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 and thank you for taking the time to get to know us! We are Martin and Maggie from St. Paul, MN, and we are honored to share with you a little bit about our life together.

 WHAT WE LOVE TO DO TOGETHER

We love to attend live music events together both on a local level and larger concerts. From the first night we met, music has remained central to our relationship.

Time with our family and friends is very important. Whether we’re grilling out in the backyard or going to a concert, attending a birthday party or working on a house project together, we prioritize spending time with family and close-knit friends.

We enjoy watching sports and attending games together. Though we may occasionally not be rooting for the same team, we always have fun and don’t take it too seriously.

We love to explore our city, taking walks through parks and on campuses, eating at favorite or new restaurants, and supporting other local businesses, such as record stores and boutiques.

We value our time at home together. We love our house and yard, often watching movies on the couch together, cooking, curling up with books, or tending to the garden.

OUR STORY

We were introduced by a mutual friend in 2012 while seeing a band; Martin was friends with them and Maggie was a fan. Though nothing came of it at the time, two years later we re-met and started dating, and in 2017 we were married.

Our wedding day was a celebration of our commitment to each other, surrounded by those we love, and a representation of us as a couple. We were married in a church by Maggie’s uncle and godfather, had a dinner reception and concert with music by the aforementioned band and others.

We knew we wanted to start a family soon after we got married, but God and life had different plans. As we’ve continued on this journey, our commitment to each other and our future family has strengthened. We continue to live a fulfilling life with each other and loved ones, and can’t wait to share that life with a child.

OUR PLANS AS PARENTS

We will provide a safe and loving home with patience, consistency, and structure.

We plan to lead by example of how to be kind and responsible, pursue interests, and develop healthy relationships. We will speak openly, early, and often about adoption. Martin himself is an adoptee and when asked at an early age what it meant to be adopted, he would say, “It means mommy and daddy love me.”  We hope our child can one day feel the same way. We welcome a relationship with a child’s birth family and will be flexible to what’s best for the child as well as birth parents.

WHERE WE CALL HOME

Martin bought our home in the summer of 2008 and Maggie joined him after our wedding in 2017. Over the years we’ve put a lot of love into projects and upkeep to make it a reflection of us and a place we love to spend time in. We’ve added a custom-made library wall that was made by Maggie’s dad, converted an old shed into ‘shed bar’ with the help of friends and family, and renovated a bathroom, to name a few.

We live in an urban area and are within walking distance or a short drive to parks, community centers and libraries, lots of restaurants, and other attractions and experiences. Though our neighborhood is quiet, the city is vibrant. In a culturally diverse area, we have a great variety of resources and activities available to our family.

MAGGIE (BY MARTIN)

Maggie is the kindest and most thoughtful person I know. I am continually amazed by her ability to put others needs before her own. I love that she is adventurous and always open to new experiences. Her relationship with her family is wonderful and I admire her commitment to her faith. Though we are both sentimental people, her kind heart is incredibly endearing. I can’t imagine a better partner to be with on this journey.  Her strength through these last few years is inspiring and I long to see her become the wonderful mother she was meant to be.

MARTIN (BY MAGGIE)

Martin is my favorite person. He has an intelligence and humor that keeps me entertained every day. He enjoys knowledge and learning, so I appreciate that I am always learning new and sometimes random things – he’s the perfect trivia partner! He is an old soul and a sensitive soul. He has a wisdom that brings peace and comfort when it’s most needed, and a kind heart that is wide open to those he loves.

He can find a connection with everyone he meets and has a wide scope of friendships. It’s hard to go somewhere without running into someone he knows; he’s grown up in this community and is passionate about being an active part of it. I can’t wait to see Martin become a dad so he can share his love and a child can be blessed with everything Martin has to offer.

COOLEY

Cooley is an 11-year-old yorkie/poodle mix and our best bud. We love to cozy with him on the couch and go for walks. He is a friendly, goofy little guy who does well with kids and other dogs.

THOSE WE LOVE

We are so blessed to have close family and friends that are supportive of us and our family dreams. Martin’s parents live a couple miles from us and love to visit, especially with Cooley!

Maggie’s parents, siblings, niece, and nephew are in Wisconsin, and we see them as much as possible.

We both have groups of friends we’ve met through all stages of life that we love spending time with.

We are especially close to friends we’ve each had since high school, sharing life milestones and family moments, who show us what kind of parents we aspire to be.

OUR TRADITIONS

We spend most major holidays with immediate family, sometimes celebrating with a church service or religious activity.

We celebrate birthdays – anything from a meal out to a weekend trip out of town – and always with something sweet!

Each fall we spend a weekend with Maggie’s family at a cabin in northern WI.

Our niece and nephew stay with us for a week as part of their summer vacation – we love exploring the Twin Cities with them!

Having fun in Dublin

With our niece and nephew at a St. Paul Saints game

Martin playing guitar on the Iron Range

Cookie decorating with family

Our house is full of laughter