Garot and Carrie

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From Us to You

We know we haven’t met yet, but we have been praying for you. We can only begin to imagine the emotion of your situation, and hope that you feel loved and supported no matter where you are on this journey. We respect your strength and your selflessness for considering adoption. We understand that you want what is best for your precious baby, and we do too, whether with you, with us, or with another great family.

We are Carrie and Garot, from Wisconsin and we are honored to be considered to raise your child(ren). After initially meeting each other while working together in college, we have been happily married for the last 6 years. We have always dreamed of having a large family and we are looking forward to growing that family through adoption. In 2023, we welcomed our daughter Gianna home through adoption. We are looking forward to her becoming a big sister in the future and them being able to share their adoption stories with each other.

We believe adoption is not about finding a child for a family, but more about finding a family for the child. You will always be part of your child’s family, and we will always respect you for the decisions you make for your child. We want to thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of your story, and your child’s story. We promise that you will be honored, cherished, and celebrated each day of your child’s life.

In our home, your child will be loved unconditionally by us, our daughter Gianna, our dogs Lola & Oso, our families, and our friends. We can’t wait to read bedtime stories, visit the zoo, swing on the swings at the park by our home, attend their first recital or sporting event, bring them to their first day of school, and support them throughout all of their accomplishments. It is our goal that your child grows up happy, healthy, kind, and generous.

We want to thank you for considering us as adoptive parents for your child!

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Why We're Choosing to Adopt

We always have known that we wanted a large family, and we both agreed that we would love to grow our family through traditional and non-traditional means. We believe that we will be able to provide a child, whether biological or not, with unconditional love, support, guidance, and opportunity. We were blessed with a pregnancy, but unfortunately, we experienced a rare pregnancy injury at 23 weeks that resulted in the loss of our beautiful daughter, Stella Grace, and put Carrie in the ICU for a month. Thankfully Carrie has completely recovered, but another pregnancy may result in the recurrence of the same injury.

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About Carrie

Carrie is truly the heart of our family—an incredible wife and mother who continuously puts others before herself every day. She is always willing to go the extra mile to make someone’s day. Carrie comes from a large, Italian family and is fiercely loyal to her friends and family. In fact, she considers all of her friends as family. She is always making sure family comes first in every decision we make as a couple. Even when life throws a hurdle at Carrie, her strength and zest for life is always on display, rubbing off on all of those who come in contact with her. As a “mama,” Carrie is the ULTIMATE mother. She is always looking for experiences to share with our daughter and ways to give them all that life has to offer. It was very quickly evident that there would never be a dream too big for any of our children, as Carrie will move mountains for her kids.

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About Garot

Garot wakes up every day with the mindset “today is going to be a great day.” His positivity is contagious. He will find the good in every person or in any situation. He is quick to start up a conversation with a stranger, and within a few minutes, they are talking like good friends. He is generous with his time and his talents to help others and our community but wants no recognition.

As a “Dada,” Garot is gentle, nurturing and playful! He can always get the best belly laugh out of Gianna! He is so hands-on with his approach to parenting and is quick to participate in any activities that Gianna wants to try (music class, swim lessons, trips to the farm with baby animals), he is right there helping her learn and grow. He is our biggest support and the strength of our family.

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Meet Gianna

At 18 months old, Gianna is a joyful and curious little one with a bright smile that lights up every room. As parents, we are deeply committed to creating a safe, nurturing, supportive and explorative environment for Gianna, and for her future siblings. She loves reading books, music and dancing. She has a spunky side that fills our home with endless laughter. She loves to explore and she shows her gentle caring side when playing with her baby dolls, which melts our heart to know she will make the best big sister.

We chose to share Gianna’s adoption story with her from the start. We talk openly about her birth family and remind her daily how loves she is by so many. We bought children’s books about adoption to help her understand where her story began. We maintain an open relationship with Gianna’s birth parents and extended family. We enjoyed getting to know them in anticipation of her birth and text often, exchanging photos and life updates.

It is very important to us that we can let Gianna know that we always kept our promises to her birth family, as it is our promise to you, that we will keep our promise to you and your child.

