Mary & Andrew

Mary: My family consists of my parents, David and Ellen and my brothers David and Patrick. They all live in my hometown which is about an hour plane ride away. We grew up close to one another and still text at least weekly and call each other every few days to stay in contact. My parents come to see us about every other month. It brings us so much joy to host family in our home. We are close to my mom’s side of the family. We now live in the same city my mother grew up in and where my grandmother and two aunts live. This allows us to see my extended family regularly throughout the year. My family could not be more excited for us to adopt. My parents are so excited to be grandparents and my brothers are going to be the best uncles. Andrew: I have three siblings, Caroline, Charlie and Philip and my parents are Cathi and David. My parents live in our hometown. Along with running my own businesses I help my parents run our family office. So, I have contact with my family almost every day. We have dinner with my parents regularly and I know they will be such a big part of our child's life someday. My sister, Caroline, and my brother, Philip, live in LA. My brother Charlie just moved to South Africa. We are all entrepreneurs and own our own businesses. This allows us to take family trips and to see each other throughout the year since we all have a high degree of flexibility with our work. My mom has five siblings who live throughout the Midwest. I have 11 cousins on that side, and we are all close. My late grandfather felt it was important we all stayed close, so he created an avenue for us to be able to have family reunions every 2-3 years. It allowed us to stay in touch throughout the years as the cousins have married and had children and the family keeps growing.

Mary: Christmas is a staple holiday for my family. Every other year we spend time with my mom’s sisters and our cousins. The days around Christmas include an all- family white elephant gift exchange, church on Christmas Eve, a Christmas Eve Mexican feast that my dad prepares and big family Christmas Day lunch with all my cousins. I have 13 cousins on my mom’s side of the family so there is usually lots of fun and chaos during Christmas. It is also a special time for my immediate family to spend time together, exchange presents and create new memories. Andrew: My birthday falls around Thanksgiving, so I have always loved the Thanksgiving holiday. My mom’s family tries to get together every other Thanksgiving. Between my aunts, uncles, 11 cousins, their spouses and children we end up with a large group of about 40 people. We play tons of board games and card games in honor of my late Grammy and Papa who loved to play games. Each year before our Thanksgiving meal we pass around Turkey Notes. They are little poems and musings my great grandmother would write throughout the year and save to be read out loud by each family member at Thanksgiving. Together we have started several traditions including an annual crawfish bowl that we host every May. It is a fun way to kick off the summer and enjoy the company of friends. We also host a New Orleans themed dinner around Mardi Gras every year. We invite some friends over for gumbo and other traditional New Orleans food. And of course, we top it all off with a king cake! We can’t wait to share these fun traditions and activities with our future children and even add some new ones.

Our home is a 2-story red brick traditional Tudor home with 3 bedroom and 4 bathrooms. In the spring and summer white hydrangeas bloom in the front of the house. It was one of the features that made us fall in love with it. We spend a lot of time in our living room, dining room and our finished-out basement. We have a pool in the backyard, so our summers are spent outside hanging by the pool. Inviting friends over for cookouts and pool parties. Many of our friends have children, so our pool is often filled with kids laughing and splashing the day away. We live in a quaint neighborhood about 15 minutes from downtown in a mid-size metropolitan city. Our neighborhood is full of parks, running trails and has a town center with shops and restaurants. Because our neighborhood offers so many amenities, there are tons of families and children in the neighborhood. When the weather is nice, we see kids in groups riding bikes up and down the streets and families out on their daily walks. We are so lucky that our home is close to several schools, both public and private.

