Alexander & Stephanie Through your courage and love we hope to achieve our dream and make the world a little better place by sharing our love and joy with this child. 370 South Fifth Street, Suite 2, Columbus, OH 43215-5433
About Alexander Birth Year: 19XX Marriage Date: June 19, 2010 About Stephanie Birth Year: 19XX Alexander has an aerospace engineering degree from the University of Minnesota. In addition he has a Masters in business administration (MBA), a Masters in aerospace engineering, and is currently working on a Ph.D. in systems engineering. He is an Air Force officer who specialized in advanced research and development. Stephanie has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Minnesota. She is a LEED accredited professional engineer and is also a registered professional engineer in several states. She designs the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for large buildings such as hospitals and pharmaceutical labs. Favorite Animal: Ducks they are triple threats. They can fly, swim and walk! Favorite Color: Orange. Not sure why, but I love the color and try to sneak it into my wardrobe. Favorite Exercise Activity: I m an avid cyclist and enjoy the freedom and sense of peace that cycling gives me. Favorite Family Activity: Family dinner. We always had dinner together growing up and I learned to love cooking and sharing stories. Favorite Quality about Stephanie: She is outgoing and has a zeal for life! Favorite TV Show: Big Bang Theory Favorite Soda: Fresca Favorite Fruit: Pineapples Favorite Music: Alternative. I make a Best of CD each year. Favorite Candy: Peanut M&Ms Favorite Store: Meijer. You can get anything you need and the produce is pretty good! Favorite Movie: Big Trouble in Little China An 1980 s cult classic! Favorite Childhood Book: Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Day Favorite Sports Team: Chicago Bears! I grew up watching the Bears on TV and one of my fondest memories is when my grandfather took me to a game. Favorite Holiday Tradition: My family always has a large dinner on Christmas Eve Favorite Animal: Cats they are stealthy and great hunters. Favorite Color: Purple! Phone case, shirts, shoes, purse, you name it, its purple. Favorite Exercise Activity: Bicycle riding. Second favorite is golfing. Favorite Family Activity: Playing cards. At my extended family gatherings we would always play cards after dinner. Favorite Qualitiy about Alexander: He has a grounded, evenkeeled temperament. Favorite TV Show: Big Bang Theory Favorite Soda: Sprite Favorite Fruit: Raspberries Favorite Music: 80s music including Madonna, Michael Jackson, and Prince. Favorite Candy: York Peppermint Patties Favorite Store: Target! They have everything! Favorite Movie: Clue (Also likes Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and Back to the Future ) Favorite Childhood Book: Good Night Moon Favorite Sports Team: Minnesota Vikings purple! Favorite Holiday Tradition: Christmas Alexander enjoying the beach Getting ready to go kayaking Stephanie ice skating!
Checking out the glaciers How We Celebrate Holidays We both really enjoy the Christmas and New Year holiday season and take the time to decorate our house with lights, a real tree and tons of decorations. When Alexander was deployed to Afghanistan, Stephanie sent him two small paper lanterns to decorate his tent. Ever since, Alexander has enjoyed decorating for almost every holiday with holiday-themed paper Japanese lanterns. It reminds us both of our bond and gives us something to look forward to almost every month. We use lanterns to decorate for Christmas, New Years, St. Patrick s Day, the Fourth of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving and, of course, the Super Bowl! We love celebrating Halloween with our close friends who put on a monstrously large yearly Halloween party. Enjoying Christmas Visiting Hawaii Cycling in Washington, D.C.!
