Hi, thanks for visiting our adoption site.
We're
Ben & Grant
Welcome to our adoption page!
We are hoping to build our family through adoption. We have a warm, nurturing and super fun-loving home to share. We'd love to connect, hear your story, and share in this heartfelt journey.
CONNECT
Ben & Grant's Family Site.
Good To Meet You!
After matching on both Hinge AND Tinder we decided it was in the 21st Century stars for us to meet. So we did. A date at a cafe on the Upper West Side where we both had 'an out' lasted into the late evening. We definitely felt the electricity sharing stories, histories, our favorite pop divas and a hint of a future. We live together in our home on the Upper West Side in NYC, steps away from Central Park and a little longer stroll to our favorite donut shop (we are a little obsessed!). We both have made careers in the Arts and so you'll find us at the theatre, cinema, or jumping around our living room playing some kind of game! We are deeply in love and it is not lost on us how lucky we are to have found each other. We feel to find someone who has the same goal of building a strong and loving family unit is out-of-this-world lucky. We are excited to raise a family under the roof of our warm, nurturing and loving home. Kids, a puppy and boundless love...
Thanks again for considering us to be a part of your journey.
Meet Grant
Grant is the kind of person who shows up for you and is never afraid to get his hands dirty. He is focussed and an incredible multi-tasker who never forgets that there's humour to be found in any situation. Grant is Australian - yes I get to hear that accent every day *swoon*. He has two degrees and trained at the prestigeoius Victorian College of the Arts which catapulted him into a successful acting career on stage and in screen. In recent years he has become a prolific, in demand audiobook narrator with over 200 titles to his name. When he's not eyes-deep in a book in our home studio, he is a passionate community leader and sustainability advocate. He has served on the board of NYC Pride, as Director of PrideFest, and as a Project Manager with the Green Event Ninjas. Grant moved to NYC over 6 years ago and is in love with
life in the Big Apple. After all that's where he met me ;). He is close to his family back in Sydney, Australia and we love traveling Down Under every year. Grant is a romantic and a true renaissance man. But for all his accomplishments and titles, his proudest is being Dad to his incredible five year old daughter Evie-Dove - you'll meet her in a minute. I am constantly inspired and in awe of watching Grant be a dad. In fact after our first date I told him that one of the sexiest things about him is that he is a dad. He is spectacular. Becoming a parent with him on this journey is more than I could've ever hoped for.
"Grant's heart is huge and bursting at the seams. You can't escape his orbit of love, kindness and support - nor would you want to" - Ben
Meet Ben
Ben is a natural born showman, mentor and nonstop fun! He performed on Broadway for twelve years (original cast of Wicked!!) and is revered within this community. Ben now shares his love of theatre with students all over the country as a teacher and choreographer. He also travels the world as the Cruise Director and Host of Atlantis Events, the world's largest gay events company. He has a podcast, a long running cabaret series in NYC and is often seen hosting on PBS. Ben embraces life and enjoys every minute of the ride. Kindness, honesty and compassion are some of Ben's core values. There is a reason his family and friends look up to him like they do. He grew up in a large and loving family in Utah,
just outside of Salt Lake City. Moving to NYC at 18 to pursue his
dream - a very good move ;). We love heading out west for the
holidays to hang with all the dogs, horses - and humans. Look out if
a board game or piano is nearby as he will lead the charge for
an indisputable good time! I've never seen someone be so loved
and make a room smile just by entering. Since the very beginning
of our relationship Ben has talked about his desire to be a Dad
and there is a spark inside him that is ignited around kids. I
remember the day he met Evie-Dove. I had already fallen
head over heels for him (of course - look at him!). She
fell for him too, climbing onto his back for the first of
many horsey rides to follow. It was then I knew that we'd
be in this together, forever.
"Ben is larger than life. His boundless energy and capacity for love is electric. His passion for life makes you feel like you're in the warmest hug whenever he is near. I'm the luckiest guy." - Grant
Meet Evie-Dove
"I'm going to be the best big sister in the whole world" - Evie-Dove
Evie-Dove is Grant's five year old biological daughter and is co-parented with her amazing mom. They live by the beach just north of Sydney, Australia. We visit twice a year and she comes to NYC twice a year. She travels between Sydney and New York regularly and is an outgoing, very funny and happy kid. She is part of our everyday lives with daily videocalls. Our parenting is active and intentional regardless of proximity and Evie-Dove has formed a quick and beautiful bond with Ben who has become an extremely fun, nurturing and supportive parental figure, embracing wholeheartedly and with gusto his role in her life. If anyone was born to be a big sister it is this ball of incredible energy, light and constant joy. Riding her scooter or skateboard, and playing with her dolls, climbing trees, swimming at the beach and singing to Frozen or watching Moana excites her indomitable spirit!
