Kathryn & Mark
Hello,
We are Kathryn & Mark. We understand that you are considering an adoption plan and would like to introduce ourselves to you. Our hope is that this glimpse into our lives will help you to see that we are a kind, loving and responsible couple that would provide a wonderful home to your child. While we cannot begin to imagine how difficult this decision is for you, we want you to know that it is very important to us that you find peace and comfort with the path you choose.
About Us:
We are both dedicated high school teachers who care deeply about our students. Mark teaches Social Studies and is the Department Supervisor, and Kathryn teaches Art. We are fortunate to work at the same school in the town where we live. This means we get to spend a lot of time together doing the things that we enjoy and would have lots of time to devote to raising a child. The school where we teach is a short walk around the corner from our home. Kathryn is planning to be a stay at home mom after we adopt our son or daughter.
We met in 1997 when Kathryn left her position as a graphic designer at a major corporation to teach Art at the school where Mark had worked for five years. For both of us it was “love at first sight” and after a very sincere and romantic courtship Mark proposed to Kathryn while hiking along the south coast of England—at the start of Mark’s year teaching abroad. We spent our engagement year crossing back and forth over the Atlantic, missing each other terribly! We were married in the summer of 1999. Over the past eleven years our bond has strengthened immeasurably as we have faced the challenges of infertility and we are excited to build our family through adoption.
About My Wife:
Kathryn is my best friend and the most creative, intelligent and caring person I know. She has a quirky and hilarious sense of humor and our household is filled with laughter. Kathryn is a very warm person who is great at meeting new people and forming new friendships. She is the only woman I know who could strike up a conversation with another couple waiting on line at a museum and then the next thing you know we are having lunch together and exchanging Christmas cards!
Kathryn is wise, honest and sincere. It is such a joy to watch Kathryn with her niece and nephews and with the children of friends—she has a giving nature and strong “motherly” instincts. Kathryn is also a great teacher who has success working with all types of students. Students who are considered to be the most “difficult” in our school are often transformed by their experience in her classroom. Many become her top students and some have won prestigious awards in annual art competitions. Watching Kathryn work with her students makes me very excited to have our own family – I know she will be a wonderful mom.
About My Husband:
I can honestly say there is no one on Earth that I would rather spend time with than my husband, Mark. Whether it is doing something special like traveling, going to a concert, or just going to the food store for groceries, I enjoy being with Mark. I always look forward to dinner each night. During that time we share our day with one another. It may seem like a small thing, but, to us, taking the time to eat a home-cooked meal while discussing the highs and lows of our day is so important. I look forward to sharing this time with our son or daughter.
Mark is intelligent, insightful, intuitive, caring, playful, and yes also very funny. He can make me laugh at myself and he cleverly uses humor as an effective communication and teaching tool. Often, Mark takes the time to plan something special for us to do. If he has read about an exhibition, a concert, or a hike, he will research a special restaurant in the area and plan a whole day for us. I cannot wait to see the fun things he will plan to do as a family with our child.
Mark is passionate about being an educator and this is one of the things I love most about him. He is always planning different activities for his students to make learning fun. He has a heart for all of his students, and wants to help each of them achieve their personal best. As Mark’s wife I feel cherished, loved, and appreciated – I think Mark’s students feel the same way. Some day our son or daughter will know how it feels to be cherished and loved by Mark, too.
Our Lifestyle:
We almost always plan our recreation time together. We both love the outdoors and spend an hour nearly everyday walking our yellow lab Rocksie in one of two large and beautiful parks near our home.
Kathryn’s family has a summer cottage on a lake in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Two of Kathryn’s uncles have summer cottages nearby so every summer we enjoy visiting with our extended family. During our stays there we enjoy swimming, sailing or taking the kayak out to look for wildlife at dusk. We have a tandem bike that we like to ride on the quiet roads near the cottage and enjoy cross- country skiing when we visit in the winter. We enjoy hiking in the White Mountains with Rocksie and love to invite friends to come for a visit. We both were fortunate to grow up with a special place to go in the summer and we are looking forward to making many wonderful memories at the cottage with our child.
In addition to outdoor activities we like to plan trips around our love of art, history and culture. We live a short train ride from New York City and often go into the city to visit museums, enjoy a great meal or listen to live music.
We also like to travel to places that allow us to learn more about the world and people from different cultures. For our tenth wedding anniversary, we sailed from Venice, Italy down the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea to the ancient city of Dubrovnik, in Croatia. Then we traveled to northern Tuscany to the Italian village of Bagni Di Lucca to visit with friends who live there. We really enjoyed getting off the “beaten path” and meeting the local townspeople. We want to make international travel a priority for our family life.
Our faith and belief in God is important to us and has comforted and guided us in times of difficulty. We came to embrace this world view as adults after our own personal journey. We fellowship at a Christian church and we understand the road to faith is unique to each individual. We will lovingly support and guide our child in spiritual matters as he or she matures. We believe that real faith comes from having the freedom to explore and wrestle with these questions personally.
Our Home & Neighborhood:
We recently bought a wonderful house on a quiet street in the community where we teach. Our home has a finished basement that opens to a big backyard. The neighbors have welcomed us warmly and many have small children or are hoping to start a family soon. We are blessed to have a small park right across the street where we bring Rocksie to play with other dogs and where children from the neighborhood play ball games and frisbee in the big open field. From our house it is only a short walk into town and to the neighborhood elementary school. We look forward to raising our family here.
Our Feelings About Adoption:
We are very honored that you are considering us as parents for your child. Over the past twelve years we have worked very hard to create a strong, loving and enduring marriage. We know we are ready to provide your baby with a healthy, loving and nurturing home. Please be assured that we understand how important it is to talk with children about adoption and we will always make sure that the child knows that you made this decision unselfishly and out of love. We look forward to updating you by sending letters and pictures through the agency.
Thank you for taking this time to get to know us better. We understand the difficult decision that you face at this time. We hope that by sharing a little bit about ourselves you have a better picture of who we are and what kind of life we hope to have with a child who joins our family through adoption.
Sincerely,
Kathryn & Mark