Daryl and Shirlee

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From Us to You

Hello There!

Thank you for considering us to raise your baby. We can only imagine how difficult it might be to find the right home for your child. Afterall, you are your baby’s one-and-only birth mother – your choice is unique to you. And while we cannot fully know all you have been through, we recognize that your recent experiences and this big, important decision are likely very tough and emotionally taxing. We hope you are proud of yourself for the brave and self-sacrificial decision you are making, which will impact your life, your baby’s, and the adoptive parents that you choose. We appreciate you taking the time to learn more about us, our intentions for raising our children, and to discern whether we might be the best fit for your little one.

Daryl and I met over 14 years ago at none-other than a mutual friend’s wedding – so cliche, I know! We have been married for 10 years, have lived in two different US states (one on each coast!), and in one other country. We had trouble conceiving a child, which was a long and difficult journey for us, but it also allowed us to travel, focus on building our careers, and experience a lot of life. In turn, we are stronger individually and as a couple, and much better prepared to raise a family. Our biological son, Isaac, is now 18 months old, and though he hasn’t been around nearly as long as we waited for him, we hardly remember life without him! He’s happy and thriving, loves to eat, play, “help”, and engage with others. We just moved into our beautiful forever home and are excitedly awaiting opportunities to build all the memories we can with our family.

We are waiting with so much hope, so much love, and so much excitement for another baby. One who will complete our family, grow up with the best buddy and big brother, and be nurtured, adored and guided to grow into the best version of him/herself possible. With all sincerity in our hearts, we hope that will be your child.

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Why We're Choosing to Adopt

Adoption has been a dream of each of ours since before we met. Daryl has a younger brother who was adopted when Daryl was 6 years old, and Shirlee has always wanted to be a parent of an adopted child. Together, we hope to provide a safe, loving home for at least one or two children. We feel we have a gift for caring for blended families, and that we have an ability to relate to people of different ages, backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses, and that we can encourage and help them to engage in ways where feelings of fear or insecurity may stifle that. We do this at work – mentoring individuals and fostering teams. We do this with relatives – engaging with nieces and nephews, in-laws, parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We also do this in social settings – people are happy to invite us, and tell us we make newcomers feel safe, heard and valued. We hope to do that with our family, also. Lastly, we love children! They bring us joy, and we love teaching them, playing with them, nurturing their innate curiosities, discovering their unique personalities and developing their talents. We also enjoy challenging their minds, and supporting them as they continuously learn, develop and grow.

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About Shirlee, from Daryl

When I first met Shirlee I remember being captivated by her loving spirit and her great sense of humor. I think much of this comes from being the only girl in a family of 5 children – as the oldest child, she’s had to learn to be emotionally flexible. I appreciate that she loves spending time with loved ones, young children, and seniors. It’s from this joy of being with family and friends that I’ve personally grown to see the importance of balancing life to make sure that we take time to enjoy life with others.

Outside of spending time with friends and family, Shirlee loves deep conversations about relationships, spirituality, and human development. Though she’s a novice at it, she enjoys gardening. But mostly she enjoys understanding how others find joy and hearing their stories. Though I’d describe our 8 years of marriage as wonderful, life hasn’t always been easy for us. It’s through these difficult times that I’ve been able to experience Shirlee’s strength and emotional fortitude. I find myself impressed by the calm she exhibits when confronted with turmoil and appreciate the peace that she brings to our family.

I realize this small snapshot isn’t able to fully encapsulate what it’s been like to have Shirlee in my life – but I am truly grateful that I’ve met her and get to spend my life with her.

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About Daryl, from Shirlee

Daryl is caring, generous and loves to help people in need. He is smart, works hard and is very social. When not working, he spends his time reading, baking bread, staying up-to-date on current events and traveling. A couple of things I love most about him are his tender heart toward living things, especially children and animals, and his passion for food.

At a party or social event, if someone is sitting alone, he’ll immediately go to them and start up a conversation. He asks good questions, and enjoys hearing stories about their life. He has a great memory, so is typically able to recall specifics and pick up where they left off during their next interaction.

