Nephew

Harold Katie

We value and respect your decision to explore adoption . Peace and Strength to you!

Harold and Katie

Dear Birthparent(s),

Our names are Katie and Harold and we

are excited to tell you about who we are

and the life and loving home we hope to

someday share with a child. We thank you

for taking a moment to read through our

profile and learn about us. We have known,

since the start of our relationship, that

adoption is the right way for us to start a

family. As a young woman I had to have a

hysterectomy for health reasons. It was a

difficult decision to make, but I knew in my

heart that adoption could still provide me

the ability to someday be a mom. Luckily, I

married Harold who wholeheartedly agreed

with me about the benefits of adoption..

Harold is a professor and Katie is a doctor.

We both work at the same university. We

highly value education and will be able to

provide your child with a free education at

our university. We are especially inspired to

adopt because our sister adopted a baby

named Grayson, just last year. He has

grown our families and our hearts; his

presence makes us look forward to starting

our family soon. Thank you so much for

considering us in your adoption planning.

Our Story We have been married 5 years but together for 10. We were unsuspectingly introduced by our friends who thought we would make a great couple; by our first date we came to the same conclusion! Our relationship flourished despite meeting at very busy times in our lives. Katie was surviving her internship year as a new doctor and Harold was navigating his first year working as a university professor. Since that time we have found better work life balance as our flexible careers provide us with many opportunities to experience the world. We love traveling to Europe and Latin America to learn about and experience different cultures. We are also keen to visit anywhere in the United States where we can spend time on mountains and in rivers. Every summer, for example, we travel to Montana and Oregon for three weeks to hike and fly fish. On the weekends, we drive to our cabin in the mountains of West Virginia where we can fish, hike, ski, and snowshoe. While at home, we spend time cooking healthy and tasty food, reading great books, writing about our outdoor pursuits, and making each other laugh. Our lives are made all the better by the company of our four dogs, two of whom enjoy the outdoors with us. We look forward to sharing all of these experiences with a child.

Katie My wife Katie is the center of my universe. She is the sweetest, most open-minded, compassionate and responsible human being I have ever met. One of the many reasons I fell in love with Katie is because she acts on her convictions, doing so much volunteer work with hospice patients, no-kill animal shelters, and at-risk youth. Given this, I think Katie was born to be a physician, as she cares so deeply for people and their wellbeing and wants to help them at every turn. I am fortunate to live with a doctor who cares so much but sometimes I have to ask her to stop worrying about her patients once she gets home from work! Katie’s compassion for people also includes a strong concern for animals and the environment. Rescuing shelter dogs and living sustainably will always be a part of her life. I’m so proud of her as she lives a vegetarian lifestyle because doing so does less harm to people, animals, and the planet. She will make an excellent mom because anyone who thinks this much about the welfare of others has already figured out the most important thing about parenting- love.

Harold I can’t wait to get

home from work every day to spend time with my husband, Harold. He is a conscientious man with a quick wit who helps me make sense of the world. Being a professor helps define who he is – intellectual, caring, and patient. Whenever I get the chance, I love to sit in on one of his lectures or join one of his fieldtrips. Watching him inspire students to be better stewards of the environment is very satisfying. We are frequently stopped in the grocery store or out at dinner by one of his current or former students just wanting to say hello. I watch him in these interactions with his students and I am reminded of the kindness and joy that make him a great father. His teaching is not limited to just the classroom; he has taught me so much about politics, current events, and also how to fly fish!

Collin Harold has a twenty year-old son, named Collin, from a previous relationship. Collin now lives on his own in Minnesota, where he was born, but visits Katie and Harold when he can get away from work as a cook in a well-respected restaurant. Collin loves the outdoors, including downhill skiing, fishing, and hunting. He is a tremendous Minnesota Vikings fan and insists any future brothers and sisters must become Vikings fans, too! We are super proud of Collin because he has grown into such a responsible young man who cares deeply about his family and friends- including his younger siblings in his mom’s family. He looks forward to welcoming a new brother or sister. Collin

Our Promise To Your Child… …provide your child with: unconditional love; a good home; a college education; healthy and tasty food; opportunities to explore their culture and become their own person. …show your child how to: be kind, considerate and compassionate; serve others; appreciate the outdoors. …teach your child about: the world and its people; love and care for animals; stewardship for the environment; responsibility to be an informed citizen; respect for other people no matter what they look like/ where they live/ what they believe/ or how much they have …encourage your child to: explore through travel and reading; be creative; be open-minded; respect themselves

