Welcome! Meet:

Dan + Colin

Middle School English Teacher / Middle School English Teacher

Minnesota

Caucasian

Christian

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

All About Dan & Colin

Hi! We’re Dan and Colin, two middle school teachers who live in New Brighton, MN. We cannot express how humbled and grateful we are for you taking the time to hear our story and our reasons for wanting to share our lives with your little one.

As parents, we want to provide a safe and supportive home where our child feels valued and loved, exactly as they are. As teachers, we believe that a strong education will help them discover themselves, pursue their passions, and open up opportunities to explore the world. We can’t wait to meet you!

Why Adoption?

We are excited to grow our family and are unable to have children of our own.

Family & Home

We live in a beautiful old home on a woodsy dead-end street in New Brighton, MN, about twenty minutes north of downtown Minneapolis. We love a good house project, and have been updating and remodeling our space since we moved in during the winter of 2020. Kids use our street to play games, and our neighborhood has regular movie nights, potlucks, and bonfires. It’s the perfect blend of nature and community.

Our child will attend Mounds View Public Schools, which is ranked as one of the best school districts in Minnesota. Both Dan and Colin teach in the district, and, because of our jobs, we are lucky to feel very plugged into the community.

We truly believe our community is one of our greatest strengths as a couple, so we have made spending time with family and friends a priority in our life and will continue to do the same when we have a child. Colin’s parents live 40 minutes away and are thrilled to become doting grandparents. We love spending long weekends with Dan’s brother’s family and are excited for the memories our child will make with their cousins, uncles, and aunt. In the cities, we have a close-knit group of friends from high school and college who are almost as excited for our new family member as we are. We are surrounded by love and want to share that with our child.

Both of us have spent time around kids our whole lives. We’ve had the joy of watching our nieces and nephew as they’ve grown up, from babysitting them as infants to taking them to explore the world as pre-teens. Dan spent his own teenage years working at a daycare center with toddlers, while Colin spent summers working at a YMCA camp with kindergartners (wee-backpackers) to middle schoolers. Because we’re both middle school teachers, we feel uniquely prepared for those tumultuous teenage years. We’re no strangers to meltdowns, friendship feuds, and emotional rollercoasters.

How others describe me

About Colin (by Dan)

More than anyone I’ve ever met, Colin possesses the ability to relate to others, making them feel seen and heard. Within minutes of meeting him, people often find themselves laughing and enjoying his easy-going humor. He’s the sort of open person who lets his creativity and joy radiate toward anyone lucky enough to be around him. Whether he’s bursting into a song he made up on the spot or throwing together a cheeseboard for friends he spontaneously invited over, Colin knows how to love life and bring everyone along for the ride.

I am so excited for Colin to become a father, and I have no doubt that he will be incredible at it. Kids love him. Our nieces and nephew adore playing games with him, dressing up in silly costumes, and having heartfelt conversations about what matters most to them. When Colin and I go to a school event—or for that matter, the grocery store—Colin’s current and former students mob him and gush about how much they’ve missed him. He’s the most loving and patient man I’ve ever met, and I’m so lucky I get to raise a child with him.

About Dan (by Colin)

Dan is, truly, one of the best people I have ever known. He has a passion for life that is infectious and sincere and he loves fiercely and genuinely. He is a true friend who gives of himself in so many ways to so many people. From sitting on the couch catching up over coffee to traveling across the country to keep relationships healthy and strong, Dan will be there for you with listening ears, an open heart, and a loving smile.

Dan and I often joke about the other being the “better dad” when the time comes, but mine is never actually a joke. Dan is going to be an incredible father and knowing that makes me want to do everything I can to get on his level. The compassion and kindness he has shown his whole life is inspiring and I cannot wait to see what that will look like when he gets to give that love to our child.

How We Met

We met in the summer of 2015 over beers at a brewery, and quickly bonded over our shared love of books (Harry Potter made the conversation on date one), the outdoors, and board games. Dan was drawn to Colin’s sense of humor and confidence, while Colin was delighted by how thoughtful and clever Dan was.

In 2017, we got married and bought our first home together. We quickly learned that when we combine Dan’s determination with Colin’s creativity, we can do anything. We built a deck, started multiple gardens, learned how to cook together in a small space, and adopted a furry, floppy rescue dog.

In 2020, we moved to New Brighton, MN to be part of the community we teach in. We’ve loved settling in to our forever home and have been working on projects from day one. Our neighborhood has the feel of a “small town” with access to all the “big city” (if you consider Minneapolis a big city) has to offer, and we believe it will be the perfect place to raise a child.

Advice to Future Child

Never forget that you are loved. Learn who you are as a person and do your best to accept yourself exactly as you are.

Perspectives on Open Adoption

We want our child to have access to experiences and people that reflect their racial and ethnic background, and we will undergo any learning necessary to help them celebrate their identity and cultural history. We are committed to maintaining openness regarding our child’s adoptive identity, including maintaining a relationship with their birth parent(s).

We look forward to getting to know you!

Favorites

Dan

Favorite Movie: Parent Trap or The Holiday
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Christmas. I love being with family; I love the music; I love the lights; I love winter.
Hobbies/Interests: running, writing novels, hiking, playing the viola & piano, cross-country skiing, board games
Dream Vacation: We both studied abroad in Italy, and it would be fun to return together and eat our way through the country.
If I Could Choose a Superpower: being able to play any musical instrument exceptionally well

Colin

Favorite Movie: Lord of the Rings
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Christmas (all the opportunities to get together with family and friends throughout the season)
Hobbies/Interests: singing, theater, reading, board games, cooking
Dream Vacation: anywhere on the Mediterranean
If I Could Choose a Superpower: teleportation