Emily & Bo In Texas

We met all the way back in high school in 2005, but we did not spend much time together then. We were in a musical together, and I went to watch Bo perform in choir and on the basketball court; yet we did not really build our friendship until 2015 when we met again. This time, we fell for each other’s silly personalities and have been together ever since. We got married in the fall of 2019 in our favorite place, Colorado.

Bo works in the oil and gas industry here in Houston, Texas. Both of our families live about a half hour from us, so we spend a lot of time with extended family doing dinners and morning walks in Houston’s parks and bayous. Emily is a Special Education teacher, and she loves going on adventures with her students as they build their learning. We have been married for 5 years, and we both have obtained master’s degrees. Bo’s is an MBA from Rice University and Emily’s is an MED from Texas State University.

We both love to travel and have been on fun adventures together in new and beautiful places. We are both snow skiers and runners. We get to ski whenever we go up to Colorado, which we both grew up visiting. We love to hike, so when we go on vacations, we usually find fun new hikes all over. We are so excited thinking about taking our children on all of these adventures.

Our daughter's full name is Jacklyn, but we call her Jackie or Jack Jack because she is our little superhero. (Incredibles reference) Jackie joined our family in 2023, and every day has been an exhilarating adventure with her. We are so enthusiastic with the idea of blessing her with a brother who she can play with and teach.

Our little Jack Jack is still developing so much every day, and we love to see her early learning. She goes to a daycare that is very focused on early education because we want her to have every possibility open to her. She already loves dancing, and does so with a huge grin on her face. Mama takes her on runs around the neighborhood bayou or at a few of the parks nearby, and Mama doesn’t have to play music because Jackie loves to call out and point at everything and everyone we pass. She is the music! She also loves helping Dad in the kitchen. They put together great recipes, but of course we give Jackie all the credit because she threw that salt in at just the right time!

Bo and Emily live in a 3-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom house in a family friendly neighborhood called the Heights. Our daughter, and your child, can have their own rooms as well as a playroom on the top floor of the house. Our neighborhood lies in the inner city of Houston and provides us with easy access to wonderful parks and everything Houston has to offer. Houston is a large and diverse city with a wonderful food scene, thriving theater, and athletics.

Our home is within walking distance of multiple family centric parks and the White Oak Bayou, which contains miles of walking and biking trails. Being in the city means we can drive 25 minutes to watch professional sports or go to the local theater to take in the latest traveling Broadway show. Our family appreciates everything that a major city like Houston has to offer and looks forward to sharing these experiences with our children.

As mentioned before, both sets of grandparents live in Houston, so it is never hard to get the family together for play dates, family dinners, and the like. As our children grow up, we know that the grandparents will be there to cheer them on at sports games, in ballet recitals, at marching band performances etcetera; etcetera! Our parents always loved watching Bo crush it on the basketball court, and Emily put on her one-girl renditions of all the plays that she performed. There are also two aunts who live here in Houston, one of Emily’s sisters and one of Bo’s. Everyone who is here loves getting time with our daughter.

Bo’s brother and sister-in-law live in Brooklyn, New York. They come down to Houston often and really love being with family. They have already made multiple trips to see us since Jackie was born just 14 months ago. Then Emily has another sister and her daughter (Jackie’s cousin) who live in Colorado. We all love to go to Colorado because we both grew up doing so, and all the tremendous hiking and skiing there keeps us returning year after year.

We love to travel and do so every chance that we get. For our honeymoon we went to New Zealand. The adventure was wonderful; filled with long hikes, great sights, and learning about the culture. We’d love to take more international trips when our children get older. We also are both big skiers and love to visit family in Colorado. As convenient as it is to live in a big city, we both dream about escaping to a smaller mountain town someday. Aside from travel, we love going on adventures in the city we live in as well.

Emily really loves going to the theater to see new shows and readings with her friends, and Bo likes playing computer and board games, which Jackie has already been able to enjoy with him. He loves golfing as well. Emily takes Jackie on runs with her all the time in many of the great bayou trails and scenic parks around Houston.

From childhood I knew that I wanted to open my home to a child who might need a warm bed and a kiss goodnight. Adoption seems like a wonderful way to grow our family. I am so thrilled that I married a man who is just as excited to open our doors as I am, and I know that our 2-year-old will make an amazing and loving big sister.