Shad and Kerry

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From Us to You

Colorado is a truly great place to raise a family, and we can’t wait to share our amazing life with your baby. We will dedicate our lives to providing your child with a childhood they can look back on with fond memories and wonder. Your baby will be welcomed into a loving family that includes close friends and relatives near and far who can’t wait to be a part of their life.

Our home is always filled with the sound of music, a sports game, or the pitter-patter of dogs looking for someone to play with. We indulge ourselves with books and music, and the thought of your little one poking through the bookshelves or the records to find a new story, or to discover a classic hip-hop or country record, makes us as excited as it does nervous for our tastes to be judged. We’ll teach your child by our example the value of respecting others, making the world a better place than you found it, the reward of a hard day’s work, and why the only boss they should ever listen to is Bruce Springsteen. Further and without question, we’ll support them in whoever they discover themselves to be as they learn and grow.

We live for a good adventure and our idea of a vacation is filling a camper van with our favorite foods, and a couple of guitars, and the destination we’ll figure out once we’re on the road. We’re not afraid of a long hike, and you’re more likely to find us at the locals’ favorite restaurant than at a fine dining establishment. We use atlases instead of iPhones and think getting lost is a stroke of luck. When we mean getting out of cell phone service, we mean it: the phones might as well be off. That’s how we have fun.

Please feel free to ask us any questions that you may have.  We recognize that you face a difficult decision, and it takes a very brave heart to consider adoption and we will do everything we can to help you make the best decision for you and your child.  We can’t wait to hear from you and look forward to meeting you.

With all our Love,

Shad and Kerry

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Why We Are Choosing to Adopt

We are beginning our path to parenthood a little bit later than others as we have been focused on our careers and have dedicated ourselves to working hard on behalf of those who most need help. We have reached an incredibly fortunate point in our lives where we can now choose how we live and starting our family is now our focus.  We have spent long car rides and late nights talking about how we want to grow our family and we decided that adoption is the perfect fit for us. It isn’t a second choice; it’s just a slightly different and special way for a family to, well, be a family. Becoming parents to a child is a dream of ours that opens up so many possibilities for us to live life to its fullest and we can’t wait to share our love and lives with your child and provide your child a life rooted in tradition, fun, and endless possibilities.

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About Kerry, by Shad

I could write a book about Kerry, but it would be a terribly long book because it’d simply be a book full of page-after-page of admiration. Kerry is the kindest spirit I’ve ever encountered. In fact, I don’t know that I’ve ever met someone who inspires such happiness from strangers, friends, and family alike. Kerry’s the type of woman who can teach you how to tie a perfect knot to secure a raft while also reciting the history of the nearest national forest. Watching Kerry interact with kids makes me so excited to see her become a mom; whether they’re an infant or nine years old. She’ll scoop up a fussing baby at a friend’s house or play pretend with her god children – identical twins! And as a former teacher, Kerry can hold a classroom of kiddos’ attention even while describing how the government works. She has accomplished amazing things in her life that are already changing the country. And everything I know about Kerry; I know she will be a mom that is always putting family first.

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About Shad, by Kerry

Shad makes me laugh. All the time. He is kind and incredibly smart and I trust him to buy me a cute dress or weigh in on an important life decision. When I met him, I had moved on from finding love and a life partner. There wasn’t much we didn’t know about each other by the time we went on a first date. It was so easy then, and easy now, to hang out and enjoy life. He loves dogs and exclaims, “Hey, look at that dog!” at every dog we see. And our new one-eyed kitten has turned him into a cat-dad too. He learns songs by ear on guitar and will suddenly be singing and playing a song that we heard the night before. He’s a great cook and makes a mean Pad See Ew. We call it “Shad See Ew.” He doesn’t take himself too seriously — mows the lawn in cut-off jeans he made, and everyone around him adores him. I can’t wait for Shad to be a dad. He is already very good at dad jokes. I know he will teach a baby girl that she is strong and worthy and a baby boy that he is complex and capable. He’ll teach them history and how to play guitar and how to be a kind person in a tough world.

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Our Relationship with You

Even though we don’t know each other yet, we cannot wait to meet you.  We have one goal and one goal only and that is to always do what is best for your baby.  We want your child to know their adoption story and we want them to know where they came from and, if they are of a different ethnicity than us, we want them to know their cultural heritage. We are open to an ongoing relationship with you at the level you are most comfortable with and will always share with your child how much you love them and made such a difficult decision to make an adoption plan for them because you wanted them to have the best chance at a great life – that’s love. Every day we will do our best to honor your choice by giving your baby the best life possible.

