Jan & Charlie | Happy Family Seeking to Adopt

FUN FACTS ABOUT Jan

Favorite Foods: French fries, hot fudge sundaes, Mexican food

Favorite Music: Country music -- from Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash to Carrie Underwood and Alison Krauss

Favorite TV Shows: Mad Men, Glee, reruns of Will & Grace

Favorite Movies: The Princess Bride, Twilight

Education: Bachelor's degree from University of North Carolina, Master's degree from University of Pennsylvania

Hometown: Franklin, TN

Sports Teams: North Carolina Tarheels

FUN FACTS ABOUT Charlie

Favorite Foods: Pizza, pad thai, key lime pie

Favorite Music: 80's bands like Tears for Fears and The Police

Hobbies: Painting, playing the saxophone and guitar, reading about history

Favorite Movies: Inception, Gladiator, A Fish Called Wanda

Education: Bachelor's degree from Princeton, MBA from Harvard

Hometown: Wilmington, DE

Sports Teams: The Phillies and the Buffalo Bills

Charlie by Jan

Charlie is the sweetest guy I have ever met. He is smart and funny and has a very silly, goofy sense of humor. In fact one of the reasons that we started dating is that he said I was only the 2nd person he had ever met who laughed at his jokes. Something that I love about him is that he never stops learning and trying new things. In the past few years he has taught himself to paint and play guitar. His idea of a perfect weekend is hanging around the house relaxing, playing guitar, doing a bit of painting and listening to music. He is a caring and attentive dad to Maddy. He patiently teaches her new words, about the planets, and shows her how to draw a dog and how to throw a football. Since she was very little, they have played "monster" where he chases her around and growls and she squeals with delight. When we hang out with friends in the park, he is always the one running around and playing with the kids.

Jan by Charlie

I fell in love with Jan because she makes me feel alive. Jan has always been the adventure-maker for our family. She's a "doer" -- someone who always has our calendar full of plans with friends and relatives. Jan is a southerner who always wanted to live in the "big city" and she makes the most of it. And she's also my confidant and best friend -- the first person I turn to when I have an idea or need advice. Jan is a wonderful mom to our daughter. Jan spends a lot of time with Maddy talking about her friendships, what she's learning in school, the challenges of learning to read and do math, and making sure homework is done every night. She also arranges a lot of after-school play dates with our growing crop of school-friends -- including trips to the park, the zoo, or the beach on weekends. If I had to marry somebody all over again, it would be Jan. She lets me be myself, loves me for who I am, and has made me a better person. We've built a strong family life together, and we can't wait to complete our family with another child.

Our Life

We've been happily married for 8 years. We met online and had an instant connection to each other's sense of humor and way of being, and today we have a strong marriage built with trust, communication, respect, love and fun. Both of us value family, lasting friendships, travel, and lifelong learning. We are the proud parents of a wonderful 6-year old daughter, Madeline. We have a very active and happy family life, and make a point of doing things we enjoy together as a family to create special memories -- hiking, skiing, apple-picking or the beach, depending upon the season. We like to visit a corn maze each fall and bake Christmas cookies for our friends or just put on music and have a spur of the moment "family dance party." We both love to travel. Before we were married, we each lived in a variety of places from California to Japan. We enjoy the adventure of finding our way in new and different places and seeing how others live. These days, most of our travel is to visit our family members. Some live locally, and others are in Atlanta, Nashville, Buffalo, and Ft. Lauderdale. We have a standing tradition of renting a beach house in the Outer Banks, NC for a week each summer with four other families. We also do one "big" trip as a family each year. Two summers ago we traveled to London and Paris; this year we visited the castles and sheep farms of Ireland. Next up -- Costa Rica to see birds and monkeys in the rainforest!

Adoption

We have a great deal of respect for you and your courage in considering adoption as an option for you and your baby. As he/she grows, we will explain adoption in a positive and loving way. We will help him or her understand that your decision was made with a great deal of love and thought. If you would like, we are open to sharing updates and photos with you so you can see and hear how the baby is doing. If you choose us to raise your child, we can rest assured that he or she will be surrounded by love, laughter, caring, and fun. We will provide a loving home, financial security, a topnotch education, a love of God, and opportunities to travel, learn, and grow.

Maddy

Maddy is an energetic little girl. She loves to dance, draw, and play with her stuffed animals, and is thrilled about becoming a big sister. She is in 1st grade and is learning to read and is so proud of herself when she finds a word she knows. It's amazing to watch her learn and grow. She is our biological child but after we had her we were devastated to find out that we couldn't have any more children due to infertility. We have so much love to give to another child and we both enjoyed having siblings ourselves so we want Maddy to have the chance to have a brother or sister just like we did. We hope to make our family complete through the adoption of one or possibly two more children.

Friends & Family

Jan grew up in the South with 3 sisters and 1 brother. Although we live in the Northeast now, we travel down south to see them for holidays, weddings, and other special occasions. Maddy has 7 cousins on Jan's side of the family so holiday gatherings are always very lively and festive. Charlie grew up in Wilmington, DE and has one brother who is married and has 2 young boys who live in the same city as we do. His parents live not too far away and visit very often. We are lucky to have family nearby! We are also friends with several couples with kids around Maddy's age with whom we go to the beach, camping and other adventures. We believe strongly in creating a community of family and friends for us and our children – it brings a foundation of stability for children and it makes life more fun to share it with others.

Our Home

We live in a big city in the Northeast, in a quiet residential neighborhood that is known for being family focused, with tree-lined streets, great parks and excellent public schools. Our home is charming and warm with lots of space for play. We have two cats whose hobbies are shedding and sleeping. Maddy's elementary school is only 3 blocks away and several playgrounds are nearby. We take advantage of the city, going to museums, the zoo, festivals, street fairs, concerts and other events.

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