erin
&
BENOIT
hello
and
BONJOUR!
Spending time
in the park
Enjoying
elephants in
Sri Lanka
Preparing for the
Tour de France
We
KNOW THAT PARENTS HAVE
DIFFERENT DREAMS FOR THEIR
CHILDREN. We hope our profile gives
you a good idea of the kind of life we will
provide for your child.
We reside in New York and have always
wanted a multicultural family. We have
lived in several different countries and
speak both French and English in our
home. We bring together two different,
but interesting cultures and traditions
– Canadian, known for its maple syrup,
We
are
Erin
and
Benoit
A CANADIAN/FRENCH COUPLE LIVING
IN NEW YORK AND VERY EXCITED
ABOUT ADOPTING!
cold but beautiful outdoors and of course
hockey - and French, known for its cheese,
Paris and fashion! Your child would have
three countries to call home, as they would
also be raised knowing their American
background!
Wherever life’s adventures lead, we will
always be happy to share your child’s
achievements, dreams and challenges with
you. They will be raised knowing their birth
parents were very brave and wanted the
best in life for them.
OUR STORY STARTS IN 2008 WHEN
ERIN MOVED TO LYON, FRANCE FOR
AN INTERNSHIP. Not speaking a word of
French, Erin was lucky to meet Benoit at
a friend’s place the night she arrived. Not
only did he help her navigate around the
town but he also introduced her to lots of
yummy French cheese!
our
story
&
LIFE TOGETHER
Four years later, we married and moved
into a 200 year old farm house close to
Geneva, Switzerland, which we renovated
as we lived in it. We moved in with only
a partly finished bedroom, a sink and
a toilet, and we spent the first week
building our own shower! We still have
this great home (which is finally finished)
but have recently moved to New York for
work and a new adventure.
Exploring the jungle
We
Nothing makes
renovations more
fun than riding in
a wheelbarrow
LOVE TO TRAVEL AND ENJOY VISITING PLACES WITH
INTERESTING ANIMALS AND GREAT FOOD. We also love
going back to both of our homes – either Canada or France. We’re
both into sports, especially Basketball and Soccer, and have recently
discovered that we’re not bad dancers!
Capturing the sunset
The art of play-doh story telling
Bonding with my fellow primates
a little bit about BENOIT
Benoit
5 FUN FACTS ABOUT
o He has some great dance
moves and does a really
good Beyoncé in Single
Ladies
o He always gets the hiccups
when he eats spicy food
o He is the best hot water
bottle as he's always warm
and toasty
o He secretly loves shopping –
especially for shoes!
Adding some fun
to a sunset photo
o He loves flying because of
the free movies and food
I GREW UP IN A SMALL VILLAGE IN FRANCE. I
never pictured myself living somewhere else, but
then I met Erin. Now I am a computer engineer
working from home and living in New York,
appreciating everything that life has to offer.
Beside sports, which I like to watch and practice
(mostly basketball and running), I also like to
explore new locations. One of my favorite games
is to find a fun way to take pictures; either hiding
in the scene, jumping from a rock or finding some
other way to make the picture silly or interesting.
FAMILY IS WHAT MATTERS THE MOST TO ME. I’m
lucky to share this life with the woman I love, and I
can’t wait to share it with many children, being one
of four myself.
Enjoying local transportation in Sri Lanka
Teaching my niece important skills
Being groomed by a well meaning friend
a little bit about ERIN
I GREW UP ON THE BEAUTIFUL WEST COAST OF
CANADA, WITH A FUN AND WHACKY FAMILY.
I had a desire to travel pretty early on, and have
been exploring the world for the past 20 years.
People say I live life to the fullest, am creative and
non-judgmental. I love to laugh, or as some describe
it, snort, and will try my best not to pass on that
trait to your child ;)
I currently work for an international organization
and love my job because I can help others in the
world. I also love being around animals and usually
plan our vacations so we can see different types.
My family is very important to me. Even though I
live far away from them, we are still very close and
talk at least once a week.
Erin
5 FUN FACTS ABOUT
o She's good at making people
laugh, either through jokes,
goofy faces or bad impressions
o She makes happy noises
when she eats good food
o She loves both Jane Austin
and Star Wars
o She washes cars really well,
as her dad is a car washing guru
o She loves to collect napkins!
Her favorite at the moment is
turquoise with peacocks.
My best companion in
Italy - Gelato
a place called HOME
It is hard to define our home. WE LIVED IN
FRANCE FOR MANY YEARS, WHICH ACTS
AS OUR HOME BASE, BUT WE CURRENTLY
LIVE IN NY. We make our home wherever
we are, because our family is our home.
Our NY patio
Keeping us grounded throughout all our
adventures are our families. Both live
in beautiful places in France and Canada, and we visit
frequently to recharge and connect.
MEET MARCEL & PATRICE
MARCEL CAME INTO OUR FAMILY AS A KITTEN WITH A
BIG PERSONALITY. We’d describe him more like a dogcat – he follows us around, interacts with everyone who
visits and loves to play!
Exploring a local park together
PATRICE STOLE
INTO OUR LIVES
AS A SWEET, BUT
WILD, CAT LIVING
ON THE STREETS.
She was full of snuggles and love, and
we took her home
as part of the family.
