Mike & Shannon
Mike & Shannon
When our youngest daughter was six months old, in the middle of COVID pandemic/lockdown, we felt the Lord calling us to move to a new house. This was not the “ideal” time! Baby toys everywhere, extra challenges with buying and selling, you name it! We prayed and felt like we needed to take a leap of faith.
As a family we ventured out and were able to build a brand new home. The four of us went to the new build one night with dinner and wrote Bible verses on the wall studs of the house, trusting God would be with us for the years ahead. We hope and pray for the next part of our family history, one that includes another child. Our family culture is one of faith, trust, hope and love.
Our Story
Mike and Shannon met online in February 2015 and married in fall of 2016. We enjoyed going out to eat, watching movies, playing board games, camping, visiting family and friends and traveling during our courtship. After we married we spent our free time updating our homes and planning our future. Shannon would be considered the planner and adventurous one while Mike is rock and clown. We enjoy going to marriage retreats, weekly bible studies and frequent dates to continue to grow our relationship and enjoy each other.
We had our daughters in 2018 and 2020; both of them were born healthy and happy! Unfortunately Shannon experienced a serious condition called Hyperemesis Gravidarium during her pregnancies. This causes extreme dehydration, malnutrition and weight loss. Shannon was hospitalized frequently and required home treatment. Since this condition gets worse with each pregnancy, we decided to grow our family through adoption after much prayer and thought.
Our Relaxation & Fun
For relaxation, our whole family enjoys going to the park to enjoy the playground or walk the trails. We also love to play games, color, cook, watch movies, play video games or tablet and visit family. When Mike and Shannon have time to themselves, we enjoy going out to eat, the theatre, and planning projects for the house and garden. Mike enjoys weightlifting, play drums and video games we he has his own time and Shannon reads, dances, sings and uses their master bath tub!
our adoption hopes
Gender: A Boy or A Girl
Ethnicities: Any Race and Ethnicity
Age: Newborn to 2 Years Old
Total of: 1 to 2 Children or 2 Siblings
a snapshot
of us
We Live In: Southeast Michigan
Our Faith: Christian
Pets: No Pets
Kids Already: Two Children Now
Child Care Plan: Family Member Child Care Stay-at-Home Parent
Our Family & Friends
Both Shannon and Mike’s parents come over weekly to play with Madeline and Gabrielle, as well as enjoying family dinners. We spend most Easters, Thanksgivings and Christmases with our extended families. We have several church friends with children the same age as our girls that we see weekly at church and bible study.
The girls enjoy playing with them at their houses, local parks or local community center with indoor playscape for those cold days.
Shannon and Mike make an effort to see their friends several times a year for a meal or movie and connect frequently through texts and calls.
Our Home & Neighborhood
Our family home was built in 2021 in a new neighborhood half way between both our parents. We have a pleasant neighborhood with great sidewalks, lights and upcoming community center with swimming pool, playground, soccer and baseball fields. Madeline and Ellie enjoy going in the backyard and playing on their swing set as well as walking with mom or dad to their friends house around the corner to play. We are hoping to expand our gardens and backyard entertaining space over the next few years so we can be outside as much as possible!
Education
Shannon and Mike have chosen to homeschool their children in order to ensure they have a well rounded education that includes: faith, math, reading, language, history, life skills (cooking, cleaning, budgeting, etc.), music, nature and more. Shannon worked in public schools for years as a speech language pathologist and her mother is a retired public school teacher. The girls enjoy several opportunities to socialize with their peers through church, Awana, ballet, swimming and frequent play dates.
Correction & Discipline
We believe that behaviors are a form of communication and therefore the need should be addressed when assessing type of discipline. When our daughters exhibit behaviors that are dangerous to themselves or others they are removed from the situation and then the event is discussed and consequence is determined. We bring back the event to the core issues (disrespect, danger, etc.) and try to use it as a teachable moment for us all.
Our Faith Views
Mike and Shannon have strong relationships with Jesus Christ, our Savior. They were both raised Lutheran but now attend a local Baptist Church. Mike volunteers frequently as tech support for the services and Shannon is the Children’s Ministry Coordinator and has been on staff since fall of 2022. We as a family read and discuss the Bible daily, attend church, bible study and Awana kids programs weekly.
