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HELLO THERE!

WE ARE

CHARLES & COLLEEN

FROM NEW JERSEY

Overhead view of adult hand holding Child's hand open with paper cut-outs of a family.

We are so grateful to have this opportunity!

Hello! We are the O’Briens and we are excited to meet you! Family has been at the forefront of our relationship from the moment we met and having a family of our own has long been our desire and we simply cannot imagine a future that does not include children. Our journey to reach this point has been full of so many twists and turns and we can only imagine that yours may have too. Thank you for taking the time to read our profile and please know that we commend you for the courageous and loving choice of adoption.

ABOUT CHARLES

Overhead view of adult hand holding Child's hand open with paper cut-outs of a family.

JOB

Assistant Director for Editorial Projects

PLACE OF BIRTH

New York, NY

FAV HOBBY

Collecting Vinyl Records

FAV HOLIDAY

Thanksgiving
Charles is grounded in family and faith, which is evident the moment you meet him. He grew up in New York City with a loving family comprised of his mother, grandmother and younger brother and values the experiences gained as a product of the Big Apple – a love that he hopes to pass on via parenthood. After some family tragedy struck, Charles and his brother were adopted into a large and diverse family. Charles has worked in athletics and education for many years and possesses a unique ability to bond with students, helping to further their education and growth as human beings. He enjoys sports, music and collecting vinyl records. Charles is compassionate, creative and very funny and hopes to share these same qualities through fatherhood.

Charles Sailing on Hudson

Charles working the World Series Game with Co-Workers

Charles with Niece Cara

ABOUT COLLEEN

Overhead view of adult hand holding Child's hand open with paper cut-outs of a family.

JOB

Director of Mission Integration

PLACE OF BIRTH

Chicago, IL

FAV HOBBY

Gardening

FAV HOLIDAY

Christmas
Colleen grew up in western Michigan and is the second of eight children. While her home life was often loud and bustling, the relationships between all members of her family were loving and life-giving. Colleen values her faith, time with friends and family, gardening, reading and
crocheting. She has always longed to be a mother and hopes one day that will finally become her reality. Colleen would describe her personality as easy-going, humorous, friendly, joyful and silly. She believes it is important to find time to laugh and be light-hearted to balance times of seriousness and focus to get through life. This same belief helps form Colleen’s approach to parenthood in that she hopes to bring those same qualities to the lives of her children.

Colleen visiting family in Virgina

Colleen Hiking in France

Colleen at Country Music Hall of Fame

OUR PETS

MEET OUR DOG

Our dog Reilly, a black lab/pitbull mix, joined us from a New York City shelter in 2019, when she was seven months old. Simply put, she has been a wonderful addition to our lives. She has a loving disposition, is curious, energetic and playful and is always enthusiastically ready with lots of kisses. Reilly is always ready to go on a walk (the longer, the better) or play fetch in the backyard. She would love another human to play fetch with and share her love of toys. Not to mention all the delicious food that will get dropped on the floor!

Reilly Playing in Backyard

Reilly at Halloween

Reilly Playing her Favorite Game of Fetch

OUR HOME & COMMUNITY

We live in a three-story colonial house with a small backyard in Northern New Jersey and are centrally located with easy access to New York City, Princeton and Philadelphia, providing a plethora of opportunities and activities. Our house is nestled in a great culturally diverse community that has raised numerous children, and now, grandchildren. We are a short walk from an elementary school, the town center and many parks and playgrounds. Our immediate neighbors, who served as a reference for us, are fantastic people that we have a very communal relationship with. They also have a teenage daughter for easy access to a babysitter!! We are active in our church that is about 40 minutes away, which also presents great opportunities for connections and interactions.

Our Home

Benefits of Being Close to NYC

Elementary School in Our Neighborhood

OUR FAVORITE THINGS

WE ENJOY

Charles
Colleen
Food
Pizza
Tacos
Movie
Blue Streak
While You Were Sleeping
TV show
Entourage
Friends
Candy Bar
Hershey's Dark Chocolate
Heath Bar
Dessert
Blackout Chocolate Cake
Ice Cream
Music Artist
Sister Hazel
Matchbox 20
Family Activity
Chick-fil-a Mondays
Chick-fil-a Mondays
Vacation Spot
North Fork Long Island, NY
North Fork Long Island, NY
Sport
Baseball
Basketball
Team
NY Rangers
NY Mets
Color
Blue
Purple
Board Game
Monopoly
Banana Grams
Children’s Book
There's a Monster at the End of this Book
Velveteen Rabbit
Animal
Koala
Sea Otter
Dream Job
Owner of an ice cream shop
Teacher

OUR FAMILY PHOTOS

CAPTURING MOMENTS

Charles and Colleen at Brooklyn Cyclones Game

Charles and Colleen at Disneyland

Charles and Colleen at NYC Liberty Game

Charles and Colleen Celebrating the 4th of July Fireworks with Friends

Colleen and Charles at Magic Show

Colleen and Charles at Mets Game

Colleen and Charles Seeing Our Favorite Comedian

Colleen and Charles Visiting the Friends Experience

Colleen with Nieces at Family Party

Colleens Family Gathering to Celebrate her Parents, Siblings, Nieces and Nephews

Christmas in Los Angeles with Charles' Family

Charles' Family in South Carolina

THANK YOU

FOR CONSIDERING US

Celebrating a Friends Wedding
We fully believe that we are called to be parents. Although our journey has not gone as we planned, we wouldn’t change any of our experiences, especially in that we have been given the time to truly form the foundation of our relationship and how we intend to parent. We are also grateful that our path has led us to adoption because we have a tremendous amount of love to share with a child.

Some of the things we’ve come to embrace as part of the central core of our family values and hope to pass on to our own children are education, family time, faith, laughter, a healthy appreciation for cartoons, celebrations and holidays.

However, we know raising a child and being a true family are much more than the activities and celebrations. It’s the additional moments where you’re cooking and baking together, it’s taking Reilly out on walks around the neighborhood, it’s going to church, it’s spending time with friends, it’s creating and passing on family traditions and simply enjoying the beauty of the world.

We know it is an emotional and weighty decision to place your child for adoption and we certainly do not take that lightly! We believe it is an honor, responsibility and privilege to become adoptive parents and we hold our commitment to you and your child with the utmost respect and commitment. We greatly appreciate your consideration and thank you for your time!

Charles and Colleen