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Our Home

Our friendly neighborhood is full of tree-lined streets, welcoming neighbors both young and old, wooded lots with visiting wildlife, and nearby parks for recreation and enjoyment. There are plenty of growing families and we look forward to watching the kids ride their bikes, trick or treating with friends, going sledding in winter, and watching the neighborhood fireworks from our backyard with Gianna and your child in the future. It’s a great neighborhood to raise a family in!

Our home is a beautiful, 3-bedroom, 3-bath, open-concept ranch with a large, fenced-in backyard. It was important to us that our home provides a spacious yard for outdoor activities and plenty of room inside for growing our family. We look forward to personally decorating a nursery to welcome home your child.

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Our Sweet Pups

Meet Lola & Oso, two very loved and very spoiled rescue dogs who have truly embraced their promotion to big sister and big brother! Lola is a 7-year-old German Shepherd/Carolina Dog mix. She loves to play catch and is so patient with Gianna when she wants to throw the ball to her around the house. Oso is a 6-year-old Golden Retriever mix. You can always find him with a stuffed animal in his mouth. He loves to be pet and is so gentle with Gianna! He often is wa willing participant to her pretend play. He is never far away and enjoys joining mom and dad in Gianna’s nursery for bed time to make sure he is there for her.

Both Lola and Oso have their Canine Good Citizen certificates, which basically means that it is not just us who thinks our dogs are great! They passed a multi-part test to ensure that they can be good dogs in our home and in our community! They both love their sister Gianna and are extremely gentle and patient with her. Their favorite treats are ice cream cones, and they do a great job of cleaning up any scraps that fall on the ground near the highchair.

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Our Families

Family is everything! Growing up in a large Italian family, Carrie has always been extremely close to her immediate and extended family. In fact, if she ever introduced you to her family, you would not be able to tell who is family by blood and who is not, because in her eyes “family is family.” As a couple, we hold that value true. We prioritize quality time and making memories with the ones we love.

Carrie is the third of 4 children. Her oldest sibling is Nicki, who has one son (Carter, 7 years old), her older brother is Marty who is married to Nancy, and has one son (Henry, 20 months old) and they are expecting a daughter soon, and her younger brother is Joey. Garot is the youngest of 3 children and has 2 older siblings, Marne and Ashley. Ashley is married to Josh, with 2 children (Leroy, 7 years old, and Lilah, 3 years old). We talk to our siblings almost daily and try to get together with them as often as possible. Our siblings are so supportive of our adoption plans and have fully embraced welcoming Gianna to our family, as they will with your child.

We are both very fortunate to have parents who have demonstrated commitment to each other through their marriages of 42 (Garot’s parents-Scott & Wendi) and 44 (Carrie’s parents Tony & Judy) years respectively. Our parents have always been and continue to be our biggest supports. They are amazing grandparents! They are all the type of grandparents who visit often, cheer alongside us at each milestone, and provide unconditional love and support to a child in our home.

In addition to our family, we have a lot of really close friends that we consider extended family. Some friends live close, and others far away, but we try to stay connected as much as possible through get-togethers, FaceTime, and social media. They are waiting to shower your child with unconditional love, support and guidance as they grow.

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How We Met

We met when we were both employed at the Recreational Center at college. Sparks might not have flown in college, but we became good friends. Fast forward 5 years later when Carrie finished up graduate school and moved to town for her dream job. She thought she did not know anyone in town but was reminded by a mutual friend that Garot too resided here. She reached out hoping to simply make friends to help ease the transition. Garot swears she was flirting with him. We agreed to meet for brunch but ended up having dinner too because we were having so much fun together. We pretty much knew by the end of the night that we were meant to be together!

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Our Lifestyle

In general, we are an active family who enjoys spending as much time together as possible. We embrace what our state and our community has to offer. One of the best things about living in Wisconsin is getting to experience all four of the seasons! You can often find us attending local farmers markets, exploring the wildlife sanctuary and attending the summer concert in the park series. We believe that children can learn and grow by exploring alongside with us.  We also value traveling to other states and counties. Travel is something we truly enjoy, and are committed traveling with our growing family in the future. Whether a small road trip or an international destination, we are always looking for an adventure to experience new things.

In our home, we enjoy quality time together as well.  You will often find us in the kitchen cooking together as a family, hanging out in the living room, or playing with the dogs in the backyard.  It isn’t uncommon to have friends and family over for a visit!

