We have a 9-year-old son, Edward, who is full of energy. He is a kind child who moves easily between groups of other children at school, making friends with everyone.

He loves sports, Legos, and Harry Potter. On weekends, he plays rec league basketball, participates in Cub Scouts, practices piano, and goes to religious school at our nearby synagogue. We don’t allow much screen time, so he puts his vivid imagination to work with creative play, including his own sports games in the backyard.

We had a daughter, Rebecca, who died when she was three months old. Edward was four years old at the time. He loved having a little sister and was eager to help Mom and Dad care for her.

Every summer, Katie’s family goes to the coast of Maine for a week. We stay in a hotel that overlooks the ocean. It’s a great time to escape the heat and humidity in DC, and we go to the beach every day—even when the water is sometimes a little chilly! We enjoy lobster rolls for lunch and, in the afternoon, take a swim in the hotel pool, ride bikes, browse the small town’s shops, or play mini golf. Katie’s grandparents started the tradition of vacationing in that Maine town, and she spent vacations there as a little girl. We are excited to share the tradition with a new generation and teach a new child how to crack open lobster claws and hunt for seashells along the beach.

We met in 2002, our freshman year of college, when we both wrote for the same student newspaper, but we were just friends throughout the four years of college. At the time, we were close friends, but never romantic—Michael even used to borrow Katie’s car to take other girls on dates!

After college graduation in 2006, we both moved to the DC area, Katie for medical school and Michael to work for the government. Katie was new to the area, while Michael had grown up in the Maryland suburbs of DC, so he helped show Katie around the city and helped her navigate the busy city streets.

Over that summer, Katie suggested that Michael take her to his work Christmas party if he still wasn’t dating anyone by the winter. Michael agreed, and when the party came around, he brought Katie, even though she had been dating one of her medical school classmates.

Before long, they were more than just friends. More than twenty years later, we’re still going strong.

Katie grew up on a farm in rural New Hampshire, where her parents, Paul and Margo, still live. We visit for a week in the summer, and usually for a week after Christmas. We also spend a week with them every summer at the beach in Maine. Her parents visit our house in Virginia about every 6 weeks. Katie's dad, Paul, is our son Edward's favorite person. They love playing sports together and eating candy! From her dad, Katie inherited her love of medicine and her sense of fun and spontaneity. Katie's mom helps take care of everyone, and she is also a big reader. She and Katie frequently share books. Katie's younger sister, Sarah, is a lawyer and lives about ten minutes away from us in northern Virginia. She is our best babysitter, and gets along very well with Edward. Michael grew up in Silver Silver, Maryland, and his parents, Alan and Mary, now live in upstate New York. When we had our son, they bought a condo near us in Virginia and visit often, usually every other week. They are big sports fans and love taking Edward to Maryland basketball and Nationals baseball games. Michael's younger brother, Lee, and his wife, Renee, live in Connecticut with our four year old niece, Orla. Edward is a very patient older cousin and is trying teach Orla how to play baseball! We visit them several times a year and usually have Thanksgiving there with the extended Ellis family.

We live in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, about 20 minutes from the city.  We live in a single-family home with a yard in a neighborhood with sidewalks and many young children.  On a summer afternoon, kids set up lemonade stands and you’ll usually hear the ice cream trunk jingle as it makes the rounds!  We’re within a short walk of an elementary school, with an adjacent playground and sports fields, and a longer walk to a coffee shop, pizza place, a pharmacy, and our synagogue. 

Our home was built in the 1950s and remodeled in the mid-2010s in a Craftsman style.  It has five bedrooms, one of which is a spare room on the second level that’s ready to be turned into a nursery.  The kitchen has a large island, perfect for family gatherings, and the backyard has a deck and a trampoline with a full net (approved by the ER doctor mom!) The basement has a bedroom that Katie uses for sleeping between night shifts and a family room dominated by a comfy TV viewing area and lots of toys.

Thank you for taking the time to review our profile and read our letter. We have never been in your position, but we remember when Katie was pregnant. It was a stressful time, with many highs and lows. We pray for good health for you and your baby, and peace for you as you navigate this process.

We met in college in 2002 and were friends for several years until we started dating in 2007, and we just celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary! We both work in high stress jobs: Katie is an emergency medicine physician at a community hospital in our town as well as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard, and Michael is a national security lawyer for the government. We are very different people but have strengths that are complimentary. Michael is endlessly kind and patient with Katie and with our son Edward. When Katie has had a tough shift at work, Michael is always able to help calm her down. Katie tends to be more spontaneous and helps make sure that Michael doesn’t get too boring and still has fun. Despite our different personalities, we share a similar sense of humor and a taste for adventure. We enjoy nightly walks together where we decompress and talk about our work days, and when we have time off, we enjoy hiking, reading, sports events, and traveling.

Our son, Edward, is nine years old, and we are biased, but he is a terrific kid. He has a sweet disposition and is always kind to other kids at his school and a good helper around the house. He loves all sports, Star Wars, and Harry Potter. We have a daughter, Rebecca, who died in 2021 when she was three months old. After her death, we slowly healed and readjusted to our family of three. We both changed jobs, we moved to a new house, and Edward started elementary school. We miss Rebecca every day, but the grief is something that now lives alongside us but is no longer oppressive. As we healed, we talked at length about what we want our family to look like moving forward. We both feel strongly that our family is incomplete and that we have love in our hearts for another child.

Should you choose our family, your child will be loved by two parents and a wonderful older brother. They will be raised in a lovely suburban neighborhood in northern Virginia with lots of parks, neighbors, and close extended family. We are raising our son with a mix of Jewish and Christian traditions, and we would do the same for an adopted child. Our child would always know that they were adopted, and we would update you regularly with letters and pictures. We are open to emails, phone calls, and regular in-person visits as well.

Again, we are honored that you are considering our family, and we pray for the best outcome for both you and your child as you continue you pregnancy.

Michael & Katie