Bernadette & Mike

I grew up in a small historic town in New Hampshire. I am the youngest of three kids. My sister and my brother are both married and live in New England near my parents. My family is very close, and we spend holidays together as well as frequent Sunday dinners at my parents. I was raised in a very loving home by parents that supported us and did everything they could to provide a happy home. I didn’t leave New England until I was 31. My dad was in the Navy when he met my mom, and they lived all over the country before I came along. I have always loved hearing stories of places they lived and people they met. I always knew I wanted to move someday and have those same experiences. It is difficult at times to live so far from my family, but I go home to visit as often as I can, and we talk on the phone almost every day. Right before the pandemic, I enrolled in cosmetology school and became a hair stylist, something I always thought I would be good at. Now I am a hair extension specialist. But mostly what I have always wanted to be is a mom. I loved growing up in a home with a stay-at-home mom and that’s what I plan to do. I knew at a young age I wouldn’t be able to have children of my own and have always felt called to adoption. When I met Mike and found out he was adopted I just thought, “That’s it, that’s how we will start our family”. It felt meant to be.

I was born in Georgia and adopted at birth. During the adoption process my mom found out she was pregnant, so my only brother is six months younger than I am. I grew up in New Hampshire and Maine. We vacationed in Florida where my family shares a home, and we also spent a lot of time in New York and New Jersey with my mother’s side of the family. My dad owned a successful business with his brother and brother-in-law. I started playing baseball very young and continue to play to this day. My mom was a kind woman and very intelligent. She passed away when I was young, before I felt I could really get to know her. My godmother, Nicki, really stepped up in our lives as a mother figure. She was the person that really encouraged me to play baseball and later in life, to join the Navy. I served for 4 years as a submariner. I got out of the Navy in 2014 and lived in Florida where I played baseball and worked with reptiles. In 2017 I moved back to New Hampshire to be near family. Now that we are in Texas, I am focusing on my real estate business. When I met Bernadette, that is when I knew the rest of my life would begin.

Bernadette and Mike have regular date nights and love to order in dinner and binge some of their favorite shows and movies. Bernadette loves to read and is a bit of a Harry Potter nerd. She also loves interior design and is often moving things around and starting new DIY projects inside the house. Bernadette has always loved horses and has started taking riding lessons with the hopes of having a couple of her own someday. Mike has a woodworking shop in a barn on the property where he makes anything from unique pens and cutting boards to small furniture. During baseball season, when Mike is watching the game, Bernadette is working on a craft like painting or crocheting. Mike has always been interested in piloting his own plane and is working on becoming licensed. They love to go to the rodeo on the weekends and explore other parts of Texas. They also regularly get together with their friends for dinner and game nights.