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Our Careers

Carrie: I have known since I was 16 years old that I wanted to be a physical therapist. Growing up, I loved helping others, and helping others continues to be a big part of my identity. In 2015, I became a Doctor of Physical Therapy and immediately started my DREAM Job in Sports Medicine.

Living in Wisconsin allows me the unique opportunity to care for athletes at all levels of competition: professional, collegiate, school-aged, and recreational. I love the variety of patients that come through our clinic. I enjoy providing personalized care to each of my patients and ensuring that I am doing everything possible to make their dreams a reality! There is no better feeling than watching them return to play following an injury. I will always be their biggest fan, because I know each obstacle they had to overcome in order to get to that moment!

While being a physical therapist allows me to fulfill my desire to help others, it also allows me a flexible schedule. It is a career that allows for a balance between work life and home life. I have transitioned to a part-time role as a therapist to allow more time with Gianna and your child as they grow.

Garot: Graduating from college I had dreams and aspirations to work in the sports community, ideally for a college or professional team. I was fortunate to have a Marketing Internship with the Green Bay Packers following college, but this is where I learned that working in sports was not for me. There were a lot of long nights and weekend coverage that was pulling me away from quality time with family and friends. After exiting the sports world, I began to work in the transportation industry. With the goal of learning the most possible about the industry, I have worked in logistics, operations, safety/risk/compliance, and most recently in food distribution. I really enjoy my job, and I do everything I can to ensure our drivers are keeping themselves and the general public safe while they are out on the roadway. Working with others to build positive relationships and building a safe working environment is the most rewarding part of my job. My leadership role provides me the flexibility to spend time with family!

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Our Passions

Fostering Dogs: Carrie has always had a passion and love for animals of all shapes and sizes. This passion quickly rubbed off on Garot as Carrie convinced him to try fostering dogs for a local rescue. In 2018, shortly after purchasing our first home we fostered our first puppy, and we were hooked! There is something so special and rewarding about finding the perfect home for each animal in our care. Our goal is to foster 100 dogs in our lifetime! We thoroughly enjoy working with these animals of all sizes and ages to help get them ready for adoption!

Our Faith: Faith is the foundation upon which we build our relationships with each other and with others. We believe that faith is a journey that continues to evolve as we grow, both as individual and as a family. We feel honored to be godparents to our nephews and encourage them to grow in their faith. It is our hope that we will help your child grow and develop their own personal faith one day.

Travel: Our Top 5 Places We Want to Visit:

• South Africa
• Italy
• Iceland
• Thailand
• Brazil

Traveling and exploring new places is something we love to do! Whether exploring our city, traveling through our state or another state, or exploring a new part of the world we are always planning our next adventure. Traveling gives us the opportunity to appreciate something new, and encourages our view of the world to evolve. Some of our adventures have taken us to Boston, San Diego, Washington D.C., Nashville, San Francisco, Chicago, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. We are so excited to share our love of traveling with your child. We hope to travel early and often in your child’s life so they can experience new places, new things, new people, and new cultures.

Food: We consider ourselves “foodies” and enjoy trying new types of cuisine. We also really enjoy cooking and have attended a few classes to help us improve our skills. Most recently, we participated in a pasta-making class, and loved it! In summer, we like to attend the local farmers’ markets to find seasonal produce to enjoy in a home-cooked meal.

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Family Traditions

Having a close relationship with both of our families and lots of friends, many traditions are enjoyed throughout each year that provide opportunities to get together with loved ones. These fun traditions are something we are excited to share with your child.

“Up-North” Summer Vacation – Each summer Garot’s side of the family rents a lake house and boat for a week. This week is filled with boat rides, campfires, swimming, fishing, cooking out, and of course ice cream (AKA Cream Crawls!). Being unplugged from technology for a week with family allows us to enjoy each other’s company and continue to build great relationships, especially time with the cousins together.

Birthdays – Carrie’s family is always sure to find the time to celebrate each family member’s birthday! Each birthday, Carrie’s mom makes a homemade birthday cake. Carrie’s childhood favorite was a marble cake shaped like a horse with a flowing, tri-colored mane! “Nana” continues this tradition with her grandchildren and made Gianna her own strawberry smash-cake for her 1^st birthday.

