Holy and Al

Hi,
We are Holly and Alan from Southern Minnesota. Thanks for taking a closer look at us! We are a young, happy, fun loving couple excited and ready to become first time parents through open adoption. We enjoy going to Twins games and Minnesota Vikings football games. We also love being outdoors-boating, fishing, hiking, and spending time with family and friends. We are grateful that you are considering open adoption as part of your birth plan and we’d love to get to know you. We understand that you are searching for a loving home for your baby and we hope we can be a positive part of your journey along with you. Our hopes for our family are simple. We will love, guide and support our child so that he or she will become the best person he or she wants to be. Our parenting style will be calm, consistent, respectful and centered on learning and love. We can’t wait to welcome a baby into our family and our home as we have so much love to give! We picture ourselves singing lullabies, cuddling, changing diapers, getting up for late night feedings and giving lots and lots of hugs and kisses to our little one! We have hoped and prayed for a child and despite failed infertility treatments, we still envision the day when that special little child is part of our family. Please know that you will always be an important part of your child’s life. As a part of our family, your child will grow up knowing from an early age that you love them.

	About Alan Alan grew up on a farm and is from a small yet cozy rural community in Minnesota. He grew up just down the road from his grandparents and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins. He was raised by both of his loving parents, Dave and Jacque. Alan is the second oldest of seven children and the children range is age from 35 to 5 years old. He has one older sister Johanna and three younger sisters, Carole, Mariah and Ava. Alan has two younger brothers, Jonathan and Benjamin. Alan’s four youngest siblings are all adopted and are all from the same birth mom. They are 12, 8, 6, and 5 years old. When Alan was a teenager, his parents did foster care and had over 70 children come through their home over a several
year period. Alan’s family also welcomed into their home high school aged foreign exchange students from Japan and Turkey. Alan’s life experiences with adopted siblings make him unique as he fully understands the open adoption process and the special lifelong family relationship that open adoption creates. Some of Alan’s favorite hobbies are watching Minnesota Viking football, “go Vikes!”, cooking, boating fishing, and spending time with family and friends.
About Holly Holly grew up in a suburb just west of Chicago. She is the oldest of two girls. Holly was raised by her two loving parents Gina and Jerry. She has one younger sister named Heather. Even though Holly’s family is in Illinois, she talks to her parents and sister every week on the phone. Holly and Alan visit Holly’s family several times a year. Holly grew up close to several aunts, uncles and cousins. Holly has fond memories of playing dress up with her sister, putting on plays with her sister and cousins for the family, and running to catch the neighborhood ice cream truck during the summer. Holly has always loved, loved, loved children and started babysitting as early as she could. Holly still to this day maintains relationships with some of the kids she babysat for years ago. Some of Holly’s favorite hobbies are gardening, baking, boating, fishing, and spending time with family and friends.
Our Life We moved back from Illinois to Alan’s home town in 2008 to be closer to the family farm for Alan to work. We also wanted to be closer to Alan’s parents and little siblings to help out with things, as unfortunately, Alan’s dad was suffering from cancer. Sadly, Alan’s dad passed away in late 2010 and we miss him more than words could express. We live in a small farming town just down the road from Alan’s parents house.
We own and live in a 3 bedroom house in a historic and very scenic village along the Hudson River in New York. It is a very family-friendly environment; there are many child-focused activities in the village and in the surrounding towns. It is also near enough to New York City to be able to take day trips and enjoy the many cultural, educational and recreational offerings there. Our house has 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, so we have plenty of space for our future family. We have already picked out what bedroom will be the baby’s room! Our current immediate family consists of the two of us and our two cats, Milton and Cali. Milton and Cali are so loving, very friendly, and very snuggly. We are pretty sure they both think they are humans! In our small (but cozy) town, you are not just a stranger to your neighbors, but a name and a face. Everyone knows everyone else and everyone waves or says hello to you. Your neighbors are not just neighbors but extended family and close friends. We have a local park just two blocks away from our house and a baseball diamond right near the park. Our church is also just two blocks away from our house and we volunteer there several times per year calling bingo and cooking meals for needy families. There are lots of kids on our block and around town . The local recreation center is only 15 minutes away from our house. At the recreation center there is an indoor pool, an out door park, an activity/game room and huge gymnasium with a climbing wall.
