Phil & Kristen Ulin
Why we think we make good parents:
Already being parents to our daughter, Kaylee, we understand the commitments needed to be successful loving parents. We have learned to become great parents you must love unconditionally. Coming from families with strong values, we are eager to teach and share with our children these family traditions. Both of us have strong work ethic but appreciate fun in the sun, and we would like to share our life experiences with another team member.
Values we plan to share/teach a child:
Our home is filled with love whether you are a guest or a member of the family. The greatest value we feel we can teach is to love and respect others. We both believe in a strong work ethic, but also downtime to recharge our batteries and enjoy life. We feel it is important to have a relationship with God and have raised our daughter in a Christian home but also respect everyone’s opinion and other value systems. It is important to us to be generous, compassionate and live with a “glass is half full” mentality. We believe in learning from our mistakes and the principle that failure is never final. We believe in following your dreams and plan to teach our children that no dream is too big.
The people/pets/things that make up our family:
Our immediate family consists of Phil (dad), Kristen (mom), and Kaylee (daughter). We both come from fairly large families and view many of our friends as family too- Kaylee calls our best friends “Aunt and Uncle”. Kaylee can’t wait to have a brother or sister and says a prayer at the dinner table every night asking God to bless her with one. Both of our families live in the area and many of our friends live in our community. We also have what we call an extended church family with MANY kids to play with and have fun outside of the home.
Things our family celebrates:
We love to celebrate! Birthdays are a big deal around our home because we love making each other feel special. We celebrate all major holidays and also like to have fun celebrating the Super Bowl, the Kentucky Derby (some of Kristen’s family is from Kentucky), and love having summer cookouts for no reason.
Religion/spiritual beliefs:
Spirituality, a relationship with Jesus, is very important to our family and we plan to raise our children in a Christian home. We currently attend a non-denominational church and have for over 10 years. Our church family is FULL of children of all ages and has a fantastic kids program. Phil currently volunteers in the preschool area during one of the church services and Kristen has done 2 mission trips in 3 years. We believe that our spiritual foundation has been the rock for our life and plan to demonstrate this to our children to help them find meaning and happiness in life.
Things we like to do (activities/hobbies):
We like to have fun! Working hard and playing hard are two things that must go together. We love to travel and hope to expose our children to many cultures. We like to make pancakes on Saturday mornings, roast s’mores in the fireplace when it gets cold and keep each other laughing every day. We also like to stay active by going running as a family with our jogging strollers, doing outdoor activities and keeping a healthy focus in the home. We are both triatheletes and feel strongly that you can do anything you put your mind too with dedication and encouragement. Every season our activities change and we like to find fun new things to do as a family like going out for ice cream after a nice summer run or watching movies by the fire in the winter.
Our ethnic background:
Phil is 50% Hispanic and 50% European descent (mostly German). His mom comes from a large Hispanic family most of which live 30 minutes from us although a few 2nd cousins and great aunts still live in Guadalajara, Mexico. His Grandma has 11 brothers and sisters and owns a Mexican restaurant.
Kristen is mixed European descent- mostly German with some Austrian and Native American descent.
Where we live:
We live in a colonial home in a suburb between Detroit and Ann Arbor. Our town was recently ranked one of the safest in the state! We have a TON of space in our home and can’t wait to share that space with another son or daughter- Kaylee asks us every day for a brother or sister! We are walking distance to the grade school and have several parks close to us. We have a large yard with a playscape in the back and enjoy spending time outside having fun.
One thing we would like the birth family to know about us:
We respect you so much for choosing to give your child a precious gift. We have already begun praying for you and know that our paths will not cross on accident. We strongly believe everything happens for a reason and are here to support, pray, and thank you for a wonderful and precious gift.
