We laugh together a lot! We’ve been through some hard things together, and we’ve gone on adventures together. Always, though, we love to relax and eat good food. Sometimes one of us will start a song, and soon the other absentmindedly joins in until we both break out laughing at our little song arrangements. Family means a lot to us. We met each other on a mission trip to the Philippines. It was love at first sight for Henry, and he won Caitlin completely over very quickly. We love to go to the lake, shopping, traveling, barbecuing, family gatherings, and much more.

We both have large families, and family is so important to us. Caitlin has five brothers and one sister as well as many cousins, aunts, and uncles. Henry has two sisters and one brother and a multitude of cousins, uncles, and aunts. We are very close to both sides of the family.

One of our favorite traditions is our family trips we do every year. We usually rent an Airbnb (or a couple) for a long weekend and go somewhere fun to grill out, swim, play board games as well as outdoor games, and just thoroughly enjoy one another. It gets loud with all the laughter and excitement. On Caitlin’s side of the family, there are 14 nieces and nephews, who are loads of fun. This will be the first grandchild for Henry’s side. Both sides of our family are elated about our adopting.

Henry’s family is from Mexico, and we enjoy going there at least once a year. They speak German and some Spanish. Caitlin’s family are Irish citizens. Our children will have the chance to be Mexican, Canadian, U.S., and European citizens as well as know German and Spanish. We also enjoy an annual extended family trip where we go a few hours away and stay at an Airbnb with a pool or other fun amenities. It’s always a time for stories and games as well as cooking competitions. We feel very blessed.

We are blessed with a very nice house in a beautiful community. We are very close to shopping and restaurants as well as good schools, parks, and fun events. We live close to downtown, where we often spend the weekends at the lake or museums. We have a goldendoodle who is the sweetest little puppy. She loves children and anyone else that gives her attention. We spend a lot of time playing soccer, pickleball, or volleyball or just relaxing. We both enjoy music a lot as well, and Caitlin plays a couple instruments.

We have both worked with children a lot, including in the Philippines. Caitlin has a lot of nieces and nephews too. We have friends who have adopted or been adopted, so when we talked about having children, we both agreed adoption was something we wanted for our family. We feel strongly that we are prepared for it, and we are so excited. We both feel very strongly about this as well as our families and friends.