I’m so excited to meet you! My name is MaryAnne and my husband and I have one beautiful little girl, whom we adopted through a private agency. Before I was a mom, I was a teacher — mostly middle school (my sarcasm and goofy nature thrived in middle school!). I have a passion for teaching and helping others. It was after we adopted my daughter that teaching kind of came to a close.

I knew from a very young age that I always wanted to be a mom. Little did I know that that’s not always as easy as we think it is. In fact, we tried to get pregnant for 7 years on and off. We sought out fertility experts and attempted IUI twice. It was after the final negative pregnancy test, and a lot of tears, that I decided I wanted to skip IVF and just adopt. I didn’t want to take another negative pregnancy test ever again nor did I want to invest more money to only receive another devastating negative test.

Adoption is not an easy journey (hence the blog). After going through the entire process, I definitely wish we had had more people we could have talked to and helped us through the process. Because I have a passion for teaching and helping others learn, I want to be able to be that resource for others.

Through my experience, I have learned not only about the adoption process itself and how it works in multiple states, but I have also learned about how to navigate parenthood as an adoptive mother. Some of these lessons translate to all parents and some of these lessons are adoption-specific.

Because community is so important, I encourage you to reach out and share your experiences, ask any questions you have, and say hello!