The Reid Family Profile

We would like to adopt a child between the ages of 4 and 17 inclusive. We are open to boys or girls. Hoping for at least one girl. We feel we can accommodate a sibling group of up to 3 kids. We open to many ethnic backgrounds. We are open to children with special needs. We will teach our adoptive children to be grateful and thankful for the family that gave them life and their past, honor the positives in each relationship, and help them to connect where appropriate.

We hope to connect with children who need a loving family and would thrive in an environment where there are a lot of personal interests to explore, patience to give, and where they can hopefully find peace within them through exploring interests and gradually gaining trust in us... to help them to cope with their traumas and losses, even if it is just being with us and eventually feeling safe. We would like kids who do well with animals, as we have many and they are important to us as family members.

Introduction

Hi! We are Carrie Armstrong Reid (49) and Matt Reid (43). We are a family of four, two older children outside the home (Gavin, 21 and Nicole, 30). Carrie is a professional artist, making work for private collections and established art galleries. We both currently work from home. Matt is the vice president of a data security firm; while he occasionally travels, he works out of his private home office and makes a lot of time to visit with me during the day and enjoy each other's company. We both take breaks from work to have conversations, laugh, update each other, etc.

We spend time outdoors together, caring for our goats and chickens, swimming in our pool together, going for walks and runs on a very long trail located in a town near our house. Matt loves being outdoor best, as he is an avid gardener, fisherman and all-around outdoorsman. We like to travel occasionally to other states, though we have to get a sitter for the homestead, so we usually travel (often) to the many fun and interesting cities within an hour of our home. We also like to have family vacations, where we all go somewhere out of state with our kids. We like to eat at different restaurants, go to museums, art galleries, accept invitations from friends to visit them, and attend town family events. We occasionally go shopping or to see a movie. We drive around in the country and visit farms for our groceries and organic vegetables. We work together in my art studio in the house, and work here and there on a property we bought to build into a gallery, studio and community education building. We make art together, as I am an artist and Matt is very creative and good with clay. We attend church, though currently infrequently because we have been busy, but would attend more often with younger children, as we feel this is an important foundation for the soul. We like to cook together. We like to have family events where we invite extended family and friends to socialize here at the house and enjoy our pool and beautiful setting. We play board games, watch movies at home, have long conversations.

We have many traditions, from the typical major holiday traditions to those so-called national holidays, like Pie Day or Hot Dog Day, etc. We have family traditions like Open Swim Sunday, where friends and extended family are invited to come and use our swimming pool when weather permits in summer... we have family reunions, we see our cousins from California every year... we have game nights, etc... many traditions. I (Carrie) believe that tradition is an important foundation that keeps a family close, and work hard to see that we have a lot of things to celebrate and that we get together to do so.

Home and Community

We live in a rural farm area, but very close to the big cities. Our town is old-fashioned in the best ways, being friendly, warm and respectful. Our town sign even says Where Friendliness is Served Country Style. We are in the woods with one neighboring family who are like our own family, and we know many people in our community not far away on farms and owning local businesses. Our community is vast, because we have also lived in the city and have friends everywhere within an hour radius! We are minutes away from ambulatory centers, hospitals and doctors offices. (Less than five from an emergency facility.) Our school district is above-par; Oxford Schools, uniquely progressive and with amazing extracurricular opportunities. (Please do check them out! They have orchestra, equestrian training, too many to list here! They even have a satellite foster education outreach. GREAT school system http://www.oxfordschools.org.) We are members of Life Time Fitness, a unique chain of health centers focusing around the entire family, all ages, and they have day care, camps, kid activities, great place. The cultural opportunities are endless,between our rural connection and all that is available in the country (horses, animals in general, our community nature center, etc.), to the many cultural exposures in the bigger cities that the kids would have by being a part of our family.

Parenting Experience

We have a lot of experience with children. We have two of our own, have taken care of other children in our extended family (nieces, nephews, etc.), having pajama parties overnight while their parents go out or during the day when they have had no sitter and gone to work. I was a troop leader for Brownies and Girl Scouts when my daughter was in grade school. I used to teach Sunday school when I was in grade school. I taught community education to inner-city children in Detroit when I attended art school. We cared for our neighbors children years ago. A family member suffered PTSD from a childhood trauma, and we helped her to overcome her issues and lead a productive and happy life. We learned a lot about childhood trauma from her.

Support

We have a large support network. Having made friends easily, we enjoy a large amount of them in all walks of life, many with children of various ages. Our neighbors are wonderful, from the ones next door to down the road, and we love and trust them as family. Matts sister has two school-age kids, we see them as often as we can and she is an amazing mother and caregiver. We have many cousins about an hour away in another rural town of every age in a big family, and there are many events and family gatherings there and a lot of love and support. Our adoption agency, Spaulding for Children, has an amazing program of support groups, respite care, education and helpful personnel for us. The local school is exemplary, and has an extended department dedicated to kids with special needs of all kinds.

Motivation to Adopt