My name is Ellen and I grew up in Warson Woods, MO with my parents and five siblings.  I graduated from Ursuline Academy in 1993 and went on to graduate from UM – St. Louis in 2000 with a degree in Elementary Education.  I have many years of experience with children both in the classroom and one on one as a nanny.  I have been married to my husband Brian for eight years and we have a four year-old son Joey whom I have the pleasure of staying home with fulltime.

Brian and I were eager to start a family as we both wanted many children.  As time went by and no pregnancies occurred, we grew worried and sought help.  After much testing we were informed that having biological children was not a possibility for us.  Adoption immediately came to mind and we wasted no time in getting started.  We researched every aspect of adoption from domestic to international to an infant vs. an older child.  After months of research, decision- making, and prayer, we chose to adopt an infant boy from Korea.  From beginning to end the adoption went better than expected. Joey was even escorted to us at our local airport.  Joey just turned 4 and is of course the joy of our lives.

We have been in the process of adopting our second child for 2 years now and things are not going so smoothly. At times we had considered giving up but decided we did not want Joey to be an only child.  Again, after much decision- making, research, and prayer we decided our second child would be from Vietnam. Recently we found out about a little boy who needed a home.  Owen is now six months old and living in an orphanage in Vietnam.  Unlike Joey who was brought right to us, we have to go to Vietnam to pick up Owen and finalize the adoption.  Our stay in Vietnam will be between 2 and 4 weeks and Joey is not able to come with us.  This is going to be a tremendous journey for me, as I am both excited and anxious for this adventure.

“I realized at the start that whether a child is biological or adopted, one does not know all the ingredients in the package.  That is what growth is all about. A child is the slowest flower in the world, opening petal by petal, revealing the developing personality within.”