Daryl is also a great story teller. He has a great imagination and is quite animated when telling them. Children and adults alike enjoy hearing his stories, because we never know where his adventure will take us. We all are often surprised and amused by how the story unfolds as he incorporates the children’s silly suggestions and character descriptions into his story. In addition to storytelling, our youngest nieces and nephews love it when he visits, and immediately ask him to give them “airplane rides,” where he puts them in an empty laundry basket, pushes them jerkily around the floor, then lifts them off into the air for a gentle, yet “turbulent” ride.

Daryl’s all-time favorite thing is food, and it doesn’t take much time for anyone to realize this. He is skilled at finding the best, most authentic, ethnic restaurants in a city or town, ordering a smorgasbord of too many delicious dishes, and then locking away in his memory the texture and flavor profile of each one. He is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to flavors and cooking techniques, not only from different countries, but also the specific regions of each country.

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Our Families

We love our families! They are very important to us. We are currently spread across the US, but make a priority of visiting each other throughout the year, and Face-Timing in between. Daryl’s family includes his mom, dad and younger brother. His brother is 3 years younger, and was adopted when Daryl was 6 years old. Daryl’s brother has a wife, one year old daughter, and a little dog. Shirlee has a large family with mom, dad, four younger brothers, three sisters-in-law, and 10 nieces and nephews ranging in age from two to fourteen years old. Both of our families love to eat, play games, and tease one another. Daryl’s family enjoys trying different cuisines from various restaurants, hoping to find the best one of each type. They love to read, attend theater and musical events, travel, and learn about different cultures. They are generous and fun-loving and have been enjoying spoiling their two grandchildren with gifts and attention. Shirlee’s family enjoys family get-togethers and potluck-style backyard barbecues, outdoor sports and games, and indoor card and board games. Because of the large number of children in her family, Shirlee’s parents’ house is full of books, toys, puzzles, games and ice cream.

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Our Home

We have a lovely home with 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. It’s nestled on 3 acres of land, some of which is grassy with a playground and the rest full of trees, like a small forest. Our favorite features of the home include our large deck that overlooks the backyard, our living room with a large stone fireplace and vaulted ceiling, and our wrap-around porch in the front. The property is lined with plenty of trees which provide both natural beauty and a sense of tranquility and privacy from the outside world. We have lots of windows that let in natural light and allow us to enjoy stunning sunrises each morning and picturesque views as one season changes to the next. We have bunnies, squirrels, hawks and deer that use the land for their home and playscape. Our home is still very new to us as we bought it just a few months ago, so it’s a little sparse-looking now, but we are excited to decorate and add furniture to make it feel like ours.

Our neighbors have young children who are often outside riding bicycles, running around and decorating the sidewalk with chalk. Isaac loves it when the school bus comes to pick up and drop off the children.

We chose the town we live in because it has very good schools, is quaint and safe, hidden away from the busyness of big-city life, but is also close to larger towns with plenty of shopping and activities to participate in. We are just a few minutes drive from the capital city, and just a couple hours away from both Boston, Massachusetts and New York City. We love that we have access to so much and yet our home is tucked away from the hustle and bustle. Your child will truly get to experience the best of both worlds.

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Our Lifestyle

We try to approach life thoughtfully and educate ourselves about the world. We encourage one another to be the best we can be, and not worry about things we cannot control. We also try to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle where we work hard during the week, and enjoy leisure activities on weekends. Daryl works from home, which we feel very fortunate about. He gets to share meals with the family, take Isaac for brief work-break walks outside, and exchange hugs and kisses with him throughout the day. We love it when Isaac stands at the doorway of the kitchen and yells upstairs to Daryl in his office: “DADDYYYYY! READYYYY!”, meaning to come down for breakfast or dinner. Shirlee stays home, focusing mainly on taking care of Isaac. She teaches him, reads to him, sings and dances with him, and encourages him to participate in any of the daily activities on her agenda from mixing ingredients for dinner to cleaning up messes around the house. He loves to help and catches on quickly! They also attend toddler classes at the library and play card games with elderly friends from our previous apartment community. (While Isaac doesn’t actually play cards yet, he provides entertainment for the group and receives lots of love and attention from his many “adopted grandparents”). In addition to caring for Isaac, she completes household chores, appointment scheduling, grocery shopping, healthy meal preparation, and maintaining the social calendar. At the end of each day, we put Isaac to bed and watch TV, read a book or play a game before preparing for our favorite nighttime activity – sleeping! On weekends we spend time with close friends, participate in social events within our town and church community, and attend local baseball and soccer games. We also go to the park, take hikes, explore new places, and try different restaurants.

