To potential expectant parents who are considering adoption:
Greeting from Dana and Artena – we humbly thank you for taking the time to learn about our family. We are praying for you and asking God to be near you right now. Our desire is that you would know how much he loves you and cares about you as you’re reading through our profile. Considering adoption is a courageous step and we are praying God will give you direction and peace about what is best for you and your precious child.
We have seen God’s goodness in our own hard circumstances. We have been blessed in our longing to become parents by our son, Noah, whom we adopted in 2018. We would love to see our family grow more and we would also love to see Noah become a big brother. We are looking forward to sharing our hearts and our home yet again through adoption. We would be happy to connect and answer any questions if it would serve you as you explore whether adoption would be a good fit for you.
Who we are as a family:
We’ve been married since 2013 and our relationship continues to deepen with time. Artena worked as a software engineer after college and she loved her job because it was like solving puzzles. Recently she traded her responsibilities as a programmer in for the adventures of being a full time mom. Artena tends a flock of 12 chickens and often sneaks them treats with Noah throughout the day. Dana is a pastor and he is also a student – continuing his higher education by taking additional college courses. Noah was born in 2018. He has given us the gift of being a multiracial family. Noah is adventurous, determined, and very caring. Noah loves to read and play. Lately he spends a lot of time coupling his trains and pushing them throughout the house. He also enjoys a good pillow fight and yet Noah could spend all day being outside doing just about anything with his little dog Benny.
Our day-to-day is filled with hearty meals, family dance parties, and deep belly laughs. We are a very social family and we love to host friends for dinner, board games, and fun on our little hobby farm. We do our best to enjoy every day to the fullest whether it means getting out to enjoy the weather or relaxing inside. When it’s not snowing and cold we enjoy playing in the yard, exploring the fields and the woods, and looking for agates. When it does snow (and because we’re in Minnesota it most certainly does!) we make the most of it by building snowmen, having a little snow fight, and then warming up inside by the fire.
Our views on openness in adoption:
Openness is building a relationship in the best interest of the child. We have found it to be a great way to share updates, discuss quirks, as well as enable our son to learn about his birth story. As a family we have all been blessed by an open relationship with our son’s birth mother. There is a unique sweetness in surrounding Noah with love from his birth family and having his birth mother as a part of his life.
If you choose to pursue adoption and want to discuss what an open relationship with us might look like we would be happy to explore it further. For starters we are open to emails, texts, photos, and visits. That may sound overwhelming at first and we understand that each relationship is unique so we would like to know what would be helpful to you as you consider adoption and openness in the best interest of your child.