shannon brian -...
TRANSCRIPT
T H A N K Y O U ! F R O M T H E B O T T O M
O F O U R H E A R T S W E T H A N K Y O U
F O R T A K I N G T I M E T O L E A R N A B O U T U S .
W E D D I N G D A Y
B L I S S
A S U N N Y D A Y V I S I T I N G C A N A D AD E A R B I R T H P A R E N T S
T H A N K Y O U S O M U C H F O R T A K I N G T H E
T I M E T O E X P L O R E O U R P R O F I L E A N D
C O N S I D E R I N G U S F O R T H E G R E A T E S T
G I F T W E C A N E V E R H O P E T O R E C E I V E
— T H E O P P O R T U N I T Y T O G R O W O U R
F A M I LY ! We know that this might feel overwhelming
and we have tremendous respect for the courageous
decisions you have ahead of you. Adoption is near
and dear to our hearts as Brian and his sister are
both adopted. It has been a very positive experience
for them and their families. Shannon also has a cousin
who is adopted. We feel well equipped to grow our
family in this very special way.
We cannot overstate what an incredible gift it would
be to have the opportunity to have your child become
part of our family. They will be surrounded with so
much love and we will make sure they know what a
brave decision you made by choosing this life for them.
S I N C E R E L Y ,
S H A N N O N & B R I A N
W E A R E S H A N N O N
& B R I A N F R O M
N E W Y O R K !
O U R S T O R Y W e met on a blind date arranged by Shannon’s mom. She had
worked with Brian for 5 years when it occurred to her that Brian
would probably get along well with Shannon so she set the wheels in
motion! We had our first date in a park in a cute small town half way
between our homes at the time. We initially agreed to meet for a coffee
in the late afternoon. We ended up chatting over dinner and for several
hours thereafter. We have been inseparable ever since! Brian proposed in
that same park and the restaurant where we had our first date hosted our
rehearsal dinner the evening before our wedding. We enjoy visiting the
park from time to time and reminiscing about our great times!
We were both raised as Catholics and continue to practice our
religion. Our favorite weekly tradition is to go to Sunday morning Mass
and then breakfast at a local café. This is such a relaxing and peaceful
way for us to begin our week.
E N J O Y I N G A G R E A T D A Y A T
D I S N E Y . W E C A N ’ T W A I T
T O B R I N G A C H I L D W I T H
U S O N O U R A D V E N T U R E S !
O U R F A V O R I T E P A R K
O N O U R H O N E YM O O N
F R O M A B L I N D D A T E T O N O W
We tried to have children but have
not been successful so we began
to do a lot of research into adoption.
We are thrilled to be on this
journey. Both of us are big believers
in providence and things that are
meant to be finding their way.
It is difficult to try to describe Shannon in only a few words. S H A N N O N
I S O N E O F T H E M O S T G E N E R O U S , T H O U G H T F U L , A N D
G E N U I N E P E O P L E Y O U C O U L D E V E R M E E T . She is always
generous with her time and talents in helping others; she is thoughtful in
striving to meet the needs of her family and friends; she is genuine in her
relationships with others – consistently living according to her values and
with respect for others. She works for a phenomenal organization that
seeks to empower those with disabilities; she truly practices what she
preaches when it comes to respect and empowerment. She truly brings
out the best in me. She is my best friend and there is no one with whom
I would rather spend my time. I cannot wait to be able to grow our
family so that we can share our love and lives with a child!
SHANNON IS AN ADMINISTRATOR AT A
HUMAN SERVICE AGENCY THAT PROVIDES
PROGRAMS AND SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WITH
DISABILITIES AND THEIR FAMILIES. She has worked
there ever since graduating from college and has
moved up in the organization over the years.
