Adoptive Families: Stephen & Karen

 

Dear Birth Parent,

Our names are Stephen and Karen. From the beginning of our marriage we knew we wanted to have children in our family. We thank you so much for making such a difficult decision that will help us fulfill that desire. We tried for about two years to have biological children of our own and finally decided it was time to look at other options. We decided the most important thing to us is the opportunity to love and nurture a child in a good home that we can provide.

Both of us have enjoyed working with children for a large part of our lives. Stephen has taught music to children for 15 years. Karen worked with children when she was a public librarian, and she also has taught martial arts to 7- to 15-year-olds.

We live in a beautiful cottage that is over 100 years old with a private backyard for playtime. Our neighborhood is quite small and easy to walk around. It is a beautiful and safe place to live where people have renovated old homes and neighbors talk to each other. Young families with children are moving into the neighborhood in greater numbers. Every day Karen walks our dog to the park along Buffalo Bayou. Our cat and dog both like children.

Stephen's father and mother live in Houston, and Karen has numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins nearby. Stephen has one younger sister who lives in Illinois with her husband. Karen has two brothers. Her older brother lives in Boston, and her younger teenage brother lives with her father and step-mom in Oklahoma. Her mom lives in a small town in rural Pennsylvania in the town where Karen grew up.

Higher education has been an important part of the lives of both families for generations. Stephen got his bachelor's degree in Music Education and his master's degree in Band Conducting. Stephen is now a high school band director. Karen has a bachelor's degree in East Asian Studies and a master's degree in Library Science. She now works as a medical librarian.

We are both very active and like to participate in the many activities Houston has to offer. We often go to musical and events and we also like going to Houston's many parks, parades and festivals with our friends. In the five years we've been married we've taken vacations to New Mexico, Canada, Italy and Japan, and we really look forward to traveling as a family. We both come from musical families, and Stephen still plays his trombone and is learning ukulele so we can sing songs together. We also have other hobbies. Stephen does yoga and Karen does a self-defense martial art called Aikido. Both of us love to read, and we look forward to reading with our children.

We both appreciate the support that we got from our parents in our early years to pursue our dreams and we are committed to providing the same support to our children wherever their dreams lead them. We want our children to be compassionate, curious, and courageous, and to follow their dreams.

We understand that you are making a very diffcult decision. We are really excited about being parents. If you think that we might be a good match for you and your baby, please call Presbyterian Children's Homes and Services Adoption Services at 1-800-543-2229 or 713-522-2800.

Sincerely,

Stephen and Karen