Christmas – The Christmas season always starts with our annual trip to a tree farm where we cut down our Christmas tree. We typically set aside a day or night to decorate the tree as a family, while listening to music and baking cookies, to help get us in the Holiday Spirit. We attend the Garden of Lights at the botanical gardens with Garot’s Family. This nighttime hike though the garden is lit with thousands of Christmas lights and festive music, which is sure to put a smile on your face. We also make it a point to attend a dinner with friends at a hotel where traditionally dressed carolers go table to table singing requested Christmas songs. Each Christmas Eve and Christmas Day we are blessed to be able to spend time with both of our families. Christmas Eve is often spent with Garot’s side of the family, where we attend a holiday service before heading to Garot’s parent’s house. There, with immediate and extended family, we share hors d’oeuvres, exchange gifts, play board games, and track Santa online for the kiddos! Christmas Day is often spent with Carrie’s family, where we enjoy brunch together, exchange gifts and spend quality time together. When Gianna joined our family, we started a new tradition with her where we select a new ornament for our tree that reflects on the past year. We are so excited to create new traditions with another addition to our family and having him/her experience the joy of Christmas!

New Year’s Eve – Ringing in each New Year is spent with a close group of friends. These nights are spent making dinner together, playing various games, reminiscing over the past year, and sharing what we are looking forward to most in the coming year. These nights also allow for everyone’s kids to have quality time together growing their friendships.

Packer Games – Living in Wisconsin we are huge Packer Fans! Each year we attend a few home games and enjoy hosting a tailgate with any family and friends that are also attending the game. Grilling out brats and burgers are a tailgate tradition for us, often handing one out to opposing fans as a welcome to town token. Trust us, there is something special about the atmosphere on Game Day!

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

Growing up, we were taught to recognize, learned to appreciate, and continue to celebrate diversity. We understand that your child’s racial identity may be different than our own and we are committed to acknowledging this within our home and within our community. This will include us continuing to learn and grow as individuals in order to understand how diversity affects us, your child, our community, and our world.

We will celebrate and embrace your child’s unique identity! It is important that your child have role models that reflect their likeness. We feel fortunate to have a diverse group of friends and family who are eager to provide their support and guidance to your child as well as us along the road as needed. We have reached out to specific friends in anticipation of an adoption match to ensure that they will be willing to answer the questions about your child’s race and/or cultural heritage that we may not be able to answer. We look forward to adopting new traditions into our family in order to ensure your child always feels connected to their birthright.

We also chose an inclusive childcare center that is both racially diverse and includes children with different ability levels so no matter who our future child may be, they will be surrounded by acceptance, tolerance, and love! The childcare center also includes teachers that were adopted which resulted in an abundance of support throughout our adoption journey.

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Education

We feel privileged to have both received excellent educations and will provide the same opportunities to your child. Garot attended public school, while Carrie attended private school. We feel both have their advantages, and we promise to make the best choice possible for your child. We also believe it is important to experience different types of educational opportunities. Carrie had the opportunity to study abroad twice (Ireland & Spain) in college and credits her time abroad for instilling her love of travel and her desire for learning about other cultures. Garot had the opportunity to complete multiple field-specific internships, which helped him identify the areas that interested him the most. We will provide support and encouragement throughout your child’s lifetime to help their dreams become reality.

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Our Promise to You

Our Promises to You:

• If you chose an adoption plan with us, here is what we promise:
• We promise your child will be loved unconditionally each and every day by us, Gianna, our families, and our friends.
• We promise to share their adoption story with them from the beginning and to speak of you and their story with only love and respect.
• We promise to raise them to be kind with their words and with their actions.
• We promise to raise them to be generous with their time and with their talents to serve others and their communities.
• We promise to travel the world so that your child can experience new places and learn to appreciate new cultures.
• We promise to encourage them to dream and to support them along the way as they make those dreams become reality.
• We promise to celebrate your child’s milestones whether big or small.
• We promise to raise them to have faith and develop their own relationship with God.
• We promise to provide a safe and loving environment for your child to grow up in.
• We promise to honor your wishes whether they are pictures, updates, letters or visits; your child will always know how much you love them!