Adoption and Diversity

Hello. Our names are David and Mary. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to introduce ourselves. We have so much adoption experience. Mary was placed in the foster system from birth. She lived with a foster family until she was adopted by her wonderful permanent family. Mary’s unique perspective will help our children as they mature. Five of our children were adopted as well. Three of our children are African American; two are Hispanic/Latino. We are diverse in our ethnicities. There are different levels of openness with each of the adoptions. Two are confidential in which the birthparents chose not to share any information or pictures nor did they want any information. One is very open in which we have exchanged identifying information, write letters and send pictures, and have met with the birth family on several occasions. She is such a sweet, brave and strong person. One adoption involved two siblings (Veronica and Samantha) through the foster care system. Although no contact with the birthparents is allowed, we do keep in contact with their former foster family. We speak on the phone and send letters and pictures to each other. All of our children are well educated on adoption issues. They are supportive of our plans to adopt one more time and eager to welcome a new baby brother or sister. This little one will be the youngest, the last baby, of our family.

Our Children

We have eight wonderful children and a beautiful daughter-in-law. Only six of our children are still living at home. They are the center of our lives. We make sure to attend their school and extracurricular functions, such as sports, 4-H, plays, youth group and church get-togethers. Also, we encourage our children to attend college, knowing that there is a great deal to be gained from furthering their educations.> Nicholas is 21 years old. He graduated from high school in 2006, where he played varsity football and ran track. He was a member of the Drama, Ski and French Clubs and the President of the Art Club. Nicholas attended college after graduating. Now, he is gainfully employed at a career job he did not wish to pass up. He is renting a house with his new wife, Amanda, near his place of employment. He married his high school sweetheart this month. She is a sweet and kind young lady who is attending college to obtain a Radiology degree.> Joshua is 19 years old and is a Junior in college. He accomplished this by graduating high school and college at the same time. He has an Associate Degree of Liberal Arts with major concentration on history and government. It is very helpful for him to have this college degree as his hopes are to become a physician. He comes home often from college, although he rents his own house nearby the campus. It may not sound like it given his accomplishments, but Joshua is actually a laid back, happy-go-lucky guy. He is a terrific role model for his younger siblings and loves them very much.> Stephen is 16 years old, is in eleventh grade. He has recently become a licensed driver. Fortunately, Stephen is very responsible. He loves to play basketball, soccer and run track. Stephen is happy to note that he is taller than Joshua. His hopes for the future are to attend college in the medical field, although he is not sure yet which occupation. Stephen is a responsible young man. He does well playing with his little brother and sisters, as well as his older brothers. His younger siblings really look up to Stephen.> Ethan is eight years old and in third grade. He is happy, charming, and intelligent little man. He loves to read, whether it is to himself or to one of us. Ethan also loves to play sports and to swim. He even beats us at a game of croquet occasionally. He plays on a soccer team that Mary coaches. Since Ethan is older than his sisters, he is very caring and protective of them. Ethan is interested in learning Spanish and Sign Language.> Veronica is seven years old and is in second grade. She has a big smile framed with round cheeks. She loves to go shopping and play with baby dolls. Surprisingly, she also enjoys finding “creepy crawlies” with her daddy. Veronica and Ethan play on the same soccer team. She likes to sing and dance. She also loves to read, draw pictures, and write.> Samantha is six years old in and loves to cuddle and to read books. She is in first grade. She plays well with her siblings and enjoys kicking a ball and riding on her bike. Samantha loves to play tag and work on puzzles. If there is a song playing, she is often singing and dancing right along with everyone else.> Gabriella is a beautiful and bright girl. She is six years old and is in accelerated second grade classes. She can actually read many of Ethan’s school books. Her favorite things to do are swimming, gymnastics and ice skating. Gabriella enjoys drawing, dancing, reading books and coloring. She has an amazingly sophisticated sense-of-humor for one so young.> Maliya is a two year old powerhouse. Her nickname is “The Sweetness.” She is a beautiful baby who knows her own mind and has an outstanding sense-of-humor. Maliya loves to pretend to read books, sing songs, and recite the alphabet. She is proud to be potty-trained. We cherish and love her. >

Family Traditions and Vacations

We love to travel. The destinations of our vacations have been Florida, Texas, Maine, Washington, Tennessee, Michigan, Oregon and Idaho, to name a few. Traveling has afforded us an opportunity to broaden our cultural perspectives. Meeting people from different states and countries is exciting. Since Mary enjoys cooking, we get a chance to try out recipes from different nations. One of our family’s favorite meals is a Japanese dish called Sukiyaki, which means “a friendship dish.” We have walked through wildlife refuges, caves and waterfalls. We have gone to Christian concerts, Globe Trotter games, Six Flags and King’s Island Theme Parks. Our family has been blessed by these rich experiences. Our family loves to celebrate holidays and has many new and old traditions. A fun tradition that we keep is that each person gets to choose what the meals will be for their entire birthday. One favorite birthday request is for a piñata. The children love all of our traditions. Our family attends church at a non-denominational church. Our marriage is made strong by our mutual faith in God. Mary is self-employed with producing and maintaining our gas/oil wells and running a home-based business. We started the business over fourteen years ago and have remained debt-free the entire time, with both the business and our home and furnishings. This has also given us a great opportunity to spend quality time with our children. Mary is a former nurse and Health Educator.

More About Us

Our home is situated on 61 acres with plenty of room to play. Our house was recently completely remodeled. It is a large two-story house with a full basement. We have lived here for over 15 years. Since some of our friends and family have allergies or asthma, we do not allow smoking or indoor pets in our home. We have many friends and acquaintances in our community. All of our family, friends and neighbors are very supportive of our adoption plans. The people in our community are friendly and open. We feel comfortable in any level of openness: confidential, semi-open or open. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have about us. It takes so much strength of character and maturity to make all the decisions surrounding your life right now. Knowing this is a difficult time for you, we will be praying for you, in spirit, if not in name. Thank you for considering our family.