Kathleen & Ned

Hoping to Adopt (New Jersey)

Letter

Hello!


We hope to one day walk through this journey with you and provide additional support, love and strength.


Walking in Philly along the Delaware River

Our names are Christopher (Ned) and Kathleen. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We hope that this will give you a little insight into our lives and who we are as a family.

We are in awe of your strength and resilience for considering adoption. While many people view adoption as a “last option”, it can and should be viewed as the ultimate act of selflessness. We understand that this is a very difficult decision, should you choose adoption.
We can’t comprehend the emotions you may be going through. It is a strong person with a lot of love who considers adoption for their child. We hope to one day walk through this journey with you and provide additional support, love and strength. We hope to meet and talk about your dreams and hopes for your child. Please know that we will always be supportive of the unique relationship that you will have with your child and hope to encourage that special bond.
Why we want to adopt

We love that a future child will be able to share this form of lineage with Ned and our family.


Our chicken coop!
Ned and his birth mother were both adopted from Edna Gladney. We love that a future child will be able to share this form of lineage with Ned and our family. We have both expressed interest in adoption since the early days of our relationship. Ned was vocally passionate about the topic almost immediately which, he was relieved to find Kathleen was equally as enthusiastic about. We know there will be unique challenges with raising a child in an open adoption. We’re excited to face these challenges with you and are amenable to the amount of contact and openness you’d like to have.
We have such great immediate and extended families who are supportive of us and our adoption journey. All our nieces and nephews are so excited to have a new cousin to play and grow up with. We both feel very fulfilled in our lives but agree that there is something missing. We know that adding a child will be the cherry on top of an otherwise fantastic and fortunate life.
Kathleen & Family

I have so many great memories of spending time with my family.


Kathleen's Family celebrating her parents' wedding anniversary
I am originally from Houston, Tx and I still have lots of family in Texas. I have 2 brothers and 2 fabulous sisters-in-law, who are THE BEST. I also have a niece who loves to visit our chickens and play at the beach.
I studied nursing in college and I love being a nurse! Helping people and directly providing hands-on care has been a humbling and challenging experience. I started out working in the emergency room at the beginning of my career so I am a bit of a thrill seeker. However, I decided I wanted to work in Primary care. Now, as a Nurse Practitioner I can use my skills and knowledge to keep my patients healthy and happy.

My mom’s side of the family is Mexican and I have so many fond memories of sitting in a circle with all my cousins, saying the rosary with my grandmother. We would say it every time my family would go visit. They lived about 2 hours away in Corpus Christi Tx. We also always made buñuelos for New Years Eve. They were lots of work but sooo delicious!
My father and his family are from New York and I distinctly remember growing up and navigating the juxtaposition of both cultures on each side of my family. I have so many great memories of spending time with my family. However, one of my favorite memories is our annual Christmas Eve party. We would have family friends over and celebrate with a big meal and lots of games for the kids. I hope to instill similar traditions and love for activities in my children and give them great memories for their future.
My family is great. My parents live in Texas and they love to sail. I love that they’ve found a hobby that they can do together and with their individual friends. They love to travel in their camper and spend time in national parks. My brother’s live in Atlanta and Raleigh, so we all take turns hosting holidays and traveling to each other’s houses. My brother Peter and I love crossfit and working out. He and I are very close in age and grew up competing against each other. He is an all star athlete but he constantly challenges me to push myself. Alec is my oldest brother and he is such a calm, relaxed soul. He and Ned constantly bond over video games. I also admire his dedication to baking bread and he’s a great instructor when I have questions about baking!

Ned & Family

I’ve always felt extremely blessed for all that has been provided to me.


Ned with his brother, Evan
I was adopted from Edna Gladney in 1984 in a closed adoption so, technically, I’m from Fort Worth, TX but I was raised in the Northeast between New Jersey and New York. Although my adoption was closed, my parents were always very open about it and after many years of searching, my biological mother reached out to me, recently. So while we haven’t had a relationship for a very long time, I am in correspondence with my bio-mom on a regular basis. I could go on and on about my adoption and the process. I’m very open about it.

I truly enjoy giving back to others and volunteering provides that outlet for me. I volunteer with the homeless at a men’s shelter helping with meals and whatever needs to be done that day. I’m also a court appointed advocate for an organization called CASA serving adolescents in transitional home and foster care situations.

My older brother was also adopted from Edna Gladney and while we’ve had different experiences with how we’ve processed being adopted, we would both agree that our family has always been as loving, caring and supportive as any ‘traditional, bio-family’. Kathleen and I hope to provide the same sense of family that I’ve always felt with my parents, brother, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and cousins. I’ve always felt extremely blessed for all that has been provided to me. The first thing I am always most thankful for is a loving family that would do anything for me.
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