Thank you for taking the time to view our profile.  We know that considering adoption is a huge decision, and we admire your bravery and strength.  We want to support you no matter what decision you make.  So, while you are here, we would like to introduce ourselves and say hello.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for considering our family.

We first met at a summer get-together at Russ’ house.  Caitlin’s roommate worked with Russ and introduced us.  Caitlin wasn’t sure about Russ at first, but he was fun, energetic, spontaneous, and the most genuinely kind person Caitlin had ever met.  So, when Russ asked Caitlin out, she said yes… despite him calling her the wrong name (he will never live this down).  

We spent many dates driving out to Grand Haven to get dinner and Holland to spend time on the beach.  Russ proposed to Caitlin on the beach in Florida as we watched the sunset.  We got married in Traverse City, MI, and before long, we had our daughter, Freya.  We have always talked about the possibility of adopting, and are so excited to make this a reality!

As a family of three, we love finding new and fun things to do.  We love to visit the zoo, go for walks, go to the park, go shopping, find fun activities in the community, and have family pizza and movie nights. 

We have a great time together and find family time so important.  We also think that it’s important for each parent to spend one-on-one time with the kids to build an individual relationship and find the things that they have in common.  Freya and Caitlin like to have “Mommy Freya Days,” where they go out for breakfast/lunch, go to the park, get their nails done, or go shopping.  Freya and Russ like to play outside, build things, work on or wash cars, and do yard work.  They also like to go to a sporting goods store to look at the fish.

Hi!  I’m Caitlin.  I grew up in Metro Detroit and moved to West Michigan to attend college. I loved West Michigan so much that I decided to stay – luckily, I did because I got to meet my amazing husband, Russ!

I like to go for day hikes, do puzzles, and explore new places.  My goal is to travel more and introduce my kids to cultures in different parts of the world.  I love to dance, my favorite city is London, I love Harry Potter, and I am a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan!  I have also been teaching myself calligraphy. 

I am a therapist, and I absolutely love my job.  I work with individuals of all ages, but my passion is working with families and kids who have experienced trauma.  I feel fortunate to have found a career which I am passionate about, and allows me to spend time with my family.

My goal as a parent is to ensure that my children know how much they are loved.  I want them to know that they never have to go through anything alone.  I love being a mom, and I can’t wait to share my love with another little human!  

From Russ: 

One of the things I cherish most in life is Caitlin, my wife.  She is one of the kindest, big-hearted people I know.  We don’t always agree on things or see eye-to-eye, but I believe we should all have someone to balance us out.  She is a fantastic mother to our daughter, Freya. She guides her and teaches her many things.  

From Freya: 

• What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?  Snuggle
• What is mommy good at?  Cleaning 
• What makes mommy happy?  Me and doggies

My name is Russell, Russ for short.  I enjoy life and all the moments, adventures, and spontaneous things it can throw at you.  I always look for the positives especially in a bad, unplanned, or difficult situation.  I can usually lighten the mood when others feel the world closing in and they don’t know what to do.  We are all on this great big adventure called life, and we are never alone. 

I enjoy yard work, working, collecting, and driving cars.  I love being outside, no matter the season, though winter is my favorite, when I enjoy snowmobiling, sledding, and driving in empty parking lots in the winter, where I can slide and drift all over.  I enjoy trying to repair something that is broken, as well as breaking something (not intentionally), then fixing it. 

I love being a dad.  It is one of the greatest pleasures in life.  I enjoy sharing my hobbies with our daughter.  We work on cars, ride snowmobiles, fish, and play outside.  I look forward to continuing to build a bond as we grow our family.  

From Caitlin:  

Russ is genuine, kind, and generous.  He is always the first to jump in whenever a friend needs help.  Likewise, he will drop everything to take care of his family.  Russ has an extremely positive outlook, lending to his happy-go-lucky character.  Russ and I balance each other out well.  I do organization and planning; he does spontaneous and care-free!

From Freya: 

• What is your favorite thing to do with daddy?  Go on the side-by-side
• What is daddy good at?  Feeding the pets and teaching me to snowmobile
• What makes daddy happy?  Me

Freya was born in 2017, and loves school.  She is caring, creative, empathetic, helpful, smart, goofy, and so much more!  Freya participates in dance and gymnastics and has recently taken up tennis.  She loves animals, being outside, and doing crafts.  Freya is tough and determined and doesn’t let setbacks get her down.

When Freya interacts with younger children, she is extremely patient and careful.  She watches out for them and seems to enjoy showing them how to do new things.  If another child is crying or hurt, Freya tries to make them feel better.  Her daycare teachers described her as the “mama bear” of the group.  She is always looking for ways to help out younger kids, from picking up a pacifier to making silly faces.  In short, Freya will make for one amazing older sister! 

