Hello! Thank you for taking time to look through our book. We have a deep respect for you and are thinking of you as you choose what is best for your child.

Our life together has been an adventure from the very start! We met at a college leadership convention in 2010. We dated long-distance for a few years before we were married in 2014. Early-on in our relationship we both discussed a desire to grow our family through adoption. We experienced an ectopic pregnancy in 2018, followed shortly by a miscarriage. In the years since, we have experienced continued infertility and another miscarriage.

In 2019 our son, Cooper, was placed with us. Raising him has been the best part of our lives! He brings us so much joy. We have been holding a space in our hearts for another little one for several years, and we are longing for Cooper to have a sibling who can share the connection of adoption with him.

Our lives together are full of traditions. Each evening, we make sure to sit down to enjoy a meal together and share about our days. Every Sunday we attend Church together. Holidays are a big deal in our house, complete with special foods, decorations and themed activities. We also have a tradition of visiting Cooper’s birth family each summer.

We long to grow our family and have so much love to give. We can provide safety, lots of love, support, and great experiences. We are so excited to welcome another child into our home and hearts through adoption!

I grew up in the Midwest with three sisters. We were all involved in sports and activities and loved spending time together. I am still very close with my sisters and think it would be wonderful for Cooper to also have a sibling.

Growing up, I played soccer and hockey. I had a lot of fun in Boy Scouts too, and I earned the Eagle Scout rank. My enjoyment for these activities has carried over into my adult life, andcamping, hiking, and other outdoor activities recharge my battery.

My friends would say I am trustworthy, patient, caring and creative. I work as a mechanical engineer, and I enjoy my job because each day is a little different. I get to solve problems, learn new things, and help other people. At home, I enjoy woodworking and other crafts. My mom taught me how to cook when I was growing up, and I like being in the kitchen trying new recipes for soups, breads, and desserts.

Most of all, I love spending time with my family, and I love being a dad! Time flies when I am playing at the park or at home with Cooper. We have so much fun together! I can’t wait to see that love and fun grow when we welcome another little one into our family.

I was raised in the Midwest, and I am lucky to have many involved extended family members close by. I am an only child, and because of this, I have always known I would like to have several children. Being an only child was fun at times, but as I’ve grown I realized all the things I missed out on by not having a sibling. I want Cooper and any future children to be able to experience the things I did not. I long for Cooper and a sibling to be able to walk their journeys of adoption together. I pray he is able to have a sibling to share things with, learn with, play with, and grow with throughout his life.

During the school year, I am an elementary teacher. I love working with kids and helping them learn. In the summer months I am fortunate to be able to stay at home to spend quality time with family. I love my job, but the title I am most proud to have is “Mama.” I love learning and being creative, and my job as a teacher allows me to do both. I’m passionate about helping others, and I enjoy helping at our local cancer center, where both of my parents went through cancer treatment. I’ve put together patient care packages and helped out at fundraising events.

Those who know me best would describe me as organized, bubbly and dependable. I love spending time with family, reading, and all things Disney!

Cooper is a curious, energetic, and happy little guy! He was placed with us in 2019, and since then he’s been winning over everyone he meets with his bright blue eyes, big smile and infectious laughter! Cooper’s journey began in the NICU. He was small in size when he was born, and continues to be, but his personality is big! He has a great sense of humor and a positive attitude. He is spunky, bright, and can hold a conversation like a kid much older than his age. He has a wild imagination and a big vocabulary!

He enjoys attending gymnastics classes and story time at our local public library. Music, dancing, reading, and playing outside are all favorite activities in Cooper’s book. We love watching Disney movies together on Saturday mornings. He loves trucks, especially first responder vehicles such as fire trucks. He thinks he would like to be a community helper like a firefighter someday!

Cooper absolutely loves learning and is excited to start preschool part-time this fall. He enjoys playing with others, and he is going to make a fantastic big brother. His nurturing and playful personality makes us smile every day.

We are so grateful to his birth family for bringing him into the world and choosing us to be his parents. We cherish the relationship we have with them.

