Brian and Amanda
We are Amanda & Brian, along with our daughter Emma. Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us and for considering us as potential parents for your child! We know how tiring pregnancy can be on the body and the soul. We admire the strength and love you are showing to your child by choosing adoption.
HELLO!
- WE ARE -
Amanda
and Brian
we live in Southern New York, along with our daughter Emma.
Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us and for considering us as potential parents for your child! We know how tiring pregnancy can be on the body and the soul. We admire the strength and love you are showing to your child by choosing adoption.
We hope these next few pages will help you learn more about us, what we value and the family and home that we have to offer. EVEN BEFORE MEETING EACH OTHER, WE HAD BOTH ENVISIONED ADOPTING A CHILD—in fact, it was one of the first values we shared and made us even more attractive to each other during the first few months after we began dating.
Please know we are open to any race of child as our community is very diverse and accepting. We just can’t wait to be parents again! We can’t wait to meet you and learn more about who you are and what your hopes and dreams are for your child.
- our -
STORY
how we met, our roots, interests and more!
We met on Valentine’s Day in 2009 and got married on a very hot and sticky day in June, 2012. We are the definition of opposites attracting. Amanda is outgoing, doesn’t mind a mess and goes with the flow, and Brian is shy, very neat and likes structure. We still have a ton in common—we both love to travel, and some of our favorite memories are the vacations we’ve taken together in Bora Bora, Japan and Turks and Caicos. We also love cooking and eating good food, movies, music, exercising and relaxing at home.
AFTER WE GOT MARRIED, WE DECIDED TO HAVE A BIOLOGICAL CHILD FIRST AND THEN ADOPT AFTER THAT. Our loving, funny and curious daughter Emma was born in November 2013. After taking a few years to get settled as parents, the time is now right to pursue the process we’ve been talking about for so long and expand our family through adoption.
We are extremely excited to share the family activities that we already do with Emma, like reading, swimming, going to the playground and going to the park. We both really love our siblings and can’t wait for Emma and a sibling to have a close relationship so they can learn from and love one another as they grow up.
Meet
AMANDA
I ’m small in size, but my friends and family say I’m larger than life! Whether you are feeling up or down, you can always count on me to listen, cheer you on and give a hug, a smile and a laugh.
One of my greatest passions is helping others. That’s why I chose to pursue a career in social services, so I can try to make the world a better place every day. I’m curious and not afraid to try new things. For example, I liked my Chinese class so much in college, I moved to China after graduation. Living in China helped me realize that I love exploring the world and different cultures. It even inspired me to backpack through Asia. I had a lot of interesting adventures on that trip, including getting chased through the streets of India by a very angry monkey!
DO WHAT YOU LOVE,
LOVE WHAT YOU DO
I followed my passion for social services into a career at a nonprofit that helps women get jobs in nontraditional fields, like construction. I love my job and am proud that every day I help people and make the world a better place.
FUN FACTS!
1) I speak Mandarin Chinese
2) I used to drive a delivery truck
3) I won a hotdog eating contest
4) I lived in China twice
BRIAN SAYS: AMANDA IS A HARD-WORKING, AMAZING MOM. SHE’S TRULY MY INSPIRATION
Meet
BRIAN
Of the two of us, I’m certainly the quieter one, but I still loving being fun and silly!
One of my greatest passions is music. I’ve been to well over 300 concerts, but I’m not just an avid music listener; when I was in high school, I taught myself guitar, and playing it is still one of my favorite hobbies. I hope to pass my passion for music along to my children, and have even bought Emma her first guitar. I also sing to her each night at bedtime, and I couldn’t be more excited to do the same with another child.
One of my other favorite things to do is watch and cheer for my favorite sports teams. I have great memories of going to the stadium with my dad, and I’d love to create similar memories with Emma and a second child.
DO WHAT YOU LOVE,
LOVE WHAT YOU DO
I’M A PARTNER AT A BIG LAW FIRM, WHERE I HELP COMPANIES WITH THEIR BUSINESS NEEDS. My favorite part of my job is solving problems creatively. I also really like that my job allows me to have a flexible schedule, which means I can go to school activities or doctor’s appointments without issue.
FUN FACTS!