How Freya Describes Herself: 

• What do you like to do?  I like to go outside, play with the dogs, craft, and snuggle. 
• What do you want to be when you grow up?  A vet and a teacher
• What’s your favorite color?  Pink
• What’s your favorite food?  Mac and Cheese 
• What are you good at?  Crafts 

From Russ: 

The other thing I cherish most in life is Freya.  She is my favorite little kiddo on the planet.  She loves to play, laugh, make you laugh, and try new things.  Freya is my little buddy, though she is quite a mommy’s girl. 

From Caitlin:  

Freya is such an amazing kid!  It amazes me that at her young age, she can show so much care and concern toward others.  She is a great friend, daughter, granddaughter, and niece.  Freya and I share a wonderful bond that I hope will continue to grow as she does.   

We see our home as a lovely place to play and connect at the end of the day.  Living in the country gives us the opportunity to observe wildlife including deer, birds, foxes, frogs, fish, turtles, muskrats (one of whom Freya has named Pink), and more.  In the summer, we like to grill out and have picnics, have a bonfire, go fishing, ride bikes, play in the sprinkler, and jump on the trampoline.  In the winter, you can often find us riding snowmobiles or having pizza and movie night while snuggling on the couch.   

Our neighbors are close friends of ours and love spending time with Freya.  We often catch up at the end of a long day to play or just say hello.  Freya likes to visit “Ms. Ang” and help her garden, play with Barbies, or help take care of Ang’s young granddaughter.  We also like to visit our neighbors across the street.  They have chickens, ducks, pigs, and a garden with fruits and veggies that they like to share.  We also like to swap baked-goods with them, though Caitlin can’t quite keep up with their fabulous baking!   

Freya likes to go to the library.  We go every week or two so that Freya can pick a new stack of library books.  Her favorites are any of the Fancy Nancy books.   

We love our furry friends.  We have two dogs and two cats.  

Marco (named after the city in Florida where we got engaged) is our high-energy Boston terrier.  He is full of energy and excitement but is also the best cuddler.  He loves to curl up under the blankets at bedtime.  

Dino is our newest addition, a golden retriever.  Our entire family had a chance to help with Dino’s name.  Freya conducted a family-wide poll to determine what he should be named.  Dino is fun, goofy, sweet, and a bit of a troublemaker… he is a puppy, after all.  

Olivia (named after Olivia Benson from Law and Order: SVU) is our sassy calico cat.  She pretty much keeps to herself but will always come sit on your lap if you are eating Jimmy John’s or pizza. 

Luna (named after Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter) is our extremely social tortoiseshell cat.  She loves to play, get attention, and especially loves to get the dogs into trouble. 

We are so fortunate to have such incredible family and friends. 

Caitlin’s sister lives outside of Chicago with her husband.  Our family is close with them, and we get together as often as we can.  We like visiting them and finding new things to do in Chicago, like going to Unicorn World, The SlooMoo Institute (the slime museum), the Museum of Ice Cream, and, of course, The American Girl Place.  Caitlin’s parents live in East Michigan, and we see them often, going shopping and out to eat together.  Freya likes to climb sand hills with her Papa when he comes to babysit.  

Russ has three siblings, and his parents live locally.  We spend lots of time at Russ’ parent’s house going swimming, having dinner, and playing.  They are very helpful when we need an extra set of hands to pick up Freya or babysit, etc.  Freya is always excited to spend time at her grandparents’ house.

We like to travel with our families and have been to some fun places – a beach in Northern Michigan every year with Caitlin’s family, and Florida often with Russ’ family.  We traveled to Spain as a family in 2021, where we enjoyed the food and culture.  Freya liked that there was a park within walking distance no matter where we were… even at the airport!

We also love getting together with friends.  We enjoy going out to eat, traveling, and getting together in the summer for barbeques, bonfires, and swimming.  

We have an amazing support group.  As they say, “It takes a village.”  We may be biased, but we’d say our village is the best!

Caitlin:

I remember being a kid and thinking, “I’m going to adopt a child someday.”  As I grew older and learned more about what adoption means, I felt even more drawn to the idea.  A birth parent choosing adoption is potentially making an incredibly difficult decision.  My hope is that through adoption, we can extend the love that a birth mother feels toward the child.  We want to expand the child’s circle of support and love by sharing with them how much they are loved by their birth family. 

Russ: 

I love being a husband and a father, and am excited for the opportunity to raise and be a good mentor to another child.  I want to share their adoption story with them and tell them about their birth mother’s courage in making an adoption plan.  We know the decision is not taken lightly, no matter the circumstances.  We hope to be able to bring some comfort in that a child will know their story and about their birth mother, as much (or little) as she wishes to share. 

Freya: 

What would you like about having a little brother or sister?  Feeding them a bottle, playing peekaboo, dressing them, snuggling them, giving them stuffies … maybe not the diaper.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know our family.  We hope to meet you soon!