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Lifestyle

The beep-beep-beep of the alarm pushes us out of bed at 6:45 am. Kerry pours coffee for Shad and makes tea for herself. The morning starts with a kiss as we take in the caffeine. Our cat demands breakfast before anyone else and her purring convinces us every morning that she is right. Once there’s a kid around, I am sure she’ll wake them up instead. We both love the meaningful impact we can have at our jobs and take our work seriously. We text each other a lot during the day — silly pictures, Tik Toks, or asking for advice on some problem at work. Just imagine how much we will text when we have pictures of a little to share!

At night, we cook a good dinner or splurge on Thai food. We’d love to share our dinner table with a little guy or gal and let them teach us about their day. Our specialty is Flank Steak. Grilled to medium-rare, seasoned with herbs dried the summer before, and then rested on the cutting board. Served with roasted and smashed potatoes, steamed sweet carrots, and a heaping wild arugula salad— all fresh from our ranch. And then hot bread, twisted and baked in tear-and-share style so everyone just pulls off a piece of steaming bread that melts butter into golden drips of perfection.  The dogs then remind us we promised belly rubs and we all move to the couch.

On the weekend, we try hard to check out of work and go to a concert for a small independent band we love or get out of the house with our books to one of Colorado’s plentiful local haunts. We have a couple favorite little places where we eat French fries and catch-up with our friends. Lately, as we try to stay close with our closest friends and their kids who are our god children, the playground is a frequent stop. But we don’t mind, it’s a pirate ship and we get to play the pirates! Weekends are also our chance to go for a horseback ride and build a campfire and spend the night under the stars. A campfire is only made better with s’mores and s’more are only made better when made with a kiddo. Sometimes, we wake up in the mountains and sometimes in the city, but both of our homes are comfortable places filled with pictures, art, and sunny spaces that look out into friendly neighborhoods and gorgeous views.

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Home & Neighborhood

We are incredibly lucky to have two places we call home. One is just a mile from downtown, and the second is in the mountains near a ski resort and the wide-open wilderness. We also have a family ranch that is home to our horses, cows, chickens, and various other furry friends. When we are in the city, we often grab our bikes and ride down the bike lane that is on our street to the coffee shop we love or maybe to a free day at the museums downtown. We live just off one of the most diverse roads in the city, so we’ll often just take a stroll to see what the city is up to. If we are lucky, there’s a festival in the park or a farmers’ market in the next block. Our house in the city is an old brick house from the 1880’s that has been restored into a cozy single-family. The fenced-in backyard is a treat for the dogs, and the decks in front and in back are delightful places to have breakfast or watch the world go by.

Up in the mountains, we are lucky to be part of a small town that takes care of each other. Splitting time between the city and the ranch is a treat few people get to have. Our family ranch is a special place nestled in the mountains. Days at the ranch are peaceful and filled with the best furry friends. From taking the horses for a quick ride or making sure a momma cow is doing well, spending warm summer days at the ranch is always filled with the unexpected that being outdoors creates. We call two places home, and both are joyful.

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Our Pets

Our dogs make people smile. Gary and Bill Murray (Yep. Not Bill. Not Murray. Bill Murray) love everyone, and their sweet eyes make each dog they meet wag their tail and each human they meet smile in response. Truly, our dogs have personalities that we couldn’t have created on purpose. Our little kitten, Mogwai, had a rough introduction to the world and we rescued her just after her third surgery to remove her left eye. Mogwai is a smaller-than-she-should-be grey kitty with no tail, one eye, and has us wrapped around her paws with her curiosity and lack of depth perception.

In addition to our pets that we share our homes with, we have a herd of fuzzy highland cattle, a couple of charming mules, and a handful of gregarious horses. Our ranch is also home to all the wild animals of Colorado and running into a flock of wild turkeys, seeing a momma bear and her cubs, or watching a deer effortlessly climb a rocky hill is just another way we count ourselves lucky.

