Katie & Jason (ID#1006021)
Dear Expectant Mother,
We are Jason & Katie & today; the paths of our lives are crossing with yours through this letter. We do not know the details of your life, but we know that you are in the midst of big, complex decisions & that you love the child growing inside you very much. We have continually been praying, not only for our future child, but also for you, the expectant parent as you walk through this adoption journey.
To let you know a little about us, we have been married since 2014 & live in a cozy, four-bedroom home in a cul-de-sac full of families & kids. We met in Ethiopia when we both worked for a Christian ministry & we hit it off from the start. We dated in Arkansas & a year later were engaged. Our wedding day was on a beautiful fall day surrounded by colorful trees with all our friends & family. Since then, we have moved to the Austin, Texas area for Jason’s engineering career. On the weekends, we enjoy exploring Austin & finding big, open parks & cozy coffee shops where we can spend the day as a family. Our extended family lives all over the USA, but we still love making it a priority to see them often. Most of all, though, our favorite place to visit is the beach where we go several times a year.
In January of 2017, after trying to get pregnant for over a year, Katie was diagnosed with uterine cancer. Her doctor said it was treatable but to get rid of the cancer, Katie had to have a surgery that would also end any chance of having biological children. We already had a desire to adopt as we both have family members that have been adopted. Although cancer was a devastating journey, once we had the cancer behind us we were so grateful and honored to become parents through adoption to our joyful, silly, caring daughter, Rosie, in 2018.
When we were in the adoption process for our daughter, we indicated we were open to any race, but as soon as her birth mother chose us, we decided any future children would be African American. We want our children to have someone else in their family that looks like them & understands them more than we, as white parents can, despite how hard we try. We are grateful, since living near a big city, that our town is diverse making it possible for our children be in activities and schools with other children & adults that mirror them. Our African American friends have been so gracious to let us ask the hard, & sometimes stupid, questions, teach us practical things (like how to care for hair) & just love our family as their own. We are also so thankful to have a large support system of other transracial adoptive families. Many of our daughter’s best friends were also adopted and are a different race than their parents. We pray these friendships will someday allow her & future children to have others that relate to & understand their unique experiences.
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about our family. We would love to meet you, hear your story & and get to know you. We are open to whatever type of communication you feel comfortable with. Whether that is to send pictures & letters throughout the child’s life or to have a more open relationship with you as well where you would be a part of the family. We are praying for you as you make these difficult decisions & as you plan the path for your life moving forward, we pray it is a life full of hope.
With LOVE, Jason & Katie
We have an updated video on our “Video” tab!! If you want to see the one we made in 2020 to learn a little more about us, click here. https://youtu.be/JYDRrsYuja4
Since we began the adoption process for our second child almost two years ago, we want to update you on information that you will not find in our profile book and our original video. We have now been married seven years, and our daughter, Rosie, is now three! In our attached profile book, she had just turned one, but now we are in full fledge toddler world and are loving seeing more of who she is becoming. For her first 3 years, Rosie stayed home with Katie full time, but this year she is at a Christian preschool two days a week. Every day when we ask her what her favorite part of school was, she quickly says "playing." And that is her! Always playful, silly, creative, passionate, helpful, so confident, empathetic, a "little mama" and so ready to have a sibling...as she constantly reminds us. 🙂
Her full name is Elizabeth Anne Rose which represents Katie's middle name, Katie's mom's middle name and her birth mother's middle name. It is important to us to include a name that is special to the birth mother to have that forever connection, and we hope to be able to do that with our second child as well.
Rosie also LOVES her family and friends! We are so thankful to have a large support system of friends and are especially grateful for the many transracial adoptive families we have become close with through our church's strong foster/adoption ministry. Many of Rosie's best friends were also adopted and are a different race than their parents. We pray these friendships will someday allow her and future children to have others that relate to and understand their unique experiences as children who were adopted into a transracial family. For some background, with Rosie's adoption we were open to any race, but as soon as we got her, we decided any future children would be African American. We want our children to have someone else in their family that looks like them and understands them more than we, as white parents, can despite how hard we try.
We are fortunate, since living near a big city, that our town is diverse. It still requires intentionality, but it is a priority that our children be in activities and schools with other children and adults that mirror them. Our African American friends have been invaluable in this aspect of Rosie's life. She is at an age where she points out that her
skin is brown and ours is white, and she gets so excited when she is around people that look like her. Our friends have been so gracious to let us ask the hard, and maybe sometimes stupid, questions, learn practical things (like how to care for Rosie's beautiful hair) and just love Rosie and any future kids as their own.
When we pray for our future child, we pray not only for the baby, but also for a wonderful relationship with their birth mother. We want you to know, again, that we are praying for you as you are making your adoption plan and as you approach your due date. Thank you again for taking the time to learn more about our family.
Rosie just turned three! She is going to be such a sweet, helpful, adoring big sister some day.