Sean & Luke

Hudson Valley, NY

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We Are a Couple From Putnam County, NY Hoping to Adopt a Baby!

Greetings from Upstate New York!

Hello there! We are Sean and Luke. We live in a cute river town in the Hudson Valley, surrounded by mountains. Thank you for taking the time to learn about us. We realize you are facing an important decision and want you to feel supported.

We have a joy for life, and want to share that joy by expanding our family. Not only will we provide the child we adopt with a secure, loving home, they will also enjoy a supportive community, immersion in nature, great home cooked meals, and celebrations with our close extended family and lots of adorable cousins.

We hope in these next few pages you will get to know us a little more — but we are here, of course, for any questions you may have.

-Sean and Luke

Teatime in Italy The coffee at this cafe was only okay, but we were overwhelmed by the paintings!

Buoys on Vacation After lunch at our favorite lobster shack on Cape Cod

Our Wedding Day All smiles in sunny Provincetown after saying “We do!”

Chic in Chicago All dressed up for our cousin’s wedding

A Snowy Hike Enjoying a brisk winter walk in Wellfleet, Massachusetts

A Festive Affair! Celebrating our friends Kim and Pathik in Bermuda

Canalside Café A lunch break while vacationing in Italy

Tuscan Smiles Enjoying the incredible valley views in Italy

Sean & Luke

About Us

We met in New York City in Autumn 2006. We were introduced by a mutual friend after a comedy show. Sean was already living in Brooklyn and Luke was in America interviewing for a new job. During those couple weeks Luke was in town, we got to know each other better, and we stayed in touch over the following months. Luke returned from England the following spring to begin a career in America, and we’ve been together ever since.

In 2012, we were married in Provincetown, Cape Cod, on a hill overlooking the ocean. After living in a few apartments around Brooklyn, we moved north to the Hudson Valley in 2014 to be closer to our family upstate. We are about an hour from New York City, and can walk to the train station from our house.

Moving upstate to a new community gave us an opportunity to embrace a slower pace of life, to spend more time together as a couple, and focus on our hobbies such as cooking, baking, and gardening. An important part of our each day is spent preparing dinner together, reflecting on each others’ day, and talking through any challenges we’re facing together. After dinner, we watch a movie with our dog, Agador.

Together, as a couple, we share the same values and goals for the future. We’ve built a strong relationship together, and a warm and welcoming home. We look forward opening up our hearts and our lives to fatherhood.

A Snowy Hike

St. Mark’s Square, Venice

At a Glance: 10 Things to Know About Us

We were introduced by our mutual friend Jacquelyn in 2006 in Brooklyn, New York. When we were married in 2012 in Provincetown, Massachusetts, she performed the ceremony.
Our village in the Hudson Valley has the best of both worlds: it is a small, tight-knit community surrounded by beautiful forests and mountains, but we are only an hour away from Manhattan by train.
Although it is small, our village is a diverse community with different types of families from different parts of the world, including many children who were adopted. We are well known for our Halloween parade, our hiking trails, and our outdoor movie screenings on the Hudson River each summer.
We are only the second owners of our Mid-Century home, so we’ve spent a lot of time renovating and updating it over the past few years making a special place for the baby we hope to adopt. Sean’s favorite part is the fireplace, Luke’s favorite space is his art studio, and Agador loves the big backyard.
We love to entertain and make everyone feel welcome in our home. We have a big Christmas party each year, and a barbecue to celebrate our birthdays in June. We often are hosting friends or family for the weekend.
Sean is an active home cook, and is always searching for new dishes to try. Last year, he joined the board of our local Farmer’s Market and organized a free library of cookbooks for the community to share.
We always make time each year to return to Cape Cod for a week at the beach, and to visit our friends in Southern California for some sun in the winter.
Every year, we decorate our Christmas tree in a different theme, with new homemade ornaments and a card to match.
Luke and his design team host a Holiday market with gifts they’ve made to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. In 2010 he was invited to Memphis, Tennessee to visit the hospital.
We love to experience new cities, new cultures, and especially new food. Together we have visited 14 different countries and 24 states. Maine, New Mexico, and West Virginia are our favorites. We look forward to traveling the world as a family.

