Whitney & Michael

I was very fortunate to grow up in a home with two tremendously supportive parents. My parents have been married 36 years, and are still going strong! I have one younger brother, and while he is several years younger than me, we have become very close over the last couple of years. He is recently married, and his wife is amazing! Growing up, I was a determined, motivated kid. Whether it was school, band, or piano lessons--I worked very hard to achieve my goals. I ultimately graduated from college and medical school, and I am now a practicing General Surgeon. It is the BEST job in the world! It can be challenging and stressful, but being able to help my patients is so worth it! Even though my job keeps me busy at times, I always make family time a priority. My favorite hobby is spending time with our son Jack. Being a working mom and wife sometimes requires that I wear many hats... but my Mom hat is by far the most important and fun. I also enjoy cooking (I am vegetarian), gardening, mani/pedi time and spending time with friends and family.

Growing up was sort of a Jekyll and Hyde situation. My childhood was filled with the many challenges of growing up in a single parent home. My Dad had to frequently lean on me as the "responsible" oldest child. However, there is no doubt that my childhood brought with it closer relationships and invaluable life lessons. My Dad, my siblings, and I are now very close because of the challenges we faced together. I played various sports growing up, but ultimately gravitated to the game of hockey, which I still play if I can find a rink. I played violin as well, and now am trying to learn guitar. I am currently--as of writing this--finishing my bachelor's degree in Finance. I had to take a supportive role for most of my marriage in order to support my wife's goal of becoming a surgeon, and I wouldn't change that for the world. My main goal in life is to remain the primary support for my wife and kids at home. This is a role that I look forward to every day, and a role I want to be defined by.

Our son Jack was born in 2018 and is currently three and a half years old. He was such a quiet, laid back baby! We look back and realize how lucky we were to have such an easy baby. He is now in full-blown toddler mode--ready to play at all times. He loves anything that goes including cars, trucks, trains, boats, planes, the list goes on. He can usually be found outside on his new swing set or riding his Power Wheels John Deere Tractor. His favorite person in the world is Bop Bop (Whitney's Dad)--they are inseparable. Jack attends school during the week at a wonderful local Montessori school. Watching him grow during his time there has been such a joy!

Hi, my name is Otto, and I am a black lab mix. My humans adopted me from the local shelter last year. I am just over one year old. I am a big dog, but I am very gentle with Jack. I am so excited to have another playmate at home one day! My people tell me I'm SO smart, and I even got top marks in my dog training classes. I go to doggy daycare every Monday, and I have so much fun all day that I fall asleep right when I get home. My humans also have nine fish that I like to watch. Jack has a Betta fish named Birdie, and the other fish live in our fresh water tank upstairs. I keep trying to get them to leave the tank to come play fetch, for some reason they just won't!

We built our home when we moved to our current town in 2018. We have enough bedrooms for Jack and our future child to have their own room and bathroom. Our favorite indoor area is our upstairs media room, which has the most comfortable couch and a neat media set up. This is also home to our fish tank, which Jack loves! Our all-time favorite spot is our back patio--which we use as a second living room. We have comfortable furniture, a TV, a fireplace and heaters for winter, and a kitchen area including our grill. We love our large backyard, which has plenty of space to run around and a brand-new play set. We have eventual plans for a pool once our kids get a little bit older. We absolutely love our neighborhood! It is a gated community with a lot of young families and children. It's usually pretty quiet, but you'll almost always find kids playing outside. Each year we throw a neighborhood barbecue, and Halloween is super fun! While we have only lived here for a couple of years, we have quickly grown to love our town and community. We have multiple options for public school districts based on zoning, so we have the opportunity to pick where our children go to school based on their individual personalities and needs. There are also several great private school options too! Our favorite part of our community is our church home. Our church family has welcomed us with open arms, and we know they will do the same for our future adopted child(ren). We envision a long-term future here for our growing family.

Our lives revolve around food! Michael is always grilling or smoking a cut of meat, and he takes great pride in his smoked briskets. If Michael can't be found in the house, he is probably outside babysitting his Traeger. Whitney is vegetarian, but is always trying new recipes (especially Mediterranean, Asian, and Italian cuisines). While Jack is a picky eater, we hope as he gets older he will learn to enjoy food as much as we do! We make it a point to travel together frequently. Usually it is to visit our families, who all live within a 3-hour drive. We also make it a point to travel occasionally as a couple to get some alone time. Michael enjoys golfing (when the weather is nice) and hunting during hunting season. He also enjoys quiet time in the media room playing video games. Whitney enjoys mani/pedi time with friends and the occasional massage. She also enjoys alone time at the gym and tending to our flower bed and yard. Jack is just now the age to start sports, so we plan to start him in T-ball this summer. He also loves pianos, so some piano lessons are probably in our future too. During the summer, we take him to the community pool as much as possible, because he loves the water!