She now spends her
days sleeping and
demanding to be
well fed!
BFFs begging for food
Our home in France, massive beauty makeover
a few of our FAVORITE THINGS
SUBJECT IN SCHOOL
BENOIT: Sports
ERIN: Ancient Civilizations
HOLIDAY TRADITION
BENOIT: Mothers Day, my whole family
gets together and we have a fun weekend
ERIN: Decorating for Christmas, plus
doing stockings!
CHILDREN'S MOVIE
BENOIT: Goonies!
ERIN: Hand's down Princess Bride
ANIMAL
BENOIT: Monkey
ERIN: Manatee, snow leopard, lemur,
scottish hairy coo
GUILTY PLEASURE
BENOIT: Chocolate
ERIN: Reading Harlequin Romance
novels from the 1950/60s
HOBBY
BENOIT: Basketball
ERIN: Gardening
DES SERT
BENOIT: Panna-cotta
ERIN: Chocolate mousse
RECIPE
BENOIT: Lemon Spaghetti
ERIN: Fondue
CHILDHOOD ACTIVITY
BENOIT: Doing puzzles
ERIN: Making up my own dances
WE ARE BIG FANS OF FOOD – both cooking but especially
eating! We don’t have a favorite, though if forced Benoit would
choose Italian and Erin would choose Thai. We love teaching
kids to cook and have no problem with a good mess - Erin usually makes one all on her own anyway!
WE LOVE THE SNOW – but don’t like skiing! We both grew up
learning to ski and can ski really well, but would rather drink hot
chocolate, build snowmen and sled. Fortunately with both our
families loving the mountains, our child (or hopefully someday
children) will also have the same opportunity to become great
ski bunnies!
Grateful to see the light of day after our first caving experience
WE ALSO ENJOY THE OUTDOORS – biking, hiking, and camping (ok, more like glamping). In Europe all their campgrounds
have nice flush toilets and hot showers, but we can still sleep in
tents without the fear of being eaten by bears!
the people
WE LOVE
Benoit and his siblings
BENOIT WOULD DESCRIBE HIS FAMILY AS BIG. He has two brothers and one
sister, which he talks to every day. He was 13 years old when his parents had
his little sister “because they absolutely wanted a girl”. And being part of her
upbringing always made him want to be a father himself.
BESIDE THE CLOSE FAMILY, BENOIT HAS 9 COUSINS WITH CHILDREN
THEMSELVES. They try to meet as much as they can, usually twice a year for
Mother’s Day and Christmas. With over 40 family members, it’s a lot of work
but always a great time!
ERIN HAS A SMALLER IMMEDIATE FAMILY, WITH ONLY ONE BROTHER, BUT
THEY GREW UP SUPER CLOSE. Her brother is one of her best friends, along
Classic family photo with Erin's brother, dad & step-mom
Erin with her mom and brother
with her cousins. She considers their kids her nieces and nephews, and loves
to visit and play with them. Erin’s mom is everyone’s favorite graunty (greataunty) and will
come stay often
with them when
they have a child.
Erin’s dad and
step-mom are
also big travelers
and will stop by
frequently to spoil
their grandkids.
The big fun French family
our hopes
& DREAMS
WE ARE EXPLORERS, WE LOVE THE WORLD, ITS
PEOPLE, ITS CULTURE, ITS FOOD. If we had the
chance to live in each part of the world we would, as
we have so much to learn from others. This is the kind
of mentality and lifestyle that we want for your child.
WE WILL RAISE THEM TO BE CURIOUS AND KIND,
TO ASK QUESTIONS, AND TO SEE BEYOND THE
THINGS THAT OFTEN DIVIDE US. We will encourage
them to be their own person and will support them
wherever their dreams make take them.
WE THINK BEING PARENTS WILL BE OUR GREATEST
ADVENTURE and we will approach this journey with
the same commitment and enthusiasm we have in all
parts of our life. We will both take time off from work
for the first couple months, and will continue to share
childraising responsibilities together.
Selfie right before Benoit started a snowball fight
Family Traditions
Our snowman
Competitive sledding
o Line dancing Cotton Eye Joe
at all family events –
especially weddings!
o Watching both Love Actually
and Die Hard EVERY
Christmas
o Getting PJs the night
before Christmas
o Standing at the end of the
Airport/Ferry/bus terminal
to wave good-bye until the
family member is out of sight
o Meeting up with the whole
family every Mother's Day
for feasting and fun
one last
T H A N K YOU
THANK YOU FOR READING OUR
PROFILE AND SPENDING SOME
TIME GETTING TO KNOW US
BETTER. We are so excited to start
our family and hope that our profile
expresses the fun, loving and multicultural life we would provide for
your child. They would be the first
child in our family, but hopefully the
older sibling of many more!
We know that you are making a
difficult but courageous choice
by choosing adoption. We hope
that you realize what an amazing
opportunity you are giving a family,
and that your choice will be blessed
no matter who you pick or what you
end up deciding to do.
We believe that you should always
have the opportunity to know what
is going on in the life of your child,
and will be more then happy to
share letters and photos with you
whenever requested.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO CONTACT
US, PLEASE CALL THE ADOPTION
ALLIANCE AT 1-800-626-4324.
Thank you again from the bottom of
our hearts! We'd love to hear from
you!
Erin & Benoit