Thank you for reading our profile. We have so much respect for the strength of birth parents who choose adoption. While we might never fully understand the challenges you currently face, we hope to offer the peace of mind that we will provide the most engaging, stable, supportive, and loving home possible, where our adopted child can be completely themselves.
We’ve been together since our first date in Toronto eight years ago. Our relationship is built on respect, honesty, and humour, and this has kept us close through thick and thin. The ability to stay consistently calm and playful will serve us well as parents, and so will our community of family and friends who are the most supportive and generous crew we could ever ask for.
ANNA
East Coast Family
Anna grew up outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia, next to a beautiful lake, in a big weird house that her dad built. He was the mechanic and adventurer, while her mom taught Anna and her brother the joys of crafting and expert thrift shopping. Time with extended family was all about music, playing with cousins, corn boils on the beach, and ridiculous dress-up parties (not just for Halloween). The whole family helped Anna learn to value honesty, responsibility, learning, and to support loved ones no matter what.
A Musical Life
Anna followed in the footsteps of her grandfather to spend all her free time in school bands and choirs (public school music programs in Nova Scotia are amazing). Through nannying, working at summer camps, and running an afterschool program, she knew she wanted to teach. She felt very fortunate to go to university in Ontario with help from her grandparents, and doubly lucky when she got a full-time job teaching high school music.
A Big Change
After eight years teaching in Toronto, Anna was ready to move to a smaller city and shift her focus to visual arts. She started producing and selling her own artwork, and co-founded a popular downtown shop that specializes in local handmade gift items and workshops. She loves being self-employed for the creative freedom and flexibility, and the added joy of spending time with her business partner’s child, a.k.a. the first shop baby.
Auntie Life
Anna has built a special relationship with her nephew by dreaming up fun projects, offering him schoolyard advice, and taking him under her wing at the store when he visits each summer. She has flipped him upside down regularly since he was five, but now he’s too tall, so she has to rely on her sense of humour to inspire shrieking laughter.
Favourite Things
Anna has a massive crafting cupboard, with a rug or collage project on the go most of the time, and a stash of art supplies at the ready for kids. She makes time every week for exercise and meditation, and still plays piano frequently. With a huge, eclectic collection of albums, she fills the house with music daily.
BEN
A Well-Stocked Pantry
Ben grew up in Montreal with a cake decorator for a mom, and a farmer for a dad. In addition to teaching him the importance of honesty, hard work, compassion and helping out, they taught him how to cook hearty meals, make incredible desserts, and preserve fresh vegetables. This emphasis on sharing food and honouring traditions — including the annual “sugaring off” at his cousin’s maple syrup operation — helped him form many of the strong family bonds he maintains today.
Uncle Ben
Ben cherishes time with his nephew, especially the scavenger hunts, storytelling, games, and camping trips, and looks forward to nurturing an even closer relationship with a child of his own. Being an active uncle has given him tons of first-hand knowledge in raising a healthy and happy child, and his nephew is excited about the prospect of a new cousin.
The Outdoors
Years as a keen boy scout plus a decade as a tree planter in Northern Ontario gave Ben an intense love of the outdoors. Whether camping, canoeing with friends, or hiking on weekends, Ben feels at ease in the wilderness, and looks forward to sharing the simple joys of sleeping in a tent, roasting a perfect marshmallow and reading stories by flashlight.
The Entertainer
Ben is an avid banjo player, soccer goalie, and full-time nerd. From putting on a costume to cheer up a friend’s kid, to attempting a new artistic challenge, he’s usually got some kind of fun activity lined up. His serious love of pickling, baking, and barbequing is all about providing for the people he loves, and he regularly goes above and beyond to make his friends and family feel special.
A Good Gig
A childhood obsession with whales led Ben to post-secondary school programs in environmental studies, and then to his current job of protecting endangered species for the province of Ontario. He feels very lucky to have a secure job where he is constantly learning interesting things about cute (and not-so-cute) animals. Bonus: his job allows for a long paid parental leave.
TRADITIONS
At Easter, our table is covered with egg decorating supplies, and we usually share a huge potluck meal with Ben’s family in Toronto. At Halloween, we decorate the porch, carve pumpkins, and make ridiculous costumes. At Christmas, we get everyone in the spirit by hosting an annual all-ages concert, followed by a few days of family visits with long walks, lots of food, some over-the-top gingerbread decorating, and games. Anna likes to play some traditional carols and spirituals, while Ben’s family sings very enthusiastically …but terribly. We love doing gifts and cake for birthdays, but we usually try to put even more emphasis on some kind of memorable adventure or experience.
We take a few weeks vacation together every year to host our nephew and travel east to visit Anna’s family. Between the beaches, freshwater lakes, cute coastal towns, and at least seven sweet relatives to hug across three generations, these visits never disappoint.
OUR HOME
Our city is small enough to walk and bike everywhere, but large enough to offer music and film festivals, big outdoor events, parks, nature trails, galleries, farmer’s markets, a large public library, and, most importantly, friends and schools all within an easy stroll.
Over the past four years we’ve transformed our old two-storey house into a comfortable, colourful, bright and tidy place where our two cats are the happiest they’ve ever been. With a pool in the backyard (!!) and a playground right across the street, it’s the ideal place to grow our family.
We’ve had a kid’s room reserved since we moved in, with adoption on our minds the whole time. Anna’s uterus has always been a troublemaker, and having it removed recently was a difficult, but absolutely necessary decision. With that pesky organ out of the way, we’re excited to finally become parents.
Our home is a place for learning and growing and making mistakes. It’s a place for celebration and silliness, for helping out, for open communication and kindness. It’s a place for freshly baked goods, spontaneous dance parties, googly eyes, lullabies and hugs, and we are so excited to share it with a child.
OPENESS
We are interested in an openness agreement that will help our adopted child build a clear picture of their whole family as they grow up, so they understand that they are cherished by everyone involved. We want them to feel connected to their birth family if possible, and would like to work with you to make a plan for visits and sharing photos and letters.
We know you do not make this decision lightly, and for that reason and many more, we believe that raising our adopted child will be the most important task of our entire lives. Thank you for considering us for this incredible honour. We look forward to meeting you.
