We (Jennifer and Chris) met in college 19 years ago in 2005. 

We started dating almost immediately in the fall of Chris’ first year. In 2009 we got married in a beautiful garden in Spokane, Washington. In many ways, our story is one of how rich and deep love can be with a chosen family. Our families both live in Washington state. We have decided to settle down in Ohio, building a deep friendship network with people who we rely on like family and who rely on us in turn. We strive to be kind, caring, fun-loving people who like to share our happiness with others. Together we like to do a lot of travel, return to Washington annually to visit our families and recharge on our home turf, as well as watch, listen, and/or play our way through different stories. It’s important to recognize that our relationship is one of consistent and intentional work. We prioritize each other on a regular basis. Bringing an infant into our home will add some new challenges, and we are looking forward to growing together.

ABOUT US

Chris is a high-spirited nerd, who spends most of his time getting into a wide variety of interests. 

He likes to compete in triathlons, play boardgames, watch cartoons from all over the world, go for hikes, and practice Japanese. Chris is a world traveler and he leads a study abroad office, sending others far and wide to learn about our planet, at a university in northwest Ohio. He dislikes doing yard work, but he still goes outside and manages to make sure our house doesn’t fall down. He also dislikes falsehoods and strives to be a genuine person. He also has been collecting clothes from his travels around the world for the child he is looking forward to parenting.

about Chris 

Jen is also a high-spirited nerd, who likes to recharge with a good book, 

a cup of tea, and one of her cats providing her company. Jen likes to go for runs, watch science fiction, mysteries, or adventure shows, she loves to hike, ski, and spend time outdoors more generally. Jen is a writer. Her short stories have been published in a wide assortment of journals and she is working on publishing her first novel. When she is not writing, she is teaching others to write as a professor at another university in northwest Ohio. Jen dislikes people using their speakerphone in public, but absolutely loves thought provoking conversations. She also dislikes the texture of cottage cheese, but she will always try new foods. She looks forward to sharing the childrens’ books she enjoyed as a kid to a new member of our family.

ABOUT Jen

We live in a lovely two-story home in Findlay, Ohio.

The house was built in 1905 and is very likely haunted by lovely ghosts. They haven’t bothered us so far. I bring this up because otherwise our house is unremarkable. It has a great backyard with plenty of lovely flowers, two apple trees, and a robust garden that we pull vegetables from in the summer. Our home is full of books. Big ones, small ones, ones with colorful covers, childrens’ books, coloring books, board game books. We got a lot of books. The house also has a massive bonus room with plenty of board games and space for a small person to play inside, as well as outside.

We have two fantastic cats. Their names are Susuwatari (pronounced su-su-wa-ta-re) and Fidil (pronounced fi-deal). Susu’s name is Japanese and he gets it from the soot sprites in the Studio Ghibli movie “Spirited Away,” if you have not seen it, do yourself a favor. It’s a really good movie. When he was a baby, he looked just like the soot spirits. Fidil gets his name from the Irish word for mask, “fidil.” He is only about four months old, but he has always had little stripes around his eyes that look like he is wearing a mask. These boys love each other a great deal, but Fidil gives Susu a lot of undesired attention.

ABOUT our home/pets