Meet Meet


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Meet

C !"# !"# C Colin is an es•mator for a family-run business in Columbus. He is a news-junkie who loves to find good deals and being whisked off to Ka•e’s latest traveling adventure.

Ka$%& Ka•e is an opera•ons director for a construc•on firm in Columbus. She enjoys fine dining, traveling , spending •me with family and philanthropic efforts in the small town where she grew up.

A few of our favorite places...

US

The Story of

C

Hilton Head Island, SC

St. Moritz, Switzerland

San Gimignano, Italy

Las Vegas, NV

olin and I have known each other virtually all of our lives. We started to date in high school and while we had some ups and downs, like all young rela!onships, we got married in 2010 in a ceremony of just under 300 people — we love being surrounded by our friends and family! Through our eight years of marriage, we’ve focused on se#ng goals and working hard to achieve them, while playing a li$le too! We spend any free !me we have traveling and have been to Italy, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, and Mexico. We’re heading to Alaska this summer and look forward to many more adventures as we con!nue to grow our family. Having children has been an interest of ours since day one, but for us, proved

to be a li$le more difficult than we an!cipated. A&er several years of infer!lity, we decided to take a break and just focus on each other. Through a volunteer organiza!on Ka!e is a part of, we met James. James was 14 years old at the !me and living with his grandmother who was of failing health and in her mid-eigh!es. A&er her health reached a point that she needed 24-hour care, James had nowhere to go. Even though we had only known James for a couple of years, we recognized that he had a need and we had a desire to help him. And so we became his legal guardians and James became part of our family. As James heads to college this fall, we’re refocusing on our family and our desire to bring a baby into our family.

Copenhagen, Denmark

This summer you’ll find us...

More about

Katie

I grew up in a small, rural farm community south of laying on a beach Columbus. I am the youngest of four children. I have two sisters, one of who is adopted and a brother. We cruising Alaska all live within about 45 minutes of each other which has enabled us to all stay close and enjoy Sunday graduation for James! meals and holidays together. I have three nieces who we love to spend !me with – watching their dance reboating on Buckeye Lakecitals, soccer and so&ball games – they keep us busy! We grew up Catholic and while we a$ended church

every Sunday, my parents taught us that our faith was important and God lives many different places – not just in a Catholic Church. I graduated from college and have a career that I love as the Opera!ons Director of a company in Columbus. My brother owns the company and Colin works there too, so it’s a family affair! In my free !me, I stay really ac!ve in my community. I am on City Council and a half dozen other civic organiza!ons that help people in our community such as

a domes!c violence shelter and Metropolitan Housing. I strongly believe in giving back to your community and live with the understanding that I hope to leave it a li$le be$er than I found it. I like to always be planning our next trip! I like to play cards and read all the books on the New York Times Best Seller list. Spending !me with family is important to me and I love spending Saturday a&ernoons at auc!ons in search of an!ques!

More about

Colin

Like Ka•e, I am a youngest child. I have two older brothers, the eldest of whom is adopted. Both of my brothers live far away, so I don’t see them as often as I would like, but we stay in touch through social media. On my side of the family, I am the proud uncle to two great nieces and a third on the way! I have a passion for real estate and recently flipped my first house. Being able to take a worn-out house and reinvent it while helping someone else find their dream home is really rewarding. I’m a news junkie and read all the news I can get my hands on! I love to stay up-to-date and try to search out the posi•ve in the world as well. I read

the news when I first wake up, throughout the day and before I go to bed. A"er high school, I a#ended Albion College in Michigan and majored in Poli•cal Science. I worked part-•me at Lowe’s, which led to a full-•me career for eight years. I worked my way up from a hourly associate to the Assistant Store Manager. A"er eight years at Lowe’s, I had the opportunity to join Ka•e’s company, which is owned by her brother. It was a great chance to get on a “non-retail” schedule and spend more •me at home. I joined the firm ini•ally as the Purchaser, and I am now the Lead Es•mator.