Furry Family Members Our family would not be complete without our pooches. Over the years we have rescued four dogs – Tucker, Fiona, Tulip and Petunia – from animal shelters or other difficult situations. Tucker is a loving ten year-old terrier who is full of personality and loves to snuggle. He is an expert Frisbee catcher and enjoys canoe rides as long as he gets the chance to swim along the way. Fiona is our five year-old hound who is smart but mischievous! She enjoys chewing on dog bones, going on long hikes where she can explore with her nose, and finding ways to evade household rules. Tulip and Petunia are small, ten year-old rat terriers who were rescued together from a puppy mill. Although they can be fraidy-cats, they have grown into snuggly couch potatoes who love laying on our laps. All of our dogs love children and are thrilled when our nieces and nephews visit.

Our Home Our community is a progressive and open-minded college town with great schools, a vibrant arts scene, and excellent local food. It is a multicultural place because people from all around the world come to work and study at the university. We live in a brick house in the woods on the edge of town. Our home has an awesome recreational room in the basement and also a theatre room where we like to watch movies. Our yard has a big fenced-in area so that our dogs and future children can play. From our house we regularly see members of our local deer herd, our resident flock of turkeys, squirrels, and even hear coyotes howl. We spend many spring and summer afternoons planting and tending to flowers in our gardens. Our cabin in the mountains of West Virginia provides us the opportunity to downhill ski at two resorts, cross-country ski/snowshoe/hike miles of trails, fly fish beautiful rivers, zipline, rock climb, and hear great live music in a family-friendly environment.

We Love To...

Read

Write

Travel

Cook

Hike

Fly Fish

Ski

Garden

Snowshoe

Solve puzzles

Play with our dogs

Canoe

Restore Furniture

Listen to live music

Our Cabin Our House

Education/Work Katie- I have worked as a family medicine doctor for the past 9 years. I particularly like taking care of my younger patients and helping people learn healthy living habits. I committed my career to working with underserved populations that lack access to health care. I serve on medical mission trips to the Caribbean and Central America to work with patients in need. I also enjoy teaching new medical students as a professor at the university’s medical school.

Harold- I earned my PhD in Geography in 2006. I am a university professor who teaches students about the environment and politics. I have a particular interest in studying environmental justice, which is the way that people work to correct environmental harms done to vulnerable communities. I am offering a summer study abroad course to Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park in Canada and the US that will teach students about the effects of climate change. My favorite part of my job is working with students! One of the best things about my job, however, is that our children can attend our university at no cost.

Family Traditions Harold’s extended family lives in Minnesota and loves the outdoors. His parents live on a lake and we very much enjoy our summer visits when we can power boat, waterski, tube, and sit around the campfire with them. Wintertime visits enable us to skate on the frozen lake, snowmobile, and ice fish. We enjoy these activities with our five year-old nephew, Holden. Harold particularly enjoys eating lefse (a sweet treat) on Christmas, as he is half Norwegian. Katie’s extended family lives in Indianapolis and enjoys getting together to socialize over a game or a good campfire. We especially like playing laser-tag with our ten year-old niece Ruby, and our eleven year-old nephew, Cager. Our newest activity is chasing after our one year-old nephew, Grayson. We look forward to our annual Blitz tournament every Christmas and also volunteering to deliver food baskets to needy families during the holidays. Watching the Indianapolis Colts win is also a must on game days.

Our Commitment Thank you so much for taking the time to learn a little about us. We are honored that you have read our profile and we hope you consider us worthy adoptive parents. If we are chosen to be adoptive parents, we look forward to meeting you and sending you stories and pictures of your child so that you will be able to witness your baby grow into an amazing person. We look forward to sharing pictures of you with the child, too, so that he or she may know something about the great person(s) who made the adoption possible. Please know we are also open to adopting a child of any racial background. We are committed to raising our child in an open, supportive, and loving home so that he or she may flourish as a healthy, happy, successful adult. In doing so be assured that we will do everything in our power to live up to the trust you place in us to raise your child. We understand this is a difficult decision for you to make and we respect your love for, and commitment to, your child. No matter what decision you make we wish you and your child the very best.

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