Mike's Career
Mike works at a Detroit-based automotive company on the leading edge of autonomous vehicle development, where he enjoys the flexibility of working from home as an engineer. It can be fulfilling to see hard work finally realized into a vehicle in the customer’s hands, and he enjoys his role very much.
He works very hard and is dedicated to providing for his family’s needs. At the same time, he is careful to set that boundary and intentionally dedicate time to his wife, his kids, and to the household needs each and every day.
Mike has been working in the automotive industry for over a decade and plans to continue working in this field. He is able to care for the girls when Shannon is working outside the home if grandparents aren’t available and appreciates the flexibility that working from home offers.
Shannon's Career
Shannon first job is homeschooling Madeline and Ellie! When not at home she is the Children’s Ministry Coordinator at a local church and works occasionally in Ann Arbor as a Speech Language Pathologist at an Outpatient clinic. She has always loved working with children and incorporating her years of theatre training in both her speech and ministry work.
Shannon plans on continuing these jobs for many years – as they are both fulfilling and flexible – while she cares for Maddie and Ellie. When she has to work outside the home, both sets of the girls’ grandparents alternate spending the day with them playing and learning.
Mike
Mike’s family is from the Detroit area, with German, French-Canadian, and Scottish heritage. Although most of his extended family was out of state growing up, that prompted his immediate family to be even more tight knit. They attended together Church weekly, enjoyed Friday Movie Night at home, and would camp every summer. In addition, as fans of American history, his parents would take them on extended vacations every few years as well, to places such as Gettysburg, Washington DC, and Yellowstone National Park.
In keeping with this tradition Mike and his family took their first family camping trip last summer, and they had a blast! They plan on making it an annual tradition, changing up the location so that he can show his family the many things this state and country have to offer. They attend Church weekly and are very active members, they visit family on holidays, set up the Christmas tree together after Thanksgiving, and they plan on setting many more traditions as we grow as a family.
Shannon
Shannon’s family is from the Mid – Michigan area with German, English and Scottish roots. Shannon’s mother’s family is from Tennessee, so good food and family has always been part of her culture and holiday traditions. Shannon grew up going to her grandparents weekly and playing with her many cousins. Her family loved to go to church Christmas Eve services, Fourth of July Fireworks at her uncle’s house and yearly family vacations all around the country.
Dear Expectant Parents,
Thank you for taking some time to get to know our family! We are Mike, Shannon, Madeline and Gabrielle. We hope you reading our story will help you in making the best choice for you and your child. Please know that no matter what you choose, we are grateful for the consideration you have given us during this precious time. We hope you have had a good glimpse into our family life and we look forward to meeting you!
- Child Separation, Attachment, and Bonding
- Child Development, Including Safe Sleep Practices for Children
- Behavioral and Emotional Needs of Adoptive Children
- Impact of Adoption on the Family
We want our family to get to know you and your story! Our ideal open adoption outcome would be one where we can all grow and become better people for knowing each other and our stories. We are far from perfect but we love deeply and consider you an important part of our ever changing life story. We do not put pictures of our girls on social media so that will be the same for any child who is part of our family, but we are of course open to pictures and visits as we are able. This is new for us so we vow to continually pray and study the open adoption process in order to reduce any fear or anxiety we have. We hope and pray you do the same so we can learn from each other.
OUR COMFORT LEVEL WITH DIFFERENT ADOPTION OPTIONS
- Very Comfortable
- Mostly Comfortable
- Unsure
- A Bit Uneasy
- Not Comfortable
We want our family to get to know you and your story! Our ideal open adoption outcome would be one where we can all grow and become better people for knowing each other and our stories. We are far from perfect but we love deeply and consider you an important part of our ever changing life story. We do not put pictures of our girls on social media so that will be the same for any child who is part of our family, but we are of course open to pictures and visits as we are able. This is new for us so we vow to continually pray and study the open adoption process in order to reduce any fear or anxiety we have. We hope and pray you do the same so we can learn from each other.
Just one more thing...We want our family to get to know you and your story! Our ideal open adoption outcome would be one where we can all grow and become better people for knowing each other and our stories. We are far from perfect but we love deeply and consider you an important part of our ever changing life story. We do not put pictures of our girls on social media so that will be the same for any child who is part of our family, but we are of course open to pictures and visits as we are able. This is new for us so we vow to continually pray and study the open adoption process in order to reduce any fear or anxiety we have. We hope and pray you do the same so we can learn from each other.