To potential expectant parents who are considering adoption:
Dear Expectant Parent,
Hello, we are Andy and Katie, Milo and Hazel, and our dog, Wilbur. We are so glad to have the opportunity to introduce ourselves to you today. We anticipate that you are nervous about the enormity of this process – we are too. While we have no idea the circumstances in your life that have led to our paths crossing here today, we do know and trust that God is the author of your story, the story of the child you are carrying, and the author of our family’s story too. We fully believe the story He is writing is GOOD and will lead your heart to the family you are searching for to raise your child. We are in awe of the depth of your strength and love during what we can only imagine is a very difficult situation. While we rest in His perfect timing for our family, we hope you can find rest in these few moments you spend getting to know our family and the places and people we call home.
There are no words that seem sufficient at this moment. The amount of trust that a birth family must place in the adoptive family is impossible, so our prayer is that you are putting your faith in God. Whatever decision you make, whether you choose to raise your child, to place for adoption with our family, or to pursue another family, know that God holds you in his loving arms at that moment. In the meantime, let us introduce our little family and explain our heart for adoption.
When we got married in 2017, we knew we wanted to be parents someday. Adoption is something we have thought about and prayed about since we were dating but we weren’t sure when or how God would bring this into our journey. About two years later, we were blessed with our son Milo. Hazel came two years after him and they have both brought so much joy, excitement, and gray hair to our lives. During Katie’s second pregnancy, she developed a condition called hyperemesis which, in short, means she was very very sick for the entire pregnancy. While she would do it again in a heartbeat for our sweet Hazel, the pregnancy’s toll on our family left an impression we won’t soon forget. As we prayed and weighed the cost of another pregnancy, we both realized we wanted more children in our family, but we weren’t attached to the idea of having more biological children. God brought that quiet desire to adopt to the forefront of our hearts and it became apparent that this was the next step in our journey. After much prayer and discussion, we decided to pursue adoption through New Life. We resonated with their heart to find families for children, rather than finding children for families. This is important to us, and the more we have learned about open adoption, the more we have come to see how open adoption serves this same purpose. Our heart is to provide a safe, loving family for a child from our own community. To be able to do that with someone who can remain in their lives will be such a benefit.
Thank you for your courage as you consider your next steps. As you look through our representation here, we ask that you not look at us as outsiders, or as people looking for a transaction, but rather as individuals answering God’s call. We pray that someday if you are a part of that plan, that you will feel safe, loved, and accepted in our home as we watch our child grow to their full potential.
Who we are as a family:
Andy was born in Iowa and grew up in Hastings, Minnesota. He was a band geek in high school, and he hasn’t gotten much cooler since then. He is a master of the dad joke, plays bass guitar at church, and works as an eye doctor at the University of Minnesota. He likes to play guitar, run, bike, paddleboard, and get his hopes up only to be let down by [insert Minnesota sports team here].
As a dad, Andy is always up for an adventure and loves to see his kids learning something new.
Katie was born in Minnesota and grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. She attended Bethel University and has worked as a pediatric nurse for 10+ years. This fall, she is starting a new role as a school nurse at the school our son will attend. She loves painfully intricate hobbies like paint-by-numbers, crochet, and making fancy pies for Thanksgiving.
As a mom, Katie is her kids’ biggest cheerleader, the shoulder to cry on, and the expert in whatever new challenge they have to face. She has the biggest heart and is always coming up with a new way to show the children that they are seen and loved.
Milo is a 5-year-old with a big heart and big ideas, and always looking for a new challenge. He likes to ride his scooter, eat carbs, and build projects with Dad. He does not like vegetables (but who can blame him).
Hazel is a 2-year-old, but if you ask her she is going to be 3 soon, and you better believe she can keep up. She is our wild child and isn’t afraid of anything, as long as she has a stuffy or baby doll with her. She loves to dance and wants to be a ballerina when she grows up.
Wilbur is a 3-legged coonhound, but don’t let that fool you. He can outrun most dogs at the dog park but doesn’t mind curling up on the couch all day, especially if there is cheese. He loves to go on walks, but won’t budge if he thinks one of the kids is falling behind. He is the goodest boy.
Our views on openness in adoption:
When we first began exploring adoption, we had very little knowledge or understanding of openness. We were introduced to the idea of openness in adoption through our experience with New Life. Now, we can’t imagine pursuing adoption any other way! Openness is very much in line with how we envision raising an adopted child. It is our hope and prayer that through openness our child can become a more complete and healthy version of themselves. We want them to first and foremost know that they are a beloved child of God, but we also want to honor the story of their birth family. We want them to know who they came from and where they came from – to understand their culture and first family’s history. We want this child to feel fully seen and loved as a precious part of our forever family and we believe the best way to allow this to happen is for our family to maintain ties to this child’s first family through openness.