1) I lived in Hong Kong for two years
2) I really don’t like meatloaf
AMANDA SAYS: BRIAN IS ONE OF THE KINDEST AND MOST PATIENT PEOPLE I HAVE EVER KNOWN
Our Home
AND
why we love living here!
We live in a lovely urban apartment in Southern New York. Our home is bright, filled with toys, and close to 10 playgrounds and 3 large parks. Many of our neighbors have small children.
We also live near an excellent and diverse nursery school, which Emma attends. Education is extremely important to us, and providing a quality education will be one of our top priorities.
meet the big sister...
emma
Emma is full of energy and curiosity. Emma loves her nursery school and her weekly swimming and music lessons. She is a reading fanatic and is constantly listening to and playing music.
SHE IS BURSTING WITH HUGS AND KISSES AND CAN’T WAIT TO BE A BIG SISTER!
- A FEW OF OUR -
favorite things
TV SHOW
BRIAN: Game of Thrones
AMANDA: Law and Order
DESSERT
BRIAN: Ice Cream Sundaes
AMANDA: Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake
PLACE TO TAKE A CHILD
BRIAN: Swimming
AMANDA: The Beach
CHILDREN’S BOOK
BRIAN: The Velveteen Rabbit
AMANDA: Dirty Feet
BOARD GAME
BRIAN: Clue
AMANDA: Hoot Owl Hoot
a few of Emma’s
favorites
COOKING
Emma is always excited to bake cookies with Mommy
THE PLAYGROUND
Emma loves to swing, slide, climb and play in the water
HER BABY DOLL
Emma is a fantastic “mom” when it comes to taking care of her baby doll
five favorite places we love in our
community
1) The YMCA—we take swimming lessons, play in the gym and mom and dad get to exercise too
2) Children’s Museum—kids of all ages get to play and explore science, cultures and art
3) The Public Library—our library is a place where all of our community comes to learn, explore and play
4) The Park—we love it because it’s a great place to enjoy being in nature, exercising and connecting with friends
5) Music Academy—we can see concerts, movies and enjoy family music classes
spirituality
“For you are fearfully and wonderfully made.”
-Psalm 139:14
We think there are many ways to be close to God. Amanda and Emma are practicing Catholics and Brian was raised Presbyterian. We believe that faith is important to provide another source of unconditional love and to help you lead a life where you use the gifts you’ve been blessed with to be kind and good to others.
MEET OUR FAMILY
We both have fantastic families that truly support us. Our parents are extremely excited that we’ve decided to adopt! They each visit us once every month or two, and we go to see them frequently as well. We also constantly FaceTime with them.
We have terrific siblings. They make us laugh and help us when we need them. Our siblings have also blessed us with a number of nieces and nephews—your child would have six cousins, all 6 years old or younger. We are lucky to have a diverse extended family that includes family members born in Burma, the Dominican Republic, Hong Kong and Turkey.
We’re also proud to have a number of great friends that are like family. Brian has had the same two best friends for over 20 years, and Amanda is close with a number of friends she made in elementary school and from when she first moved to our current community over fifteen years ago. Our friends keep life fun, but are also ready to drop everything when we need their support.
Our Thoughts
- ON -
Parenting
OUR LIFE AS PARENTS
We want our children to know that they are extraordinary. No matter what is else is happening in our lives, being Mommy and Daddy always comes first. We will never be too busy to stop for a hug or a kiss, to sing a favorite song or read a story. We will encourage our children to try new things, to keep running after they fall, and we will always be there to shout “good job” and give them a big hug when they finally figure something out for themselves.
We promise that our family will be one where our children know that they are loved absolutely and unconditionally, is celebrated for being themselves and believes that being a good person is the best measure of success. We also promise to do our best to give our children as many opportunities in life as possible, so that they truly believe that they can do anything and be anything they dream of.
Our heartfelt
THANKS
Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us! We are excited to grow our family through adoption; it’s a moment that we’ve each dreamed of for a very long time. We know that this is a big decision for you. We will be honored to be parents to your child, and after the adoption would love to continue to share photos and letters with you, or even have a more open relationship, if that’s something you would like. We promise to love your child more than life itself, to do our absolute best to give him or her the opportunity to succeed in life and to give him or her all of our heart and soul.
Amanda and Brian
WE WOULD LOVE TO
HEAR FROM YOU!
