We are Brent, Carrie, Caroline, and Madelena (and Mark and Louie) from Long Beach, California. When we think about our current and future children, we often quote Henry Ward Beecher when he said, “A mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.” Only a child born into adoption comes into this world with two schoolrooms to grow from. Both are beautiful and necessary. Thank you for considering us to be that second schoolroom.

We are so excited to share our family with you. We have been blessed with two daughters: Caroline, through international adoption 7 years ago, and Madelena, biologically 4 years ago. And of course there’s Mark and Louie, our Husky mixes–both stray rescues.

While we have taught our children many things, such as the love of animals, how to contribute to our neighborhood, and the love of the University of Oregon football, even more so, they have allowed us into their school rooms. It is through them we have learned and grown into being the parents that we are today. We have always dreamed of having a large family and as we have struggled to have successful pregnancies, we are very excited to grow our family through adoption.

Brent and I met through our love of puppies, but it definitely wasn’t puppy love! Our puppies were friends for a few years before Brent initiated our relationship with a Lego set called “Falling Water” which is a model of a really interesting house in Pennsylvania. He wanted to give me something we would build together. Two years later he proposed on Thanksgiving. He asked me to join his family in front of his parents and grandparents, on a night all about family and being thankful. I said Yes! and every year we take Thanksgiving to remind ourselves to be thankful for our family!

Carrie is very clever. She doesn’t do big or fancy. She finds a way to make it wonderful without a lot of “to do”. For our wedding she scouted a location near Santa Cruz on Google Earth. She chose Santa Cruz because it would be close enough for her Oregon family to drive down, and Google Earth because budget. And because travel and the spirit of adventure is something we both love.

A day or two before the ceremony we hiked to the beach and scouted different spots, this time in person. We agreed on a bluff that jutted out into the Pacific with a large grassy open space. On our wedding day, huge clouds rolled overhead. We wondered whether walking our 70 year old parents out to the spot had been a good idea after all. And then, suddenly, the sky opened up into a huge expansive blue and sunshine lit up the scene. We exchanged our vows, posed for
a few pictures. And then, just as suddenly, the great grey giants rolled overhead.

In a way the whole thing is a neat little metaphor for us. We search for the trail off the beaten path. Often we’re lucky and the light shines through and the world offers up something charming and beautiful to share.

I’m an Orange County kid from the 1980s. My parents had somehow managed to move us into a neighborhood on the fancier side on a forklift driver’s pay. My brother and I benefited from the schools and quiet while learning about budgets and pinching pennies.

After college I moved to Long Beach and began my teaching career. I’ve taught at five high schools in very different neighborhoods across Southern California. Teaching high school offers an intense workday, but also free time and summers off. The rhythm of the seasons is a real experience where everything has “a time and a place” (a saying my grandparents were fond of repeating). With my teacher’s work schedule, I look forward to summertime when I get in lots of playing time with the kids, visiting family, and enjoying hobbies and interests.

If my heart is the school room, Brent is the best teacher I could have ever imagined. Brent has an amazing ability to tell an interesting fact about just about anything. Every night before bed Brent sits with the girls in the “Reading Room” and spends an hour or so reading with them, talking about ideas, or just looking up information on different topics and questions they have. I look forward to the day that we will have a third child that he can share his love of learning with.

Being the youngest of five children I grew up always knowing that I wanted a big family. I grew up on a pet farm in rural Gresham, Oregon. Because of my childhood I developed a love for the outdoors and, later, a love for traveling to see the world.

I first came to Long Beach, California in college, and it was love at first sight. Long Beach has a laid back and friendly vibe with great weather! After finishing college at University of Oregon (Go Ducks!) I got a job as a medical sales representative. Little did I know it’s a dream job for a mother of young children. I work from home and plan my own schedule which allows me to take our kids to school in the morning and when I pick them up, we spend our afternoon going on adventures.

Carrie is my rock. She’s steadfast. She lifts me up me when I may be tired or worn down, and she shares that light with so many others. Wherever we live, she becomes a center of a small community—drawing neighbors out into conversations, playing with pups, and making space for all the kids to come out and play. She has been the key organizer of two block parties and loves building communities wherever we live!

If there’s one thing she loves more than any other, it’s being a mom. It was a long and surprisingly difficult road to motherhood. And maybe for that reason, she enjoys each and every day with the kids. She is always sharing funny things the kids say or little things they do. I can’t wait to grow our family through adoption with Carrie by my side!

Our sweet Caroline came to us on a snowy Christmas Eve in 2014. She was 4 months old and living in an orphanage in a small town in central Ukraine. Meeting her can only be described as flying on a cloud. She has turned out to be even more amazing than we imagined that day. Her attention to detail is out of this world. As an example, she has never (not once!) put her shoes on the wrong feet. Her sister, Madelena, is exactly the opposite. She cannot get her shoes on the correct feet to save her life. She has no attention to detail whatsoever, but she is a loving comedian who brings joy and a little craziness to our lives. Both girls are very excited about having a little sibling. Cara says she wants to “teach the baby about dinosaurs and Paw Patrol.” While Maddie said, “She will make sure the baby has a car seat so it can go everywhere with us, since babies can't walk.”

Both of our dogs are Husky mixes from the streets. We found Mark in an alley near our house and when we couldn’t find his owners he became our introduction to the Husky breed. And what an introduction it was: he destroyed our house many times over! We had to take him to the dog park twice a day for two years before he finally calmed down and became the best dog ever. When a friend of ours found Louie behind a dumpster outside a grocery store and was not able to handle the energy of his breed, we brought him into our little pack. Thankfully, he doesn't have the energy of Mark and became a calm, easy dog. Both Mark and Louie are great with the girls. They put up with almost anything from them and give them lots of kisses in return. They are excellent nappers. And Mark makes for a great doorbell—alerting us to who might be at the door: friend or stranger.

We live in Long Beach, California, about 30 minutes south of Los Angeles. Our home is on a tiny cul-de-sac street. It is the kind of street we always wished we had growing up, and being able to provide that safe group experience for our children is the best we could ask for. We have an amazing community of families on our street. We all come from different places and have two things in common: we love our children and we love our street.

Extended family is something we have a lot of! Nearby Brent has one brother as well as his cousin Amy who we see on holidays and throughout the year. Brent’s mother Debbie (also lovingly known as “Grandmama”) can’t wait to help take care of a new grandchild the way she did with Cara and Maddie. Carrie has four brothers with children, so when we all get together there are twenty-five of us! Her closest brother, Chris has two girls within a year of our girls’ age, and they are a super tight crew. With Carrie’s parents, her brother Cory, and her best friend all living in Portland we visit several times a year!

Thank you for taking the time to consider our hearts for your baby's future classroom. We will love your child with open, nurturing hearts and keep the story of where they come from alive. Having adopted before, we’ve grown into a family that shares these stories of wonder and beauty every year.

We’re excited to begin this journey with you of weaving in a new story. Sharing these stories is the greatest part of that classroom of the heart. There is no greater gift we could ask than to bring another child into our home to shower with love.

~Brent, Carrie, Caroline, & Madelena