Paul's Extended Family Celebrating Brother Matt’s Wedding

Family is important to both of us. Both sets of parents live within a few miles of us and Paul is from a really large family of 8 children. Ann has two siblings, one sister who is single and one brother who is married and has 3 children, but both live further away than Paul's family, so we see them less often. We spend a fair amount of time with his extended family (and Ann’s parents) and enjoy supporting nieces and nephews (10 of them all together) in their efforts around school and sports. We also celebrate birthdays, holidays, anniversaries and other special occasions regularly. These parties typically happen over a meal and/or dessert and conclude at the kitchen table where the events of the day are discussed over a cup of tea.

We have a few traditions, mostly wrapped around the holidays, but one that we started in our own home runs all year long and is something called the "red plate". We’re not sure of its origins, but if someone in the family does something special, or is honored in some way (even if it's just their birthday), they get dinner served to them on a red plate. It's meant to communicate, "You are special today." The fun part is that it's always a surprise, so usually, it's not until someone sits down at the table that they discover they are being honored with the red plate.

Christmas with Ann's Mom & Dad

Our biggest tradition (and it's a family tradition from Paul's side) is something we call the Pollyanna Party. Paul's sister Trish hosts it every year right around Christmas Day and it includes all the aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of the extended family. Last year, we topped 60 people. Each person brings a gift for another person whose name was picked out of a hat at Thanksgiving. The youngest member of the family gives the first gift, and then that recipient gives, and so on, until all the presents are given. (Last year it took over 2 hours to get through everyone!)

Christmas 2005 was most memorable to us. Not only was it Patrick's 1st Christmas (he was born on December 18th), but we were matched so close to his birth, that we left to pick him up without telling anyone in our family except our parents that we were actually out of state. We were able to make it home just in time for the Pollyanna Party, and Ann’s brother in law, Bob, kept us out of sight until it was time to start the gift giving. Now that year, the family thought our 1-year old niece was going to give the first gift, but when Bobby introduced the youngest (and newest) member of the family, it was Patrick! What a way to introduce him to the family. We have the entire thing on video and watch it with Patrick often, so he can see how excited everyone was for him to join our family.

Our family and friends are so supportive, excited and enthusiastic about our plans to adopt another child. There is an abundance of love and affection for this new baby.

Our Home

Several years ago, we were fortunate to find some land that was located in a great school district and was close to our families and to work. We bought one of the last lots available and a year later, built our dream house. We designed it with children in mind and have a bonus room above the garage that serves as the kids' playroom. The house itself is a beautiful, two-story colonial farmhouse with four bedrooms. It is warm and inviting.

We have a great yard with lots of space and we hope to build a swimming pool there some day. There's plenty of room to run, play, and ride bikes. In the summer, we like to sit outside on our back deck, but in the winter, we love building a fire inside and watching TV or a movie.

Our “Deer” Friends in the Backyard

The land we live on was originally part of a large farm and is still surrounded by lots of woods. As a result, we see a lot of wildlife (deer, fox, hawks, etc.) every day. It's quiet, peaceful, playful and wonderful.

The neighborhood is great. It is extremely family-oriented, fun and safe. It consists of about 20 families with lots of children and there are several parks and playgrounds close by, too. There is closeness among the families that we really appreciate. Neighborhood activities seem to occur almost every month and include backyard movie night, hay rides on Halloween, and even the annual fishing tournament when the fathers stock the local creek with fish and have a barbecue while the kids fish all day. Actually, the best story we can share occurred when Patrick was born. Our next-door neighbor had a wooden stork placed on our yard announcing his arrival and vital statistics. Then, shortly after we arrived home, the entire neighborhood threw a party to welcome him home. It was overwhelming.