Tim is 35 and Erin is 33. Their daughter Natalie is 6.
Tim has an Associate's degree in Computer Science and is
a Senior Systems Engineer. Erin has a BA in Political
Science and enjoys the full time role of being a
stay-at-home mom. Their financial situation is good.
They are Christian.
This family lives in Grand Rapids, MI.
This family is Caucasian with German, Irish, Dutch, British, Welsh, and Scotch roots.
They desire to adopt a child or up to two siblings age 0-6 of any race or ethnicity. They would consider a child with mild or correctable health concerns or special needs on a case-by-case basis. They hope to have an open adoption but fully respect the boundaries requested by the placing parents.
We met in high school through mutual friends and because we were in the same band class, we began spending the lunch hour together. Erin was a junior and Tim was a senior. Shortly after Erin graduated from high school, Tim proposed and we were married two years later on June 14, 1997. In November 2004, we were placed with our daughter Natalie in an open adoption.
About Tim by Erin: I would describe Tim as being a very laid-back, calm person with a great sense of humor. He makes me laugh, even when things are hard or I am sad but he is also compassionate and generous, and knows when I just need him to be there, to listen and to comfort. He is the “play-mate” in our family and induces Natalie to have dance parties in the living room or teaches her things like how to make socks fly across the room by throwing them at a ceiling fan (we currently do not have one in our house and I think he misses this.)
About Erin by Tim: Erin is smart, loving and very compassionate, especially when it comes to adoption. She is a part of many online adoptive parent support groups, and often shares her knowledge with other adoptive parents and birth parents. These people are best described as “the friends inside the computer”. She is the stay at home mom who makes sure the laundry gets done, the house stays clean, and there is food in the cupboard. This usually includes a box of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. Erin enjoys having a good time with friends and family, but helps make sure things don’t get too wild. Socks in the ceiling fan are OK, but she would stop me before I threw vegetables in an attempt to make a snack tray.
About Natalie by Tim and Erin: When you ask Natalie to describe herself, she says silly, which is true. She is always making goofy faces or silly dance moves. She is incredibly social and loves to play with other kids. She likes to ride her bike or scooter, play Wii, or color with markers and crayons. She is taking ballet for the first time and enjoys it but she also likes to play soccer. She is a girly-girl at times and a total tom-boy other times. She is not afraid of dirt or most bugs but also loves to wear dresses and crowns.
This profile might show us like we are perfect but we are not. We make mistakes, we say things we shouldn’t, we have days where nothing seems to go right but we live, we laugh and we love. And that is what makes our family.
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We believe strongly in the idea of openness in adoption. We believe that it is important that our children know as much as we can share about their biological families, whether it is through letters/emails, phone calls, or visits. If, for some reason, distance or circumstances prevent us from having contact, we would do our best to make sure our children know about their roots.
We have been able to have an open relationship with Natalie’s maternal birthfamily and while this has sometimes been a learning process for us over the last six years, we know that it can only benefit Natalie in the future as she grows older and perhaps wants to know “who she is” or “where she came from”.
We would also like you to know that, while we are excited about the possibility of adding to our family through another adoption, we would respect your decision to parent your child. You are your child’s parent(s) during this time of decision-making and we recognize that. If you choose to parent, we know that we were meant to be additional hand of support for you during this time. If you choose to place with us, we hope that we will be able to build a wonderful and loving relationship for all of us, but particularly for this child, to know how much love he/she has in this world.
Our favorite family activities are mostly just being together, taking walks or playing with Natalie. A couple of summers ago, we began camping again, which we did regularly before Natalie’s arrival, and hope to make it an annual part of our summer vacation plans. Our favorite place to camp is in northern Michigan in the Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore.
We also like to travel when we can, mostly visiting Erin’s sister who has lived around the US as her husband is in the army. Natalie is a great “road-tripper” and we have fun taking in the sights along our travels. Tim and Erin visited Germany when Erin’s sister and family were stationed there and we would love to go back to see more of Europe, particularly England and Ireland.
