We are Catherine and Van! Welcome to our life together!

We are grateful to you for considering us as adoptive parents for your child.

We can't imagine the difficult decisions you are weighing, and if we can give you some peace of mind, we just want you to know that we also want the very best for your child. You can be certain that your child will be valued and adored, surrounded by a community to help him or her grow into the person that God has created your child to be. As a firefighter (Van) and a pediatric oncologist (Catherine,) our life mission is service to others, and your child will learn the joy of helping people from an early age through church and community involvement. We hope that by getting to know us through our profile, we can give you an idea of the kind of life your child would have with us- one full of love, excitement, adventure, music, travel, traditions, faith, family, and fun.

About Us

We met in college at Texas A&M University in the Wesley Foundation (the Methodist Student Center).

We were friends first, and got to know each other's families through trips to Dallas, Mardi Gras, and Disney World over several months before we finally started dating after going on a mission trip to help at an orphanage in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Van proposed to Catherine on Christmas Day, surrounded by family, hiding the ring that he inherited from his grandmother in the gift box with Catherine's new pink stethoscope. Our wedding was an amazing reunion of special people from every stage of our lives, held in Catherine's home town at the same church and reception hall that her parents got married in, with a rehearsal dinner at a Cajun restaurant that Van's grandmother had loved.

Catherine grew up in Louisiana with parents who are both opera singers and voice teachers, surrounded by music all her life. She is a pediatric oncologist and loves making her patients and their families smile, often letting them play pranks on her and wearing silly costumes. Van grew up in Houston and enjoyed learning to tinker on projects and scouting with his dad. He is a firefighter on the rescue truck and finds it rewarding because it is like a big family.

A shared faith and love of family formed the foundation for our relationship, even while spending 7 years long distance while Catherine pursued her medical training. We always have and will continue to choose each other as we celebrate 16 years of marriage this year. 

Our Home and Family

We live in South Texas in a quiet cul-de-sac, surrounded by a close knit community that values family.

It is a perfect mix of diversity- from Southern charm to Hispanic, Indian, and African traditions, and we enjoy them all. Our home is a 2 story modern house with plenty of room for entertaining family and friends, where a quiet dinner at home often evolves into a meal for 30 people. We love living close to the beach, and we cherish making memories by renting beach houses and grilling and having bonfires on the beach with our family and friends.

Traditions are extremely important to us and make up many of our happiest childhood memories. For Christmas, we sing Christmas carols at the children's hospital and nursing homes with Catherine's parents' friends who are professional singers, a tradition Catherine's mother started 55 years ago, followed by Van cooking a prime rib for 40 people on Christmas Eve. Thanksgiving is spent in the Tennessee mountains with Catherine's aunt and uncle, hiking and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Mardi Gras taps into Catherine's Louisiana roots, and we love going to parades with friends and family. Easter is spent with Van's family in East Texas, going to church as a family, cooking a delicious meal, and our favorite new tradition- cracking confetti eggs on each other's heads! We are very close to both of our families and continue to prioritize being together, despite the distance. 

Our Favorite Things

• Favorite food- barbecue 

• Favorite desserts- ice cream (Catherine,) carrot cake (Van)

• Favorite book- Harry Potter audio books 

• Favorite holiday- Christmas 

• Favorite musicians- Catherine's parents, James Taylor (Catherine)

• Favorite animals- dolphins and penguins 

• Favorite movies- anything Disney (Catherine,) Star Wars (Van)

Things that Make Us Happy

• Walking on the beach or the bay 

• Cooking and grilling with friends 

• Going to aquariums in any city we visit- scuba diving with whale sharks, swimming with dolphins and sea lions 

• Volunteering at camps for children with cancer and mission trips 

• Music- going to concerts and musicals, Catherine loves to sing and plays piano, trumpet, and guitar Going on cruises, to Disney, New York City, and the mountains

• Making memories with our families- holidays, traditions, family vacations

In Closing

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us.

We promise to love and cherish your child, teaching him or her to place their trust and hope in God. He or she will grow up learning to look for opportunities to serve others, modeled for them by our work families of physicians and firefighters. Your child will know about their “tummy mom” and will grow up celebrating the selfless decision you made. Lastly, your child will grow up surrounded by a village of love and support, where he or she will be given direction and nurtured throughout his or her life, and we want you to be part of that village.