D O W H A T Y O U L O V EL O V E W H A T Y O U D O
M E E T S H A N N O N
M Y G O D D A U G H T E R A L L G R O W N U P
M A K I N G N E W
F R I E N D S
B Y B R I A N
I feel like I could write all day about how wonderful Brian is so I will do my
best to just provide the highlights! Anyone who knows Brian knows that he is
incredibly down to earth and balanced. We like to watch Jeopardy together
most evenings and each time, I am in awe of how much knowledge Brian has.
Brian always makes me laugh whether it be by telling a witty joke, coming
into the room with a crazy hairdo, or making a silly face at me from across
the room. B R I A N I S A LW A Y S W I L L I N G T O G O O U T O F H I S W A Y
T O H E L P S O M E O N E whether it be by giving up his free period to tutor a
struggling student or helping a friend move. Being that Brian is adopted
he will be able to relate to our future child in this unique way. I feel
so lucky to have met Brian and for the life we have built together. He is truly
my best friend and someone I cannot wait to build a family with!
A D V E N T U R E
A W A I T S !
F U N A T T H E B E A C H
W I T H O U R N E P H E W
E N J O Y I N G A S U N N Y
D A Y I N L O N D O N
M E E T B R I A NB Y S H A N N O N
BRIAN IS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER WHERE
HE TEACHES FOREIGN LANGUAGES. Brian is
also the coach for the swim team and he is the faculty
moderator for his school’s chapter of the National
Honor Society.
D O W H A T Y O U L O V EL O V E W H A T Y O U D O
H O M E S W E E TH O M E
W E L I V E I N A S U B U R B L E S S T H A N 9 0 M I N U T E S
O U T S I D E M A N H A T T A N
Our home is a two bedroom, two bath townhouse.
Our development has a swimming pool where
we like to spend a lot of time in the summer. We
also have two playgrounds in the community
where we look forward to playing with our future
child. Shannon is on the Board for the Home
Owners’ Association and is happy to have a voice
in the decisions that impact our neighborhood.
A B E A U T I F U L
B E A C H D A Y
W E L O V E R E L A X I N G
O N O U R P O R C H
W H I P P I N G U P A N O T H E R
D E L I C I O U S M E A L
We love that we live so close to
so many fun and interesting things
to do from museums to hiking
trails and seemingly everything
in between. We enjoy the seasons
that come along with living in
New York and all the activities the
different times of year lends to.
T A K I N G I N T H E F A L L S
Z I P L I N E B U D D I E S
We have many hobbies that we look forward to sharing when we are fortunate
enough to expand our family. We love to be outside when the weather is nice
and we especially enjoy going to the beach. Each summer, we go on a weeklong
vacation to the ocean with our extended families (both Brian’s and Shannon’s). We
very much look forward to continuing this tradition with our child.
We love to travel and experience new places and cultures. We also
enjoy going into the city to see shows on Broadway. Brian loves to do crossword
puzzles and to cook. Shannon enjoys arts and crafts and loves to read fiction
novels. Shannon has volunteered for Big Brothers/ Big Sisters for 8 years now. Brian
is an Eagle Scout and frequently mentors others who are pursing this themselves.
F A V O R I T E C O L O R
B R I A N : B L U E
S H A N N O N : G R E E N
F A V O R I T E M U S I C A L A R T I S T
B R I A N : M U M F O R D A N D S O N S
S H A N N O N : B I L LY J O E L
F A V O R I T E H O L I D A Y
B R I A N : C H R I S T M A S
S H A N N O N : T H A N K S G I V I N G
F A V O R I T E I C E C R E A M F L A V O R
B R I A N : C O O K I E S A N D C R E A M
S H A N N O N : C H O C O L AT E C H I P C O O K I E D O U G H
F A V O R I T E S M E L L
S H A N N O N : B E A C H
B R I A N : M A P L E
F A V O R I T E P L A C E T O T A K E A C H I L D
B R I A N : S W I M M I N G
S H A N N O N : P L AY G R O U N D
F A V O R I T E W A Y T O R E L A X A T H O M E
B O T H : S I T T I N G I N O U R R O C K I N G C H A I R S
O U T S I D E O N T H E P AT I O I N T H E N I C E
W E AT H E R
F A V O R I T E C H I L D R E N ’ S B O O K
B R I A N : W H E R E T H E W I L D T H I N G S A R E
S H A N N O N : A M E L I A B E D E L I A
F A V O R I T E V A C A T I O N S P O T
B O T H : A N Y W H E R E W I T H A B E A C H !
