Elise In Ohio

I am the oldest of three. I have a younger sister and a younger brother with whom I am incredibly close. I've always been the motherly type. Maybe it was because I was the "big sis". I remember potty training both of them, teaching them to tie their shoes (my brother is right-handed but ties his shoes like he's left-handed, because I'm a lefty). I taught them both how to drive and parallel park, prepped them for college, helped move them into their college dorms, and was always there as a listening ear.

Growing up, I took piano lessons. I love music! I listen to all kinds of music and for some reason, I'm able to listen to a song and memorize the words after only hearing it a few times. I also loved science and lettered in softball in high school. While in high school, I met my now close friend Vickie, who had a baby girl named Mekayla who was born Deaf. I couldn't imagine not being able to talk with her, so I learned sign language and loved it.

I went on to earn an Associate's Degree in Interpretation/ ASL Education. Then I went away for college and earned my Bachelor's Degree in ASL-English Interpretation from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. This is a college specifically for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing students. They only let a small percentage of hearing students earn their degrees there, so when I was accepted, I felt really honored!

I worked as a sign-language interpreter for a number of years, mostly in schools. This made me realize I wanted to be an educator and have more of an active role with children. I earned my Master's Degree in Special Education. Now I'm a School Liaison at a Children's Hospital. I love what I do because I'm able to work with the patients, their parents and their doctors making sure that the patients educational needs are being met during their stay in the hospital, which could be for weeks at a time. I currently serve pediatric cancer patients. It can be very stressful and truly heartbreaking at times, but I count it as being more than just a job. It is an opportunity for me to share hope.

I love traveling! Two of my favorite vacations I've ever taken were to Barcelona, Spain and Florence, Italy. I think it's important to see the world because it helps you appreciate and respect other's differences. One day I would like to take my child to see the world; not just learn about countries and places from books but to experience it in real life. Another one of my favorite hobbies is making diaper cakes for my friend's baby showers.

I live in a two-bedroom townhome in a beautiful neighborhood. There are numerous parks and playgrounds within the area and one within walking distance. I love to decorate and make my home feel cozy. I've already set up a nursery for the baby, and I hope you like it.

I am 7 minutes from an elementary, middle school, high school campus and near one of the best private schools in the state. I consider my job to also be part of my neighborhood as there are Mommy and Me music therapy classes and a day care, even though my mom is already counting the days until she gets to babysit her future grandchild. She is semi-retired and is looking forward to helping whenever she's needed.

I LOVE my family!!! At 40 years old, I’ve only grown in admiration of my parents as I realize all the sacrifices they made to make sure my siblings and I felt nothing but love and support. When they got divorced, I ironically got to spend more time with each of them and developed a closer relationship then I might have had otherwise. My parents always placed me and my siblings as the main priority living in the same neighborhood so we could easily go back in forth between houses whenever we wanted. To this day we still all spend the holidays and birthdays together laughing, talking, eating, and enjoying each other’s company.

About 5 years ago, my brother was married so our family expanded to include my new sister. We all LOVE her and are excited about the possibility of, once again, expanding our family and having the next generation grow up together. I know, without a doubt, that my family would absolutely love, spoil, and cherish any child I was blessed to adopt as a member of our big, happy family.

I’m constantly surrounded by family and friends who are not only beautiful people, but who have been in my life for many years. I have two close friends I have had in my life for 27 years and we still remain close to this day. We’ve supported each other through big life moments (graduations, dating, weddings, etc.), including the birth of each of their sweet babies, who are growing up way too quickly, and affectionately call me ‘Auntie Elise.’ I’ve been blessed to have amazing friendships throughout my life, and they are the most genuine and real people who make me a better person just by knowing them.

Birthdays are big in my family. My mom started the “Birthday Tradition” when we were kids where each person who attends the birthday party says something they love about the birthday boy or girl. She would say, “Give me my flowers now, while I can enjoy their beauty.” This is a tradition we still do to this day. When we decided to throw a big 60th “Soul Train” birthday bash for my mom. Everyone dressed up like they were in the 1970’s with wide-legged pants, platform shoes and big afros. We danced to the music of the ’70’s and had a Soul Train line. The best part was our “Birthday Tradition” video we made of all her friends and family sharing what they loved and admired about her.

Another tradition my family has is with the cousins. My cousins and I are all close in age, so we practically grew up together and they are some of my oldest friends. A few years ago, we came up with the idea to have cousins versions of the holidays so we could continue to hang out with each other. We would get together right after the holiday and have “cousin Christmas” or “cousin Thanksgiving” and eat more of the leftovers and have a game night. This soon turned into ‘cousin movie night’, ‘cousin bowling’, etc. Pretty much anytime we wanted an excuse to get together we would make it a cousin event.

I was led to adopt after watching a television special on the Heart Gallery. It was heartbreaking to see how many beautiful children needed forever homes. As I watched, I remember thinking if I could give a child a forever home what a blessing that would be.