Hi! We’re Grete and Brandon!
We’re hoping to adopt!
Learn more about us by downloading and reading our adoption profile book.
We live in Kansas City, Missouri a picturesque town on the beautiful Missouri River.
We are so excited and humbled that you would take the time to view our profile and learn about us.
While the journey for us has been filled with excitement, we can only imagine the emotions you have felt along your journey. And we want to assure you that our hearts are filled with love and acceptance and we eagerly await the day that we can add to our family.
We have a very strong network of family and friends. Within our community we have grandparents, siblings and 8 nieces and nephews, hardly a week goes by when we
don’t get together.
I would sum up our relationship this way: we deeply care about each other’s happiness and we love being together. You know that adage of 1 + 1 = 3? That’s us. We can’t wait to see what 1 + 1 + 1 equals. It will be way more than 3!
ABOUT US
We met in July 2016 when Grete was visiting one of her best friends Tamara in San Francisco.
Grete was in town preparing to run a half marathon. The night before, they ran into some of Tamara’s co-workers, Brandon was one of them. Brandon peeked Grete’s interest immediately because of his beautiful blue eyes.
Before the night was over, Brandon asked if he could see Grete again. Her cheeky response was: “how about you meet me at the finish line tomorrow?” Well, guess what? Not only did Brandon meet her at the finish line, but he brought a rose for Grete and one for her friend!
The next day Grete flew home, disappointed that Brandon lived in a different city. But when Grete landed, she had received a text that read: “It’s Brandon, the guy from San Francisco, can I come see you in Kansas City next weekend?” Grete immediately text back YES (in all caps, probably a bit too eager). Brandon’s visit to Kansas City was full of active plans and he got to meet a bit of Grete’s family. Fast forward a few years later and Brandon proposed on top of Keystone Mountain in Colorado! One of the things that Grete said to Brandon on there first date is that “It’s been about you since I met you”.
“I truly believe that we are stronger together as a couple than individually and we are looking forward to sharing our love with a child.” - Grete
A CLOSER LOOK
ABout Grete by brandon
Grete has a heart of gold. She is kind, caring, and one of the most exciting people I have ever met.
Her smile and positive energy are absolutely contagious, and I knew very early on that this was someone I wanted to have a future with. She is very supportive of me personally and professionally as well as someone who is always in my corner. Family gatherings with nieces and nephews bring me a lot of joy seeing how well Grete interacts with young children. When Grete is outside the home, she is known as the best co-captain on our boat, carrying out her passion for physical fitness, and always seeking her next volunteering opportunity within the community.
A CLOSER LOOK
ABout Brandon by Grete
Brandon’s personality gives off a very easy-going vibe, but under the calm surface lies a very principled, driven and kind-hearted man.
He is unrelentingly sweet and friendly and he is the most honest person you’ll ever meet. I’m not sure I could pick one thing that I admire the most about Brandon but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what most people tell me all the time – his generosity is legendary. He is generous with his love, his time, his money and his kindness. Just recently he spent countless hours teaching our little nieces and nephews how to wakeboard and he even convinced his brothers-in-law to try it too (they weren’t as good as the kids).
OUR HOME
We live in a quaint town just north of Kansas City. There are incredible views of the Kansas City skyline and the Missouri River.
There are great running trails, pool, parks and playgrounds in our neighborhood. We live less than a mile from the award-winning elementary, middle and high schools. We are both very active and our favorite activities change as the seasons change. The summer brings lake life on our boat (and that includes tubing, wakeboarding and just enjoying the water); the fall brings us to our nieces’ and nephews’ sporting events (soccer, softball, baseball, dance and football); the winter finds us in Colorado (we both snowboard) and the spring finds us sprucing up the house so we can enjoy the upcoming summer!
And sprinkled into our activities are times spent with family and friends – including our annual family reunion that brings about 40 of us together every year!
OUR FAMILY
Describing our relationship with our family could take a while – Grete has 4 sisters and 7 brothers – she’s known as #7. Brandon has a younger sister – so he’s Big Bro.
From our 13 siblings are 22 nieces and nephews, ranging from 3 months to 28 years. Both of our parents are still married and each one of them helps model what being a great parent entails.
We are both very close to our families and we get together frequently, especially with the ones who live in Kansas City. We also have siblings in Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, Los Angeles and Denver and Grete’s parents live in Texas while Brandon’s parents live in Wisconsin. We are very intentional about visiting or hosting our out-of-town siblings and parents at least 3 or 4 times a year and we spend time with Kansas City family every single week – especially during boating season as Grete’s older sister also has a boat.
One of our favorite family traditions is the annual family reunion where we all get together for 3 days (Grete is co-Chair of the Reunion Committee, a position she’s held for the past decade). This past year brought us to the beach in Galveston and there were 40 of us that made it! We played Beach Olympics, Family Trivia, Beach Soccer and the highlight had to be The Talent Show (where Adina and Grete won, but it’s under review since their husbands were judges).
There are so many wishes we have for a child in our life: we want them to be kind, happy, loving and to be the person they were designed to be. Our expectations (and also our hopes) are that your child has a profound sense of who they are and why they exist so that they can love who they are and love others without reservations.
IN CLOSING
Thank you for taking the time to learn about who we are and what type of family we will be.
We firmly believe that the obligations of a parent to their child starts with the basics: food, clothing, housing, medical care and education. But we also think that parental obligations go beyond the basics and include providing a safe environment where children can develop their self-esteem in order to grow into confident adults.
We pledge to provide a home environment filled with the basics as well as a safe environment so your child can become the person they were designed to be.
We expect a child will be curious about their birth parents and as such, would be very open to meeting with the birth family after adoption, sending letters and pictures, updates, e-mail and text messages, phone calls and communicating via social media.
DESIGNED WITH ❤️ BY OUR CHOSEN CHILD