Sean & Maryellen
We are Sean and Maryellen. We are incredibly excited to bring another child into our family through adoption. Anna entered our lives in 2007; she is truly a miracle and has brought us an enormous amount of joy and love.
IN THE BEGINNING
We met while we were both working in the DC area. But it turned out we grew up about an hour apart in Upstate New York. Sean’s cousin – who knew Maryellen from home – introduced us in the Spring of 1999 and we began dating shortly thereafter. That Fall Sean moved to North Carolina for work but we continued to see each other on weekends and during school breaks (Maryellen is a teacher). In 2000, Maryellen moved to North Carolina.
During a trip to New Orleans with our friends, Sean proposed and we were married a year later in Maryellen’s hometown. We planned and put on the wedding ourselves with the sole purpose of having fun. And did we ever. Despite the location being far away from most of our friends, almost everyone who was invited attended. (We should have booked a bigger room.) It was a great time for everyone and turned into a weekend long event.
ABOUT US
Maryellen is a Special Education teacher. Though she has taught at every grade level, she currently has her classroom full of first, second, and third grade students. Working with special needs children is all Maryellen has ever done, and all she ever wanted to do. And she still loves going to school and helping her children learn and grow. Sean is a partner with a medium sized law firm where he focuses on litigation and real estate law. He enjoys his job, and the opportunities he has to help people.
Maryellen and Sean both like to be active and exercise. One of our favorite activities is to go hiking. It’s something we can do as a family and Murphy can join in as well. Maryellen also loves to cook and entertain – the more people at a holiday meal the better. Sean enjoys sports – watching and playing – and taking on handyman project around the house (with mixed success).
We live in a great, family-friendly community. Our spacious home has plenty of room for the children to run and play. Murphy is the other member of the household right now. He is a five year old collie who looks just like Lassie. He has been exposed to children since he was a puppy, and has adjusted well to Anna. It’s like he has radar for children.
OUR FAMILIES
Children have always been a big part of our future plans. Both of us come from large families. Maryellen has six younger brothers and is up to 13 nieces and nephews. While Sean has just one sister, his father is one of six and his mother one of three, so there are many cousins. Though much of our families are out of state, each holiday has its own large gathering somewhere. And many family members like to make North Carolina a destination during the year. (We like to think it’s for us, but the weather probably helps.)
ABOUT ADOPTION
We have dreamed about having children of our own, but God and nature have not allowed us to achieve that goal on our own. The courageous, selfless decision you are making is truly wonderful. Even just considering us worthy of your beautiful gift deserves our respect and admiration. If you do decide to place your child with us, you can be certain that there will be an unyielding commitment to the child’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being every day of their life.
If you’d like to learn more about this family contact us by either calling our birthmother hotline operator at 1-877-890-4673 (HOPE) or by e-mailing us.