Welcome! Meet:

Ben + Erin

Data and IT Manager / Administrative and Communications Manager

Washington

Caucasian

All About Ben & Erin
Why Adoption?
Gallery
Family and Home
How We Met
Advice to Future Child
Perspectives on Open Adoption
Favorites

All About Ben & Erin

Hi! We are Ben, Erin, Monroe, and our dogs, Ottis and Vinny. We are very excited to expand our family and welcome you to learn more about us through our profile.

We live in western Washington near the Puget Sound with both sets of parents in nearby neighborhoods. We both enjoy working from home in a great neighborhood where we can drop and pick up our son Monroe from the bus stop every day. It has been quite a journey for us. We have been trying to adopt for a few years now and are eager to find someone who matches with us. ❤️

Why Adoption?

We’ve always wanted a BIG family and have always talked about having both adopted and biological children, so when life threw us a curveball with multiple miscarriages and one unbeknownst miracle baby (Monroe) in between, we’re hoping to follow through on that plan. The joy we get from parenting has made us even more eager to add to our family; Monroe is super excited to be a big brother too! He can’t wait to show his siblings how to play sports, brush their teeth, take care of the animals, and count.

Our Italian family is filled with lots of love, kisses, and FOOD which is what family is to us – sharing our ups, downs, and everything in between, with a side of pasta. We also fell in love with the notion of open adoption – that a child could be loved and cherished by a larger family and know their history firsthand from those who gave them their lives, which is essential. We are eager to expand more family into ours, build new traditions, and, of course, share many meals.

Family & Home

Our family lives near the Puget Sound in western Washington, surrounded by nature, water, and hiking – just the way we like it! We both grew up in the Midwest, but moved to California in our tweens and met later in life in San Diego; the PNW hits the sweet spot for us, it is a perfect blend of the West Coast vibe and our love of seasons, nature, and a civic-minded community. It’s important to us that we live in a community actively engaged in making society work for everyone, whether that’s physically engaging in community development or simply having a political voice. We have a very peaceful home; there’s not a lot of hustle and bustle but we still have a lot of fun. Monroe, our biological son, is always in some kind of sport. He loves soccer and we coach his baseball team every year. We love getting outside, especially to camp, hike, or take our dogs to the park. You can also find us inside with cards, board games, puzzles, and jam/dance sessions in the living room. Ben’s mother and brother, as well as Erin’s parents live a stone’s throw away. We are always getting together for family dinners, movies, or checking out our city’s next festival. The grandparents are also great babysitters so we can get a date night in, preferably to a live concert 🙂

How others describe me

I discovered from the start that Ben has a beautiful mind. He has a gift for explaining complex theories in a simplistic way. When we met, my interests in spirituality and connectivity which I had a hard time putting into words were explained and validated. He is a natural born teacher and it’s awe-inspiring to witness him teaching our son, Monroe. He also has a way of finding the best answer at an incredibly rapid speed even if it’s just an idea, from selecting the perfect gift for someone to helpful perspectives on hard situations. Ben has always been a nonjudgmental comfort who is easy to open up to; he is a great listener, asks provoking questions and provides thoughtful advice. Most know him for his love for reading, his work with Math, and his peacemaker, laidback attitude. Almost 20 years later, he still stands the test of time. I fall in love with him all over again every time I see how he loves Monroe, his family, life.

When you meet Erin, I think the first thing that strikes you is how genuine a person she is. A rare find these days. She is always striving to better herself, and the world around her. I fell in love with her because of it. It was just icing on the cake when we found out how much we had in common. I have learned many valuable lessons from Erin. Not the least of which is the lesson of honesty. Perhaps as she would say, honesty is not just about telling the truth to others, but about telling the truth to yourself. Living your truth. Erin is one of those people that lift you up and help you reach your goals. Almost 20 years later, Erin is still lifting me up, amazing me with her truth and passion, and making me fall in love with her again and again. Most know Erin for her artistic talents, paintings, and her goofy side.