uutt o o aabb Ka•e is the strongest person I have ever met. When she finds a person

Colin

Katie

or cause, she will move mountains to get results. That is the same for her work ethic and family life. Ka•e’s family is HUGE. Her mom is one of ten children, and the closeness and how o"en everyone gets together is amazing. For being such a huge family, they are •ghtly-knit. It’s a great •me when we all get together. Ka•e will make a tremendous mother, and there will be no be#er advocate for this child. She is always striving to do the best for our family and to make the best for us. Besides working hard, Ka•e knows how to play hard. She is always finding new des•na•ons for us to explore. It is not uncommon for her to speak up at dinner and state, “So I found a new place for us to go...” and inevitably, we make plans and go. She definitely keeps me on my toes!

ut o ab When I was younger, I remember think-

Katie

Colin

ing my parents had the best rela•onship, and I felt like it might be impossible to have that luck again. Having been married to Colin for eight years, and in a rela•onship for 14 years, I know our marriage is the kind I watched in my parents. It isn’t always easy, but through ups and downs, Colin has always been the light in my darkest days. In all chapters of my life, Colin stood behind me, o"en in the shadows, to help me stand in the best light. Having infer•lity issues was tough on me. That pain, that challenge, puts everything into ques•on; it seemed like everything we had been trying to build may never be. At what could have been one of our lowest points, we came together stronger than ever and our rela•onship just improved – I thought it was probably impossible to love him any more than I did. Colin never hesitated when we considered adop•on. In fact, when life threw us another curveball and we became James’ legal guardians, I discovered two things. The first is that taking in a teenager is tough! The second, as it turns out, was that I was wrong – I could love him more. Watching Colin be the father that James has never had in the past few years has overwhelmed me with such an incredible sense of gra•tude but also an incredible sense of calm because I know that Colin will be an amazing father… and like all aspects of my life, if I ever falter, if I ever need support in my role as being a mother, he’ll be standing right behind me.

words

A few last

What do we write here? It seems as though what we say here has to be just right, the perfect balance of established, yet young – adventurous, yet laid back – the best show of who we are and what we can provide to this baby. But, every •me we begin to lay out those characteris•cs of ourselves, we find ourselves thinking of you. What are you thinking at this moment? What are you looking for? How do you choose the best fit for you? When it comes to picking someone else who may be able to give your child a different life, who seems right? Who can give your child everything you dream of for them? The truth is we don’t know if that’s us – if we’re right for you or your child, but here’s what we do know. We know that when the •me is right, when you feel like we are right, we will take the miracle that has been given to us and try every day to be what you wanted for your child. We will love him or her uncondi•onally every day of their life. We will kiss their

Winnie Winnie was our first child and first love. Winnie joined our family just a few months a!er we got married and has been wreaking havoc on our lives ever since! Winnie goes to work with us every day and loves to take naps. He can’t wait to have a new snuggle buddy!

boo-boos, we will pray for them and with them. We will give them opportuni•es to help them learn about other cultures and to learn grace and gra•tude. We will educate them and help them create and then follow their dreams. We will teach them to fight for the underdog and ground them solidly in their values. We will never take your choice for granted. Will we make some mistakes? Absolutely. But we will learn from them. Will we spoil them? Probably, but we’ll also raise them to be compassionate, empathe•c and aware individuals, but most of all, we will honor your decision to choose us by including you into their history – into our history. We will honor you every day. Thank you. Thank you for opening yourself up to this decision. Thank you for choosing this selfless decision that certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. Thank you for pu•ng your unborn child before yourself.

Thank you for considering us.

Home

We were fortunate enough to have been raised in a small, rural community where everyone knows your name. Despite moving away for a small period of •me, we moved back in 2010 and have made this our home. We live in a Federalist-style home that’s nearly 100 years old. While it’s on the outskirts of downtown, it’s within walking distance to parks and restaurants.