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 Joe and Katie -

Our Family…

Joe and I have been married for 8 years.  We have enjoyed traveling together and getting to know each other.  Joe enjoys reading and learning new things.  He is currently learning Spanish and taking accordion lessons.  Katie enjoys doing creative type things: cooking, knitting, sewing, and gardening.  Together we enjoy walking in the national and state parks that are near our homes and walking at the beach.

We believe in God and that He loves us and has a plan for us.  He created us, and He has saved us from ourselves, and our sin, through Christ.  Not only does He provide for us, but He lovingly cares and tends to us, as our loving heavenly Father; and He commands us to love and care for one another. What a blessing to know that our lives are not our own, but are His and He loves and cares for us, better then we could ever love or care for ourselves.

Our Desire to Adopt…

The Lord has shown great care and love for us, providing for all that we need.  We want to show His love to a child, provide for their needs, so that they might eventually know Him as their Lord and Savior.  And so that they would know that He has created them uniquely for His own glory and purpose.  We also believe that he has situated us in a place with great medical resources, possibly so that He could use it in the life of a child.  Joe has been working in the medical field, doing different forms of medical imaging and processing for 30 yrs; we believe his knowledge may also be helpful in the life of a child God intends to bring into our family.

 Dear Birthmom,

In 1998 Joe prayed for "someone to love, who would love him, and that our love would grow us in the knowledge of God's love for us and that we would be an expression of God's love to each other for His delight."  We met soon thereafter at church; talking about family, children and even adoption on the very first date.  We were married in 2000.  When Joe's children went off to college, we decided to take a job traveling.  We enjoyed meeting people all over the country and also enjoyed getting to know each other.

About 5 years ago, we felt we found a place to call home on Maryland's eastern shore.  Between our church, the beach, and the country like setting, this was the kind of place we wanted to call home and have a family together.  In 2005, we started working for a small doctor's office in the Washington D.C. area.  Joe does nuclear medicine imaging and Katie edits and processes medical documents, which is part time, and mostly from her computer at home. 

We never would have imagined that we would work in one place during the week, and call another place home Friday to Sunday.  But the longer we live in the D.C. area, we find that this is a lot more common than one would think.  So we enjoy the parks, museums, food and many ethnic cultures that the city offers, during the week from our homey little apartment. Then we go home to our church family, fields, farmers markets, and regular visits to the beach.  Our commute is maybe a little different than others, but it adds up to be like any other in the D.C. area. On Fridays, we usually go out for lunch on our way home from the city. Most Saturdays we go to the farmers market and then walk in the woods or at the beach.  Sundays we go to church, and don't head back home to the city until later in the evening after supper.

Children have always been something that we both enjoy.  We have loved teaching the 2-3 year old Sunday school class, and enjoying visiting with our nephews and niece through the phone and on "Skype".  But it just isn't the same as having your own family to share each day with.  Katie grew up in a family of six, with 2 younger sisters and a brother, and lots of people around.  She has always enjoyed babysitting, teaching, and was a Jr. high youth director for 10 years.  Joe, raised by his mother, and not having any brothers or sisters, has always wanted to have family around him.  Joe continues to enjoy the ever changing stages of parenthood.  But we hope that we might be able to have a family together.

Katie enjoys doing anything creative: sewing, knitting, cooking, gardening and taking pictures.  She works in the morning off and on for about 3 hrs a day.  This allows her to keep up with things around the house, and gives her the freedom to go back to the eastern shore now and then for things that are going on in the church or at the house.  She also frequently takes trips to visit her parents and sister in New York, and her brother and sister and their families in Tennessee.  She enjoys all the family and friends that "pass through" either one of our homes, and usually takes them around the city or to the beach.  Currently she is enjoying getting our homes ready for the new child we are expecting to join our family!

Joe enjoys reading, going to the gym and keeping up with his grown children on the phone and internet, as they are currently working in Korea and Spain. He enjoys cooking, in fact, every other Sunday he helps make dinner at the local shelter.  Teaching Sunday school has been the highlight of his week. Small children seem to be drawn to him; it is fun to watch.  Joe is also creative.  He likes to take photos of people in everyday life. Now he is working on making rails and a ladder for the bunk beds we have in our home.  He is also learning Spanish and how to play the accordion.

Together we enjoy exploring new places and things.  We like to cook together, making things that we may have tried in a restaurant somewhere.  We enjoying shopping for our nieces and nephews, Toys R' Us can be very dangerous, but lots of fun!  We believe that the Lord has created each of us uniquely as we are.  He brought us together to care for each other, and to help each other care for others.  We would like the opportunity to share our love with a child.   We want this child to know they too were created uniquely by God, and He has a plan for them.

Both of us would say that things have happened in our lives, apart and together, that we never would have expected or planned.  But, we have both seen how those things have shaped us into the people we are, and we are thankful for them.  So now, when "unusual" things happen to us, or there is some type of unforeseen turn in the road, we are excited to see how the Lord is going to work them out for our good, to draw us closer to him.  It isn't that we aren't afraid; it is just that we know that our God is in control.  We don't know what is next for us.  We don't know what is next for you. But we are praying that he will use these things for your good; that you too may know him better through the things you are going through.   Our family and friends pray with us, that God will be guiding and protecting you and the life of the child inside of you.

If you would like to contact us, you can email us at

 joeandkatiefamily@live.com.

 

       May the LORD bless you and keep you!
                          Joe and Katie