| Mother to be | Father to be | |
| First Names | Carol | Jeff |
| Religion | Catholic | Catholic |
| Ethnic Background | Colombian | Indian, Irish & Italian |
| Education/Degree |
BS, Multidisciplinary |
MS, Systems |
| Profession | Digital Marketing | Systems Engineer |
Family Video
Our Story
Hello! We are Jeff & Carol, and we’re so grateful you’ve taken the time to read our page. We met in college – Jeff’s dorm was next door to mine and we ended up seeing each other so often that finally one of us had to say hi!
We have been married 11 years that have been full of laughter. Every day – even the tough ones – we find comfort in each other and our love.
Carol is an adoptee herself, with an adopted sister, and she grew up knowing that family means many things – and that her story & identity started with her birth mother, and grew to include the family she was raised in. In many ways, she feels lucky to have experienced that love so early in her life. She has always felt passionate about paying forward the positive experience she had – and when we started to talk about making a life together, we agreed that adoption would be our first choice when trying to grow our family.
Family Life
We are both Catholic and were raised with Christian values – perhaps the greatest of which is “love thy neighbor”. We accept and value people of all religions – as well as nationalities, races, cultures, and backgrounds – and will teach our child the same, because everyone deserves respect. We will raise our child in the Catholic church, as well as educate about the many belief systems and religions in the world, knowing that he or she may choose another path (which we will of course support).
We also believe that we have a responsibility to leave the world better than we found it – from taking care of our planet to expressing kindness and looking for joy daily.
We share our home with our two pups: River and Lady, 2 mini labradoodle girls who are sweet, goofy, snuggly and playful. They love children, and have been a big hit with our nephews and visiting kids.
On weekends we can be found outdoors – exploring, hiking, walking downtown, paddleboarding – just as much as on the couch rooting for our favorite sports teams (Go Buffalo Bills!) or watching a movie (with popcorn & extra butter, please!)
Lifestyle
Our neighborhood is quiet but bustling with families of all types – some older, many younger. Lots of pets, and it seems like someone is always taking a stroll or out for a run. We are just a few minutes from grocery stores, the movies, restaurants and parks – with some soccer fields and basketball courts within our actual neighborhood!
Our home has 4 bedrooms, and a backyard full of trees that feels pretty private – we have beautiful views and not a lot of street noise. We decorate with things that make us happy, and there are probably at least 2 throw blankets in every room except the kitchen, because we love to be comfy.
Our neighbors are really friendly – a small group of us (about 10, including a family with 2 younger kids) take turns hosting backyard BBQs a few times a year, and usually do a white elephant gift exchange at the holidays.
Adoption
We feel open adoption can be a really helpful way to eliminate the “mystery” for an adoptee.
We are definitely open to letters, photos and emails about how your baby is doing, growing, etc. Hopefully that can provide ongoing comfort with your decision.
We are also open to a more personal relationship – such as phone calls and annual visits – based on what you’re comfortable with and always what is best for your child. We would love to talk with you about that more!
Diversity is already built into our family: Jeff is half Indian and was raised with the Indian side of his family just as close as the Irish/Italian side. And Carol is Colombian and was raised by Caucasian (Italian and German) parents! No matter what our future child’s background is, it will be unique to ours, and that’s part of what we love about our family already.
We value our individual backgrounds, and love learning about & practicing traditions – whether we were raised on them or not. Carol loves to experiment with Colombian cooking, and we traveled there once to better understand the country and its people. We learned so much that we keep with us still. And Jeff’s Indian side of the family is really close to us, too – he’s been to a few Indian weddings, even playing the role of fire protector in one!
We have friends from many cultures and we understand where our commonalities are – and our differences, which is what keeps the world (and the kitchen) interesting.
Whatever our child’s ethnic background is, we will celebrate it by including it from day 1 in our food, music, art, and our discussions about the world. Then teaching – at appropriate ages – about what culture means in a diverse family, and as part of each of our own identities. And about how people of different ethnicities experience life, and our responsibility to learn about, respect, and advocate for all people.
We can’t wait to meet our future child, and learn more about his or her background!
Favorites
| Mother to be | Father to be | |
| Genre of Music | 90s pop | Classic Rock |
| Subject in school | Math – I was a Mathlete! | Science |
| Movie | Apollo 13 | The Indiana Jones movies |
| Holiday | Christmas | Easter |
| Dessert | Chocolate lava cake | Cookies! |
| Actor | Tom Hanks | Kurt Russell |
| Sport to watch or play | Swimming | Ice Hockey |
| Mac or PC? | Mac! | PC |
| Coffee or Tea? | Tea | Coffee |
| Animal | Hammerhead Shark | Bear |
Best Wishes
We know that in choosing adoption as the way to grow our family, we’re choosing a path filled with extra emotion, complexities, and unknowns.
But we also know first-hand that we’re choosing a path that can provide a child with a level of love that other children who are not adopted won’t have: the immense amount of love from their birth family – enough to make this decision for them – and overwhelming love from their adopted parents, who will have been blessed to have the honor of raising them.
We understand the levels and depths of honesty that your child deserves and will be ready for at each stage. We know how to teach, share and celebrate the adoption process with the child at the center, always. We believe that we have been preparing our entire lives for this role, gathering experiences that will help us to give your child transparency, protection, joy – and most of all love.
Ready to Contact Carol & Jeff?
Drop us a line today!
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