Hi! We are Pete and Michelle. We are so grateful for the time you are taking to get to know us better. We deeply admire your strength and courage as you consider adoption for your child.

After finding it challenging to meet “the right one,” we each gave online dating a try and were each other’s first match. After exchanging phone numbers, we began chatting almost every day. The conversations were so easy, often lasting hours into the night. On our first date, we met for dinner at a local sushi restaurant. When Michelle got out of the car, Pete thought she was so pretty that she wouldn’t like him! When Michelle saw Pete, he was holding a bouquet of flowers and she thought he was a perfect gentleman. From then on, we were inseparable and fit in with each other’s friends and families seamlessly. A little over a year later, we were engaged and then we married in the summer of 2012.

Within a year of being married, we knew we wanted to start our family. After six years of trying and many unsuccessful infertility treatments, our doctors didn’t know why things weren’t working. We took a long, thoughtful look at our life together and what we truly wanted – a family. We feel very strongly that love is what makes a family and that adoption is our path. We cannot wait to welcome a child into our home.

Occupation: Computer Engineer

Pete is the most kind hearted, friendly, and patient man I’ve ever met. He makes sure to call and visit his grandmother. He has fixed my parents’ computer more times than I can count. He buys me cards not just for my birthday or our anniversary, but to tell me he’s proud of me or to encourage me. I know that he will always be there to support a child in whatever he or she may need.

One of my favorite childhood stories about Pete is when he used his child-sized toolbox to take apart his mom’s clothes dryer so he could figure out how it worked! I really admire how Pete is always teaching himself new skills, like fixing our dishwasher, and I am so excited to watch him help a child learn new and exciting things.

Pete loves being an uncle! He enjoys reading and playing with our young niece and supporting our older niece and nephew at dance recitals and other activities. He is even “Uncle Pete” to many of our friends’ children! He is so ready to be a dad and I cannot wait to see him with a child.

Five Things About Pete

1. He will always watch Jaws, Iron Man, and Halloween if they are on TV
2. He was a Boy Scout
3. He proposed with a really long, corny poem that he had written
4. He taught himself to play the guitar
5. He dresses up as a pirate for Halloween and reads to my class every year

Occupation: First-Grade Teacher

I’ve always enjoyed how intelligent Michelle is and that I can talk with her about anything - from homemade playdough to politics, science, and education. I admire her compassion. She has supported me during difficult times and she goes the extra mile for the kids in her class.

Michelle will be reluctant to admit it, but she’s a fantastic chef! Even after busy days as a first-grade teacher, she cooks dinner several nights a week. I am often her assistant while we talk about the events of our day. Every year, Michelle makes me a birthday cake from scratch and I know she looks forward to making cakes for a child someday.

I feel that Michelle has so much to give to a child once he or she comes into her life. She is incredibly dedicated to each of the children in her classroom, which shows just how loving, nurturing, and patient she will be with a child of her own. Seeing the fight that Michelle put up during our long battle with infertility showed me how much devotion she will have to our family, especially if she was willing to go through so much for them before they were even born. 

Five Things About Michelle

1. She cannot walk out of a book store empty-handed
2. She finds peace while paddle boarding on the lake
3. She backpacked through Europe for over a month
4. Our baby niece calls her “Aunt Moo”
5. She is teaching herself to play the ukulele

We have lived in our house since 2009 and have enjoyed making it a warm and inviting home. We have large, grassy front and back yards with a patio that’s great for grilling and late night bonfires. Inside, we have four bedrooms with plenty of space for a child to have their own room, a play room, and a place for family to stay the night when they visit. Our favorite places are the kitchen, where we enjoy cooking dinner together, and our family room, where we like to watch movies and relax after a long day.

Our home is in a diverse suburban neighborhood in Southeast Michigan. There is a community park and playground right behind our house, where neighbors often sit at the picnic tables to visit with one another while their children play. Our neighborhood has wide streets and walking paths where many people enjoy evening walks and bike rides with their families and pets.

Our community has amazing public libraries, a family aquatic center, biking trails, and countless beautiful parks. In fact, there is a huge park with hiking trails, playgrounds, athletic fields, picnic areas, free outdoor concerts, and a kayak launch just a short walk from our home.

Top Five Things To Do Near Home

1. Paddling or boating on nearby lakes

2. Hiking and biking the trails in our parks

3. Watching movies on our patio around a bonfire

4. Solving puzzles and playing board games

5. Playing games in our yard, like Ladderball and Cornhole

The word family means many things to us – it’s the people we grew up with, the furry critters that joined along the way, and the friends that have become the family we have chosen. Regardless of how these amazing people came into our lives, they have supported us, helped us grow, and shared many memories along the way. They are so excited to do the same with the child that we adopt.

We are very fortunate that our parents are just an hour or two away, and based on their excitement about being grandparents again, there will be no shortage of visits! Most of our siblings are not too far away. We all take turns visiting when possible, using phone calls and Facetime to keep in touch. Our 99-year-old grandmother has eight great-grandchildren and is ready for more!

We count ourselves doubly blessed because we also have a family that we have chosen – our friends. Our friends have supported us through the ups and downs, rights and lefts. They are as much our family as our siblings, and we spend lots of time with them and their children.

Top Five Favorite Family Memories

1. Sharing our plan to adopt with everyone
2. Celebrating our wedding with all the people we love
3. Taking turns hosting big Thanksgiving dinners
4. New Year’s Eve parties with friends
5. Celebrating birthdays with family and friends

It’s very important to both of us to fill our lives with experiences rather than things. Our adventures have given us many happy (and often funny) stories that we will have for a lifetime.

Pete traveled around the country while in the Marine Corps and Michelle studied abroad in Europe. Together, we have a strong passion for experiencing new places and people. We love northern Michigan, we’ve traveled all over the United States, and we have also visited Mexico, Spain, Italy, France, and Switzerland. We really hope to share our love of learning about other places and cultures with a child, and look forward to showing them what this great big world has to offer.

We enjoy attending football games in the fall with our family and friends, Broadway plays downtown in the winter, and outdoor concerts in the summer. We even visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! We like to visit art museums, farmers markets, and attend local festivals. Spending this time together has given us many happy memories, and we cannot wait to make more with a child.

Top 5 Memories We Hope to Make with a Child

1. Visit animals at the zoo
2. Pick pumpkins and apples at the cider mill
3. Choose our Christmas tree and decorate it
4. Attend concerts and plays for kids
5. Visit hands-on art and science museums

Thank you for taking the time to learn a bit more about us. We have so much respect for you and we are sending you lots of love as you consider adoption for your child. 

If chosen as adoptive parents, we will make certain that your child knows about the compassion and courage you had as you made their adoption plan. They will know their story and hear it often, so that they understand and appreciate where they came from and how special they are to all of us. We hope that through open adoption they will have the opportunity to know you.

We feel that it is an enormous privilege to be adoptive parents and we will do everything we can to make sure that your child has an incredible life. Their days will be filled with unconditional love from us, our extended family, and our friends. They have all been so supportive and excited for this child already. When your child is ready for school, their education will be so very important to us both.  We will make sure to fill their days with playing outside, making friends, visiting new places, and exploring their own interests. This child is already in our hearts, and someday we hope he or she will be in our arms.