Meet Our Families
We both have wonderful, loving families, who are a beacon of support and guidance. Ben grew up in the beautiful mountains of Utah. He is the second youngest of five kids. His childhood home was always bustling with activity and music. His mom Carolyn (a career nurse), is his best friend and a stunning force of beauty and wisdom with a wickedly delightful sense of humor. She lives with her husband, 'step-dad' Carl, in Big Canoe, Georgia. Trips to their home amongst the trees and lakes is a total reset for our NYC lives. We can't get enough of the calm surroundings and wilderness available for hikes or just getting a little lost on cool, sunny days. Ben's brothers, Ted and Chris, still happily live in Utah with their big beautiful families (4 and 6 amazing kids between them, ranging from 8 years old to 27). They all agree that Ben is their favorite uncle/human jungle gym and clown. They LOVE their new Uncle, Grant, who has wowed them with his fearless enthusiasm for their favorite activities, even when he has no experience, lol. Big sister, Michelle is an orthopedic surgeon in Salt Lake City, world traveler (team Dr. for the US Ski team. WOW!)) and horse enthusiast. She has been the catlayst for many great adventures and once in a lifetime moments for all of us. Rounding out the tribe is Ben's Irish twin (11 months apart!) Jenny, a fitness guru who lives in Baltimore with engineer husband, Brad and her 2 adorable daughters. So
Grant gew up on the beaches of Newcastle, Australia - can you spot him in the photo? ;) and has one older sister Stacy. With only a year between them they grew up super close. Mum and Dad - Julie and Larry, prioritzed family and Grant grew up very close with his maternal grandparents seeing them weekly for extended family Sunday lunches which became the cornerstone of his childhood. Growing up in Australia meant playing outdoors until late into summer evenings - and winter ones too for that matter. Riding bikes around the streets with neighborhood kids, days at the beach (did we mention Australia?!),roller skaing, karate, read-a-thons, drama club, local touch football competitions run by Dad and backyard cricket, where hitting the ball over the fence was an indisputable 6 and out! Julie was a stay-at-home mum and Larry worked in IT which took him around the world. Grant more often than not joined him on some of these working adventures which might just be where his travel bug came from. To this day Grant's folks still devote all of themselves to those they love. Stacy has three amazing kids; Madalyn, 22, Aidan 17, and Isabelle 16 - Madalyn is getting married this year and her fiance Jack is the greatest, coolest guy around! Their wedding will be a huge family highlight! There have been a lot of additions to Grant's extended family over the last few years with babies and marriages. There is always great excitement during holidays and special occasions. Side note from Ben: did you know Christmas is in the summer Down Under?! Wild!
many uncles/aunts/cousins ready to love, adore and SPOIL (their words, not ours) our new additions to this family unit. Our Salt Lake City family is big, boisterous and fully dedicated to each other and us. We love them to the moon and back along with the many dogs, a few horses and the most beautiful mountains to ski and hike or simply stare at and daydream.
Meet Us More :)
Fun-loving, easy going days are really the best! Our ideal weekend? Sleep a little late - but not too late - roll out of bed and off to get a coffee or matcha and then to our local donut bakery for a box of delicious danger! Running through Central Park for Grant, or to Orange Theory Fitness for Ben through the week helps to offset the danger of the donuts :). The day then takes us back home where we love watching our favorite shows - lately we've become obsessed with The Diplomat on Netflix - or a new horror film, true crime documentary
series, The Golden Girls for Ben, Masters Of The Universe for Grant, but always snuggling and being together. Not far from a good book (Stephen King anyone?!), podcast, or Spotify playlist. We love absorbing feel-good media and pop culture. Anyone who knows us knows one thing, Celine Dion and Kylie Minogue rule our our pop-music hearts. We also share a love of musical theater cast albums - you can actually hear Ben on the cast recording of Wicked! We are part of an international trivia league which frankly may just be our favorite sport. Our working weeks are ususally enjoyably busy, but centered around our home; due to us both being freelance. We both are lucky enough to have jobs we love. You'll find Grant in our in home studio recording the latest book releases and Ben will be preparing shows, workshops or new skits to perform on his next cruise. We have an incredibly close network of friends and chosen family and we love to catch up over dinners, game nights or summer picnics. Between the US and Australia, we have such a strong support network and ocean of love that is with us on this journey to build our family. Evie-Dove has called Grant's best mate Matt 'Uncle Besty' since she could first speak. Community is everything to us. Building and nurturing strong relatioinships in all aspects of our lives is intrinsicly within us, we value volunteering, helping others and raising a family with kind hearts and open minds.
Photo Fun!
At home, work, or at play, we cherish our time with family and friends and are always ready for adventure.
