I recently sat down with Bob and Emily, a warm and welcoming couple from Virginia eagerly hoping to grow their family through adoption. When you’re considering adoption for your baby, you’re not just reviewing profiles on paper. You have the incredible opportunity to actually meet and connect with potential parents face-to-face. These conversations become windows into their world, allowing you to see firsthand how they laugh, how they listen, and how they might nurture your child.
These heart-to-heart conversations help you visualize your baby growing up in their home—playing in their backyard, celebrating birthdays, and being tucked in at night. By truly getting to know potential adoptive parents, you can feel that spark of recognition when you find people whose values mirror the dreams you hold for your child’s future. This connection transforms an impossible choice into a confident decision founded on trust, understanding, and love.
I asked Bob and Emily some fun questions that you won’t find in their adoption profile, and I learned that they’re a warm, faith-centered couple from Northern Virginia who’ve always had adoption in their hearts. Emily, a former teacher with a Master’s degree in education, brings her caring nature and creativity to her role as a stay-at-home mom, while Bob applies his engineering background as a thoughtful problem-solver both at work and at home. Together for eight years, they’ve built a playful household filled with board games, spontaneous dance-offs, and outdoor adventures—from scooter rides to nearby playgrounds to family trips exploring DC’s museums—all while keeping their promise to raise children who know they’re deeply loved and encouraged to discover their unique gifts.
1. If you were a superhero, what powers would you want to have?
Bob – Teleport. I’d use it to travel the world but still sleep in my own bed each night!
Emily – Have you seen the movie Encanto? Mirabel’s mother cures people with her cooking. I would love the superpower of healing! And with Bob’s teleporting power, he could take us anywhere we were needed.
2. What is something from your childhood that you want to make sure your child gets to experience?
Emily – Carefree summers. Growing up, we spent summers with family and friends at the pool and the beach, running around our neighborhoods. We often stayed at the pool so late that the lights would come on, and we’d play until the pool closed.
My parents also carved out a week every summer to take us to the beach, often with friends. We spent our days building sandcastles, playing in the surf, and sitting under the umbrella reading books or playing cards to the sounds of crashing waves. We soaked in time together as a family. I want my children to experience all of that. I want them to experience the kind of joy and contentment I did those summers – the freedom to be a carefree kid.
Bob – Family time around Christmas. My dad would take off extra time around Christmas, and we would go to museums, movies, and eat out. Extended family would usually join in, and I always enjoyed the activities and time as a family. I want this to be a special season for my kids, where we focus on spending time together and making memories, not just giving each other gifts.
You can get an even better glimpse into
Bob and Emily’s lives in their video:
Bob and Emily’s lives in their video:
3. What was your first job? Did you like it?
Emily – I first worked as a camp counselor at a summer day camp. It was hot and hard work keeping a group of five-year-olds safe and entertained, but I loved working with the campers. Every day, they would do or say something surprising, interesting, or hilarious. I continued working for the summer camp during college summer breaks, and it wasn’t until I started working as an elementary school teacher that I stopped. I still remember many of the kids who were part of my camp groups!
Bob – My first job was working for a small construction company that built playgrounds at neighborhood parks. It involved everything from the demolition of the old playground to the construction of the new playground, the building of picnic shelters, and even pouring the concrete sidewalk. It was hard work and long hours in the hot summer sun.
Despite the challenges, I worked here for six summers through high school and college. I learned lots of handyman skills and the value of hard work – and that I didn’t want to work in construction for the rest of my life!
4. What are 3 words your friends would use to describe each of you?
We decided to poll our friends for some answers!
Emily – Loving, Inclusive, Creative
Bob – Hard-Working, Kind, Steady
5. What is a piece of advice or a life tip that’s always stuck with you?
Emily – When Bob and I got married, my dad chose the song “The Secret of Life” by James Taylor for our father/daughter dance. The main lyric is, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.”
As we danced, my dad whispered in my ear how he knew I could be goal-oriented, but he didn’t want me to get so caught up in the destination that I missed out on the beauty of the journey. That advice stuck with me.
It’s been important to me to take the time to treasure each moment, especially the seemingly ordinary ones, and to notice, appreciate, and enjoy the people around me. I hope to live this lesson out every day and pass it along to my own children.
Bob – I don’t recall who gave me the advice, but I was once told, “Individually, you can go faster, but together we can go farther.” I’ve found this to be true so much in life where I can do my own thing and make good progress quickly – only to lose momentum later.
However, with a team, we may not get the same start, but we can balance out each other and carry the load when other things come up. I want my kids to learn that surrounding themselves with others they can count on will enable them to go farther in chasing their dreams.
Would you like to learn more about Bob and Emily?
You can check out their adoptive family profile online. If you’re interested in talking to them as potential adoptive parents to your baby, just text or call Lifetime at 1-800-923-6784, anytime, even right now! We’ll get you connected to talk with Bob and Emily over the phone or through a video call.
Heidi Keefer is a Content Creator for Lifetime Adoption and has over 15 years of experience in the field of adoption. An author of thousands of articles and social media posts over the years, Heidi enjoys finding new ways to educate and captivate Lifetime’s ever-growing list of subscribers.
Heidi has a keen eye for misplaced apostrophes, comma splices, and well-turned sentences, which she has put to good use as a contributor to Lifetime’s award-winning blogs. She has written and published hundreds of adoption articles which explore the various facets of domestic infant adoption today.
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