Kurt & Helen
We’re honored that you are taking time to get to know us as you consider adoption for your child. We deeply admire your strength and the love that guides your decision. Your courage to explore what is best for you and your child is incredible, and we are humbled by the possibility of you choosing to give us the precious gift of parenthood.
We love children and thought life would unfold differently – hoping kids would follow shortly after getting married. Although we can’t have children biologically, we’ve never let go of our dream to be parents and to share all of our love with a child. We hope this book gives you a sense of the incredible love, support, and care your child will be given every day of their life. We also hope that it helps you learn a little about who we are and what it might be like for your child to grow up in our home, within our family, and what it might be like for us to know each other.
Please know that you will always be loved by your child and us – we’ll consistently share with your child your strength and courage in allowing us to raise them and how we are forever grateful for the gift you’ve given us because of your sacrifice. Our greatest prayer is that your child would have love from all of us as we become family with you in an open adoption, if you are open to that.
It means so much that you would consider us.
We are so excited to be parents
We’re so excited to become parents and for Helen to be a full-time mom! We can’t wait to gush over every ‘first’ moment to our family and friends, caring for a child through skinned knees, and celebrating all of the magical moments that childhood brings. Our families are equally as thrilled for us to adopt, especially since adoption is already such a wonderful part of our extended family, and our future child will be loved by them all. Our nieces and nephews are particularly ecstatic to welcome a new cousin into their close-knit crew. We are so ready to pour our heart and soul into being parents.
Adoption is the story of our family
Helen's younger twin brothers, Wayne and Larry, were adopted when they were two years old. We know the deep love that naturally develops when a family is blessed by adoption and can't wait to experience that with our own child. Our child will have an instant connection with his or her uncles and will have a shared experience with our entire family. We also have several friends who have adopted their kids and they've been so positive and supportive of us. We're grateful that our child will know so many other people who were adopted so they can experience that connection and feel even more secure in their own adoption story.
our promise to you
A completely excited and ready stay-at-home mom.
Unconditional love, patience, and support to pursue his or her dreams.
A nightly bedtime routine with books and snuggles
Travel and exploration across the United States and the world.
A huge and diverse group of aunties, uncles, grandparents, and friends who will spoil him or her silly!
An amazing education and opportunities to learn.
Faith in God.
A dog.
Financial security and limitless opportunities.
Swimming, playing in parks, sports, connecting with nature…we’ll always be active.
We’ll capture memories through constant pictures and journaling .
He or she will be raised to be kind and thoughtful in a beautiful home filled with joy.
Hand-written notes on napkins in their lunchbox, just like Helen's mom did for her.
A big and loving extended family to share vacations, holidays, and milestones.
it all started when
We met in 2003 in graduate business school in Boston. Kurt says he met Helen at a party, while Helen first remembers him from a compliment he gave her while they were hanging out with friends in the Student Center on campus. Either way, it's been a lot of love, laughter, and fun travels ever since!
We’ve been married 18 years, most of which were spent in the Midwest before moving to New York three years ago. Here, we have the best of both worlds – a place in Manhattan (where Kurt works close-by in finance) and our weekend home upstate in the country. We love New York and spend our time with our family and friends, going to our favorite breakfast café, being in nature, going on walks, listening to music, cooking, working out, and watching sports. We don’t live far from Central Park, one of the most beautiful places in the world. We’re very grateful and blessed for the life we have and hope to share it with a child.
HELEN COMES FROM A CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY OF SIX
I grew up in a wonderfully close-knit family, including my three brothers Meng, Wayne, and Larry. Our family had such a remarkable bond because even though we moved every few years with my dad's job, we always had each other to rely on in each new city. Growing up, our free time was spent playing lots of sports and driving my parents crazy I'm sure! But no matter how busy we were, my parents made time for us to attend church on Sunday and eat dinner together each night, a tradition Kurt and I will continue.
A PERFECTLY BONDED MOTHER & DAUGHTER
Because Mom and I were the 'O'nly 'G'irls in the family, we went out for breakfast every Saturday morning. We’ve called our outings 'OGs' ever since, and I can't wait to create similar traditions that Mom and I had. Although Mom passed away a few years ago, our relationship was as close as a mother/daughter could be. In fact, we always got compliments on how close we were, with Kurt’s mom telling me that she had never seen a more perfectly bonded mother and daughter – and that’s the type of unconditional love I want to share with a child.
