One of our most memorable moments is welcoming Ava into our family, really a story of two unforgettable days.

The first was the day she was born. We were there shortly after her birth, marveling at her tiny hands and feet. We also got to spend time with Ava's birth parents, and that conversation felt like a gift. As this is an open adoption, and we look forward to knowing them more as the years go on. Paul's dad was even able to travel to meet her just days after she was born, making those early moments even richer.

Then came the day we brought her home. We couldn't stop looking at her during our four-hour flight, already bursting to introduce her to everyone waiting eagerly back home. We arrived to "welcome home" signs decorated by Ava's big cousins, and Anna's sister and our niece had put together her nursery and assembled the crib. The whole family had been ready for her before we even landed. We took our parental leave and soaked in every moment of those early days.

Our traditions tend to be related to holidays. Every year, Paul plans a special Christmas date out in the city. It’s different every year but we’ve gone to concerts, a family light display at the baseball park, and the Nutcracker. Our most recent family Christmas date was to a light display with Santa at a local park! Ava enjoys this tradition and we dream of having your child join us on these special family dates! Both sides of our family decorate Christmas cookies every year. We brought this extended family tradition into our home and make cookies at our house, too! Every year, Anna’s side of the family holds a board game competition called The Lucy Memorial Cup, named in honor of the late family dog. The winner gets to sign a banner and participate in a short awards ceremony with Pomp & Circumstance playing. It’s a different game every year and now that our niece and nephew are older, they join the competition! We look forward to our children playing. Paul’s dad grew up bowling and has passed his love of the sport on to the kids. Every time all of the children, partners and kids are together, we go bowling. Paul is a superb bowler…Anna might be improving? Paul’s family also enjoys playing double solitaire.

Education is very important to us as a family, but especially to Anna. While Anna doesn’t formally teach any longer, she studied secondary education in college and taught middle school for a short bit. Our daughter attends a small Christian daycare and it’s been incredible observing her knowledge grow! Our local school district provides free preschool for residents, something we will definitely take advantage of. We recognize that learning takes place outside of the classroom too and plan to build in educational moments through family trips and recreational activities. Kids can learn so much through playing sports or participating in clubs! We will help your child identify their talents and interests and ensure they get experience and access to grow in their talents. We both believe in postsecondary education and have discussed how to pay for your child’s studies after high school.

Your child will join a growing extended family with aunts and uncles, grandparents, and close-in-age cousins! Anna grew up in Ohio, which is where everyone lives today. Anna’s parents are retired and spend their time traveling and with family. Anna has one older sister who is married and they have one daughter and one son. We love being hands-on Auntie and Uncle Paul. We visit them a couple times a year and they come to see us too! We enjoy annual visits to a town on Lake Erie every summer where we visit the splash pad, ride bikes, play mini golf, swim in the pool or lake, and play games. 

Paul grew up in the Chicago area. Paul’s mom was a stay-at-home mom and Paul’s dad has run many software companies. They still live in the house Paul grew up in. When we are with Paul’s side, we always plan a bowling excursion and play many games of double-solitaire. These are big family games! The basement is filled with fun, antique slot machines and arcade games, which Paul’s grandfather collected. Paul’s brother lives in Chicago with his spouse and plays drums in a rock band. His sister lives in Boston with her husband and two sons. Ava loves following her big cousin, Benjamin, and is already a big cousin herself to Aidan. 

We live in Washington, D.C. and this is such an exciting place to grow up! The National Mall is our playground with monuments and free museums. There are several children’s play areas at the museums that our daughter enjoys! We love visiting the National Zoo, seeing all the animals and riding the carousel.

Our corner of the city has a pool and a river trail. When the weather is good, we’ll walk on the trail to get ice cream! There are so many different playgrounds and we enjoy exploring them with our friends and neighbors. Our church is very important to us and we have a vibrant children’s ministry. There’s nothing like home though. We have three bedrooms and spend most of the time in our living room and kitchen, playing and eating. We eat breakfast and dinner together every day and share about our days!

Dear birth parents,

Wow! Thank you for taking the time to read our profile and get to know us a little bit. We are committed to giving your child a loving and safe home.We understand that this is a difficult decision. As you are making this decision, we are praying for you. Family is of the utmost importance to us and we are excited to include you in your child’s life story after adoption.

We began trying to grow our family in 2022 and we quickly learned that we are unable to have biological children. We moved through this difficult moment by leaning on our faith, family, and each other. In the fall of 2024, and through American Adoptions, we were selected by birth parents to be adoptive parents to our daughter, Ava. Ava is the light and joy of our lives and we are in awe that we get to be her adoptive parents. We both were blessed with siblings and it will be so special for Ava and your child to hold adoption in common. 

We love Ava’s birth parents and think of them often, just as we think about you. We send them letters every six months and share pictures in an app throughout the year. We met them at Ava’s birth and our shared time together is something we will always cherish. We look forward to future visits with them. At bedtime, we pray with Ava and vocalize prayers of love and support for her birth parents, you, and her future sibling. 

We are committed to raising your child with a strong value on education, hard work, and our Christian faith. Education is important to us inside and outside the classroom. Our city offers free preschool for residents and we live close to an elementary school. Faith is also incredibly important to us. For ten years, we’ve taught in our children’s ministry. We love teaching Bible stories to children, and have been shaped by the children we teach. We can’t wait to have kids in the Sunday school program.

We know that learning occurs outside of the classroom too. We love to travel, both to see our families and explore new places! Cooking, camping, music, and board games with friends are ways we love to fill our time. While we hope to share all of this with your child, we also look forward to identifying and fostering the child’s interests and passions. As a family, we will make their interests part of our family plans.

We know that if you choose us as adoptive parents for your child, we will be linked forever. We are excited about the ways that your child will experience the blessing of even more love surrounding them, as we work to include you in your child’s life in our home.  We love the ways that seeing pictures and videos of our growing niece and nephews, help us feel connected to them even though we do not live close by, and with that understanding, you can be confident that we will work to regularly keep you updated on your child through letters, pictures and videos. We’d also be happy to set up phone calls, FaceTimes, or in person visits, whatever you are comfortable with.

We cannot wait to include you and your child in the story that God is telling through our life together as one family. Thank you for considering us for your child.

Paul & Anna