Hello!
We are Scott & Mary Lisa, and we are the adoptive parents of
three beautiful children... Dylan, Connor, and Megan. We are a
happy, devoted, loving Christian family who want to extend our
love and help to others in the adoption community. Please
allow us to tell you a little bit about us so you get to know us
better.
Why we adopted three times....
We have been together for 21 years and happily married for 19.
After infertility issues, we were blessed with our children by the
loving sacrifice of their birthparents through adoption. We truly
love being parents, and always dreamed of having lots of
children. Growing up in a large family, we know how important
and wonderful it has been to share our love, and all of life's ups
and downs with lots of brothers and sisters (and cousins), and
we wanted so much for our children to have the same.
About Scott....
Besides being a great husband and father, Scott has had a
long and successful career as a Computer Engineer for an
employee benefits software company. His 4-day work week
allows for us to plan special 3-day weekends throughout the
year. As for hobbies, Scott loves sports, gourmet cooking, and
spending time with his wife and children. He loves being a dad
and is truly a kid and outdoorsman at heart. You'll always find
him playing outside with the kids, organizing a basketball game,
or building a snow fort for 10! One of Scott's favorite "dad"
duties is tucking the kids into bed and saying nightly prayers. It is a quiet time with each child that he cherishes.
About Mary Lisa...
Mary Lisa is a stay-home mom first, and second works out of our home as the Director of an adoption agency that helps adopting families and birthfamilies connect for the purpose of making an adoption plan. Her favorite hobbies are reading books by her favorite authors, photography, and painting and decorating our home. Her favorite TV shows are Lost and anything on TLC and HGTV. But, her true love is being a wife and mom. Mary Lisa is beautiful inside and out. She is a very giving person and is always going out of her way to help someone in need, whether it's a friend who needs a listening ear, a homeless person who needs food, or a poor child who needs toys and clothes under the Christmas tree. Mary Lisa's father passed on these selfless traits to her, and their charitable spirit is a wonderful example to our children.
Our children...
Dylan is in 10th grade and has a passion for skateboarding and snowboarding. Connor is in 7th grade, and is practicing to be a pro-basketball player. They both love the outdoors, being involved in sports, listening to music, playing video games, and spending time with their friends and cousins. Megan is a happy and energetic 5 year old who enjoys Kindergarten. She loves to color and play house with her dolls. Megan is a waterbug and can't get enough of bathtime and swimming in our pool. She adores her big brothers and they adore her!
Our extended families...
We have a close-knit family. Our sisters and brothers have blessed us with 16 nieces and nephews! We are always getting together celebrating the many holidays, birthdays, and special occasions throughout the year, or cheering the kids on at school and sports events. Sadly, Mary Lisa's dad passed away a couple of years ago. Her parents would have celebrated their 54th wedding anniversary in October. Scott's parents just celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary in June. From them, we hope to instill and pass on these treasured marriage and family values to our children. We also have many wonderful friends whom we consider part of our family circle. Many of them have formed their families by adoption, and we are happy that we can share this special bond together.
Where we live...
We live in a four-bedroom home on two acres in a friendly country neighborhood in the beautiful Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. Our big private back yard has a swimming pool, large wooden swing set and sandbox, lots of trees, and an outdoor fireplace for summer campfires. We also love to hike with our friends and family through the miles of hiking trails behind our home. We are within a train ride to the big city for cultural events, or a short drive to the many parks and lakes around us. It is a wonderful and safe place to live and raise a family. We adore animals, and share our home with our goofy but lovable Golden Retriever, Tanner, and our three cuddly cats, Emery, Peaches and Diamond.
What we like to do...
We are an active and fun family! Some of our favorite times, though, are the quiet family times we share at home like watching our favorite videos with a bowlful of popcorn or sitting out by the fire on a cool summer night. We spend many summer weekends with friends and family enjoying trips to the beach and amusement parks, and taking our niece horseback riding for her birthday in August. We also travel to Scott's parents' lakehouse in upstate New York where we love boating, jetskiing, watertubing, and waterskiing. In the fall, we enjoy hayrides and pumpkin picking at our local orchards. For Halloween, we put on an outdoor "Halloweenie Feast" (hot dogs, hot chocolate, and a nice campfire) for our neighbors to stop by and get warm while trick-or-treating. Our winters are filled with snow tubing, snowboarding and building snowmen in our front yard. Christmastime is a tradition for our families to gather for a big celebration, and the children get a surprise visit from St. Nick (aka Scott)! We also love traveling to different places each year visiting with friends and family (and birthfamily!) across the U.S.
Our faith...
We are Christian and regularly attend a local Christian Community Church. The Bible is our instruction book for life, and we seek to fulfill God's will for us on a daily basis. We are committed to raising our children in an open, honest, love-filled, and Godly home -- where mistakes are not failures, but good lessons to learn in life, and accomplishments, no matter how big or small, are celebrated and rewarded!
Our thoughts on adoption...
We are open and honest with our children about adoption. We have shared their adoption story with them from the moment they were placed in our arms, and they know their birthparents made an adoption plan out of love.
The feelings and wishes of our children's birthparents are very important to us, and we welcomed them to our family through open adoption. We share an open friendship with Dylan's and Megan's birthmothers and their families through letters, pictures, phone calls, and visits. We understand that adoption touches the hearts of not just the birthparents but the birth- siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins as well. Connor's birthmom wanted a closed adoption, and we understand and respect her decision, however we hope someday to reunite and be a part of her life. We weren't just looking to adopt a baby; we wanted a loving adoption experience that would last a lifetime -- for us, for our children's birthfamilies, and for our children.
Thank you for reading our letter...
We'd love to talk with you and answer any questions you may have about the adoption process. We can be reached by e-mail or by calling 570-842-4655.
May God bless you with a peaceful heart as you make your decisions about adoption.
Scott, Mary Lisa, Dylan, Connor & Megan
Our Family
"Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." Ephesians 4:2
click on links to view our fun family photos!