Now Really Get To Know More About Us

Relaxing at Home A small selection of some of Sean’s many books

Sean and Malcolm Sean and our nephew Malcolm at his grandmother’s 95 birthday party

Old Friends, Old Train Sean and his friend Billy on a historic New England train ride

A California Adventure Sean meeting his best friend’s son in Los Angeles for the first time

About Sean

—as written by Luke

“My adorable husband Sean was born in Albany and grew up in a small town nearby. He went to the same school from Kindergarten until 12th Grade, and many of our closest friends today are people from his hometown, their partners, and their kids. Sean is the hub of his tight friend group from High School, always checking in on them and often organizing gatherings to catch up.

Sean went to college in Washington DC, and lived briefly in the Czech Republic where he studied filmmaking. Sean shares his passion for cinema with me, and together we try to watch a new film every night. After moving to Brooklyn, he worked in advertising, went to graduate school for architectural preservation, and began a career in interior design.

Sean’s parents and grandparents were all deeply involved in public service and government, and that tradition has continued with Sean. He is now a volunteer community organizer in our town, serving on several non-profit boards and village committees, and is also a campaign manager for a few local politicians. He is very passionate about the community we live in — being his husband sometimes feels like I am married to the Mayor of our village! We are fortunate that when we become parents, Sean will be able to stay at home full time, and we will also have some childcare help from our nearby family.

Whenever we travel, Sean is most definitely the plan-maker of the two of us. He makes extra effort to be sure we see local sites, parks, and museums. (But I chime in on the restaurant choices!) In warm weather, Sean enjoys hiking and canoeing in the forests near our home.

He comes from a family of avid readers, and every room in our house has an overstuffed bookcase. Before we decided to move to our village, Sean insisted that we attend a performance of the local high school’s spring musical — he wanted to make sure the school had a strong drama department and supported the arts. Luckily, the kids and the play we saw were great, and we moved a few months later.

Once, when I asked Sean what job he would choose out of any in the world, he said ‘a Dad.’”

“Sean is a volunteer community organizer in our town, serving on several non-profit boards and village committees. He is very passionate about the community we live in.”

—Luke

Painting Provincetown Luke painting the seascapes on a deck overlooking Cape Cod bay

Fashion Workshop Our friend’s daughter, Domino, sharing her new designs with Luke

Uncle Luke’s Secret Recipe Luke teaching our niece Emily how to make his famous chocolate chip cookies

Budding Florist Luke arranging the flowers for an event on Long Island

About Luke

—as written by Sean

“Luke grew up in England, in a seaside town about an hour from London. He grew up with his Mum Cheryl, Dad Andrew, and older sister Bryony. Like my parents, his parents still live in his hometown where Luke grew up. And his aunts both live on the land his grandfather farmed in northern England. I always learn something new about his family whenever we visit.

Luke’s ancestors were traditional dyers and weavers, and his father is a retired art teacher. From the time he was six years old, Luke wanted to be a fashion designer and was fortunate to be brought up in a family that encouraged his creativity. As a child, his parents brought him to the end-of-year student fashion show at the local art college — the same college he would attend a decade later. The commitments Andrew and Cheryl have for Luke’s passions, however quirky, are a great parenting example for us on how to raise a child to be focused and ambitious.

After graduating from a top fashion school in London, Luke spent four years designing his own label in England, while also making costumes for pop stars. Since arriving in the US, he’s worked his way up through a few companies and is now the Vice President of design for a major clothing brand. We are fortunate this his success gives us a comfortable financial position to expand our family, though Luke would say the best part of his job is encouraging his team’s work, and seeing them thrive in their own careers.

Luke loves to share his creative passions with other people — whether through developing new recipes for a dinner party, making quilts for our friends’ new babies, or arranging flowers for a special event, Luke show’s his love through his personalized, creative acts.

For all of these reasons, I know that Luke will be a great father to the child we adopt.”

“Luke would say the best part of his job is encouraging his team’s work, and seeing them thrive in their own careers.”

