Hello, we are Dan and Stephanie! Thank you for taking the time to look through our profile. We are excited to begin the adoption process.
While in northern Illinois, we met in 2009 in our first law school class. We were friends for two years before starting a relationship in 2011. We bonded over similar interests of crossword puzzles, being active, and a love of history, live theatre, movies, and sports. We were married in 2017 and immediately began thinking about growing our family. When it became clear that we would be unable to have children biologically, and after multiple friends experienced the incredible blessing of adoption, we turned our attention to an adoption plan.
Values that are important to us are honesty, hard work, and compassion. We want to teach a child these same values while giving them a well-rounded life full of family gatherings, sports, education, an appreciation of the arts, and volunteering in the community.
As the eldest of three children, I am very close with my entire family, who all live within a half-hour of us. We see my parents, siblings, and one-year-old nephew regularly and plan family activities together often. I was raised Catholic and still attend mass every Sunday.
I studied law in college and after passing the bar, began working at a company that administers employee benefits. I have been working for this company since 2013 and truly enjoy the work, having created close friendships with co-workers and other members of my team.
I’m a huge fan of all sports, but I always root for my alma mater’s team, the Michigan State Spartans. While I like all sports, football and baseball are my favorites; I played both throughout high school. Whether coaching or cheering on the sidelines, my greatest hope is to be a supportive, present and encouraging father to a child no matter what their interests or passions may be.
While at home, I enjoy cooking and am always up for trying out new fun recipes. Growing up, I worked in many restaurants in many different positions, and cooking has continued to be a hobby of mine through my adulthood. I look forward to having a helper in the kitchen and teaching a little one about cooking!
By Stephanie: Dan is funny, smart, kind and loyal. I have no doubt he will be an excellent father!
Similar to Dan, I’m the eldest of two children. While my family is spread out over the Midwest, I still maintain close relationships with my parents and brother. I also have extended family all over the country, which allows us the opportunity to travel often for family gatherings. Professionally, I am a lawyer and work for a legal publishing company. My job allows me to work from home and gives me a great deal of flexibility, which I am certain will be helpful with the addition of a little one to the family.
I was raised Protestant (Methodist) but attend Catholic mass with Dan on Sundays. Like Dan, I am also a huge sports fan, but my favorite team is the Indianapolis Colts after attending college in Indiana. I enjoy experiencing new things and having an adventure, even if it’s just exploring a new area of town. Some of my favorite memories growing up were getting in the car without any plan and finding previously unknown treasures.
One of my passions is my involvement with a local organization that is dedicated to improving the lives of children throughout the community. I also love learning all about animals and visiting zoos and aquariums whenever we travel! I can’t wait to introduce a child to the incredible world around them and see their face light up with excitement and amazement as they learn new things!
By Dan: Stephanie is compassionate, hard-working, thoughtful and caring. These qualities and more will make her a fabulous mother. I can’t wait to see her shower a little one with love.
We live in a colonial house in a quiet suburban neighborhood with our dog Izzy and cat Jynx in the Detroit suburbs. Both animals are incredibly sweet and can’t wait to love on a new baby. They enjoy playing with all children that come to our house. The best part about where we live is that we are close enough to the city to enjoy the best that Detroit has to offer such as sports and museums, while still being able to enjoy the countryside with all of its apple orchards and local festivals.
Our kitchen is the heart of our home and we enjoy cooking and baking (Dan likes to cook, while Stephanie does the baking). In the summer months, we take our cooking outside and enjoy barbecuing and eating out on the deck. We also love to host our friends and family for holidays, quiet nights playing board games or just to watch a game with us.
Our home is close to many parks, multiple playgrounds, and other fun activities like bowling, roller-skating, and amusement parks. The school district in the town is phenomenal, with all blue-ribbon schools. We also have a very active park district that offers a wide variety of extracurricular activities throughout the year.
We have developed a close relationship with several of our neighbors, many of whom have children of all ages. They often host pool parties for the kids and dinners to give everyone a chance to socialize.
We are very close with both sides of our family. Family is a priority for us, and we make it a point to visit them regularly. Dan’s family, including our one-year-old nephew, live within a half-hour of us, so we see them multiple times a month. Because Stephanie’s family lives outside of Michigan, we don’t see them as often, but we still talk to them frequently and enjoy visits several times a year.
We have family in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Washington, and Wisconsin. This gives us an excellent opportunity to travel as we visit with each of our family members. Everyone in our families is excited to welcome a new baby and cannot wait to shower them with love.
When not with our families, we also have close friends in the area that provide fun, laughter and support. Several of them already have children, so a child will have lots of opportunities to play! We are also fortunate that three of our friends have already adopted children or are in the process of adopting, so we have a built-in support system.
We like to stay active and love spending time outdoors. We enjoy hiking the trails at local parks and playing outdoor games with friends and family. Whenever we can, we enjoy traveling to places near and far and usually make sure to find some new trails and parks to explore. Some of our favorite parks have awesome playgrounds where a little one can swing, climb, and jump to their heart’s content.
As much as we like spending time outdoors, we enjoy several indoor activities, especially during the cold Michigan winters. We both enjoy going to the movies or catching a play at a live theatre. We have weekly board game nights with family and friends, and the two of us have family nights working on puzzles together.
Continued education is also important to both of us and we often try to find ways to learn new skills or enhance skills we already have. We love taking cooking classes to learn new recipes or experimenting with different foods at home.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read our profile. We have so much respect for your decision to consider adoption for this child and we hope that our profile has given you insight into our lives and the love that we can offer as we grow our family.
Ever since we first started dating, we have been excited to start a family together and women like you are enabling our dream to become a reality. We are so excited for what the future will bring through the adoption process.
If we are lucky enough to be chosen, any child that joins our family will be loved wholly and unconditionally. We will encourage them to follow their interests and passions, wherever they take them, and they will be reminded that they developed these gifts from their birth parents.
Even if you do not choose us, we wish you nothing but the best as you make this incredible journey and decide what is best for both you and your child. We hope to meet you soon!
Love, Dan and Stephanie
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