Mark & Genesis

Thank you for taking the time to meet us. After adopting our daughter at birth through Lifetime 5 years ago, we’re excited to expand our family and to share our home and love with our next child. Genesis enjoys being a stay-at-home mom to our daughter and looks forward to showering our children with affection, and Mark can’t wait to teach our children many things, from handstands to fun facts about science, religion and history. We look forward to getting to know you as well as sharing letters, photos, and occasional visits as our child grows.

About Us

We met 13 years ago while out with friends. Mark impressed Gen with his tango dance skills, and we fell in love over many dates and dances. Adoption has always been important to both of us as well as our families (Mark himself was adopted), and we discussed it early on in our relationship as we got to know each other and plan our life together. Three years later we were married, and we recently celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary! We’ve enjoyed many vacations, holidays, and special events with each other and our families over the years. We adopted our daughter, Lola, at birth in 2019, and she has been the greatest blessing of our life. As a family we love to cook and bake together, spend time at local parks and walk trails near our home, hang out with our dog, and have dance parties and game nights. Our life is guided by our values of family, education, faith, and compassion, all things we are excited to share with our future child.

About Mark (by Gen)

My husband Mark loves learning new things and is a wise, patient teacher and a great dad. He is loving and considerate, I’m often amazed by how thoughtfully he shows his love and appreciation for our family and me. For example, to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary he had pizza from our favorite New York City pizzeria shipped to our home in Texas, and for Christmas he wrote a song for Lola (all about one of her favorite things – mermaids).

Mark enjoys reading, fitness, and family activities in his downtime. Lola absolutely loves playing games and running around with her dad, as well as learning how to do pull ups and practicing her prayers. He’s also an incredible cook. His specialty is Italian food, and Lola and I have enjoyed his homemade pastas, sauces, and pizzas over the years. 

One of my favorite things about Mark is his willingness to sit and talk with anyone, to learn from them and to share information he knows. He’s quite knowledgeable about a variety of subjects, including history, math and science, and religion and philosophy (when Gen’s youngest brother was in high school, he used to call Mark for help with his homework instead of searching Google or the library for information!). I love going to bed each night feeling like I’ve learned something new that day, and my husband’s enthusiasm for learning and teaching is infectious. I look forward to many lively and interesting discussions with our children over the family dinner table in the years to come!

About Genesis (by Mark)

Gen is loving and caring in all she does. Every day she wakes our daughter with a good morning song. She always makes sure that birthdays, celebrations, and holidays are special, bringing friends and family together and giving thoughtful gifts.

She is an amazing mom and provides a loving and supportive environment for the emotional, intellectual, and spiritual needs of our daughter. As a former dancer and current yoga enthusiast, Gen has been nurturing our daughter’s creativity since she was very little and is excited to do the same for our next child.

She’s a great designer and DIYer; her style is colorful, bold, and fun, and she’s done many updates to our home herself. Her skills have given our home a unique visual style that many of our friends have taken inspiration from into their own homes. She and Lola love crafting and baking together, as well as decorating our house for every holiday.

Our Daughter & Pet

Our daughter Lola is a curious, energetic, independent 5-year-old. She currently attends a Catholic school (where we attend weekly church services), and since starting in preschool there we’ve seen her blossom and grow so much in her faith and confidence. She enjoys arts and crafts, baking with Gen, exploring different playgrounds, and playing with Barbies. We have a semi-open adoption with her birth mother (per her request) and exchange emails and pictures a few times per year. Adoption has always been important to our family, and since adopting Lola through Lifetime we’ve come to discuss and celebrate it even more, including baking a special dessert together on her Angel Momma’s birthday, and praying as a family for her Angel Momma on Mother’s Day Eve.

We have one dog, Teddy (a shih tzu). She is an active senior dog and tries her best to keep up with Lola’s energy, especially at mealtimes! Her favorite activities are her daily long walk, lounging in the yard or on the sofa with the family, and sitting under the dinner table hoping someone will drop a little treat for her.

Our Home in Texas

We love our four bedroom home with its large backyard in north Texas. We’ve decorated it to be bright and comfortable for our family, from the Montessori style playroom to Lola’s pink bedroom and the nursery (with wood paneling installed and painted by Gen herself). We enjoy eating dinner as a family and playing board games at our dining table with cheerful rainbow chairs (some of our favorites are Jenga, Bananagrams, and Pop the Pig), playing on the backyard swing set and jungle gym, and snuggling up for weekly movie nights on the big sofa in our cozy tv room.

We live on a cul-de-sac in a great neighborhood. We’re within walking distance of multiple fantastic playgrounds, including one set in a charming local rose garden near a creek and another next to our local library, where we spend many happy afternoons attending story times and kids craft sessions in addition to nurturing our family’s love of reading. A number of our neighbors are also families with young kids. We look forward to continuing to make many wonderful memories here.

Our Promise

We promise to provide a loving faith-filled home and family for your child, with the stability and care that will enable them to reach for their dreams. We believe in allowing children the freedom to learn and explore within a solid framework, so they know they always have a supportive network behind them. We’re open to developing a relationship with you and your family as well as sharing letters, pictures, and occasional visits if you’d like. We promise to share your child’s adoption story with them from the beginning and that they will always know they are loved unconditionally.

Our life is full of love and laughter, with two people who love and respect each other immensely and who work to infuse their values of family, faith, compassion and education in everything they do. Our family is at the heart of each decision we make, and we can’t wait to expand the joy in our lives when we are blessed to adopt our next child.

If you would like to learn more about us, please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.

In Closing

Thank you for taking the time to learn about us. We look forward to welcoming your child into our lives and sharing with them our passion for family and fun. Adoption is very special to us, and we look forward to building an open relationship with you in the way that is most comfortable for you. Family is the most important thing to us, and we are excited to welcome your child into our hearts and home, and to love and support them throughout their life.