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

Greetings from Mary & Paul! 

We both come from big families and would like our own family to include children. We look forward to supporting our child through thick and thin, going on adventures, exploring new places, and providing a stable home for them to grow.

Our story together started in 2013 when we met at a volunteer event, planting prairie grass. Mary was impressed with Paul’s kindness to the teenager in the group, and Paul thought that anyone who would step away from a successful corporate career to help those in need was someone he wanted to get to know better. We began talking about adoption before we were married. We look forward to being adoptive parents and want our child to know their birth family. We want what is best for you and your child, and if you chose adoption, we would love to be their parents.

About Us

Mary

I work at the University of Minnesota with students who are passionate about sustainability, equity, and the environment. I grew up on a family farm in Iowa with my six brothers and sisters. I love trips to the farm and hanging out with my siblings and six nieces and nephews, whether we are making homemade ice cream or playing board games. I was inspired to leave my first career as a chemical engineer by my faith and my desire to serve others. This led me to East Africa, where I worked for three years on an education project for children in Kenya. My favorite part was meeting the kids one-on-one in our weekly tutoring sessions.

Paul

I grew up in a small town in Northern Minnesota, where my parents still live. Our house was by a stream, where I spent my hours fishing and exploring the woods with my childhood friends and siblings. I’m now an architect, and like to look at buildings and ask myself, “why’d they build it like this, or that, or not this other way?” My chosen profession led me to a more urban life in a couple of different cities, before settling down in St Paul. It’s been a big shift, but I love what I do. My faith is an important part of my life, particularly singing in the church choir. Wednesday night choir practice fills my cup to overflowing. Fishing with my dad every summer keeps me in touch with him and with nature. The banter is probably more important than catching fish, though we do love to catch them! At 6’-7”, I guess you could say I’m pretty tall.

Our Home

We live in a quiet neighborhood in St Paul, Minnesota. Our backyard is a haven to rabbits,chipmunks, squirrels, and birds, and would be a safe place for a child to play. We both connected to nature as children and like seeing what we can get to grow. We like cooking and have our specialties: Paul makes incredible eggs and bakes bread, while Mary loves making soup and all kinds of sweets. We love that our neighborhood is great for walking and biking with a park, library, elementary school and middle school not far away.

Our Family

We both grew up as the middle child in big families and now have oodles of nieces and nephews! Mary’s siblings live in Minnesota and Iowa, so we see more of them, making up scavenger hunts, playing football or just having donuts together after church. Paul has family in Alaska, Arizona, Texas and Minnesota so we enjoy traveling to see them, going on hikes in nature or going swimming. We know we will get lots of support as we become parents.

Our commitment as parents is to provide:

• Love and compassion
• Openness to knowing their biological family
• Structure and a sense of playfulness
• Positive parenting that focuses on our child’s development of their own sense of self
• A faith-filled home and community
• Time with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents
• Educational opportunity and support in the path they choose for their future

We would love to meet you and share more about ourselves, and learn more about you and your wishes for your child. – Paul & Mary