If you would like to chat or would like us to send you our complete profile we can be reached at clairemark@live.com or 905-271-5204 or 1-866-558-2224. Our licensee is Cheryl Appell at appell@dicksonlawyers.com, 1-866-254-0733 ext. 122.

We believe that families are formed in many different ways and as such have always been open to adoption. When we were unable to have children of our own, we knew what in our hearts we had known all along, we were meant to adopt. We know that somewhere out there is a child we can love, nurture and support as they grow into adulthood.

Hello,

Our names are Mark and Claire, two grown up professionals who are very much kids at heart. Together for ten years, we have had many wonderful adventures and we hope that in the near future these adventures will include the squeals of laughter from a small child.

The Story of Us
We met by accident through mutual friends over ten years ago. Though our first date was cancelled twice, when we did get together it soon became apparent that we had a number of similar interests including careers in human resources, close relationships with family and friends and a deep desire to travel and see the world.

After two years of dating, we became engaged while in Seville, Spain. One year later, we had a Christmas wedding with 150 of our closest family and friends. While many would consider us opposites, we have enough in common to make it work. We have a strong commitment to each other and we believe that this commitment will get us through even the toughest of times. We have had a lot of fun over the past ten years and we look forward to continuing to build more wonderful memories.

A Little About Claire
Born in Scotland, I immigrated to Canada at the age of seven with my parents and younger sister. Always a day dreamer, my favourite childhood activities include reading, watching movies or ballet. Many of these activities I still enjoy today. Although both my parents worked, there was plenty of family time and we are still an incredible tight knit family who often speaks once or twice a week.

Upon graduating from the University of Western Ontario, I went on to pursue a career in Human Resource Management. Last April, I made the decision to leave my role as Vice President, Human Resources and opened my own consulting business. It is my dream to cut back on my hours and take on the role of full time mom.

Claire (through Mark’s Eyes)
I fell in love with Claire on our second date. We were living in downtown Toronto and spent the day visiting Kleinberg and watching an old movie called “Two for the Road” where Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney hitched hiked across France. In a way, this date captured the spirit of our relationship. We can easily enjoy the simple pleasures of a day in the country combined with the wonders that the world has to offer.

Claire is kind, warm hearted and cherishes traditions including family and friends. Although introverted, Claire is always willing to try something once and will easily step up to an adventure, whether snorkelling in Curacao or tackling rush hour in Tokyo. Balanced with her adventurous spirit, I consider her to be the voice of reason in our relationship as she will occasionally bring me down from the clouds when needed. In a few words, she completes me.

A Little About Mark
I grew up in a small town where I developed my closest friends at the age of five. Summers were often spent biking in the countryside and winters were spent on the ski hill, activities I still enjoy to this day. The youngest of three, I will always be the “kid” in my family and have a strong sense of fun and adventure.

Upon graduating from university, I spent one year in Japan which opened my eyes to the many cultures of the world. To this day I have travelled to 18 countries on 3 continents. Other interests include mountain biking and scuba diving. Upon graduating from Brock University, I too pursued a career in Human Resources and I am now a Director of HR for a technology company in Toronto.

Mark (through Claire’s Eyes)
Mark is the complete opposite of me and that is why I love him. His quirky sense of humour always makes me laugh. Kind and incredibly caring, I admire the way he always finds the positive in every situation or in everyone he meets. The youngest child, he has an adventurous spirit and because of him I have travelled to countless places across the world, ate a number of foods that I can’t pronounce and tried a number of activities that would have scared me ten years earlier.

Outgoing and friendly, I admire how he can make anyone feel comfortable and manages to make friends wherever he goes. Wonderful around children, Mark has a playful side and is always up for playing sports or activities with the children of our friends and family. My life would be incredibly dull without him and for that I am very grateful.

What We Do for Fun
Family and friends play an important part in our lives. Most of our friends have children ranging from the ages of one to 10 so there are plenty of kids to play with. The summer months are often spent in Tobermory, Ontario where Mark’s parents live and his brother has a cottage. Days are often spent biking, hiking or just hanging out at the beach. Other weekends are spent with Claire’s family is in Grimsby or having barbeques with our friends.

Both of us love to travel and have been fortunate to have seen many wonderful places in the world. Music is also an important part of our live and we often enjoy attending concerts or shows together.

Home Sweet Home
We live in a four bedroom house close to the lake in an older part of town, just outside of Toronto. Our back yard is large and there is plenty of room for swing sets, slides and possible wading pools. Close to parks, schools, libraries and other amenities, we enjoy taking our dog for long walks where we often meet up with our neighbours and their children.

Mark’s favourite place in the house is the kitchen where he loves to cook dishes from all over the world. While Claire does not have a favourite room, she does love to decorate especially at Christmas time. Both of us love to entertain and it is not uncommon for us to have our friends over for barbeques on the back deck. The front porch is also a favourite where we love to read and watch the world go by.

Our Furry Little Friend
Right after we were married, we adopted an eight-year-old Border Collie-Beagle cross from the local pound. Although we did not know what kind of dog we were looking for we did agree that it had to be the saddest dog there.

“Layla” fit the bill, with her big brown eyes she quickly won our hearts and we were quickly making arrangements to bring her home. Nervous and lacking confidence we nursed her back to health and she now has us very well trained. Good natured and loving she is fantastic around children and looking forward to having someone to take care of and protect.

Our Thoughts on Parenting
It has always been our dream to have a family. As parents we will be loving, understanding and fun. We believe in listening to our children and spending quality time with them. We think it is important to provide directions and set boundaries but also believe it is important that kids are just kids. We see ourselves as active parents enjoying hobbies together while developing new ones.

Fortunately we have made a number of sound financial decisions and Claire could stay home to take care of the children on a full time basis. Both Claire’s mom and Mark’s sister are teachers, providing us with additional support if needed.

Our Relationship with You
We have done a lot of research on adoption and are open to the level of openness that works for you and your family. We do not intend to keep any secrets from our child and would talk openly about their birth, always reminding them of them of the special role that you played and will continue to play in their life. We would welcome an opportunity to discuss an adoption plan that works well for you and is respectful of your wishes and are comfortable with any level of openness that works for you.

As a final note, we wish to thank you for considering adoption as one possibility for your child and for reading our profile, it is an opportunity that we will always treasure. We wish you all the best in your journey.

Best,
Claire and Mark