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

Hello!
We are Bob & Es.

We have been married since 2015, and share our lives with two lovely labradoodles: Ori & Afi.

We have long been interested in growing our family through adoption, and hope to build a loving, trusting, and open relationship with our child’s birth family.

We hope that this information will allow you to get to know us a little better, and thank you for considering us.

The Story of Us
We met in Kenya over a decade ago. Es was a physician working with a local non-profit organization on a school nutrition project. Bob was based in the country as a computer software engineer. We met through a fortunate posting on Reddit by a close friend. A conversation that started in Nairobi continued after we both moved back to the US. Not quite two years after meeting, we were engaged and then married a little over a year after. We moved to Minneapolis in 2024, both for a job opportunity and the chance to live near some dear friends. We are happy to call the Twin Cities our home!

Meet Es
I grew up in Los Angeles, with my parents and big brother. My parents valued independence and taught me self-reliance. We savored time together outside: long walks, hiking, swimming at the beach or biking on the bike path. As a result, I love movement for calming and centering.

I went to college in San Diego, and worked for a year in Charlottesville prior to medical school and graduate school in Richmond and Baltimore. I met Bob while traveling during my training.

In addition to being a doctor, I am passionate about global and public health. I completed a year of Peace Corps service in Tanzania, and still work in collaboration with colleagues around the world to develop family medicine and primary care systems globally.

I work as a teacher at a university with medical students and family medicine residents, when not seeing my own patients. I care for people across the lifespan, from newborns to older folks.

My hobbies include:

• Playing outdoors
• Cooking nutritious and delicious food
• Making music
• Walking and playing with Ori and Afi
• Word puzzles with Bob
• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

 

Meet Bob
My hometown is Rochester, NY, where I was raised with 3 brothers. My childhood featured many uncommon elements like a year and a half in Zambia and seven years of home-schooling. Our parents took a hands-on, experiential approach to learning.

My dad worked the night shift at the local nursing home to be able to earn a little extra, so I spent a lot of time with my mom, whom I’m very close with. My dad is an avid outdoorsman and woodworker, and I have many fond memories together with him in his workshop.

I went to college in my hometown for Computer Science. I worked for a number of local companies after graduation, before moving West for better opportunities. Then my employer offered me a new role in Kenya. This was where I met Es through a fortunate chance encounter.

My hobbies include:

• Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
• Music production
• Candle making
• Video games
• Archery
• Electronics tinkering

 

Our Friends & Family
We have friends and family spread across the US and Canada. We get together for reunions with each family once a year, and try to find other times to see them as well. We enjoy game night with Bob’s family, making music with Es’ family, and lots of cooking and hiking with both.

Our Home
We live in the Twin Cities metro area, in a house with a fenced backyard close to a park and playground and not a far walk from a beautiful lake. We seek out opportunities to share in exploring live music and theatre in town with our friends and family and enjoy walks with our pups around the beautiful trails, lakes, and parks near our house.

Our Hopes for Adoption
More than anything, we hope to raise our child to be kind. We dream of offering our child opportunities to explore their interests and passions, whether in art or science, sports or music, or something else entirely, and to celebrating those interests with them. But mostly, we dream of raising a human being who is compassionate and concerned about the world around them.

We hope to create a family where we intentionally foster a loving relationship with everyone involved in our child’s adoption, and in which the contributions that each family member brings are appreciated, acknowledged, and respected. We intend to create space for and invite our child’s birth family to be an active part of their life, and to embrace their important role in our child’s identity.

We look forward to connecting with you!

To reach us, email:
[email protected]

Our Children’s Home & Lutheran Social Service
Adoption Worker is:
Dianne Delaney LSW, 320–428-0199, [email protected]

 

Our dogs Afi and Ori

Bob during an excursion with the pups
– we love taking them hiking!

Enjoying training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu
with some of our friends

Hiking in Zion National Park with Bob’s family

On a hiking trip in Chile