—Sean

Our Home Our freshly painted house and freshly planted front garden

Our Dog, Agador We weren’t expecting him to blend in so well with the sofa!

Green Thumb Meets Book Worm Luke keeps our houseplants healthy year round, but Sean would rather read a book

Reading Time with Cece Sean sharing his favorite children’s book with our friends’ daughter Cece

Library Nook This corner of our living room is used for casual meals and serious Mah Jongg!

Dining Room Another light filled day in our home

An Evening In Home and happy, after a nighttime stroll

Springtime in our Garden Luke tending to his herbs in early spring

Autumnal Hike Looking out over our town, does Agador think he can see our house?

Our Village Hudson River views on a hike

Our Home & Our Town

When we moved out of Brooklyn to the Hudson Valley, we wanted to live in an area like the places where we grew up, outside big cities. Our village is close to the river, with lots of forests and some wonderful lakes. Our community is very welcoming to different types of families, and we’ve met neighbors who come from all over the world. Sean is on the board of our local film society, which hosts a summer series of free outdoor screenings for the community to enjoy under the stars. He is also on the board of our local farmer’s market, which gives us great access to fresh produce year round.

Our house is in the center of town, surrounded by the community playground, ballfields, public library, and the elementary school. It has four bedrooms, a nice garden, and a cozy fireplace. It has everything we wanted, and we’ve enjoyed spending time doing the work to make it just right.

More recently, we have converted the basement level to a studio where Luke can work. He is only at his office in Manhattan two days a week, and works from home the rest of the time. We are very fortunate that he will be working from home most of the time as our family grows.

Just after we moved into our home, we welcomed our dog Agador. He likes the big backyard and sitting at the window watching hikers walk to the trailhead. But mostly he prefers to nap on the sofa.

We’ve been very happy here so far, and we’ve made lots of new local friends. (We’ve even encouraged some of our old friends to join us!)

Baby Cousin Siobhan Sean laughing that he has the same face as our cousin’s daughter!

Cape Cod Family Reunion Sean’s grandparents and all of our cousins, nieces, and nephew

Fourth of July Enjoying a festive picnic with Sean’s parents, Bob and Linda, near our home

Our Nieces and Nephew Christmas Eve excitement for our nieces Emily and Leah, and our nephew Malcolm

Bali with Luke’s Family Epic family trip to Indonesia for Luke’s father’s 60th birthday

The Brits do love a hat!

Historic England Luke and his sister, Bryony, spending a day together in York before a family reunion

Luke’s Parents Taking in the gorgeous views down by the Hudson River in our village

Our Family

The baby we hope to adopt will join a big, loving family, with three aunts, three uncles, four cousins, four grandparents, and two great-grandmothers, along with many great aunts, great uncles, and second cousins.

Most of Sean’s family lives within an hour or two from our home in Upstate New York, with some others in Boston, Chicago, Virginia and Tennessee. Because there are so many of us, there’s always a reason to get together for weddings, graduations, anniversaries, or big birthdays, and each summer everyone travels together to Cape Cod. A big part of our decision to leave Brooklyn and move north was to be closer to Sean’s family, and it has given us all a chance to grow closer over the years.

Overseas, Luke’s family in England live close to each other as well, so it is easy to see them all whenever we visit, especially as Luke’s younger cousins are beginning to get married and start families of their own. Luke also travels around Europe a few times a year for work, so it is easy to tack on a few days for a holiday with family.

Everyone is very excited for us to become fathers and to see our family continue to grow.

Connecticut Cuties Our Godson Ed showing us his new house and his new baby sister, Lucy

Old Friends, New Friends Seans’ high school best friend and his adorable son

Apple Picking Pals A fun Upstate day out with friends Raj, Jen, and PJ & Ardith and their kids

Curly Tops James, our pals’ son, telling Luke “My hair is curlier than yours!”