DAD’S LITTLE MOUSE AND THEIR LOVE FOR TENNIS & FITNESS
My dad and I are very close too (and he absolutely loves Kurt)! He nicknamed me “Mouse” when I was born and calls me that to this day. I’m so happy to get to see him often. He taught me how to play tennis when I was little and I went to college on a tennis scholarship. Staying active continues to be a huge part of my life and I'm passionate about fitness. I've always dreamed of putting our child in a jogging stroller, bike seat, or baby carrier so they can fall in love with the outdoors and a healthy lifestyle. A seven day hiking trip last year inspired my love with hiking because I get to soak in the beauty of nature. I look forward to sharing outdoor hikes with our little one.
WHAT KURT SAYS ABOUT HELEN
When I met Helen, I knew my world had changed. Helen is one of the kindest, most gracious and loving people I've ever known. There isn't a single person in the world who doesn't enjoy spending time with her. She's a great friend, an amazing sister and a wonderful daughter. I couldn't imagine a better partner to be on this journey of lite with. I know her grace and caring sensibility will make her such a great mom!
Helen starts from a place of love and kindness which I think is a great example for a child, but it's also what we all need to feel supported by our parents and loved ones. These values are so strong within her because she's a woman of faith who lovingly shines her light intoeveryone in her path. As an example, every morning Helen sends me a video text with a spiritual message for the day. Literally. Every. Single. Morning. It's really amazing. It's that same love and care that she will bring to raising our child. She will love and support him or her unconditionally. Watching Helen volunteer over the years with children in hospitals, schools, and her bible study has been inspiring. She loves being with kids and being a part of their growth as she nurtures them with so much love and empathy. I can't wait to see her as a mom!
KURT IS THE OLDEST OF FIVE AND A TON OF FUN
I was born and raised in the Midwest and am the oldest of 5. My parents divorced when I was five and both remarried and gave my sister Sharisse and me three more wonderful siblings – Sam, Kirby, and Shalyn. We all talk/text/Facetime each other often. Growing up, we didn't have much money, but we had a lot of fun. We played games, cards, video games, sports and generally just enjoyed hanging out with each other. I was always into sports, but also interested in math & science, business and investing. Although my mom didn't graduate from college, she is business-minded just like me, and now runs our family business that my grandfather started. In addition to my family, I've always had a great group of friends.
FRIENDS SEEK KURT’S ADVICE AND HE IS LOVED BY ALL
In addition to my family, I've been blessed with a great group of friends. From high school, college, grad school and various stops in my career, I've always had some amazing people in my life. These days we catch up via zoom to talk about career, family, kids, faith and life.
KURT IS A BRILLIANT BUSINESS LEADER WHO IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE
I have a successful career working in finance in a global company and love that I have a positive impact on my colleagues and clients. My diverse professional experiences allow me to excel in my leadership role and be seen as a valuable thought partner in my industry. I can walk to work in less than 10 minutes so I love coming home to say hello to Helen and dream of doing the same thing when we adopt to say hello to our child.
WHAT HELEN SAYS ABOUT KURT
I've never met ANYONE like Kurt in my life! And that's exactly what drew me to him. Kurt is the perfect combination of brilliance and cool. On a bus ride to a retreat with the African-American Student Union during grad school, he was walking up and down the aisle laughing and talking to evvvveryone. Kurt was truly the life of the party and we hadn't even gotten to our destination yet! These days, you'll find Kurt working on a financial spreadsheet one minute and dancing to Maverick City Music, Afrobeats, or Stevie Wonder in our kitchen the next.
He has so many wonderful relationships because he's a thoughtful connector of people and the go-to person for so many when they need wise counsel, including me. He'll be as eager to help our child with their math homework as he is to show them the importance of treating others the way he or she would want to be treated...and in between I have no doubt that he'll pull him or her into dance parties in the living room 😉 I know Kurt will be an amazing dad because I see how much love and energy he puts into nurturing our relationship. For instance, he started a tradition where we go away on a surprise trip every year to celebrate our anniversary. I don't know where we're going until the airplane lands. Our child will experience the same excitement - Kurt will plan excursions for our son or daughter so he or she can experience countries and cultures all over the world just like we have. He also plans family retreats for us whenever we are making a big decision. As the oldest of five, he's a natural at nurturing little ones and I can't wait to see him teaching our child to play golf, reading books to them, building science projects, and taking him or her on trips around the world.
