First and foremost, we want you to know how much we admire your strength and courage during this time. You are choosing life – to bring this little human into the world – and we know this cannot be an easy decision for you. No matter who you choose to care for your child, you are doing such a brave and selfless thing.
We have been blessed with an amazing son, Grady, who, in our eyes, is a true miracle. When we had him, we felt an immediate and unimaginable love for him. It is because of him and the pure joy of watching him grow that has made us want to open our hearts even more to another child. But, both starting and growing our family has been a challenge for us, as we experienced multiple losses along the way. We built our home with the intent of hearing lots of giggles, watching children swing on the playset and play in the sandbox and have plenty of open space to run around in the yard and play with our chocolate lab. We also know the impact adoption can have on the life of a child, as Doug has 3 adopted siblings in his family. These experiences have helped to guide us here and extend out our arms to your child to give him or her the best opportunity we can to help them grow, learn, find their natural gifts and talents, and simply enjoy life.
Growing up on a farm in upstate NY with 5 brothers and 1 sister, life was in constant motion. I lost my dad at the young age of 10, so my brothers and I quickly had to become the men of the family, taking care of all the chores before and after school. My mom needed a lot of help, as she was working and caring for all her kids. We always had neighbor kids and cousins at our house, too, so there was always excitement, and enough food to feed an army. While I didn’t have a dad for much of my childhood, I still picked up the expert carpentry skills he had and learned the value of hard work and the importance of providing for a family. That has been engrained in me, so it continues to be my number one priority today. I always aim to be prepared and plan ahead for whatever the future might hold. I want Lisa and Grady, and hopefully if we are blessed with another child, to always feel secure and taken care of without any doubt or worry.
What lights me up: Building and working with my hands to craft something for our home or for Lisa or Grady. I recently built wooden tables for our outdoor firepit, etched with our initials and words that have meaning to us, and I’m currently working on some updates to our kitchen to make it an even better place for friends and family to get together.
I come from a much smaller immediate family, which includes my parents and sister, though my extended family is much larger. Growing up, we were always getting together with aunts, uncles, cousins and my grandparents, and often had family reunions. My grandfather is still living at the age of 98 and many of my extended family members still live in the area, so we try to visit with them as much as possible. My parents now live a short distance from us so they can be close to Grady, while my sister lives in Boston with my brother-in-law and two nieces. We try to see them several times a year, but it’s never enough. Being close to family has always been important to me, so I can be there to help and support them and so we are always surrounded by the warmth and joy family brings.
What lights me up: My family has a bit of a creative streak, as my dad and sister are in the design field and my career is in Marketing. I have found my creativity in writing and love writing poems for Doug or my family for special occasions and holidays. I also love music and, during COVID, I started taking piano lessons for fun.
While working in the same department at PNC, many co-workers told us we were meant for each other. There was no denying there was a spark between us. Doug would come into the office frequently, and one evening, he ended up calling me on the phone. We talked all night, without sleeping, and that pretty much sealed the deal. We truly fell in love because of our strength in our faith and values and our desire to live a joyful, simple life. About 9 months after that phone call, Doug proposed to me on a beach in Florida with a pizza and a sunset, and we got married a little over a year later.
As in all relationships, you learn to make compromises for each other. Once we got married, he ended up selling his house in NY and moved to the Pittsburgh area, so I could keep my job in the city. We built our house in 2013 a little farther outside of the city to have more space and so we could easily make our way back to NY to visit Doug’s family.
As we shared, Grady fought his way into this world and brought his curious, caring and humorous spirit with him. We count our blessings every day that he made it to us and we have the honor of being his parents. There is nothing he really won’t do or try. There is no doubt he has picked up his grandmother’s and grandfather’s artistic skills; he absolutely loves to draw and is currently working on a comic book! He has also inherited his dad’s building skills. He will take any kind of building toy – Legos, magna tiles, bristle blocks, Lincoln Logs, Jenga, and the list goes on – and create some crazy construction. He also loves music and to dance. At the end of every movie we watch, he breaks out his moves!
Grady is currently in 2nd grade and is a very active kid; he is playing soccer, taking swim lessons, doing a junior version of America Ninja Warrior and currently giving lacrosse a try. Eventually, we’ll narrow this down, but we always want him to explore and find the things he loves to do.
I would say we are a family of “explorers”. Doug was the first to get me on skiis and go hiking when we were dating and now Grady is doing it with us. As parents, we know we have to put on a brave face for Grady and continue to try new things, like doing an aerial zipline course or going on crazy amusement park rides. We also like to travel and find new places we haven’t seen before. When we are not doing those things, you’ll find us playing at the park, discovering a new trail to walk our dog or ride bikes or visiting with grandma and pap-pap or friends. We also love hanging at home in our back yard and making a fire in the firepit to sit outside and watch the stars.
Our faith has brought us to adoption to love another child unconditionally. We know that Grady would do the same. He has such a big heart and has so much love to give. We hope by sharing what we have with you that you can see our hopes and dreams for this child. We’re happy to connect with you at any point as you’re considering your decision. You can reach us at LisaandDougAdopt@gmail.com.
