we built a nice five bedroom, two and a half bath home with plans to fill it with children. So far our plans have not succeeded, but we believe that through adoption they will become a reality. We have a small room on the main floor, right beside the master bedroom, which will be the baby's room. Sharon can't wait to start painting it pink or blue. We have a nice big kitchen with naturally finished hickory cabinets. This is where Sharon spends a lot of time making goodies. We have a spacious living/dining room with a gas powered direct vent fireplace.

Our Kitchen

We live about a half mile outside of a small town in Ohio. There is a nice big public elementary school located in town. Most of our neighbors are Amish and Mennonites. They are all very friendly people. We like to invite our neighbors over during the summer to roast hot dogs and sit around the campfire.

Our neighborhood is a very safe place, plus we have a fire station located in town along with a town police officer. Every July 4th the town has a firemans festival. They always have barbequed chicken dinners and all kinds of fun and games for kids. After dark they have a spectacular fireworks show.

There is a community park about a half mile from our house. It has a softball diamond, basketball court, volleyball court, swing set, and slides. Our neighborhood gets together on Thursday nights to play softball. There is also a campground with a nice big public swimming pool about a half mile away. We look forward to playing with your little boy/girl at these places.