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Families & Friends

Our family is small but mighty. Shad’s sibling is a professor and there is no doubt the two are related since they look nearly identical and seem to dress alike without any planning. Maybe because they talk nearly every day, dressing alike is just a by-product. Kerry has two older brothers who are still very much her older brothers, and her parents live close by and are always ready to help. Kerry’s mother is quite the seamstress and has already started to dig out her baby patterns. She sewed clothes for Kerry when she was little and made her wedding dress just a few years ago. Kerry and her mom are very close. And while Kerry’s brother has children, grandma was never able to dote on them as much as a grandmother would like. Sewing baby clothes will be just the beginning of a childhood filled with being spoiled by grandma.

We are fortunate to share great friends spread across the country, as well as just across the street. We have a group of friends that started as a “just out of college” group of guys that has grown to include wives, girlfriends, and siblings. They are the first ones to know if someone is engaged, changing jobs, or if a tragedy has occurred. They are the first to respond, always. We love making friends everywhere we go. We love that each of our friends brings new perspectives after our time with them.

Our phones both start exploding at once and it’s clear that one of our friend groups has started planning the next get-together or shared a funny meme that will now start an hour-long text exchange. We are lucky to share great friends spread across the country, as well as just across the street. We have a group of friends called “The Hawks” that started as a “just out of college” group of guys with bigger dreams than bank accounts, and it’s grown to include wives, girlfriends, and siblings. They are the first ones to know if someone is engaged or changing jobs. They are the first to respond, always. Our friends have become family and through new babies or new challenges, we all stick together.

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Family Traditions

We start the new year off with sushi on New Year’s Eve and a lot of live music in early January (winter is an underrated season for music in Colorado). That transitions right into our favorite time of the year: the three weekends of the National Western Stock Show. We make the trek to the convention center, get a steak sandwich at the Stockyard Saloon, and check out the yards, and then hit the rodeo at the end of the day. There are so many things, like face painting, that before we’d always walk but what a treat to get a little Spider-Man or tiger to explore the future farmers or Dino dig with. The National Western Stock Show will only be better with a little one in a stroller.

We make it a point to spend the day outside listening to the symphony play classic Americana tunes on the Fourth of July, a day we are now so happy to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We’ll head to the Denver Broncos public practices either getting excited or forlorn for the upcoming season, where no matter how good or bad the team is playing, we’ll be listening to them on the local radio station or watching them on TV.  We already have a tiny orange and blue starter jacket in our front closet, just waiting for the newest Broncos fan. Every Sunday we enjoy a morning brunch and cruising around the thrift stores.

Later in the fall, we’ll make it a point to go to the Oscar Animated Shorts at an old movie theater. We’ll close out the year with a Thanksgiving Day of movies, making everything from scratch, and listening to records. This is a combination of Shad’s family and Kerry’s family as we try to make our own traditions. We’ll spend Christmas in the mountains with Kerry’s family and making brand new traditions centered around our new family.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

As an interracial couple, we have learned how to respect, share, and learn from each other and are excited to raise a child with that same approach to a child. We are committed to raising your child and teaching them to understand our country’s history, the challenges that life may present them with, and we will always (always!) provide them with the tools that help to keep them safe. We understand we might not always be able to understand their lived experience, and we are committed to providing them with the relationships and support they need to live life to the fullest.

We believe in leaving our country better than we found it and are aware of the systemic racism that exists in every corner of our society, leaving people of all ethnic backgrounds impacted. Shad remembers America before 9/11 and came of age after it as a first-generation Arab American. He’s been denied service at restaurants, called anti-Arab slurs, and was bullied. On the bright side, we’ve been humbled and inspired by Americans of all backgrounds coming together to create a more diverse and accepting society, and we have firmly placed ourselves on the side of social justice. We won’t shy away from learning experiences, correct ourselves when we’re wrong, and actively work to diversify our circle of friends and in fluences.

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Our Promise to You

We promise to be the best parents we can be and to provide your child with a safe and loving home, to fill your child’s days with joy and to create a lifetime filled with bright memories.

We promise to cook big family dinners, to laugh often, to hunt imaginary dragons, and make mud pies.

We promise to tuck in the little one each night and read Goodnight Moon.

We promise mornings of waking up in a tent and meeting the sun at daybreak; afternoons of sledding down a snowy hill with hot cocoa waiting in a thermos; and nights filled with stories and wishing on shooting stars.

We promise days, weeks, and years of a home filled with love.

We promise that from the first day of kindergarten to the final day of college, we will champion your child’s education.

And we promise to listen to you, to always love you and honor you, our child’s birth mother.