Monroe is our spunky, smart, sweet son and is the center of our universe! He’s so silly and surprises us every day. The best part of Monroe is his kindness and awareness of others’ feelings. Monroe really loves sports, especially baseball and soccer, playing video games (Mario and Hogwarts are his favorite) and brain games like chess, Dao, and puzzles. He also loves to camp, hike and make smores in the summer with his family and dogs. He adores his cousins Jackson, Mylee and Emma and is always making new friends at school. Monroe recently got a fish tank for Christmas with cory catfish, swordfish, and guppies, it has been such a blast to watch and take care of them. We have already welcomed a batch of new guppy babies!

How We Met

Our journey started in 2005 when we met through a mutual friend at a Damien Marley concert in San Diego. The next day was a twist of fate. Ben lost (and Erin found) his wallet in the driveway of a friend’s house. We met up for lunch to give Ben his wallet, started talking about quantum physics - you know, light stuff - and discovered our undeniable magnetic pull toward each other. There was a familiarity and comfort as if we’d known each other for years. Over the years we bonded over traveling, camping, hiking, live music, movies, baking/cooking, playing cards, puzzles, and just spending time with family, friends, and our dogs.

Advice to Future Child

We want you to know that you will always be comforted, loved and emotionally supported as you make your way through the world. We are here to provide you with the resources and community support that you need to reach your goals. While you go after your dreams, it’s important to do it with pride, integrity and perseverance.

Education is the key to opening doors and being capable of forging your own path; the more you know about the world, the more you can find your place in it. Try everything. It’s important to know what you don’t like, as it is to know what you do like.

Make sure you travel. This will provide amazing educational value that you cannot experience in a classroom. Discover the value in how other people live, enjoy communicating in other languages, and enjoy the diversity in the world while understanding that we are all very similar.

Cherish your family. They will always be there for you, no matter what.

Live your dreams, count your blessings, and enjoy the journey. The joys you will find in life are the little things, not the great expectations.

Perspectives on Open Adoption

Throughout this process, we first chose open adoption because we wanted to provide the healthiest option for our child and equally so, the birth parents. Later, as we heard first hand from adoptees’ stories, we fell in love with how birth families (no matter how big or small) could integrate within our family. It expands beyond the importance for just the child(ren) and birth parents, we want both sides of their family to be one without sides.

Anything less than providing open adoption on our end never felt right for us. Every story is different, but we hope to lay a foundation that is comfortable for everyone to be open, honest and trusted if and when they are ready. We appreciate transparency without judgment in each other and find it to be an invaluable part of any relationship. We also find it equally important to build the best relationship that considers everyone’s values.

Favorites

Ben

Favorite Movie: Impossible to choose just one.
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Halloween (more all the days leading up to it than the night itself though it is always fun taking Monroe out trick or treating)
Hobbies/Interests: reading, reading and more reading, coaching Monroe's baseball teams, being a co-fish parent with Monroe and Erin, hiking, camping, traveling in general, and trying new foods
Dream Vacation: Grand Villa in Tuscany with plenty of travel, gelato, time to read and relax
If I Could Choose a Superpower: telekinesis

Erin

Favorite Movie: The Fifth Element
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: The Fourth of July: it's simply a good time with family, friends, and fireworks on a long, warm summer’s day.
Hobbies/Interests: crocheting, painting, gardening, coaching Monroe’s baseball teams, going to Mariner’s games, vinyl, live music, being curious, spending time with family, and having FUN! My favorite thing to do is see Monroe experience adventures he enjoys, like taking care of his fish and going to places like the circus, Monster Jam, the fair, water parks, kayaking, concerts, the movies, or anything else!
Dream Vacation: Experiencing anything NEW. I would love to visit Lithuania and Ireland as this is where my ancestors came from but would also love to see the Alps in Switzerland, visit the streets of Japan, the jungles of Costa Rica, or bask in the presence of African Elephants (one of my favorite animals).
If I Could Choose a Superpower: wizardry/magic