Diana and Paul
HELLO
Hello, we are Diana and Paul. We met each other in graduate school at Notre Dame, and we have been married for 11 years. A few years ago, we decided to build our family through adoption after we discovered that we were unable to conceive. Through working with The Children's Home, we were blessed with our son Leo a couple years ago. We have received continued support from our family and friends, and have learned so much from Leo over these past few years. That support and our amazing experience with Leo has strengthened our commitment to adopt again to complete our family.
OUR FAMILY
We settled in Pittsburgh a few years ago, after living and working in Washington, DC for seven years. Our dog Boo joined our family in 2005 and our son Leo joined our family in 2006.
Our lifestyle is fun and relaxed. We live in an established neighborhood in the South Hills and we are within walking distance of farmers markets, schools, shops, parks, and the library. We enjoy being outside, doing yard work, and exploring the area that we live in. We love going to art museums, riding bike trails, exploring walking trails, trying new restaurants, watching sports, and going to movies. In the summer, we love sitting on the porch saying "Hi" to neighbors.
We also like to travel. We try to take a yearly trip to the beach with our family. Every other year in December, we travel to Kansas to spend Christmas with Paul's family, and Leo gets to spend time with his three cousins. In the years we do not travel to Kansas , we spend Christmas at Diana's parents' house in Eastern Ohio . We usually attend at least one Notre Dame football game each fall with family or friends. And, we often return to Washington, DC to visit Paul's sister Libby and friends that we made while living there.
Leo likes playing outside, at the playground, or at the Children’s Museum, and he loves playing with other children. Leo is obsessed with tools and carries his toy toolbox around the house to help Dad fix things. He also likes watching Mom cook and practices stirring batter when he plays in the sand. Some of Leo’s favorite games are playing air guitar, climbing up slides at the playground, throwing balls down the stairs, building and knocking down block towers, and hiding household objects where his parents can’t find them. Leo sees his grandparents on Diana’s side at least once a week, and he loves to stay over at their house because he gets to watch kids television and eat ice cream. Currently, Leo is learning how to give our dog Boo commands like “sit,” “come,” and “fetch.” Leo has shown that he would make a loving and caring big brother.
ABOUT PAUL
Paul grew up in Kansas with three younger siblings, two sisters, and a brother. He was raised Catholic, and his parents were very involved in the activities of him, his sisters, and brother. Paul went to college in St. Louis and was involved in many social service volunteer projects during his free time. After college, he went to Notre Dame to study sociology, and after obtaining his doctorate at Notre Dame, Paul started a career as a survey researcher for the Catholic Church. Paul is analytical, loves working with data, and is interested in religious research, so doing this work for the Church was a natural fit for him. When we adopted Leo, Paul scaled back his job to a limited part-time basis to become a stay-at-home father.
ABOUT DIANA
Diana was raised Catholic in a nearby steel town in Eastern Ohio, which is less than an hour's drive away from Pittsburgh. To this day, Diana's parents, Diana's twin brother Dean, and much of her extended family live in Eastern Ohio . Diana knew early in life that she had an interest in science. So, Diana majored in physics in college and in graduate school at Notre Dame. Her physics background and education, and her interest in writing made her well suited to begin her career in patent law after obtaining her doctorate from Notre Dame. Diana currently works out of a home office as a patent attorney for her own law firm.
OUR FUTURE
Our children will grow up in an environment in which they regularly spend time with extended family members. Also, we are raising Leo Catholic and will do so for his sibling, and we plan to send them both to Catholic school. We believe in a good education and we will set funds aside for their college education. Paul will continue to be a stay-at-home father while Diana will continue to work out of the home.
We will give our children all the love, support, and praise that they need to fulfill their dreams. We are looking forward to sharing the wonders of taking care of another child with love, faith, commitment, joy, and lots of laughter. We feel that we have the emotional, financial, and family resources to provide a full life for this child.
Thank you for reading our letter, we hope you enjoyed getting to know us. Please also visit our personal adoption website (www.pauldiana-adoptionprofile.net), which provides a bit more information about us and a whole bunch of additional photos. If you are interested in contacting us, please call: The Children's Home of Pittsburgh, a licensed adoption agency, at 1-800-961-7704.
With warm regards,
Paul and Diana