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| Our Extended Families |
Ryan: My family lives in western Wisconsin, where I grew up in a growing rural community. My grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins also live in Wisconsin and get together often to celebrate birthdays and other special occasions. My extended family enjoys getting together for family reunions and we all spent three nights camping out together last summer. Stories around the campfire, four wheeler rides, and gunny sack races are a few highlights from our time together. My father has many varied interests and makes his living as a small business owner. My mother has had a successful child care business in their home for the past 28 years. I have one sister who is married and has one energetic little boy with another due to join the family soon. They are all excited about the addition of another grandchild, niece/nephew, and cousin!
Dalene: My family lives a few hours away in Missouri. That's where I grew up with two younger sisters, both of whom are married. One sister has two mischievous boys; the other has one. It's hard to believe that we have a total of 5 nephews, all under the age of three! They have brought so much happiness to our family. My dad is a real estate broker and loves to fish in his free time. My mom is a nurse who enjoys helping people and scrap booking whenever she gets the chance. It should probably be mentioned here that my parents have a fourth "child" in the form of a miniature Boston terrier named Odie, who considers himself to be part of the family. Time spent with my family often includes big family meals around the table, telling stories, and laughter. Of course, our nephews are always the center of attention and provide the main source of entertainment. My family is also very supportive of our decision to adopt and is thrilled about the prospect of another precious little one joining the family someday soon!
Our parents have both been married for nearly thirty years! Each of our grandparents were/have been married for 50+ years. We consider ourselves blessed to have such wonderful families who offer all of the support and love we could possibly want.
| Our House and Neighborhood |
We call the unique and beautiful state of Arkansas home. Although neither of us grew up here, we love the cultural diversity and many opportunities of the area we live in. Our neighborhood is older with mostly single story family homes, although one block on our street contains one story apartment buildings. Our neighbors consist mainly of families with children of all ages and several of the families on our street are multicultural. Children can often be seen playing outside and running to meet the ice cream truck in the summer. In the evening it is common for families to walk down the street with parents pushing strollers or holding their little child's hand. We can't wait to share our family-oriented neighborhood with this child. In addition to our immediate neighborhood, we live in one of the best school districts in the state. As a teacher, Dalene is convinced that it is successful in providing the best education available.
Our home is a single story, 3 bedroom house. Dalene enjoys working in the small flower beds and watching the colors bloom from spring through fall. Although our house is older, inside it has a more modern feel. We have updated our kitchen and living area to be light and open, which has created an ideal space for family life. We use one bedroom as an office and the other will make a great nursery/child's room. One thing that drew us to this home in the first place is a large back yard that will be the scene of your child's many adventures. Although our home isn't as big or fancy as some, we believe that love is what makes a house a home and in that respect our home is rich and beautiful!