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¡Hola!
Thank you for taking the time to get to know us! We are excited to grow our family of three through adoption again and look forward to working with you each step of the way. As you read on, you will get to know Tressa as the fun mama who still acts like she is a Spanish teacher and Steve as the nature-loving dad always looking to create another adventure. Together we are a fun, loving, hard-working, and joyful couple. Our families and our Catholic faith play an important role in our lives, and we are excited to share that with another child. We are eager to get to know you and to see what your hopes are for your child through adoption.
A Little About Us
We met at a Christmas party nine years ago through mutual friends where an instant friendship was formed. Eventually, after a trip with friends to Mexico, Steve asked Tressa out and the laughter hasn’t stopped for us since. It’s not unusual to find us outside, sometimes even hiking a trail as we search for birds like snowy owls or timberdoodles. We enjoy planning trips together and going to festivals. We also like to play board games and hosting dinners and game nights. Every day is an adventure for us, and we are looking forward to exploring both near and far with our family. We both love learning and passing along that knowledge comes naturally.
In 2021, we adopted our daughter Siena and that is when the true adventure together began. Our eyes were opened through that experience to the crazy way that God could open our hearts to Siena, and also to her birth mother and birth father. We have an open adoption with both of Siena’s birth parents that has made them an extended part of the family and we are blessed by their presence in our lives.
Meet Steve!
(By Tressa) Steve is witty, intelligent, and always positive! He has a way of putting others first, especially when it means making others laugh. He loves to bring people together through game nights, pick-up soccer and bird watching. He has a fascination with nature and has worked diligently to remove invasive species from our woods. He looks forward to teaching our child all about animals, trees, insects, plants, and soccer! I am amazed by his limitless imagination to engage our daughter. I am truly blessed to have such an amazing husband, and love seeing him as a father.
Meet Tressa!
(By Steve) Tressa is supportive, encouraging, and quick to laugh! Her two favorite hobbies have always been traveling and cooking. She is continually exploring new recipes from around the world and sharing them with our daughter. Tressa’s parenting is characterized by her heart for service. She is patient and always puts others first. Our daughter loves Tressa’s impromptu dance parties, and between the two of them it seems like someone is always singing in our home. Tressa is a loving and capable mom, and I know that she’ll welcome a second child into our home with open arms. She is looking forward to teaching our child Spanish, how to cook, and about our faith.
Our Family
Our daughter, Siena, is almost 3 years old. She loves cooking, Irish Step-dancing, and singing on her swing outside. She is quick to laugh, has a lively imagination and is always curious! She enjoys spending a lot of time outside with friends and going to the park and festivals. She is excited to have an hermanito/a (little brother/sister) and we pray for one every morning. Siena is very nurturing and is ready to “cook” and be “doctor” for a sibling.
The majority of our extended family lives a short drive from our home which means a lot of time with cousins, grandparents, aunties and uncles, and our gatherings tend to spotlight great food! Everyone is excited to embrace another family member through adoption.
Our Home in Pennsylvania
We love our cozy three-bedroom home in a tiny neighborhood. It is not far from parks, restaurants, stores, the zoo and other family-friendly activities. Steve has cultivated a natural habitat for animals in our woods and Tressa has a lovely vegetable garden. Our yard is ideal for children to play with a flat grassy area and woods. Our yard is typically covered with toys! We love to host in our cozy home with yummy smells coming from the kitchen.
Our neighborhood is small, inviting, and close to parks, our church, and other families with young children (especially Tressa’s brother, sister-in-law and two young nieces around the corner). We host a Halloween parade, Easter egg hunt, sledding bonfires with s’mores, swimming parties and other events with our neighbors.