Friends Meghan and Michael in Wellfleet Our Best Man and Maid of Honor at dinner in Cape Cod 10 years after our wedding

Our Friends

In addition to our relatives, our “chosen family” is just as close and spreads around the world. From our hometowns, from our universities, and from our years in London and New York, we’ve kept lasting, loving friendships with a great number of friends. Despite the fact that many of our friends are far flung, we have also made friends with families here in our village. One of the most exciting things that has happened more recently is that we are building friendships with our friends’ children. Last Summer, Luke hosted a tie-dye workshop for our friend Stacey’s son, Jac. (Although his mom was pretty into it, too!) Our friends Jen & Raj’s son, Emile, loves to come to Uncle Luke and Uncle Sean’s for a dance party!

Tuscan Smiles Enjoying the incredible valley views in Italy

Poolside Pals A night out with Sean’s college friends Melissa and Alex — Luke designed Melissa’s dress!

Quick Caribbean Dip Before flying home we squeezed one last bit of sun and sand at 7am!

Louisiana Veranda Visiting an artist’s home on our honeymoon in New Orleans, one of our favorite cities

Our Travels

Getting to experience new cities, new cultures, and especially new food together is a great joy for us, and truly a privilege we value. We love visiting new places and seeing old favorites again. Sean has seen 29 states and Luke has visited 23. We went to New Orleans for our honeymoon, and return whenever we can. Some of our favorite places to visit have been Maine, New Mexico, and West Virginia. Every summer we travel back to Cape Cod, and in colder months fly to Los Angeles to visit our friends around California. Internationally, we’ve traveled together to 14 different countries across Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. We look forward to sharing our love of travel with our growing family.

New Year’s Day Luke enjoying charbroiled oysters, an annual tradition

Our Yummy Valentines Luke’s co-workers each got some cookies for being so sweet!

Easter Funday Our nephew Malcolm and niece Cecilia embracing a traditional family egg hunt

Halloween Dressed as the main characters from Agador’s favorite movie before our local parade

The First Thanksgiving Our first time hosting both our British and American sides of the family. Such a blessing!

Christmas Trees Through the Years Trees from 2013 and 2021, each year we have a different theme!

Our Traditions

As much as we like to travel, it is always good to be home, and from our tiniest apartments in Brooklyn to our house in the Hudson Valley we’ve always felt the most “at home” while cooking and entertaining our friends and family. Whenever they can, our American and English families get together at our house for Thanksgiving. Every winter, we decorate the house differently and have a big holiday party for our friends and neighbors. We spend Christmas with Sean’s family, and we travel to England for New Year’s with Luke’s family. We spend Easter with Sean’s Godmother and Memorial Day with our family in Albany. We go to Boston a few times a year for our nieces’ birthdays, and we always enjoy the Fourth of July fireworks and a big Halloween parade in our village.

Sean’s Fun Facts

Occupation: Community Organizer
Hobbies: Cooking, Pottery, Hiking, Boating
Places: Cape Cod, Washington DC, Prague, Museums, Cinemas
Foods: Eggplant Parmigiana, Lobster Rolls, Sushi
Music: Jazz, Bonnie Raitt, Lady Gaga

Luke’s Fun Facts

Occupation: Fashion Designer
Hobbies: Baking, Entertaining, Sewing, Drawing
Places: Cape Cod, London, NYC
Foods: Bread! Greek Food, Indian Food
Music: R&B, Soul, Nancy Wilson

Thank You

The more we look back at the life we have shared together, the more it is clear to us that raising a family is the natural next step. We are fortunate to provide a solid and stable home, financially and emotionally. We have a lot of love to give, and we are so excited to begin.

We understand what a complicated and difficult choice you are considering making. We are so grateful that you are learning about us during your decision process. Whether it is through letters and pictures, or in-person visits, should you decide to make an adoption plan with us, please know we hope to cultivate an open, comfortable relationship between you, your child, and us — we want to find something that works for us all.

Ultimately, our goal is to raise the child we adopt to be confident, comfortable, and kind, to always be curious about the world, and always want to share what they have learned and what they love with others.

As you can see, we can’t wait to be dads and hope you will consider us for this special gift. Whatever decision you make, we hope for an easy pregnancy for you.

Warmly,

Luke and Sean

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