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We are Ellen and Michelle, and we want to thank you for taking the time to learn about us and for viewing our profile.

We have always wanted to be parents and were drawn to adoption as the best possible way to grow our family. Our dream to become parents came true when we adopted our son, Walter, in 2021. We have room in our hearts and home to welcome another child to our family to love and cherish every stage of their life.

We promise that you and your family will always be talked of highly, and we will ensure that your child knows their amazing story of love for how...

We met in 2012, when Ellen was in medical school and Michelle was in grad school. Initially Ellen hoped to make a friend to go hiking with, and Michelle was looking for a friend outside of school. While hiking, Michelle enjoyed hearing about Ellen’s worldly adventures growing up overseas. Soon Ellen realized that Michelle was an amazing cook, and those hikes quickly turned to shared meals and cozy evenings. What began as friendship grew into something deeper, and we fell in love.

We married in January 2015 after we both graduated from school and were ready to start our life...

Michelle is selfless, compassionate, talented, and driven. She expresses her love for others through her actions. As a mom she is patient, dependable, organized, and calm.

Early in our relationship we decided to go camping. Michelle asked that I help her collect firewood. I returned with a handful of tiny twigs, meanwhile Michelle was busy cutting apart and dragging in half a dead tree she found not far from the campsite. I knew right then that I loved her. Just as she provided us with fire all night, I knew she would take care of our family. She is a very attentive mom. She takes...

Ellen is easy to get to know, and easy to like. She expresses her love with lots of attention, hugs, and kisses. Ellen is the fun mom! She is always thinking up new ways to play and be silly together.

When I first met Ellen, I noticed right away how easily she connected with all kinds of people. She is open-minded and non-judgmental, which is one of the reasons she is such a wonderful doctor. When we lived in Virginia, I often spent evenings grilling with our neighbors in the driveway. At that time, Ellen was in residency and would work late hours. Our neighbors would wait in our...

We are so lucky to have such a wonderful and supportive family! Everyone in our family is very excited to welcome a new baby! We have six brothers and sisters and twelve nieces and nephews between us. Our parents look forward to spoiling another grandchild, and all the cousins are excited to add another baby to love.

We have family in Maryland, New Jersey, Washington State, Florida, and the Philippines. While our family lives in different parts of the world, we always get together for Thanksgiving and Christmas and big events such as graduations, big birthdays, big promotions,...

When we married, Michelle, who grew up in Maryland and never left the state, was excited to embark on new adventures with Ellen and travel wherever the military would take us. Michelle traveled outside the US for the first time in 2015, visiting Germany, and we have lived in many states and countries since.

We love exploring new places and making new friends along the way. We want our children to experience as much of the world as we can show them by living in and exploring different cultures.

As much as we love to travel, we feel it's important to have roots. We...

We are excited to share our family traditions with another child. Below are some of our favorites:

• Friday family movie night - We cozy up in pajamas, make popcorn, and enjoy the featured film.
• Family dinner - Every night, we start the conversation with the same question, "what was your favorite part of your day?" Even if you had a bad day, you just need to think of one good (or least bad) thing to share.
• Story time - We cozy up in pajamas and read our favorite books together as a family.
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We have one dog named Charlie (in our video, and some of our pictures, you will see two, though we sadly lost our older dog, Peppi, in 2024). Charlie is an active dog who likes to play soccer and hike around the woods. While she likes being active, she also loves a good sun bath on the patio, and knows how to relax and be calm. She is a Canine Good Citizen and loves to do agility tricks. Charlie runs in circles around Walter, trying to get him to chase her, and will cuddle him on the couch at the end of the day. Especially since losing Peppi, Charlie is extra attached to Walter, and...

Thank you for taking the time to learn about us. We can only imagine the difficulty of the decisions you are making as you plan for your baby, and we could never express to you how grateful we are that you are considering us as parents. We would love to meet you and get to know you more, learn more about traditions you would like to pass on, your hopes and dreams for your child, and to let you know more about us.

If chosen as an adoptive family, you can rest assured that this child will grow up in a family full of unconditional love, and full of opportunity for them to dream as...

Walter joined our family through adoption in 2021. We have cherished every moment with him. We are excited to be by his side and help him grow into the best version of himself. He is exceptionally laid back and easy going. Strangers often approach us to tell us that they can’t believe how happy and peaceful he behaves all the time. He loves other children, especially his cousins who all adore him. We are excited to see him grow into a loving big brother.

Five Things to know about Walter:

1. Playful – He is always joking around and trying to...