Waiting Family Profiles

Home Location: Southeast MN

Family Status: Couple with Children

Children in Home: One

Child Ethnicity: African American, Asian, Caucasian, East Indian, Hispanic/Latino, Native American

Hello

We can’t thank you enough or taking this time to read about us and learn more about our wishes to adopt a child. We want you to know that we have given this decision our full attention for quite some time and we have made sure we are physically, emotionally, and financially ready to embark on this major life event. We cannot even begin to fathom what emotions you may be feeling, but we realize this must be a difficult decision for you. We admire how courageous you are for doing everything in your power to ensure your child has the best possible chance for stability and success in life.

We embrace the idea of open adoption. We hold the term ‘family’ in the highest regard, and we believe the meaning of family extends far beyond simple genetics. We look forward to teaching our child all about their adoption story, especially about the deep love you showed by making an adoption plan. We can’t wait to learn more about you and your hopes and dreams.

We understand this is a life-changing event for everyone involved, and if we are lucky enough to be chosen, we would feel honored to take this journey alongside you.

Our Family

We are the Drummonds! Tom and Holly are 32, and our son James is 2 years old. We first met in college as neighbors in the dorms at South Dakota State University, and we started dating a year later. We have now been together for 11 wonderful years and married for 7 of those.

After graduating from college, we moved to Rochester, Minnesota, fell in love with the area, and have been here ever since. Our main interest in life is traveling. Life is so short, and we want to explore as much as we can.

On weekends, we enjoy spending time outdoors. Some of our favorite activities include going to parks, taking a drive along the Mississippi River, or exploring nearby small towns. We strive to keep our weekends adventurous and fun.

We are an especially tight-knit family. We have an active and loving relationship with our extended family, and make sure we spend time together no matter what distance may separate us.

About Holly

Holly grew up in a small town in eastern South Dakota with her younger brother and mother. As a child, she fought cancer and ultimately lost her leg. This changed her life in many ways, but she is proud to have overcome so much at such a young age and continues to find ways to love herself and be confident in who she truly is.

In high school, she found a passion for science and in college pursued a double major of microbiology and medical laboratory science. In addition to meeting her husband during college, she met her four best friends who continue to support one another through life’s ups and downs.

After college, she began her career at Mayo Clinic working in an infectious disease lab, providing test results to clients from all over the world, as well as helping to develop new tests to detect emerging diseases.

When she’s not chasing her toddler around, Holly enjoys trying new recipes, reading mystery novels, hanging out with friends, and going on outdoor adventures. Tom’s favorite quality in Holly is her kindheartedness. He is always impressed with how she never hesitates to help friends and family through difficult situations. She also does simple things, like giving a friend a call or writing her grandmother letters because she knows it will brighten her day. Holly enjoys being a mom and has much love to offer.

About Tom

Tom grew up in the Black Hills of western South Dakota with his parents and older sister. He was involved in many different sports from elementary through high school. After graduating high school, he was diagnosed with cancer in his hand. Facing the possibility of losing his hand, he was grateful for a team of brilliant physicians at Mayo Clinic who were able to save it and help him beat the disease. Although he grew tired of hospitals during this experience, he went on to pursue a college education in nursing.

After graduation with a bachelor’s degree in nursing, he accepted a job at Mayo Clinic working in the department of orthopedic surgery. He loves his job as it gives him an opportunity to provide compassionate care to his patients in their time of need. More recently, Tom earned his master’s degree and is now a nurse practitioner.

In his spare time, he can be found fishing at any of the lakes or rivers in southeast Minnesota or hiking the bluff country with James. Holly’s favorite quality in Tom is his handiness around the house. He has built multiple pieces of furniture for their home and she is constantly surprised at his ability to fix seemingly anything. Tom loves being a father and is looking forward to sharing his knowledge with his children.

About James

James is sweet, curious, and a little shy, but warms up to new people quickly. He loves to play at the park next to our home, take walks around the neighborhood, and read books. We are looking forward to visiting the zoo, riding bikes and hiking on our nearby trails as he gets older.

James doesn’t know what having a sibling means but we are sure he will be a loving and helpful big brother because he is friendly and gets along well with other kids at daycare.

Our Adventures

We love to travel and together have visited many U.S. states as well as other countries. We absolutely love trying the local food and having unique experiences, like deep-sea fishing, bamboo rafting, parasailing, crabbing, snorkeling, and whale-watching. Our favorite journey was a road trip through Montana, continuing north to Banff, which is located in Canada. It was a long 4,000 miles, but we loved being in the mountains and seeing glaciers and all the amazing wildlife. It’s been fun and eye-opening to enrich our lives through cultural exploration.

We still have lots of places we want to visit, including Europe, Hawaii, Mexico, and Cuba. We look forward to sharing these adventures with our children and exposing them to new experiences and cultures.

Home and Community

We have lived in a friendly and diverse neighborhood in Rochester, Minnesota, for the last nine years, and we truly enjoy the cultural diversity this town has to offer. We purchased our home six years ago because of its great location. It backs up to a city park where we envisioned our children playing and is near to a bike path as well. We also love this neighborhood because of the low crime rate and highly rated school district. The elementary school is conveniently less than two miles from our home. In the summertime, we enjoy having friends and family over for barbecues and yard games in our backyard. It’s a great place to live and to raise children.

Thank you

We cannot thank you enough for considering us as adoptive parents for your child, and we hope you enjoyed learning a little bit about our family. We promise to love our children with the same unwavering love we have for every member of our family. We are confident you will make the choice that’s right for you.