Welcome! Meet:

Ted + Debbie

Lawyer / Editor

New York

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

All About Ted & Debbie

When we think about family, we often think about how family is like a quilt—a beautiful whole, stitched together with love and respect, but without any one block losing its uniqueness. In our case, our quilt is well-established in many ways. We have been together for 10 years and envision sharing all that love, respect, and warmth with a child. We hope to show you the building blocks of our own quilt and the stitches of love we plan to sew. Adoption (open adoption, too, if that’s what you want) is a natural choice for us because we have not been able to have a biological child and because Debbie’s older brothers and Ted’s cousin were adopted.

Our friends say: “They are both warm and kind with a sense of whimsy that enchant my kids.”

“They always seem to work as a team and their calmness seems to rub off on any kid around them.”

Why Adoption?

Adoption (open adoption, too, if that’s what you want) is a natural choice for us because we have not been able to have a biological child and because Debbie’s older brothers and Ted’s cousin were adopted.

Family & Home

We live in NYC and both work from home (Debbie is an editor and Ted is a lawyer). We live a block from Central Park, and we walk there daily. We love to cook, enjoy all the art and music the city has to offer, and we both still love trivia contests—we can’t wait to share all of this with our child. We also envision baking cookies and doing yoga with a son or daughter and having him or her ride bikes in the park with the many other young kids in our neighborhood. Our child won’t lack for playmates since we also have tons of friends close by with young kids. We also think that having a close extended family is important—Ted’s sister, nephews, and parents (who can’t wait to be grandparents again) all live nearby. We love all that the city has to offer, like great museums, art, music, food from all over the world, and Broadway shows. We cannot wait to share all of this with a child.

Our favorite part of the city is Central Park. We love hiking through the park and watching the birds and turtles. It makes us feel like we’re a million miles from the city. The park also has amazing playgrounds and its very own zoo! We go there every day and are excited to share nature with a little one.

Last year, we moved into a family-friendly apartment next to the park that has lots of space and a kitchen where we bake cookies and Ted whips up great dinners and even better pancakes. We love our neighborhood and have a K-12 school right next door. Our building has its own playground, kickball court, ping pong tables in the basement, and an indoor playroom! More importantly, there are lots of young families living here, so a child will have lots of kids their own age to play with! We also think that having a close extended family is important—Ted’s sister, nephews, and parents (who can’t wait to be grandparents again) all live nearby.

How others describe me

Written by Ted

I’ve loved Debbie ever since I first saw her smile. It’s a great smile because it reflects her tremendous capacity for joy and hints at her deep reserves of warmth and empathy. Debbie has also always been extremely curious about the world—she learned French and Arabic and has done a ton of travel abroad. She’s a lot of fun to be around. She loves spending time outdoors and playing board games with me. She can’t wait to share all of this with a child.

Professionally, Debbie works as an editor for a newspaper. She enjoys working there because she loves writing and is passionate about free speech. Her employer is also very flexible about scheduling and working from home. However, Debbie’s virtues shine through the strongest when she’s around kids. They bring out Debbie’s sense of creativity—she’s always making up songs, stories, and games that endear her to kids everywhere. She’s very nurturing and patient with kids, and any child would be lucky to have her for a mom.

Written by Debbie

Ted is warm and caring and will make a great father. He emanates a sense of calm and welcoming that kids pick up on—they are quick to gravitate to him at gatherings. I love that he is a glass-half-full optimist. What stood out for me when we met was his sense of humor, and we have a life full of laughter. He is devoted to family, and he enjoys consistent, meaningful family time.

Ted has traveled around the world, and he has an entirely different perspective from me that leads me to consider situations differently. I can already see how great this will be for a child who is growing and exploring, and how it will nurture curiosity. He loves being a lawyer and using his skills to help people. Ted also has a love of sports that is contagious. I know he’ll love sharing this passion with a child by going to games and playing frisbee and soccer with his child in the park. He is a joy to be around when things are great, and he is steadfast when things aren’t going perfectly. Plus, he loves to cook and he makes amazing chocolate chip cookies. He is great Dad material.

How We Met

When we first met at a trivia contest, Ted mentioned that he grew up in Rochester and Debbie excitedly asked if that was near the old Jell-O factory, which had been in the news that day. Once we started talking, we hit it off and the rest was history. We have been married for almost nine years and together for 10 years.

Advice to Future Child

> We will provide an environment of love, safety and support that will allow your child to thrive.

> We promise that your child will always know their entire life story, beginning with you and your selfless love for them. We promise to share our love of education and curiosity about the world, especially our love of books.

> We promise to nurture your child’s love for art and music and innate sense of creativity.

> We promise to share our love of the outdoors and healthy living with your child.

> We promise to pass on our values and traditions to your child so they can participate fully in our family and community. We believe it’s important to volunteer in the community and support family togetherness.