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Our Personalities

Our personalities overlap in some ways but are different in others. As with all couples, our differences can cause us frustration, but we are inevitably reminded that by blending our perspectives and unique approaches to problem solving, we usually end up with better outcomes than we envisioned. This has proven itself true as we work together to raise Isaac, complete home projects and help others in our community.

Daryl & Shirlee

• We are both good-natured
• We enjoy social settings where we get to meet new people and hear their stories.
• We like to play games. (Daryl’s favorites are cooperative and strategy games, while Shirlee prefers word games).

Daryl

• Is kind, loving and has a great sense of humor.
• He is also analytical and can be serious.
• His inclination is to attend first to matters of business and then take time to enjoy life.
• He often envisions a worst case scenario and carries out plans accordingly.
• He’s future-focused and likes to do things well, with accuracy, and few mistakes.
• In uncertain circumstances he becomes more of a leader, taking charge of the situation and caring for the people involved.

Shirlee

• Has a light-hearted, optimistic, “don’t worry unless it’s necessary” personality.
• She likes to remain in the present moment, taking in the sights, sounds and feelings around her.
• She looks for humor and irony in situations where things don’t go as planned, and often responds with a joke or touch of sarcasm.
• She likes to plan, organize, and be prepared.
• She is a good listener and cares deeply about the wellbeing of others.
• In uncertain circumstances, she will typically be agreeable and try to improve the mood around her.

And although he’s young, Isaac’s developing personality traits (listed in another section) add SO much to our family dynamic and remind us to slow down, pay attention, and be curious about the world around us. In that same vein, we can’t help but wonder what your child’s personality and unique traits will be like, and how they will influence, enrich and continue to round out our family dynamic.

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Family Traditions

We love to celebrate! In part because Shirlee loves to decorate, host small gatherings of family and friends, plan fun events, bake and cook! But also because it requires us to break from the busyness of daily life to remember, honor, connect with and celebrate the people, historical events and cultural norms that make us unique and our backgrounds strong. We look forward to celebrating our children and the cultural traditions they will bring to our family. We want them to be well connected to their birth culture as this ties them to who they are and what makes them unique and special. In our family, we celebrate many things. Birthdays for the importance and value of human life and the richness that each individual contributes to our family and the world around them.

Traditional American holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween and Easter by decorating, preparing traditional foods, exchanging gifts and gathering with family and friends. Because we are Christian, we also focus on the reason behind Christmas and Easter – the birth and resurrection of Jesus – and its importance to each of us, personally.

Cultural holidays, especially those specific to individuals in our household. For instance, Daryl’s family comes from China. As a result, we celebrate Chinese New Year by sharing a native dish called hot pot with our close friends.

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Vacations and Leisure Time

We love to travel! Well, Daryl loves to travel. He says there’s a feeling of exhilaration that overwhelms him when he sets foot in a big city, small town, or any other region of the world – a feeling which cannot be replicated by any other experience. It may have something to do with his natural curiosity for history, culture, and local cuisine. He also enjoys the challenge of learning languages, and even speaking with locals for practice! As a result of exploring with him, Shirlee has grown to appreciate traveling, too, and has even become adept at reading maps and navigating public transportation systems. She has also overcome fears and anxieties which used to cause her to avoid being in unfamiliar places and trying new things. Daryl is excited to share his passion for exploring new places with his family. He’ll equip them with maps and little backpacks to safely transport their collected treasures. He’ll teach them to navigate public transportation systems, find the tastiest cuisines, and encourage them to enjoy the experience of trying new things.

Shirlee’s favorite way to spend vacation and leisure time is surrounded by family. Specifically, everyone in one place such as someone’s home, a rented cabin, or cluster of campsites where everyone can chat, play games, hike, kayak, tell stories, laugh, eat together and tease each other.