BOSTON AND HELEN VOLUNTEERED WITH KIDS FOR NEARLY A DECADE
For the last 16 years, the third member of our family has been Boston (named after the city where we met)! He was a Miniature Schnauzer who was so cuddly and sweet that he became a certified therapy dog, but he sadly recently passed away. Boston cheered up kids in children’s hospitals, and in his later years he became a certified reading dog in elementary schools where he helped hundreds of children improve their reading skills and build confidence by listening to them read stories. He was all too happy to let the 1st and 2nd graders read to him in exchange for treats and belly rubs. Boston was so amazing that Helen and her mom wrote a children's book about him that is now used in children's literacy programs. Boston was such a huge part of our lives and we are eager for our child to experience the joy of having a dog.
As you can see by all the hugs he received from friends and strangers, Boston brought joy to everyone he met! The neighborhood kids loved him so much and brought him treats to celebrate his birthday.
WELCOME HOME
The Best Of Both Worlds
During the week we live in a beautiful and safe neighborhood in New York City. The City itself provides endless exposure to various cultures, cuisines, opportunities, and people. It's been wonderful living in a city that has so much to offer and allows Kurt to walk to work. Our neighborhood has the kindest people and lots of families with kids.
Although city living is fun and gives us much to do, we also love being in nature! We purchased a home upstate that sits on nearly 12 acres of beautiful land. It’s about 1.5 hours from the city so we get up there most weekends and holidays. You’ll find us walking the trails on our property or spending time out on our large back deck overlooking our meadow. Our home is close to hiking trails, horseback riding, and the cutest little towns with so many familiar faces. We love that our child will have the best of both worlds - they will have music, art, culture, languages, education, etc. at their fingertips in NYC, and a smalltown feel, nature, horses, sledding, hiking, and swimming Upstate. We know a lot of families in the area so there will be plenty of outings with our friends who all have kids. We’re grateful that our child will have a wide range and diverse set of friends whether they're in the City or Upstate.
WE’VE TRAVELED THE WORLD AND SO WILL OUR CHILD
We can't wait for our child to see the world! Some of our favorite trips - Santorini, Maldives, China, Croatia, Africa, Jamaica, Dublin, Mexico, London, Costa Rica, and Martha's Vineyard.
OUR FAMILY IS OUR GREATEST SOURCE OF LOVE AND SUPPORT
We both come from big families and have seven nieces and nephews (with one on the way!) who have given us so much love and joy through the years. They are all eagerly awaiting a new cousin. Our families are the pillars of our lives, providing us with unwavering love and guidance. ston (named after the city where we met)! He was a Miniature Schnauzer who was so cuddly and sweet that he became a certified therapy dog, but he sadly recently passed away. Boston cheered up kids in children’s hospitals, and in his later years he became a certified reading dog in elementary schools where he helped hundreds of children improve their reading skills and build confidence by listening to them read stories. He was all too happy to let the 1st and 2nd graders read to him in exchange for treats and belly rubs. Boston was so amazing that Helen and her mom wrote a children's book about him that is now used in children's literacy programs. Boston was such a huge part of our lives and we are eager for our child to experience the joy of having a dog.
Despite living in different cities, we see them often so they are always there to support us and will play an essential role in our child's life, offering love and belonging. Together, our families form a strong and loving support network, enriching our lives and the life of our future child.
FRIENDS ARE AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR LIVES.
Our friends offer a network of support, love, and encouragement that surrounds us wherever we go. They enrich our lives, adding depth and meaning to our experiences, and they are thrilled about the prospect of us becoming parents. Enjoy meeting some of them...
We are deeply committed to providing a nurturing home for a child filled with support, guidance, fun, and opportunities to thrive in a wonderfully loving and stable environment. We welcome all of your questions and are happy to provide you with any information you need as you consider all of your options.
We pray that God will guide you with His wisdom to the family that will love and care for your baby in a way that brings you peace and joy. Thank you for taking time to learn more about us.
We look forward to hearing from you.
kurtandhelenadopt@gmail.com
Call or text
336.464.7448
Kurt & Helen
