What does "Family Life" mean to you?
Family life means doing things together as a family such as eating meals, attending church, taking vacations and relaxing around the house. It means helping each other to accomplish personal goals and supporting each other through good and bad times. We encourage each other and express our love to each other through words and actions each day. Family life includes spending holidays with kids, brothers, sisters and parents.
Describe your childhood:
Adoptive Mom? I grew up in a typical family where my mom stayed home with us and my dad worked. My mom was head of a dance department until I was born, and then she taught part-time until my sister was born, and then she taught a dance class at the YMCA. I grew up taking dance lessons, doing Community Theater and keeping up with the dance world. We also spent a lot of time with my mom’s parents and relatives in Michigan where my mom grew up. We went there most holidays and summer breaks, and still take family vacations there to see a few of my cousins who still live in the area.
Adoptive Dad? I grew up in a family of four that included my dad, mom, older brother, and me. I grew up in the suburbs of a large city. My mother stayed home with us until we went to school full-time, then she went to work part-time. My father worked full-time. We always ate dinner together as a family. We went on family vacations once a year, and drove everywhere. My parents taught us how to take care of ourselves; my mom taught us how to cook and bake, and my dad taught us how to build and fix things around the house. I grew up in a neighborhood of kids my age. In the summer we played softball, during the fall we played football, and in the winter we played hockey. My mom would call me in for lunch, my dad would whistle for me to come home for dinner, and when it got dark outside, mom would call me to come into the house for the night. We never locked our house and the neighborhood mothers were always home looking out for us kids. We spent the holidays together with aunts, uncles and cousins.
Tell us about your home?
We live in 3-bedroom ranch-style home in the suburbs of a large city. The third bedroom is waiting for your darling baby girl to join our family. It has pink curtains, ballerinas dancing across the walls, dresses and tutus hanging in the closet and of course a tiara on the dresser just waiting for her. There is a playroom, a kitchen, family room, living room and a huge backyard with a swing set and trampoline.
When you have a 3-day weekend, what do you like to do?
If it is summertime, we like to take off for the beach or go downtown. Sometimes we hit an indoor water park during the wintertime or sometimes we just like to stay home and all hang out together doing things like watching movies and eating popcorn, baking, or working on home improvement projects.
Do you have pets? If so tell us about them?
We have one cat named Twix.
What is your favorite food?
Alisha loves strawberries and chocolate.
Chuck loves almost anything chocolate, cherry pie, apple pie, and peanut butter sandwiches.
What do you hope to teach your children?
We want to teach our children about love and enjoying family and friends. We want them to get a good education and learn to take care of themselves. We want them to experience the world, and to find their passions in life and nurture them. We want them to learn to give to others who are less fortunate than themselves because it does not cost a lot to satisfy your needs in life, it is all of your wants that cost a lot.
Do you play any musical instruments?
Alisha has played the piano, trumpet and clarinet. However, she has not kept up with them. Chuck never played an instrument, but always wanted to learn to play the piano.
Describe your neighborhood?
We live in the suburbs of a large city, which isn’t far from where both of us grew up. Alisha still gets together with her high school girl friends once a month. Our diverse community continues to expand and change as military housing is located in our town. Alisha teaches at the school across the street from our house where our sons attend school. We have many neighbors and friends in the community. We have a play set in our backyard and sidewalks throughout our community. We host many holidays at our home as well as informal get-togethers around the barbeque. Our parks, pools, sports and fine arts are all right in our surrounding areas. We benefit from being so close to the city and all it has to offer.
Share something about your spouse that only you know:
Adoptive Mom?
Adoptive Dad? If I did, I would no longer be the only one who knows it.
Describe the last romantic thing you did together?
We had a rendezvous at lunchtime when the boys were at school.
What will you tell your child about their birthmother?
She was someone who loved them so much that she did the hardest thing a mother can do and that is to sacrifice her own feelings to be able to provide them with a better life that she was not able to give them at that time in her life.
