Blair and Doree

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From Us to You

Hello, it’s so nice to meet you. We are Doree and Blair and we’re truly humbled that you’re taking the time to get to know us. We sometimes think about the countless moments that comprise our lives – the twists of fate, the hardships and heartbreaks and joys, the choices – big and small.

Had there not been an art show in Doree’s family’s building 8 years ago, we may never have met. We may never have known a love as boundless as the one we share. We may never have found a partner as committed to building a family as we are to each other. But there was. And we did.

And here, our paths cross with yours. We know you are faced with a difficult decision. Whatever you choose, we’re honored and extremely grateful to walk with you on your journey.

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Why We're Choosing to Adopt

Others in our family have adopted and we see the love and family unity they have. We know we have the capacity to love any child wholly and unconditionally and that’s why we feel that adoption is the right choice for us as well.

After going through IVF unsuccessfully we knew what we would do next. The hard part was deciding when was the right time to begin growing our family. Our careers have taken us on exciting paths. We have also enjoyed exploring the world. We have loved the adventures we have had together, but over the last few years, we have felt like we are finally in the right place in our lives and in our careers, to bring a child into our family. We have everything we could possibly want and cannot wait to bring a son or daughter into our life.

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About Us

About Doree, by Blair

I’m pretty sure I got the best one when I met Doree. She’s innovative, creative, and a selfless leader that naturally brings people together. Doree is an unbelievably good cook, she grumbles from time to time, but rarely complains; she’s extremely tolerable of my quirks. She giggles every time she sees the Subaru commercials of driving dogs.

Her life revolves around family, from the event venue she built with her siblings to the charter school she helped start that was inspired by her nephews. Her inner drive is inspiring and deserves to be carried onto the next generation. Her ability to genuinely connect with just about anyone makes me confident that any child we bring into our home will experience what it’s like to be the center of a loving family.

About Blair, by Doree

I’ve met many people in my life, but the person I enjoy, admire, and love the most is Blair.  He’s a very big, strong character of a man. At the same time, he is gentle, kind, and caring. He is the kind of person who can be friends with anyone. Everyone he comes in contact with enjoys being around him. He has definitely changed my outlook on life and he is an ideal role model for anyone that meets him. Blair is gifted, he displays intelligence in his everyday endeavors. He’s not only book smart, but he’s artistic (uses both sides of the brain) when he’s not running his payroll company, he’s in his garage restoring trucks, creating metal sculptures, or in the middle of some sort of construction project- he loves to build & create. He’s a very caring man. He’s the kind of person that would give you the shirt off of his back.   He is on the board of the Boys & Girls Club and has an amazing connection with all of the kids. He understands them and they bring out the best in him. He speaks their “language.” He has an incredible imagination and is a great teacher. He engages them and motivates them to become good, successful people.

When it comes to me, I couldn’t feel more loved than the love I feel from him. Blair is so much more to me than a husband, he is my co-worker, sidekick, and best friend. He is my partner in life, in everything. I’ve never had anyone who supported me so much and gave me so much courage to be myself. Blair has been able to show me what it’s like to be an equal. He works very hard to provide for our family. He absolutely makes me laugh every day. He is thoughtful and romantic and brings me flowers on random days just because. He’ll stop whatever he’s doing whenever I need his help. Your child will always know how loved they are and how special they are in our family because Blair’s world revolves around us.

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Our Pets

We have an amazing cat, Wrigley who is getting older but still enjoys the occasional chipmunk chase outside. We also have a new puppy Clover, a yellow lab. She is a few months old with a LOT of energy and will make the perfect partner in crime for your child!

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Our Lifestyle

Blair owns his own payroll company and Doree owns her own private event venue. Our workplaces are both within 5 miles of our home, and we’re able to be home when needed. Along with having work flexibility to be with your child, we both have our immediate families nearby that are eager to help out. We will be present and available with your child during those important, formative years of their life.

During an average week, we get home from work, take our dog, Clover, for a walk or playtime in the backyard, then dinner and some down time before bed. In our leisure time on the weekends, we like to enjoy a good meal (whether at home or out at a fun restaurant), we also love spending time outdoors. It’s easy to do with our house right on the river and a lake house about an hour away with a pontoon boat. We love taking our family and friends to fish, swim, and float by the sandbar.

We usually start the weekend mornings with a good breakfast, Clover included. Then we decide on what we’re going to do for the day whether it be boating, hiking (Clover usually ends up sopping wet and covered in mud, the post-hike nap is always worth it though), or swimming. After we get home and Clover is clean and dry, we start planning dinner. Blair loves testing out new recipes on his smoker (back to the good meal thing), and luckily we have a lot of friends always up to try them. If it’s been a busy week, we enjoy a quiet movie night or catch up on Netflix. Much of our time off is spent with our friends and family. We also try to get to the dog park or take walks or bike when we can.

Some of the things that we will build into our life as a family of three are: an emphasis on creativity and imagination when bored, a focus on emotional, mental, and physical health, a lifestyle with a margin for personal time and play, a family schedule with a balance of appointments and activities that doesn’t overtake our ability to prioritize time with one another, freedom to grow in personal interests, hobbies, and sports, and encouragement to try new things. Time is precious and we know it’s important to make the most of the time we’re given.

