Welcome! Meet:

Kurtis + Mary

Trooper / Teacher

Indiana

Caucasian

Christian

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

All About Kurtis & Mary

We are Kurt and Mary. Kurt is a police officer, and Mary is a middle school science teacher and coach. We have been together for over 13 years and are so excited to finally grow our family! We are a very laid-back couple that enjoys both going on adventures to experience new things and also relaxing around the home with friends and family. We love spending time with our two dogs and all of our nieces and nephews! We have been praying for a little one of our own to join our big extended families.

Why Adoption?

We always talked about starting a family together when we became more settled in our careers. We both come from larger families and cherished our childhoods growing up among all of our family members. A couple years into our marriage, we began our journey to grow our family but soon realized it would be more difficult than we initially expected. After extensive medical testing, it was determined that Mary had severe insulin-resistant PCOS. We pursued multiple rounds of medical interventions, but none of them were successful. When we were faced with the choice between IVF (with only a slightly better chance of conception) or adoption, it became clear to us to choose adoption to start our family.

Family & Home

We live in a small, rural town with very friendly neighbors. We love to walk to the town park, especially for community events, and we regularly walk or run around town with our dogs. Even though we live in a small town, we both work in bigger cities with a wide range of activities and diversity. We like that our house is located in a quiet neighborhood with easy access to larger events and cities. We find that it is nice to get away from the noise and chaos as our home is also near many nature trails and open spaces. We plan to raise our child with exposure to a wide variety of cultures and events with faith being the cornerstone. We are Christians that regularly attend church and are very active with our church family.

Kurt grew up in a big family that was always family-focused. Kurt is the youngest sibling with one brother and two sisters. His parents and sisters live nearby and his brother lives two states away. Each year, Kurt’s extended families have multiple reunions and get-togethers, so we are able to see lots of family throughout the year. Kurt’s sister, Kathi, and her husband have two children. We are very involved in their lives and see them almost weekly.

Mary also has three siblings, but she is the third child in her family. Her older sisters and their families live a few hours away, but her brother lives close by. Mary’s oldest sister has two children with her husband, and we stay involved in their lives as well. Though we may not see them as often in person, we have frequent phone and video calls and try to visit with them a few times per year. Mary’s parents are retired and spend part of their time in Mary’s childhood home (close to where we live) and part of their time in a lake home in another state.

Our families are so important to us, and we even have some friends and neighbors that are more like family to us as well. We keep in touch with multiple friends from childhood, school, college, or work. Mary is even a Godmother to her friend, Nicole’s daughter! Nicole and her family live a couple hours away, but we always seem to find time to see them a few times per year. We also love visiting all of our other friends and their children. Our families and friends are so excited at the possibility of us bringing our own child to join in the fun!

How others describe me

About Mary by Kurt: Mary is the most intelligent, hardworking, tough, adventurous, and caring person I know. She has always gone above and beyond for everyone who has had the pleasure of crossing her path. She has the ability to understand what people want or need and tries her best to give them a piece of that. She has become a very adventurous person and is always pushing me to try new things because she knows I will enjoy them, and she is usually correct. She is one of the smartest people I have ever met. She was always near the top of her class both in high school and college. She has had a few different jobs and has always been the go-to person in her career. She has always been hardworking in her career and also in volunteering opportunities. Mary will be a very caring parent who will do anything to ensure our child is happy and healthy.

About Kurt by Mary: Kurt is a goofy and loving person. He deeply cares about those around him and would help anyone in need. I appreciate how he always makes time for his loved ones and is very rarely stressed or shaken by anything life throws at us. He frequently keeps me grounded and is my voice of reason. He is also pretty flexible and tends to roll with the punches. Even though Kurt is very chill and laid-back, when it comes to work, he can take control and be assertive where he needs to be. He can take charge of a chaotic situation and add a calm to the storm. I admire so much about Kurt, like the fact that he is always willing to lend a helping hand. Whether it be volunteering to help with an event at my school, helping his grandparents around their house each week, or taking our niece to gymnastics, he constantly steps in to help. He shows how much he cares by always doing things for me and making sure that I am well cared-for. Kurt will be a protective and engaging parent that will always be looking for new ways to have fun with our child.

How We Met

Our love story is a bit of a quirky one. We did not attend the same schools or even live in the same town, but we became friends while working at a pumpkin patch throughout high school. We would see each other each Autumn and became better friends each season. Eventually, Mary asked Kurt to her senior prom, and we began dating shortly after. Each of us had our college plans in place, so we decided to continue to date long-distance over the next four years. It was definitely hard not being close by, but we visited each other as often as we could. We always joked that we were “too stubborn” to break up while dating long-distance, but the truth is that we are really each other’s best friend. We have always enjoyed each other’s company and have qualities that complement each other. While Mary is the more realistic and rational person, Kurt is more calming and cool under pressure. When life has thrown many challenges our way, we have been able to go through those together and come out stronger on the other side.

Advice to Future Child

We want our future child to know that he or she will grow up in a supportive environment surrounded by love. We want to help him or her to become a kind and empathetic human. We want to include our child in our family adventures and will support any of his or her endeavors in life. We also want our future child to know how much we truly want him or her to be a part of our family and that we have been praying for a long time for him or her.

Perspectives on Open Adoption

We want to be as open in our adoption of our child as our birth mother feels comfortable. We will always be open and honest with our child on his or her story and how he or she became a part of our family. We want to include our child’s culture and heritage as part of his or her life. We also want to include the birth family in special occasions, traditions, or other events as is in the best interest of our child.

Favorites

Kurtis

Favorite Movie: Die Hard
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: watching fireworks on my birthday, July 4th
Hobbies/Interests: fishing, basketball, watching sports
Dream Vacation: A trip to Northern Ireland
If I Could Choose a Superpower: Super Strength

Mary

Favorite Movie: Crazy Stupid Love
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: Christmas Eve Candlelight Worship Service at our church
Hobbies/Interests: fishing, running, paddle boarding, kayaking, swimming, biking
Dream Vacation: visiting all of the National Parks
If I Could Choose a Superpower: flying