Waiting Family Profiles

Home Location: Twin Cities Metro

Family Status: Couple without children

Children in Home: None

Child Ethnicity: African American, Asian, Caucasian, East Indian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American

Hi! We’re Bart and Seth. We have both chosen to work with and care for children professionally and have always wanted to be parents.  We are now ready to take that step to welcome a child into our lives and grow our family through open adoption.

Our Story

We met while helping a group of kids make a puppet show in the fall of 2012. Soon after, a very unexpected relationship became a sweet reality. On our first date, we both mentioned our individual desires to have a child. We have been together for 10 years and married for 4 years now. Together, we love cooking, hiking, going to music concerts and theatre, gardening, working on our home, and travelling to beaches and forests. We have many core things in common, but also have very different personalities that complement each other well. We want to grow our family through open adoption, that has always been our first choice. We want our child to know their heritage, background and adoption story. We want our child to view their adoption as something that makes them special.

We have always known as we created our lives together that we wanted to be parents. Both of us have chosen professional paths to work with and care for children. We are drawn to kids wherever we go and kids seem drawn to us too. We have a sweet home, family, friends and a community ready to welcome and love up a new kiddo!

We would welcome you into our lives and are open to whatever relationship is healthy and comfortable for you, your child, and ourselves. We would love to get to know you and answer any additional questions you have for us.

About Seth, by Bart

Seth has the biggest and most energetic heart of anyone I know and that’s what first caught my attention. Seth believes the best about people and situations inherently. He shows his love for people by making them handmade gifts, like a wood carving, a watercolor painting, a drawing, a cake or scones. His enthusiasm for nature, art and science is infectious and a lot of fun to have by your side, especially for kids. Seth makes any adventure more fun and makes any task an adventure. Kids love Seth because he is so positive, playful, and open. Seth listens deeply to young people, responds authentically, and offers a fun, creative and adaptable spirit to talk or play. Those same qualities also make adults warm easily to him. Neighbors, friends and co-workers love talking to Seth and develop a great rapport and trust with him. Seth’s friendliness, desire to be helpful to others, and excellent communication skills open a lot of doors for us. He brings all these gifts to our community and family life but also to his professional life as an arts educator, naturalist and puppet artist. He has followed his passions in his work and others are drawn to that energy. Seth loves to spend his free time working on his puppet shows, reading, hiking, biking and gardening. I feel super lucky to have Seth as a partner in life and know he will naturally be a great parent. I also know our child will also feel super lucky to have him as a Dad.

Seth Facts-

Seth..

-was born and grew up in North Dakota.

-is an Art Teacher and Naturalist at a Metro Area Park.

-speaks Spanish.

-has a folding bike and loves to ride it.

-grows grapes, cherries, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, radishes, kale, carrots, peas, squash, beans and more.

-loves making puppet shows

Seth’s Favorites-

Dessert: Ice Cream

Vacation Spot: Madeline Island in Wisconsin

Hobby: Woodcarving

Seasonal Activity: Biking

Children’s Book: Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein

Place to Take a Child: The park or outside

Musical Artist: Regina Spektor

About Bart, by Seth

Bart is a loving, warm, kind, and thoughtful partner. He thinks every decision through carefully, and it shows in everything he does. He constantly thinks about how to be sure others are comfortable and really works a lot in our neighborhood and community to connect people to each other in meaningful ways. When we first started seeing each other, Bart expressed his desire to have a family, and it made me fall in love with him even more. He has been a teacher of young people in various forms for much of his career, and when we first met, it was apparent that kids loved him and he loved kids. Bart has a quiet and calm way of mentoring that brings out the best in kids, whether they are extroverted or introverted. Bart finds ways to make interactions with our nephews fun and energetic. He is an expert at making games that could become competitive, feel like everyone won in the end. He is also an expert at helping every child find their creative voice. Bart likes to hike, journal, watch sci-fi tv, read, make music, and listens to music as much as he can. He notices small things in nature and the patterns in the outdoors that others might miss. Bart likes to watch the world go by and thoughtfully inserts himself into it. He will be an amazing parent.

Bart Facts-

Bart…

-was born and grew up in Iowa.

-is an Arts Teacher/Administrator at a Minneapolis Social Service Agency and Arts Organization.

-makes really good soups, salads, and applesauce gingerbread.

-hikes through forests and swims at beaches as much as possible.

-loves making puppet shows

Bart’s Favorites-

Food: Tacos

Vacation Spot: On the beach in a small Mexican village

TV show: Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Ice cream flavor: Chocolate raspberry

Musical Artists: Joni Mitchell, Sigur Ros, The Innocence Mission, Frank Ocean

Hobbies: singing, ukelele, making music

Accessory: hats!

Place to take a child: outdoors, parades, any beach

Family, Friends, and Community

Our biological family has spread across the United States, and we see them with trips a few times a year and talking to them on the phone quite often.  We also have a large chosen family and community in Minneapolis with whom we have grown throughout our relationship.

Our community is open and accepting of so many things and enthusiastic and supportive for us to have a child. Our families, friends, and community will provide a myriad of experiences for our future child, like experiencing quinceañeras and powwows, experimental art and dance, loud and boisterous enthusiasm, good food, and community created parades, and festivals.

Home

We own a 3-story house in Minneapolis near several parks, lakes and the Mississippi River. Our house feels earthy and cozy, with lots of room and light.  We have a great backyard for bonfires, cookouts, dinner parties, games, puppet shows, and gardening, a place we hope our future child can spend lots of time in all weather. We have a large vegetable garden where we grow food throughout the summer alongside having apple trees, grapes, blueberries, and, occasionally, edible mushrooms from logs in our yard. We also have 3 porches we like to hang out on and watch the world go by. Bart has an art studio in the attic, and Seth makes puppet shows in the basement. We take almost daily walks in the neighborhood to parks a few blocks away. We are also a few blocks from the Midtown Global Market, the American Swedish Institute, Children’s Hospital, several community gardens, bike shops, coffee shops, Mexican mercados, Somali markets, Native American businesses and centers, and the Midtown Greenway (an urban bike highway). We keep strong ties to our neighbors, sharing garden vegetables with each other and organizing summer events. Our block celebrates National Night Out in a big way. We consistently have a piñata, share delicious food like mole, and have art activities that all the neighbors share and get to know each other with.

A Vision for our Family

We have always known that adoption would be part of our journey and a way our family will grow. We come from families that have loved us into becoming who we are now. As parents, we make these promises to our future child:

-Let them know how unconditionally loved and supported they are, very often, in direct, indirect and multiple ways

-Follow where their needs and interests are, helping them discover what it is they enjoy, and supporting them in developing their own identity

-Nurture their creative expression, whatever it may be

-Instill a love of and appreciation for nature

-Model an appreciation for community, empathy and service to others for our child

-Promote fun and freedom while providing structure and an understanding of natural consequences.

-Expose them to different cultures, ways of thinking, and experiences

-Model healthy relationships with each other, friends, and community as our child grows older.

We want our child to know their heritage, background and adoption story.  We want our child to view their adoption as something that makes them special. We would welcome you into our lives and are open to whatever relationship is healthy and comfortable for you, the child, and ourselves. We would love to get to know you more and talk with you. Feel free to email us at [email protected], follow us on Facebook @bartandsethadopt or visit our website www.bartandsethadopt.com.

At our wedding reception in our backyard