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

ADMIRATION AND RESPECT

Two heartfelt emotions we feel for you and the life-changing process you’re embarking upon. We sincerely marvel at your courage and wish you nothing but the best in the coming days, month, and years as you move forward in your adoption journey.

LOTS OF LOVE TO GIVE

Since the day of our wedding, we knew we wanted to be parents. The ups and downs of our six-year journey toward parenthood, while often difficult and emotional, have strengthened our bond — and reinforced how much love we have to give a child.

ONCE UPON A TIME

Our story begins in 2001 in the windy town of Marshall — as freshmen in college at Southwest State University. We spent the year together, navigating the exciting independence of college with one another, ultimately reconnecting eight years later in the Twin Cities and marrying in 2012.

MEL ON JACOB

“I can’t wait to see Jacob be a father — I can easily picture him playing games in our backyard, goofing around the house, and reading bedtime stories to our kids. Many of the attributes I love about him will make him a great dad: he’s steadfast, smart, and kind. He’s also very affectionate, telling me he loves me every day. He’s patient and knowledgeable and I’m excited to see him teach our kids everything he knows. Jacob is my best friend and there’s no other person whose company I prefer more.”

JACOB ON MEL

“I’ve never met a person more prepared to be a loving, caring, fun, and thoughtful mother than Melanie. And, beyond her undeniable parenting qualifications, she’s also just a cool person. Scratch that: the coolest person. Nobody cares more about people than Melanie, who truly takes other’s struggles to heart — something I admire about her very much. Finally, and most importantly, she’s my best friend. I’d be lost without her and she keeps me on track, in every arena of my life.”

PUTTING DOWN ROOTS

Having lived together in south Minneapolis for nearly a decade, it’s difficult for us to envision calling home anywhere outside the city. It’s essential to us, and part of our closely held values, that we expose our children to many different kinds of people — something we’re happily equipped to do from our home in a diverse Minneapolis neighborhood.

OUR FAMILY: PEOPLE AND POOCHES

While Melanie, Jacob, and Violet make up the household, we consider many more part of our family. Firstly, we absolutely love dogs — including Violet, our rescue from Kentucky, and our old man Tiger, another rescue who passed away in early 2018. Also, Jacob’s parents live in the Twin Cities and offer both support and a fun regular dining partner for us. Melanie’s family lives in Iowa: both her hometown of Sheldon and in Des Moines. She is particularly close with her sister Kris and her niece Spencer, who graduated from Iowa State this year.

THE CHILDREN IN OUR LIVES

Melanie’s nearly 15-year career as a child-care professional gives her a wealth of experience with children. “Miss Melanie,” as the kids adoringly call her, has helped raise an entire generation of kids and was voted by parents as the most respected director in the company in 2018. Jacob, while not as seasoned as Melanie in the child-care field, has a number of friends and family members with young children — and he also regularly plays basketball at the local school with neighborhood youth.

MANY CLOSE FRIENDS

More than just about anything, we value our friendships — most of which are mutual to the two of us, giving us a real sense of togetherness. Many weekend nights are spent at new local restaurants or at home playing trivia games with our friends, all of whom are warm, kind, and beyond excited for our adoption journey.

CRAFTING A CAREER

Both of us are extremely proud of the strides we’ve made in our careers, each of us taking over management roles in the last few years. Melanie has worked in the child-care industry for over a decade, starting as a teacher and most recently as the Director of New Horizon Academy on Lake Street in Minneapolis. Melanie has continued to advance her career and is currently working as the Family Placement Manager for College Nannies, Sitters and Tutors. Jacob, having worked at a historical collectible company called Historic Sales, also moved up from copywriter in late 2017 to become the Manager of the Military Issue catalog — while also remaining on the creative side as the company’s Senior Copywriter.

KEEPING BUSY

Never a dull moment! Though we pride ourselves on being hard working, we also enjoy our free time! We love to travel whenever possible, having together visited destinations from Cabo San Lucas to New York City. Melanie attends a number of live musical shows every year while Jacob occasionally enjoys a friendly poker game, while regularly enduring the hardships of Minnesota Viking fandom. We both love to read and to watch movies — especially with a bowl of buttery popcorn, Melanie’s favorite!

WITH HEARTFELT APPRECIATION

Though we certainly understand some of the complex emotions that go into the many difficult adoption decisions, we appreciate that everybody’s journey is different and want to thank you once again for taking time to briefly get to know us as you move forward in the process. We wish you nothing but happiness and joy moving forward.