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 are Sarah and Patrick McCarthy from Columbia Heights, MN. We have been together for eight years and have been happily married for the last five of them. Sarah is a 5^th grade teacher in Brooklyn Park, and Patrick is an engineer in Anoka. We have been hoping to grow our family for the past four years and began our adoption journey in June of 2023.

About Us

We live in a cozy house just north of Northeast Minneapolis, and it serves as a great launching point for our lives and adventures. Right next to our house is a large city park with a playground, splashpad, and community gathering space. We regularly take our dog Grace on walks there and at the other parks in our vicinity. We also have a very food-motivated, mayo-obsessed cat named Pascal. When we have time off work, we usually head off into nature to hike and explore. We have been to 68 of the Minnesota State Parks and Recreation Areas, and 17 National Parks. Patrick enjoys birding, while Sarah enjoys amateur photography.

We met in college while marching in the University of Minnesota Marching Band. We were fast friends, and developed an easy rapport and close relationship. Despite our frequent one on one hangouts and our friends’ insistence to the contrary, we never dated during that time. After college, Sarah left for Stockholm, Sweden to teach math (in English) to grade 4 and 5 students. One winter when Sarah was home for the holidays, she came to a New Year’s party at Patrick’s house. It was there when we finally decided to heed our friends’ advice and began dating. Sarah went back to Sweden to finish the school year (while Patrick milked the “I have a girlfriend, in Sweden, she’s real” jokes for all they were worth), and we started our in-person relationship when she got back. Two years after that New Year’s party, we went back to Orchestra Hall–the site of our first actual date, and Patrick proposed. We got married at Edinburgh Golf Course that July.

We regularly see our families for holidays, events, and other get-togethers. We have a tight-knit group of friends, and often meet up with them for a pint at a brewery, a game night at our house, or an event happening somewhere in the Twin Cities area. We have also been lucky enough to babysit some of our friends’ little ones. When we found out we were unlikely to have biological children, we both decided that we wanted to open our home for adoption. We are both excited to dive headfirst into being parents ourselves.

About Sarah (By Patrick)

Sarah is kind and conscientious. I was first attracted to how well she listened and helped people (especially me) through our problems. She has never been afraid to stand up for what she believes in, even when it’s not the easy thing to do. Sarah cares deeply about people. On multiple occasions, she has driven over an hour to drop off dinner for friends who are having a hard time, or done something to help cheer them up. She is also an amazing teacher who is incredibly passionate about teaching reading. Every year she develops a safe and quirky classroom culture and manages to get her whole class of 10- and 11-year-olds to want to read at home in their free time. Sarah is spontaneous and ambitious, and she is the one who sees what needs to be done and keeps our lives moving forward.

About Patrick (by Sarah)

Patrick is supportive, hardworking, and incredibly diplomatic. He is someone who considers all sides of a problem, situation, or task, then uses his systematic brain to decide how to approach it. At work, Patrick strives to be someone dependable and knowledgeable, and when he doesn’t have enough information, he is sure to figure it out, and has established himself as someone people can go to for support and problem solving. He is a person who supports his friends and family unconditionally and is always looking to be a source of support for them. The definition of a lifelong learner, Patrick is someone who will go down Wikipedia and Internet rabbit-holes when he has questions about something or is looking to grow his knowledge in a particular area, therefore making him a fantastic trivia teammate. Patrick is always in my corner and isn’t afraid to tell me when he thinks I’m being stubborn. His honesty, support, and truthfulness are solid cornerstones of our relationship.

Parenting Beliefs

Sarah’s time in the classroom had taught both of us a few key lessons for being parents. The first is to set clear boundaries and expectations, and make sure those are upheld. Within those boundaries, though, we want to offer our child as much room to learn, grow, and explore as we can. The best lessons are learned through experience, and our job is to make sure they stay safe as they grow. We also plan on being supportive and nurturing. The world will always offer its challenges and criticisms, and we want our child to know that we stand in their corner.

Our Thoughts on Openness

We both believe strongly in openness. Even before we started adoption training, we felt it would be best for the child to have an honest understanding of where they came from. After going through the training, we now understand the benefits for all three members of the adoption trio. We would be open to many different levels of contact depending on the situation and the wishes of the birth parent(s).

For more information or to connect with us, contact our adoption worker Dianne Delaney at 320-428-0199 or [email protected].

 

Patrick won Sarah a giant Eevee at the state fair. It currently lives in her classroom.

 

We love traveling and spending time in nature. This is at Zion National Park.

 

Patrick’s family after Mother’s Day brunch.

 

Sarah’s family at pajama-themed Christmas.

 

Our animals, Grace the dog and Pascal the cat, enjoying quiet snuggles on the couch.