Hospitable. Energetic. Athletic. Hard-working. Fun-loving. Christ-focused. Adaptable. Adventurous. Globe-trekking. Strong. Resourceful. Together. Loving. Joyful. Blessed.
DEAR BIRTH PARENT,
Even in conversations 9 years ago as a pre-engaged couple, we each expressed to each other a deep desire to have a family grown through adoption. Over the past 6 years we’ve been blessed and challenged with our 3 lively and thriving biological children, yet our yearning to adopt has remained. We eagerly await the rich opportunity of change it will bring to graft our adopted son or daughter’s unique heritage onto our own.
We welcomed our third child in June ’17 after a miscarriage the prior summer and a difficult pregnancy beginning in the fall. Through grace and “hard knocks”, we’ve become experienced parents focused on richly blessing our kids, that they would in turn bless others. Likewise, we’re supported and blessed enthusiastically by our community of friends, many of whom have themselves experienced the joys and challenges of adoption.
We are a Colorado family. Some of our main values are captured in our photo collages, and elaborated a bit more below.
We hope you enjoy learning a bit about our family, and look forward to getting to know you too.
– Blake and Joanna, Benjamin, Jaron, and Silas
BlakeJoanna
Occupation
Software engineer/manager
Now a full-time mom. I was an elementary teacher before kids.
Favorite vacation
Vancouver sea kayaking
Playing at the beach, floating in the waves.
Favorite color
Blue
Teal
Favorite food
Fajitas
Peanut sauce curry with fried tofu
Favorite activity
Snowboarding, Astronomy
Gardening in the summer, Baking in the winter
Favorite movie
Shawshank Redemption
Pride and Prejudice (any version)
Favorite movie quote
“Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
“I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils, if I knew your name and address.”
Favorite book
Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Eliot
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Favorite team
Denver Broncos (when they are doing well :^)
Go Broncos!
What’s your passion
Solving problems
Making right what’s wrong
What inspires you?
The persistent underdog
Risk takers and overcomers
Best day ever
Day of my engagement to Joanna; my cheeks hurt from smiling too much
With my people, eating good food, laughing and being adventurous
Blake
Joanna
Occupation
Software engineer/manager
Now a full-time mom. I was an elementary teacher before kids.
Favorite vacation
Vancouver sea kayaking
Playing at the beach, floating in the waves.
Favorite color
Blue
Teal
Favorite food
Fajitas
Peanut sauce curry with fried tofu
Favorite activity
Snowboarding, Astronomy
Gardening in the summer, Baking in the winter
Favorite movie
Shawshank Redemption
Pride and Prejudice (any version)
Favorite movie quote
“Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”
“I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils, if I knew your name and address.”
Favorite book
Shadow of the Almighty by Elisabeth Eliot
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
Favorite team
Denver Broncos (when they are doing well :^)
Go Broncos!
What’s your passion
Solving problems
Making right what’s wrong
What inspires you?
The persistent underdog
Risk takers and overcomers
Best day ever
Day of my engagement to Joanna; my cheeks hurt from smiling too much
With my people, eating good food, laughing and being adventurous
Our values
Community
A shared, connected life is a rich life. We’ve surrounded ourselves with other people who love to ‘do life’ with us, including both our nearby street neighbors and our Christian church community. Living with surface relationships isn’t for us; we seek to know and be known by our closest friends and family.
Traditions
We view tradition as a path to stability and thoughtfulness in our lives. We actively consider and create our family culture by defining rhythms that both set a course for our future while also considering our past.
Play
Enjoying the presence of one another is an essential of who we are as a family. Playing keeps us young at heart by reminding us that God is in charge and keeping our energy up to tackle every day’s challenges.
Service
We recognize that sharing what we have and putting others’ needs before our own gives our lives great meaning and purpose, and is a pathway to great joy.
Travel and Adventure
Exploring the world and immersing ourselves in different cultures helps us gain perspective on who we are, and helps us better understand God’s world and his unique beauty displayed through diverse people.