Holly is a nurse at the local hospital and works the day shift from 7:30 to 4pm. When not planting crops or harvesting crops in the field, Alan is busy running from one farm site to another helping to maintain the family farm. Every morning Alan stops in to visit his mother and his little brothers and sisters before heading out to begin his daily routine. Several evenings per week, Alan and Holly spend time with Alan’s mom and the kids. Sometimes we go to visit Alan’s grandparents at their house, which is just down the road from our house. We have weekly family dinners with Alan’s mom, his little brothers and sisters and sometimes grandma and grandpa join us. We are very close with Alan’s little brother’s and sister’s. We take them to music lessons, ball games, and dance recitals. Alan went in to read a story to Ava’s class at school. Alan also took Mariah and Ava to the daddy/daughter dance this past Winter. Holly has gone with Mariah and Benjamin to be their “big person buddy” for family violin lessons.
We also try to have “Sunday fun day” once per month or so with Alan’s little brothers and sisters. Sunday fun day is our day of the week to treat Alan’s brothers and sisters to some fun. Sunday fun day might include going to the zoo, swimming at the local recreation center, watching movies and eating popcorn and treats, going fishing and boating on our boat, or setting up a campfire in our yard for s’mores and hot dog roasting during the summer. Holly likes to do manicures and pedicures with Mariah and Ava. Alan likes to play catch with Jonathan and Benjamin. Over the years, our family has continued to maintain a positve relationship with Alan's little brothers' and sisters' birth mom because we view open adoption as a very special life long family relationship. We are flexible and happy to accommodate whatever level of openness is most comfortable for all.
	Our lives as parents We have learned a lot about parenting through the time we have shared with Alan’s little brothers and sisters. While we are by no means experts, because we have made mistakes…..we do have an idea of what to expect when being parents and raising a child in an open adoption. We have learned that all children are unique and one of a kind in their own special way. We plan to raise our child with unconditional love and respect for their individuality. Our child will truly be showered with love and affection from not only us, but our close extended family. We
want to foster their strengths and interests so that he or she can reach any goal they want to achieve. Initially we would like Holly to stay home with our child. Eventually, we hope to have Holly continuing to work as a nurse, and our child would go to an in home daycare with family or close friends. Alan’s aunt lives just three blocks from the hospital where Holly works, so we may hit her up for day care! We see ourselves helping our child walk for the first time and getting his or her first tooth. We see ourselves taking our child to get his or her first hair cut and taking pictures of the whole big event. We see ourselves running behind our child while he or she is on their bike, holding on to their seat, and teaching them how to ride a bike. We see sidewalk chalk artwork on our driveway and lemonade sale stands at the end of our yard. We see ourselves sitting in the stands cheering on our child‘s sports team.
	We see ourselves applauding our child at the dance recital. We see daddy/daughter dances and mother/son activities at school. We see snuggling in bed on a lazy Saturday morning watching cartoons. We see ourselves going on our yearly trip to the Minnesota Vikings training camp in the Summer. We see all of us singing in the car on the long ride to the lake to go boating and fishing on our boat. We see ourselves working on homework and school assignments. We see the “tough teen years” when our child knows everything and mom and dad know absolutely nothing. We see our child going on his or her first date and getting their driver’s license. We see our child
getting married and either dad walking her down the aisle or mom walking him down the aisle. We see grandchildren. We look forward to good times, bad times, happy times, tough times, fun times and not so fun times…..we hope and pray for it all! Above all, we see a very happy child who is loved by all of his or her parents, more than he or she could imagine.
Our hope for you Our hearts’ desires for you are happiness and contentment in your life. We hope your happiness and contentment means us, you and your child all connected as family. If you decide or have already decided that adoption is best for you and your child, we hope that if you choose us, you know that you have selected a lifetime of unconditional love and support for your child. We want you to be at ease knowing that we are the right fit for you and your child. Finally, we want you to know that you will always be a special part of our lives and your child’s life. Blessings to you!