How We Met We met in in Washington, D.C., shortly after Alexander moved there to work at the Pentagon. Alexander was new in town and didn t know anyone so he looked up the local alumni chapter for the University of Minnesota and decided to attend a University of Minnesota football game watching party. That s where we met, but being shy it took another week and another watch party before Alexander had the nerve to ask for Stephanie s phone number luckily we are both die-hard Gopher fans! Shortly after, we started dating and then eventually got engaged before Alexander deployed to Afghanistan for seven months. While this long distance was difficult, it eventually made our relationship stronger and we were married in the summer of 2010. With our University of Minnesota-inspired meeting in our minds, we held our wedding in Stephanie s hometown in Minnesota and had our reception on the University of Minnesota campus. Our favorite wedding picture is one of us dancing across the maroon M in the student union. Although we didn t know each other in school, our common bond to our school and college experience continues to be a source of joy in our lives. Our Home and Community We live in Dayton s historic Oregon District; a diverse community within walking distance to Dayton s riverfront, which includes a park, a band shell and an ice skating rink in the winter and connects to multiple bicycle riding trails. Our neighborhood includes small-business shopping, a lively restaurant scene and an iconic gazebo park and playground, all within four blocks of our house. There are multiple community-organized summer picnics with our neighbours and their children that we enjoy attending. We really think this community is very welcoming, open and tolerant, and we enjoy the fact that we know our neighbors and can stop on a walk and talk with them. In December, we enjoy decorating our house in holiday cheer and participating in the Christmas candlelight tour. We currently share our home with our cats, Pi and Zoe, whom we adopted from the animal shelter. Our Families Stephanie s immediate family consists of her two parents and one brother. She also has a large extended family. Her parents have deep roots in Minnesota. Stephanie and Alexander enjoy Thanksgiving with Stephanie s parents and brother in Ohio. The holiday includes homemade apple pie and card games such as cribbage. An annual tradition is making Norwegian leftse, a potato-based dessert with Stephanie s mom after Thanksgiving. Alexander s immediate family includes his grandmother, parents, three sisters, one brother and their multiple children, all whom live in the Chicago area. As a large and traditional Catholic family, they remain close despite his military service drawing him far away from home. His most cherished family traditions revolve around Christmas, which is a tradition that is always marked with laughter, food and presents for the nieces and nephews. In the summer, Alexander and Stephanie visit the lake and waterski with Alexander s sister and family. Both families are looking forward to welcoming a new addition to the family. Alexander s nieces & nephews With Stephanie s parents
Posing with the University of Minnesota s mascot! Napping with our cats Our Personalities While we are very different personality types, we think we complement each other really well. Stephanie loves Alexander s groundedness and stability. Alexander loves Stephanie s outgoing personality and zeal for life. We enjoy outdoor activities together including riding bicycles, going for walks, and just sitting on our deck in the evening after dinner. Often our two cats will join us on the deck and they always like to be the center of attention. Our two cats were adopted as kittens and are brother and sister. Pi is our male cat and although he is much bigger than his sister Zoe, she runs the show. She is the active one who is outgoing and loves patrolling the house while Pi is more likely to want to snuggle next to you on the couch. On vacation in the Dominican Republic Tandem cycling!
Fun Facts About Us Stephanie and Alexander both love a good Irish pub for dinner. In junior high and high school Stephanie played volleyball, ran track & cross country, played softball, skied cross country and played golf. One of Stephanie s favorite memories is from when she was 19 years old. She and 12 other classmates took a trip to Florida to help Habitat for Humanity for a week. The group enjoyed volunteering and comradery and the sun. Stephanie and Alexander both very much enjoy traveling; they have been to Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Croatia together. Stephanie enjoys volunteering with schools to promote girls to study science, technology, engineering and math subjects and painting with Habitat for Humanity or D.C. public schools. One of Alexander favorite memories was during college when Alexander traveled to the University of Texas, Austin with the University of Minnesota Crew Team for spring break for rowing practice. He enjoyed the beautiful campus, rowing, and the warm weather both day and night Stephanie loved playing with a Light Bright and Etch-a-Sketch as child, creating artistic designs. Dear Birth Parent(s), God bless you for your gift of love. We want you to know how much this means to us. Since our marriage we have had one common wish and that was to share our hearts with a child. Through your courage and love we hope to achieve our dream and make the world a little better place by sharing our love and joy with this child. We currently live in Dayton, Ohio, and strive to lead an active lifestyle. We love taking bicycle rides in the summer and ice skating in the winter. A typical night includes having a home-cooked dinner then sitting by the fire and watching TV such as the Big Bang Theory, Silicon Valley, or Game of Thrones. On the weekends we occasionally go to a movie, complete with some popcorn and a Slurpee. We also regularly attend Catholic Church. Looking forward, we plan to take this child on bicycle rides, playing outside in the park, taking nature walks and creating an occasional art project. No doubt we both prize a good education, as we are both engineers with a life long love of learning. We hope to be great parents by providing an active lifestyle with Band-Aids and kisses for the occasional bruised knee. Keeping you up to date with letters and pictures of the child s progress will be a pleasure. We plan to tell your child early on about their adoption and promote open and honest communication. Thank you for considering adoption for this precious child and for taking the time to read about us. Sincerely, Alexander & Stephanie