We live in a quiet neighborhood full of young families, close to an elementary school and a park. Our home has an open layout, and we have plenty of space to share with family and friends. We love to play together with our son in the living room, make blanket forts and dance to our favorite music.

We have a safe, fenced-in backyard and a nice garden for growing vegetables and herbs. We love going for walks, and there are paths winding around our area. On evenings with warm weather, we enjoy s’mores around our backyard fire pit.

We have two cats, Punkin’ and Smokey. They’ve lived with us since they were kittens. They are cuddly, gentle and patient. They enjoy laying in the sun and playing together, and snatching up any bits of food Cooper will drop for them! We also have a betta fish named Oatmeal.

Our community is full of life and fun. In North Dakota, we are fortunate to experience all four seasons of the year! In the summer, we love spending time outdoors at the zoo, at the splash pad, and hiking in our state parks. In the fall, we visit the pumpkin patch and dress up in a group costume for Halloween. In winter, we love to play in the snow, go ice skating, and spend time indoors at our local museum and play spaces. Spring brings Easter egg hunts and visits to local parks to play. There are so many family activities in our area, and we can’t wait to share them with another child. 

We are very close with Theresa’s dad, Ron, and grandma, Angie. Unfortunately, Theresa’s mom passed away in 2018, and her grandpa passed away in 2021. Theresa’s dad and grandma live nearby. We are grateful for their love and support. They absolutely love being grandparents, and they would be thrilled to welcome another child to our family.

Evan has three sisters, Caryn, Courtney, and Carliene. We are close with them and their significant others. Caryn and her husband Nima have a daughter, who we adore. She is close in age with Cooper. Along with Evan’s parents, Bernie and Geoff, and his Opa (grandpa), the family is spread out around the Midwest and west coast. We get together a few times a year for special occasions and Facetime often when we can’t physically be together.

We both have large extended families. We are fortunate to have Theresa’s extended family close by, and we celebrate a lot of holidays with them. On Evan’s side, there is a big family reunion every year. We play Minute-to-Win-It games, share food, and catch up. They are very supportive of our plans to adopt and love spending time with Cooper.

We celebrate diversity in our families. We both have relatives who were adopted, and we enjoy learning about cultural traditions from family members who are of different ethnic backgrounds.

We enjoy travel, adventure and new experiences! Whether it’s whitewater rafting, mountain hiking, or visiting a ballpark, we love doing things together as a family. Adventures look a little different now that we have a young child, and we have adapted our travel experiences to kid-friendly adventures. We enjoy taking in shows, musicals, sporting events and more. 

We hope to instill a curiosity and love of learning in the children in our family. Cooper has been on several trips with us to fun places, and we are excited to go on many more adventures together.

Theresa’s family went to Disney often when she was growing up, and we have continued this tradition in our own family. We love feeling the magic while walking down Main Street and seeing special happy moments throughout the parks. In our minds, there is no better place to be a kid. We look forward to frequent trips to Disney World!

In our spare time, you might find us cooking, crafting or reading. We both enjoy being creative, and woodworking has been a hobby of ours for several years. Signs, travel maps, and even pieces of furniture for our home have been a great way to show off our creativity. We love dreaming up new and unique things and finding ways to bring them to life.

We have a deep understanding and respect for adoption because of the journey we’ve been on with Cooper and his birth family. It is important to us that our children can relate to each other’s adoption stories and support each other. Your love as an expectant mother is not lost on us, and we know that unique and special relationships are born through adoption. We are so incredibly grateful you are choosing life for your baby, and we would be so honored to raise him or her, if that is something you want.

We value you. We respect you. We want you to know that we will be supportive of the amount of communication you need or want from us. We are open to all types of communication including letters, photos, phone calls, Facetime, and annual visits. Family comes first for us. We view Cooper’s birth family as part of our family, and we would love to have that kind of relationship with you, too, if that’s something you’re comfortable with. We speak very highly of them, and we would do the same for you.

We can promise that any child in our home will be so loved and will have many opportunities for great life experiences. Above all, we want the children in our family to know we support them no matter what.

Thank you for taking time to learn more about us! We hope we have the opportunity to meet you.

Love,

Evan and Theresa