Mel and Traia
Hi there!
We are Traia and Mel, a loving, committed couple who want to invite you to embark on a great adventure in building a family together. We have chosen open adoption for a second time to continue creating a family out of a spirit of honesty, love, and mutual respect.
Our first open adoption gave us our wonderful son, Rogan, now four years old, and relationships with his birth parents that have enriched all our lives. We travel to their city several times each year for visits, and they have come up to spend time “on the farm” with us. We have enjoyed watching these two interesting, cool young people grow, and as they have grown, so has Rogan. That he has grown up knowing his birth parents, never questioning who he is or where he came from, or how he came into our lives, has helped to make him a terrifically confident and secure child. As “veteran” adoptive parents, we hope that our knowledge and confidence about the open adoption process will be reassuring as you face the all-important decision about the people who will parent your daughter.
We have been together for 9 years and were married on Valentine’s Day 2004 in Vancouver, B.C. We met in an unlikely spot – a supermarket parking lot – the rendezvous point for members of our women’s off roading club. It must have been love at first sight, because nothing else could explain Traia trusting Mel enough to let her work on her shiny red Jeep after knowing each other for only ten minutes! After several months of getting to know each other while conquering hair-raising challenges on the Jeep trails and learning how to two-step at our favorite country dance club, we knew it was love. We also knew that we wanted to raise children together, but just weren’t sure when or how that would happen.
Right before Christmas of 2005, we learned that we were to become the parents of a baby boy. Rogan came roaring into the world and our lives in February, and nothing has been the same since. He has turned into a handsome, clever young rascal who announced to us one day that he wanted a baby sister and that we’d better “get busy!” Luckily, his “Mommy” and “Poppy” are ready and eager to complete our family. We live in rural western Washington on a 5-acre place we call Paradise Ranch, surrounded by a pine forest and friendly neighbors. Mel is an academic adviser at a large university, and Traia is a medical fiscal specialist. We work hard and enjoy a life full of friends, animals, and country living. Outdoor pursuits - including off roading, horseback riding, gardening, barbecuing, and spending time with our animals - are very important to us. Our family includes three charming cats, a pack of three goofy dogs, two paint horses named Rocky and Spiderman, and about 30 chickens. Rogan is the proud owner of a sweet Shetland pony named Tonto that he’ll be happy to share with his sister. We love animals and think they’re important to kids, because they teach empathy and responsibility better than Barney and Mr. Rogers put together.
When Rogan was born, Traia was able to take an extended leave from work in order to be a full-time mom during the important first year, and we are fortunate enough to be able to do that again for our second child. Since we live in close proximity to two major urban centers, we can provide our children with lots of opportunities to learn by visiting world-class zoos, museums, science centers, and theatres. We also enjoy getting away once in a while, particularly for fun at the beach. Education is a priority for us, and we feel that living in a family involved in academic life will instill the value of learning in our children. We have been teaching a love of language, literature, and science, as well as a deep appreciation of the natural world and our place in it. (It must be working because our son is an outdoor fanatic who is fascinated with natural phenomena.) We are not religious, but have strong values based on the twin pillars of freedom and responsibility. A respect for work well done is also something our children will learn, since we both come from blue-collar backgrounds. We’re not in the least bit snooty and will never lead a fancy lifestyle, no matter how much fortune may shine on us. At our house its kick off your boots, come on in, and relax.
That’s our invitation to you –come on in, be yourself, and know you’re among friends. We wish you every good thing as you make the decision that is right for you and your baby.
Mel and Traia … and Rogan too!
For this family's complete adoptive parent profile, please contact Open Adoption and Family Services.