About Julie

I grew up mostly on the west coast of Washington State as the youngest child in a close family of four with many pets and friends. My family moved to upstate New York when I was between the ages of four and seven but later moved back to Washington. After high school I attended junior college and then went to university. My parents supported my older brother and I in gethng an education after high school. They instilled in us an appreciation for music, reading, the arts and traveling.

Family vacations while growing up were spent mostly on the east and west coasts doing lots of camping and sight seeing of historical places. During junior college days I was able to take two trips to Europe as a high school student chaperone. My husband, Michael, and I later went back there twice to do some traveling of our own. We spent our third year of marriage living in rural Japan while working as English teachers for the Japanese government. It was a great year; full of challenging yet fun experiences! During that year we also were fortunate to spend a week in Thailand during a school vacation. We have found that we really love to experience other cultures and meet new people.

I met my husband while in my first year at my university. We didn’t go out much until after graduation and even then we dated a whole year before getting married. We were really good friends before our relationship turned serious. It is a wonderful experience sharing life with someone who is truly committed to you and building a life together. Michael is no doubt my best friend. We share common interests, support one another in countless ways and are having loads of fun being parents together to our adopted daughter, Katrien. Michael is such a fun dad! I have seen him show endless patience, playfulness and tenderness. It is a pleasure to watch him and share this wonderful experience of parenting with him.

Since both of my parents enjoyed careers in education it came as no surprise that I wanted to be a teacher myself! A teacher’s interests and schedule is so conducive to raising a family. My dad, being a former biology/chemistry teacher, instilled in me a love for learning about the sciences. I started out like him, getting a degree in biology but, I got sidetracked in elementary education of all things! I have been teaching first grade now for thirteen years. My classroom hosts several class pets and we also incubate chicks in spring, and do a Chinook salmon hatching project in winter. I adore my classroom children. They learn so many important life skills at this age and I love being part of this important time in their lives. I work very hard to create a calm loving. fun atmosphere in my classroom. Teaching is fulfilling but it doesn’t come close to the passion I feel in being a mom!

Katrien was the most incredible gift I have ever received. The responsibility I feel toward her makes me understand why mothers in the animal kingdom are usually the fiercest! I protect her with something inside of me that rivals radar. (Just ask Michael!) I didn’t lay her down for practically the first year of her life because all I wanted to do was hold her close to me. I dearly love to play with Katrien. She is in such an imaginative, stage right now. We have loads of tea parties and play silly games. Since both Michael and I are teachers, we hold literacy in high regard. We. set aside a 'library night' every week and consequently, she has tons of books read to her. Her book shelves are avalanching with books! We spend hours together playing imagination games and every day we invent a new one. Katrien loves music and so do we! Singing is a daily pleasure around our house.

The bond Michael and I have with Katrien’s birthmother makes us feel like we are  the ones who have been adopted into her famity! We have spent time together in each others' homes for short stays three times since Katrien was born and we hope we continue to have such contact with each other., We send pictures back and forth and keep in contact by phone and e-mail.

Needless to say, Katrien is pretty much the center of our lives. She is being raised to have a deep respect in God and we attend weekly undenominotional Christian fellowship and Bible studies as a family. We are raising her to think for herself, be strong yet obedient, learn socially appropriate behavior and to know how to express her feelings.

I usually spend my free time with Katrien and Michael. If I do have, some time for myself some of my other interests are: running to stay in shape, reading, scrap booking, quilting, knitting or tending our yard.

I am so looking forward to being a mom again! As a new mom I will be able to stay at home as long as I like. I will spend my time devoted to welcoming, loving, holding, snuggling, and talking to a very precious gift!

I truly wish you the very best during this time in your life and Ii so respect you for looking into open adoption. I would love to talk to you if you think our family is what you would chose for yourself and your little one to experience and open adoption.