Our Promise To You
We firmly believe that God has His hand in this union and our promise to you is to allow Him to guide us in caring for your child every step of their life. We are eager to start to engage a child’s imagination and heart. You are an important and honored member in this journey, and your child’s adoption story will be shared and cherished. We promise to raise your child in a faith-filled home with opportunities to grow in kindness, service, and generosity and a life filled with adventure, learning, growth, laughter and love. We embrace an open relationship continually throughout their lives, if you choose, so you can watch them grow.
We’d love to talk or answer any of your questions. Please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.
More About Steve
Education: BS Mechanical Engineering and MS Industrial Engineering
Profession: Engineering Project Manager
Stay-At-Home: No
Racial Background: Caucasian
His Favorites:
Book: The Rise of Teddy Roosevelt
Bird: Snowy Owl
Destination: Costa Rica
Sport: Soccer
Game: Euchre
Christmas Movie: It's a Wonderful Life
Grilled Food: Shrimp
More About Tressa
Education: BS Education BA Spanish
Profession: Formar Spanish Teacher now stay-at-home mom
Stay-At-Home: Yes
Racial Background: Caucasian
Her Favorites:
Book: The Hobbit
Bird: Quetzal (beautiful green bird)
Destination: Italy, Ireland, Mexico
Sport: Hockey
Game: Monopoly Deal
Christmas Movie: Elf
Grilled Food: Pineapple
More About Our Family
Family Traditions We're Excited to Share
-Celebrating Feast Days of the saints, especially St Patrick's Day!
-Attending festivals like the Irish Festival, Little Italy Days, The Renaissance Festival and church festivals.
-Looking for American Woodcocks (a little bird) doing displays at twilight in the early spring.
-Making palm crosses around Easter, a tradition passed down from Steve's Sicilian family.
-Going out for gelato to celebrate anything!
Birding+Food=Great Travel
One thing we like to do together is to plan trips that incorporate our favorite hobbies of birding and cooking. So far, our top 5 destination combos:
1. Costa Rica - the Quetzal - Empanada class
2. Mexico - Flamingo - Making tamales with an abuelita (grandma)
3. Belize - Lovely Cotinga - Sweet potato pudding at a Mayan cooking class
4. Ireland - Puffins! - Dinner with Tressa's host family from when she studied abroad
5. Spain - Spanish Imperial Eagle - Grilled octopus at an octopus festival
Our Musical Interest
We enjoy country music and going to concerts in the summer. Irish and Latino music are also favorites! It's often that you find us having dance parties in the kitchen or living room and Siena is an aspiring Irish step dancer. Steve plays a little guitar and Tressa has a great singing voice. Tressa has a collection of record albums she likes to break out while cooking.
Un Mensaje Especial
Gracias por tomarte el tiempo para conocernos y saber los deseos que tenemos para criar un hijo/a en un hogar lleno de amor y alegría. Estamos encantados de hacer este viaje a través de la paternidad otra vez y esperamos trabajar contigo a lo largo de este viaje. La adopción abierta es un regalo que queremos si tu lo deseas con visitas, fotos o cartas; será una parte importante y honrada en el crecimiento de tu hijo/a. Cómo Tressa sabe y habla español porque era maestra de este idioma, tu hijo/a aprenderá estelenguaje y también sobre la cultura hispanohablante. Queremos compartir con tu hijo/a, a toda nuestra familia, nuestra fe católica y nuestro patrimonio con él/ella.
Prometemos criar a su hijo/a en un hogar lleno de fe con oportunidades para crecer en amabilidad, servicio y generosidad y una vida llena de aventura, aprendizaje, crecimiento, risa, amor y buena comida. Si deseas saber más sobre nosotros o simplemente hablar con nosotros, nos encantaría conocerte más.
In Closing
Thank you for taking the time to read about our family! Adoption is a big part of our lives because our daughter is adopted, and every day we are thankful that God has called us to this path. This is just a little look into our lives, but we are ready to share so much more. We are eager to get to know you and to see what your hopes are for your child through adoption. We are open to continuing a relationship with you, if you desire, through occasional visits, calls and a lot of photos!