Shannon, Warner & Doug
	Doug I am 40. I am 5'10", have dark blue eyes, light brown hair, and an odd nose. After finishing high school, I earned my Bachelors degree, worked as a youth pastor at a church in New York for a year, then worked as a bricklayer for a construction company. After a few years, I decided to change careers and go into teaching. I earned a Masters degree in Education and taught language arts and math for a few years. Currently, I am the Assistant Principal at an urban middle school. My most notable personality feature is my sense of humor. I can generally make almost anybody laugh. I am sincere and honest. Friends say that I'm dependable and a good listener. I find satisfaction in working hard (at school, at church, or for friends and relatives). Outside of my professional life, I'm active in our community's neighborhood association, and I serve on a planning/strategizing team for our church's coffee shop. I treasure playing with our son, whether it be football (his three-year-old version) or any number of activities his little imagination cooks up. Among my other interests are cooking, woodworking, camping, backpacking, reading, and renovating our house. Shannon I am 33. I'm 5'6" and slender, with brown hair and blue-green eyes. I now have straight teeth, thanks to braces at age 28. I hold a Bachelors degree in Education and taught 7th and 8th grade in urban schools for a while. Currently, I am a stay-at-home mom and wouldn't trade it for anything. Eventually I plan to obtain a Masters Degree in education, but for now it's important to me to stay home and raise our children. I'm a friendly, energetic person who loves to laugh. While I do appreciate being alone at times, I generally want to have at least one other person around to keep me company. I am extremely organized, sometimes to a fault. I enjoy singing, reading, baking goodies, and gardening. Natural health and social justice are among my passions. I also value learning about and traveling to different cultures and want my children to experience the wonderment of new places and different cultures, as well. I volunteer in a variety of ways: I serve on a church leadership team, sing with the church worship band, and help with an after-school tutoring program. While these activities are important to me, my family comes first. Our Son It was while waiting to adopt that we were blessed with our son Warner, who is now three years old. Warner's favorite things to do are singing and playing his guitar, reading, digging dirt, playing football, and helping Mama cook. He uses his imagination all the time, like when he pretends that the chairs are forklifts or the stairs are a garbage truck. He is so excited about having a baby brother or sister! He says he will teach the baby all his songs, as well as how to play baseball and soccer. Our Family In our family, we don't watch much TV. Instead, we'll read, play games, listen to music, sit around and talk while enjoying a cup of coffee, or go for walks. We love to get out and experience the world around us. We go to parks and the zoo, swim at the neighborhood pool, attend local festivals, and go with the grandparents to the little county fair where Shannon grew up. We love to travel and most times incorporate camping into our travel plans. A few years ago we spent a month in a village in Ethiopia, a trip that forever changed how we view life. We hope to visit again someday with our children, and we hope to see other parts of the world, as well. The main interest we share is our faith in Jesus. Our faith is central to who we are and what we do, and we are very involved in our church. Those who attend our church are "family"--and many are even neighbors! Both of our moms and dads are still together after 40 years of marriage. Doug has a brother (who was adopted) and a sister; Shannon has two sisters. Between the two families, our children will have 14 cousins. With the exception of two siblings, all of our family members live close enough to see them frequently. The siblings who live out of state we see a few times a year. Both families have their own ways of celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas together, and everyone comes together to celebrate children's birthdays. Our Home Six years ago, we bought a 1910 3-story brick house that needed fixing up. With lots of hard work and some help from family and friends, we've redone our house and made it a warm, inviting home. On our front porch is a porch swing, and every Spring and Summer you'll see hanging baskets full of colorful flowers. We also have a flower garden that blooms bright colors Spring through Autumn. In our back yard is a patio, a small vegetable garden, and a myriad of flowers. Our home is in a diverse community where many races and ethnicities reside. On mild evenings especially, we love walking around our community, whether it's to the corner store or to one of the many ethnic restaurants, and usually run into several people we know. Even our church is a 5-minute walk from our house. Our home is full of love and laughter, and we desire to share that with another little one. close window