It's Daddy's day - what activity do you want to share with your child?
My boys like to hit golf balls, go to the pool, and make snowmen outside. With my daughter, it will be what she enjoys. Perhaps she will want me to twirl her around in her tutu or we will have a tea party and she will make me wear a funny hat. Someday it will be attending the father/daughter dances together and at the end of each Daddy’s day I will read bedtime stories to my little princess.
Do you plan on sharing with your child what their birth parents were like?
We do plan on sharing with our daughter the miracle of her adoption and how much her birthmother loved her so that she will grow up knowing who her birth parents were and where they came from and what they were like.
What kind of education are you hoping to provide for your child - Private or Public?
Our public schools are excellent where we live. We have some of the top rated schools in the country. Alisha is also a public school teacher in the district where our child would be attending.
How did you come to the decision of adoption?
When we weren’t physically able to have another child, we felt as though that shouldn’t stop us from adding to our family, so adoption was the next step to make that happen.
What faith will you raise your child?
Christian - Methodist
How will you help your child accomplish their dreams?
We would nurture what she is interested in and what she is good at. The best we can do for her is to support her in her interests. We want her to be happy with her life and the choices she makes so we would help her by guiding and supporting her.
What kind of a relationship do you hope to build with your birthmom through her pregnancy?
We hope to build a positive relationship with our birthmother knowing that everyone is different and has different needs. The important thing is to make our birthmother as comfortable as possible during this difficult time.
How did you meet?
We met on a blind date.
What was your relationship with your parents like?
Adoptive Mom? I am very close to my mom. We share a lot of the same interests and she is supportive of me in all areas. She was always supportive of what I wanted to do and would drive me into the city for events, auditions and shows (that I would arrange and then let her know about after the fact). She would stay up late with me to finish my English papers. My dad worked a lot but was there for the important times in my life and was home for dinner most nights. He was glad we had more opportunities in life than he and his sisters had while growing up. He was always supportive in my career choices and pushed us to do what we wanted to do in life.
Adoptive Dad? My mother stayed at home to care for me and my brother until we were in school full-time, then she went to work part-time. My father was an engineer and worked. We always ate dinner as a family. My father taught me how to work with my hands and how to build and fix things. We went on family vacations once a year. My mother was very protective of us and took me to church on Sundays. My parents instilled in me a good work ethic and made sure I received a good education by sending me to college so I could have a better life than they had growing up. I plan to do the same for my children.
What attracted you to each other?
Adoptive Mom? I was attracted to Chuck because he was truly a gentleman. He was also calm and had a cute face.
Adoptive Dad? At first I was attracted to her looks, but than, I loved her outgoing personality and she is always doing things for others.
Please describe your personalities:
Adoptive Mom? I am a type A personality - outgoing, active, creative, sensitive and dramatic.
Adoptive Dad? I am a laidback type of guy.
What are your hobbies (please share those you enjoy as individuals and those you enjoy as a couple):
Adoptive Mom? Dancing, water activities, sewing, reading, biking, baking, shopping, and scrapbooking.
Adoptive Dad? Biking, water activities, skiing, and basketball.
Together we like water activities, going on walks, bike riding, and working on home improvement projects.
When you close your eyes and see yourself holding your precious baby in your arms what are your thoughts regarding the birthmother?
I thank God for her, and for entrusting her child’s life to us.
How will a child enrich your life?
A child brings you joy that is hard to explain. A whole life now relies on you. I would lay down my life for my sons, (as with any future child). You meet people you might not have met and you learn and experience things you might not have done without them.
Why did you each choose the career path you decided on?
Adoptive Mom? Becoming a teacher just seemed like a natural fit. I have worked with kids since I was a teenager and always liked being around them. I also thought about having a family and being a teacher was a good fit with being able to raise a family.
Adoptive Dad? I am an engineer by education. I enjoy working with people and making things with my hands.
What makes a birthmom special?
I believe that a birthmother is special because of her ability to put the needs of her child above her own needs.
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