F A V O R I T E T I M E O F Y E A R
B R I A N : FA L L
S H A N N O N : S U M M E R
H O W W E S P E N D O U R F R E E T I M E
Shannon is the middle of three
children. She has an older
brother and a younger sister.
Although Brian’s mom has passed,
B R I A N ’ S D A D A S W E L L A S
S H A N N O N ’ S P A R E N T S A R E
I N C R E D I B LY S U P P O R T I V E
A N D P R O V I D E U S W I T H
A L O T O F L O V E A N D F U N
T I M E S . Brian has a younger sister
who is also adopted. She is married
and has three children. We love
spending time with our niece and
nephews and know they will make
great cousins! We are godparents
to a niece and nephew of ours. We
have an incredibly strong bond with
our family and friends. Our siblings
all live within an hour of us and we
see them each frequently. We have
an incredible circle of friends many of
whom we have known for years. They
share our varied interests and we
enjoy spending time going to sporting
events, concerts, or just hanging out.
We are very fortunate to have so
many caring people in our lives!
M E E T O U R
A M A Z I N G F A M I L Y& F R I E N D S
F A M I LY F U N A T D I S N E Y
SHANNON AND HER DAD - WHO WORE IT BEST? FAMILY VACATION
B R I A N A N D H I S D A D C A T C H I N G A G A M E
B R I A N A N D H I S S I S T E R F I S H I N G
O U R P R O M I S E T O Y O U
W E B E L I E V E T H A T A C H I L D C A N
N E V E R H A V E T O O M A N Y
P E O P L E T H A T L O V E T H E M !
E N J O Y I N G A
B E A U T I F U L
D A Y
T O G E T H E R
A T T H E
P L A C E W E
F I R S T M E T
C E L E B R A T I N G
T H E H O L I D A Y S
W E A R E S O E X C I T E D T O B E O N T H I S J O U R N E Y , W H I C H W E H O P E
W I L L L E A D T O U S G R O W I N G O U R F A M I L Y . We do not have any children
yet, but we have many family and friends with children and cannot wait to become
parents ourselves. We believe in surrounding children with love and respect. We
also believe in positive reinforcement and building a child’s confidence and self-
esteem by focusing on his or her strengths. We think it’s important to teach a child
how to make good decisions, not just to make the decisions for him or her.
We will both continue to work once we become parents but feel very fortunate
that child care during the workday will be provided by Shannon’s parents. We
also feel fortunate that our work hours are flexible to allow for the
unpredictability of a growing family. Shannon works less than 10 minutes
from our home and has the opportunity to work from home on occasion if needed.
Brian’s career has the added bonus of finishing work up by 2pm and having the
summers off.
A S P E C I A L M E S S A G E
T O Y O U
Thank you so much for taking the time to review
our profile! We hope that it offered a glimpse
into our world and conveyed how excited we are
at the opportunity to grow our family. We would love
to share pictures and updates with you as your child
grows. We are also open to developing a more open
adoption as well if that’s something you would like
to explore. We are honored to be considered for this
amazing gift and honor your decision to make this
plan for your child.
W E ’ D L O V E T O H E A R F R O M Y O U !If you have additional questions for us or would like
to speak to us, please contact THE ADOPTION
ALLIANCE BY CALLING 1-800-626-4324.
W I T H L O V E ,
S H A N N O N & B R I A N
E N J O Y I N G A N I G H T A T A N A U C T I O N
A N N U A L P U M P K I N C A R V I N G C O N T E S T