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Home & Neighborhood

We live in a small, private neighborhood located on the bank of a river where you can often see families kayaking, fly fishing, riding bikes, and hiking. It also has beautiful views of wildlife, including Bald Eagles! Right down the bike path is a beautiful park with a playground and a big grassy field where we can run and play. There are little shops and restaurants within walking or biking distance. Our neighborhood is a great place with tons of wonderful opportunities to explore and learn we look forward to sharing that experience with your child.

Our cozy home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. The main floor consists of a kitchen, family/ dining room, and office that all flow into each other. There is a big deck built on the back of the house and a big backyard with a bonfire pit in the middle where we love to get together with friends. We love the openness of our home. We entertain a lot and it’s perfect for get-togethers. We talk all the time about how it will be an amazing home for our family to grow up in. We have a special room just for your child. It has huge windows overlooking the river, and sunshine fills the room. We can’t wait to decorate it!

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Our Loving Parents

Blair’s parents Chuck and Darlene make excellent grandparents! At the moment, they have two grandchildren, Hailey and Cam. They love to spoil them and spend time with them. They value the importance of having a strong relationship with them and they play an active role in their lives. For instance, Darlene is a retired elementary teacher so she has played a vital part in this e-learning when they watch the kids three times a week.

Doree’s father passed away in May 2010. It was tough and we always miss him, but it also pulled us together and has shown us all the importance of family. Doree’s mother, Linda, lives very close by with Doreen’s aunt, Sandy. Sandy has three grandchildren and spends a lot of time with all of them babysitting every chance she gets. She is an amazing grandmother. Sandy is really into art and Linda is really into animals so the kids LOVE going over to their home and letting their imaginations run wild!

We are very fortunate to have our parents live within 10-30 minutes of us. We see each other very often. We travel together, we love to eat out at different restaurants and during the summer we take full advantage of BBQ’ing and getting together at each other’s houses. They’re all very excited to welcome a new family member!

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Families & Friends

Our family is our largest support system and they are thrilled to welcome another child to love. We have a very close relationship with both of our families. Blair has three brothers, and he works with two of them and his father. Doree has one sister and one brother and works with both of them and her mother. Combined we have four amazing nephews and two beautiful nieces, all of who we love to spend time with. We have sleepovers, make cookies, break open birthday taco pinatas, go to museums and discovery centers, monster trucks and so much more which are all memories a child will have in joining our family! They are so excited for a new cousin to explore outside, play games and have fun with. We also have a lake cabin not too far away that we all love to go to. The entire family hangs out on the lake, we talk, read, go out for a family fish fry and watch fireworks from the boat! We are so lucky to have the most supportive group of friends and we have loved being a part of their children’s lives. Our friends truly mean the world to us.

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Family Traditions

Holidays are a big deal in our families! Christmas is especially huge. Our Christmas traditions include decorating the tree, spending time and bonding with our family and friends, going to events, and sharing presents. We spend Christmas Eve with Blair’s family and Christmas day with Doree’s. Both days involve a big dinner, gifts for the kids, and a lot of laughs all night!

Over the last couple of years, Doree has taken international trips with her mother, aunt, and cousin. So far, they have gone to Paris and Quebec. Once her mother’s knee surgery is complete and she has healed they hope to continue this tradition and travel to Germany for the Christmas Markets.

Every August, we go up to Michigan to Blair’s family’s homestead where all of his extended family (including his 9 cousins) come in from places like California, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, and Illinois. We spend the long weekend where we spend the sunny days playing lawn golf, bean bags, and taking nature walks. In the evenings, we cook and have bonfires where everyone roasts s’mores and the kids get to play with sparklers. It is a wonderful yearly opportunity to catch up with the whole family.

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Careers & Passions

Blair owns his own payroll company and Doree owns her own event and wedding venue. We both started our businesses 8 years ago, renovating our buildings and becoming leaders in our communities. We have never looked back.  We are both very lucky to get to do what we love every day and provide a service to people. While a lot of people fear working on their finances and planning big events, it is our favorite place to be. The best part is we support each other and feed off of each other’s energy.

Another thing we are passionate about is contributing our services to the children in our communities. Blair serves on the board of directors at The Boys & Girls Club and Doree is on the founding board of a new math & science school in our area.

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Travel

We love being together. It doesn’t really matter what we’re doing! Since we both own our businesses, we have the opportunity to travel and spend time together at home with family and friends. Over the last couple of years, we traveled to Savannah, Key West, Colorado, and Maui. We are excited to continue this tradition with your child and can’t wait to share our experiences with him or her. Life is more joyful through a child’s eyes and we can’t wait to take them on our next adventure.

Racial & Cultural Diversity

We understand that adopting a child of color doesn’t mean that the burden is now on that child to learn to fit into our family and culture. It means that our family is now a bi-cultural family and they are part of our whole unit. We will embrace your child’s culture and weave it into our family’s everyday life. We will teach the virtues and contributions of multicultural inventors, teachers, community leaders, and athletes.

We will teach your child to always have an open mind and equally embrace the different beliefs, races, cultures of others they encounter throughout their lifetime. No matter how much we normalize different types of families, people may still ask questions or make comments if we don’t share the same outward appearance. We cannot keep children in a bubble forever, so being there to answer their questions and teach them self-love will help them learn to handle different encounters they may experience in the future.

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Our Promise to You

If you choose adoption, and if you choose us, our commitment to you is that your child will be loved every single day by us, our friends, and our families. We promise to give them the tools to live a happy, successful life of inclusivity and support. We will always work hard to be the parents your child deserves, and we will always honor you.