As you can see, we have different opinions on the best way to spend our leisure time, but we truly appreciate and find value in each other’s preferences and, as a result, enjoy a well-rounded blend of vacation and leisure styles. We can’t help but get excited over the thought of creating cherished memories and sharing these joy-filled experiences with your child, too

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Our Careers

Shirlee received her bachelor’s degree in nutrition, an area of study that she loves. In her late teens, she got very sick and, in an effort to heal, began incorporating healthy diet and lifestyle habits into her daily routine. She was surprised and thrilled to experience a full and quick recovery, which impressed even her doctors. This unexpected health discovery resulted in a newfound passion and desire to ensure others struggling with chronic ailments might also find help. So, she dedicated herself to learning about how foods can provide nourishment, improve moods, minds and bodies, and also about food science, food service, hospitality, and cooking! Since college, Shirlee has worked in a variety of related fields, such as counseling patients through holistic wellness programs, managing food service teams in hospitals and public schools, and managing a naturopathic doctor’s office. She loves helping people in this capacity, and has found deep fulfillment in her work. Most importantly, though, she looks forward to bonding with your child through food, teaching them to cook and bake, exposing them to the many tastes and textures of different foods, and educating them on the healing properties of fruits, vegetables and animal products.

Daryl’s current job involves making self-driving car technology safe to use. His career passions are in science and engineering, and using them to help both people and the environment. In addition, he enjoys teaching and mentoring kids and adults to help them understand the deeper mysteries of the universe. For example, did you know that there are colors we can’t see because our eyes can only detect some of the colors on the spectrum?! Daryl looks forward to sharing his passion for understanding and exploring the natural world with your child. He envisions taking them on nature hikes to observe insects and plant life and learn about their unique traits and the ways they help each other to survive.

We’re very curious about what your child’s passions and interests will be. We’re excited to help them discover their talents, and to support them as they pursue and achieve their dreams.

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Racial and Cultural Diversity

We are constantly fascinated by the differences and similarities of different races, ethnicities and cultures. We love learning about them by participating in cultural events and holidays, spending time in diverse communities, and hearing stories from individuals. Our favorite way of connecting with people of different cultures is through their food! We were both fortunate to grow up in communities with plenty of diversity, and have also spent periods of time traveling in different regions of the world, such as Asia (including India), Europe, as well as close by through the US, Canada, and Mexico. With each experience, we’ve seen firsthand the unique set of cultural norms that provide a richness, hospitality and beauty unique to each one. Unfortunately, we’ve also seen ugliness that can arise in different cultures too, including our own. In our family, we continuously open our hearts and minds to learn and understand more, to acknowledge areas that need improvement, and to celebrate the qualities that make each culture unique and beautiful. We want to be intentional about helping to heal the gap caused by misunderstandings and fear.

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Our Faith

Our faith is probably the most important thing to us. It is by trusting in a God who loves us, cares for us, forgives our deepest wrong-doings, and gently guides us into a better way of life, that we are able to live a more fulfilling life. And as we spend time in the stillness and quiet, sharing with him our concerns and fears, thanking him for the good things he’s done, and asking for his will
to be done in our lives, he reminds us that he is with us, has a plan for our lives, and a vision for our future.

We are Christians, and though we don’t ascribe to a particular denomination, we do seek to understand the Bible and incorporate its teachings into our daily lives. We believe in a loving, living God, in Jesus who lived on the earth deeply caring for the ones struggling most, and in the Holy Spirit who guides and helps us as we try to live out our days the best we can.

We attend church services on Sundays and Bible studies during the week. We find deep value in meeting regularly with our small group, where our friends, who are more like family, help us through struggles, share in our victories, and encourage us to make wise decisions, honor God with our time and resources, and continue to know and trust Him.

We know that your child will love making friends in Sunday school, learning Bible stories, singing worship songs, and doing arts & crafts. And we look forward to helping him or her learn to trust God, wait patiently for his guidance and answers, and to care well for others in need.