HEY THERE, My name is Fred. I am a 5-year-old Goldendoodle living my best life with my mom and dad. My parents got me when I was just a puppy, so I have spent my whole life with them. My days are spent walking around the house following my mom around wherever she goes. Since she works from home, I get a lot of attention. I go to the park, less than a block away from our house, to play ball almost every day. It is my favorite activity. One of the highlights of my day is greeting my dad with a big kiss when he gets home from work. I love to snuggle up on the couch with my mom and dad after their workdays and relax while they watch tv and chat. I sit next to my dad at every meal because I know I will get a little treat if I am a “good boy.” While I have been an only child for 5 years, I know it can't last forever. I am excited to gain a new sibling. I hope they like to play ball. -Fred

In Mary's Words To know Andrew is to love him. Andrew, is an incredibly loving and caring person. Some of his biggest strengths are his loyalty, selflessness, his dependability and his pure love and joy for life. It is rare to find Andrew without a smile on his face. Andrew’s dependability is something I love and admire deeply. You know if you ask Andrew to do something, it will get done. These qualities are amazing to have in a partner and I know will be amazing qualities for a father. Through our struggle with infertility, Andrew has been my rock. He has stepped up in so many ways, physically and emotionally to take care of me. Another thing to know about Andrew is that he is one of the biggest goofballs. He loves to make people laugh, even at his own expense. Andrew is an entrepreneur that owns several businesses within the real estate sector. While Andrew works extremely hard to provide for us and to keep business to support his employees, he also knows how to have fun. Andrew loves spending time with friends. He loves hosting dinner parties at the house where he can make his signature margarita. He also loves any type of competition, whether that be board games, pickleball or video games. The motto of Andrew’s high school was “men for others” and I see that played out in his life every day. He is selfless in so many ways. He has spent countless hours helping several nonprofits in our area. Namely, for the last four years Andrew has been the President of the Board for a nonprofit that help wrongfully convicted people out of prison. It has been an honor to watch him help the organization from a business side and to see him become friends with many of the clients who have been exonerated. Andrew is going to be a wonderfully fun, loving and caring father.

In Andrew's Words Since April 2021 I have been writing down at least 3 unique things I love about Mary weekly. While it has become quite a lengthy list, I still find new things to love about her every day. Mary is kind, empathetic, she loves her faith, she loves her family and she is genuine. I fell in love with Mary because of her incredibly warm, fun, and bubbly personality. She can find a way to relate with almost anyone. Her warmth draws people to her. I can’t count the number of times we end up spending 10 minutes in the grocery line talking to the clerk or in line for an event and Mary strikes up a lengthy conversation with the family in front of us. So, it won’t be shocking to know Mary has lots of friends. From her elementary school days to her newest tennis friends, she possesses a deep, caring affection for them all. I don’t think I could find a more thoughtful person. Mary loves to stay busy. She plays tennis a few days a week, attends a weekly bible study with some of her closest friends, she visits her cousin and extended family once a week and she loves finding time to read and watch tv at the end of the day. Mary’s father is an incredible cook and Mary has inherited that trait. I often come home to a home cooked meal. Mary owns her own marketing consulting company. She is great at what she does and I could not be prouder of her accomplishments. Mary has been my #1 fan and my biggest cheerleader as I have gone down the path of being an entrepreneur. She is my biggest supporter. I know though, that the genuine support and love she shows me, she also shows so many others in her life. Mary is always the person asking, “What can I do for you?” She is always the one looking out for others and thinking of ways to help. I can't wait to see Mary become a mom!

Andrew: We met in November 2015 through a mutual friend. I had just started my company and was volunteering with a non-for-profit in my hometown. I was reconnecting with old friends from high school who became a large part of my social circle. I asked a friend to bring a few of her co-workers through the organization I was volunteering for. Mary was one of the people who came. I asked Mary to a Friendsgiving with a group of friends that night and she agreed. We met on my birthday, and I often tell people Mary is the best birthday present I ever received. Mary: When I think back about the day we met, I am often surprised at how my “yes” to a new opportunity led me to meet the love of my life. I was new to the city and while I am friendly, it is out of character for me to go to an event where I don’t know anyone. But Andrew made me feel so comfortable. The friends we made that night are still some of our best friends! From that moment on we spent almost every day together. We quickly introduced each other to our friends and family. And after only a year of dating we knew we wanted to get married. We were engaged in March 2017 and married in May 2018. We love to have fun together. Whether we are traveling the world or running errands on the weekend, we enjoy spending time together. We are by no means perfect; we work very hard on our marriage. However, we remain committed to each other as we know a strong partnership is the key to a strong marriage and a strong family foundation. We are practicing Catholics and our faith has also been a source of strength during tough times.