Hello, I'm Caroline, Garvin's sister. I am a mom and an artist, and my favorite hobby is growing as a human being.

My relationship with my sister is one of the things I am most proud of in life. We have always turned to one another to figure out life's curveballs, and we have taken on life's challenges knowing that we have each other, no matter what.

My sister is centered, dependable, adventurous, hilarious, organized, responsible, and honest. Her kindness comes from the deepest well. My son, Johnny, just turned 6. Gaga, as he calls her, is his favorite person after me. Being a single mom is hard - nothing has ever tested me so much. At the same time, nothing has ever caused me to listen, learn, and grow as much. I know that my sister understands that because I see the same things happening within her. She is not just Johnny's aunt. She is a trusted caretaker who plays a large part in shaping his understanding of the world. It brings me so much peace knowing that Garvin is here with me. I know that she is even more capable than I am of navigating life with a little partner by her side. I learn so much from her every time I see her interact with Johnny. When I pick him up from her house there is always so much for them to show me. Physics projects, secret hideouts under the stairs, and gardens they have planted. Johnny tells me stories of their adventures across the city with the biggest smiles. I joke that Garv took all of the energy genes and there were none left for me when I was born! Garvin is always concerned for Johnny's feelings and I look forward to our conversations about what they talked about and what she observed after she spends one-on-one time with him. It brings me so much joy to hear how she encourages him to be kind, independent, curious, and comfortable asking questions. She teaches him to be a problem solver - to know that everything he needs to figure anything out is already inside of him. Garvin reminds me, without ever saying it, that these are the things we want for our children. I promise to do the same for her.

Garvin is a deeply caring person. I see it in the way she loves and cares for me, for her pets, for Johnny, for her friends, and for her students. Even for her plants! She is incredibly strong and has been since we were kids. She knows who she is and I think that allows her to accept others exactly as they are, never wanting to change them.

Thank you for considering my sister - I am so excited to welcome her child into our family.

Caroline

My mom, Gaynor, and my stepdad, Tony, have been married since 1999. My mother is from west Texas and Tony is from England. They enjoy cooking, traveling, and spending time with their two pugs, Mikey and Stella. Tony has two children as well, Alix (Houston) and Claire (London). My mom and Tony love getting to spend time with their grandchildren Johnny and Seneca (Alix's son)

My dad, John, and my stepmom, Cindy were both born and raised in Houston. They share a love of trying Houston's latest restaurants, traveling with their friends, and spending time with their grandchildren. In addition to Johnny, Cindy has two more grandchildren, Luca and Ella, who live in East Africa. My dad and Cindy are currently pet-less, but I'm working on them!

Caroline is a wonderful mother to my nephew, Johnny. They share a love of playing Minecraft, enjoy trips to the Houston Museum of Natural Science, and have a dog named Hugo. Caro, Johnny, and I spend a lot of time together exploring the city, cooking great food, and building memories.

The day that Johnny was born has been the happiest day of my life so far. I got to be in the delivery room, and I'll never forget getting to see his sweet little face the second he was born. Since then we have had many adventures together. We share a love of building contraptions, going on nature walks, and attending theater productions at my school. Johnny loves music - his favorite bands are AC/DC and The Kinks. He is a budding guitarist, baseball player, and magician. Johnny will be an amazing cousin, and really, he'll be a pseudo big brother to my child. My sister and I spend a lot of time together and Johnny will be an enormous part of my child's life. He's an incredibly caring, sensitive, and respectful kid. He's going to be such a wonderful role model!

I am a high school math teacher at an independent school in Houston. I teach primarily 11th and 12th grade students. I love getting to do and teach math every day, and I have never learned better than in a classroom with my students. It's exciting to me to get to take on a new course that I haven't taught before - I love to study!

I am also a faculty associate on the Community & Inclusion committee at my school. In this role I have the opportunity to attend professional development events throughout the year that focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and belonging. My hope is that I'm able to effect change in my school and pass along an inclusive mindset to my colleagues and students.

And finally, I am the advisor to 8 upper school students in four-year blocks. My seniors graduated in the spring of 2023 and I met my new group of freshmen in August 2023. I will get to advise, guide, and be an adult advocate for these eight students for the next four years. My position as an advisor is one of the most rewarding parts of my job, and it is very tough to let my advisees fly away when it's time.

Dogs have been an important part of my life. I grew up with dogs and they have always been members of our family. I think that family dogs can play a valuable role in teaching children empathy and boundaries, and Freddie has done just that with my nephew Johnny - they are great friends! Freddie loves to go on adventures in the neighborhood and at the bay. He is an active and affectionate dog who loves kids and will be a great dog brother.

• Watching Freddie run around at the bay
• Helping my students grow as learners
• Johnny's laughter and curiosity
• Solving puzzles
• Winter weather
• Spending time by the water
• Cooking
• Figuring out a difficult math problem
• Playing Animal Crossing
• Going to the farmer's market

I am in awe of the courage and love you have in your heart to choose this path for your child. As a potential adoptive parent, I am so grateful to you and I acknowledge the position you are in and hold you in my heart. I believe that the love within all of our hearts combined is what will shape the world that this child is born into. I promise to raise him or her with my whole heart. Our home will be a place of love, curiosity, conversation, fun, security, safety, honesty, and acceptance. I promise to prioritize kindness, community, creativity, and education. And most of all, I promise to always lead with love.