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Our Hobbies

Together we enjoy traveling, eating, watching crime and mystery shows, playing games, walking and hiking. We were fortunate to spend a year in China teaching English to elementary aged students. During that time we traveled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Japan, and Korea. We have also spent time in India, where we attended a good friend’s wedding, We recently drove across the country from California to our new home in Connecticut. Since moving to Connecticut, we’ve traveled throughout New England, exploring different states and their unique, beautiful nuances. We’ve also discovered plenty of hiking spots, and taken full advantage of the cuisine: the most delicious fresh seafood, authentic Italian, and renowned pizza!

Daryl likes to: play the piano, read, study new subjects, learn languages, bake bread, and listen to books on tape. His current focus is on creating the perfect bread experience: a crispy, golden brown crust and soft, springy middle filled with the perfect amount of air pockets. He does good work, but claims he hasn’t mastered the recipe yet!

Shirlee likes to: be home organizing, planning events, tidying, preparing meals, baking, gardening and doing puzzles. Her favorite garden hobby is attending to her fairy garden, where she arranges tiny little figurines with interesting looking, brightly colored plants to make a fun, whimsical mini world. She once spent a year baking and decorating a special birthday cake for each of her nieces and nephews. They got to choose the flavors and theme, and she took on the challenge of creating the masterpiece.

We look forward to when your child will join us in participating in our favorite hobbies, and we are excited to help them discover their favorite pastimes, pursue their interests and creative outlets, and just share in the things that bring them joy.

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Our Child

From the moment he was born, Isaac has been a source of joy to everyone he’s met. He’s a good natured, easy-going and happy kid. He’s very curious about his surroundings, alertly observing the people and world around him. He tends to be a bit shy when meeting new people, but warms up quickly after a few minutes.

As with many kids his age – Isaac loves to laugh and do things that will make others laugh – like “tickling” their toes. He is also quite independent. He will play by himself for long periods of time, try to understand how toys work, mess up a pile of toys and then put them back together in different, usually messier, piles. He likes to color, assemble magnetic blocks, and kick his soccer ball. He “hides” in our closet and grins proudly when he pops out after we call for him. We have a slide and a swing set in the backyard, and he loves both.

Reading is one of Isaac’s two favorite activities. He’ll sit on our lap and ask us to read him story after story. He mimics the sounds and actions of the characters, and “smells” the flowers on the pages. When we’re not there to read to him, he will spend time arranging his stuffed animals, blankets and books around him and then, once he’s all snuggled in, start flipping through pages of one book after another.

His other favorite activity is eating! He’s a healthy eater and typically wants to eat whatever is given to him as well as what we happen to be eating. He’s very food curious and we try to encourage that by allowing him to taste many different flavors and textures. Outside of spicy foods – he loves everything!

We want for Isaac just what we want for our next child – to have a built-in playmate, someone to grow up with, learn from, and share memories together.

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On Adoption and Our Promises to You

You are carrying your child. He or she may look like you and have unique personality traits like yours. And it is you who will choose the adoptive family best suited to raise them. You are already an invaluable and unmatchable piece of your child’s wellbeing and future. It is likely that your child will want to know about you and have a relationship with you. And we wonder if you might want that, too. So in whatever capacity you are comfortable with staying in touch and/or building and maintaining a relationship with her or him, we want that too. We would love to schedule times to meet up in person or through FaceTime, and/or send pictures and email updates. Whatever you decide, be assured that our intention, no matter what, will always be to honor and carry out the good work you have begun, and to ensure that your child knows the positive impacts that your strength, bravery, and heartfelt decision has made on his or her life.

Our goal for your child is to help him/her grow up into a healthy, happy, loving and confident adult who will make a positive impact on the world around them. In an effort to accomplish this, we promise to work hard to provide them with a safe, healthy, loving home and community environment where they can laugh, play and be challenged. They will be free to make mistakes, but from them we’ll guide them to learn and grow. We will teach them to understand right and wrong, and to make wise decisions. We will foster healthy relationships with them, and help them to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy ones. We will challenge them to become the very best version of themselves possible – in body, mind and soul. We will teach them, by example, to trust God, and listen for His whispering voice and loving guidance. We will laugh together and tease each other, because a developed sense of humor is a very important tool for managing the hardest parts of life, relaxing, and also for connecting with others. Most importantly, though, we will love your child immensely and work hard to provide him/her with a joy-filled life.