Parent Connection: Robert Thesing

Family Members? 

It’s me and my husband David, and our daughter Maya, who is almost 18 months old- and we are in the adoption process for our second child!

Where are you from?

I’m from central Minnesota, and my husband is from Chicago.

Occupation (or passion! What you fill your days with)

I’m new to the Tierra Encantada team- I do Franchise Development! My husband works for Education Minnesota.

As for our passions- we like to get out in the community, explore new parks, we head to cabins in the summertime, and travel to warm places in the winter!

Dream Vacation?

We don’t have a “Ooh this is a vacation that we’ve always dreamed of doing” place- it’s more about going to new places and experiencing new cultures. It’s more of an ongoing thing than a one time dream. We want to be lifelong explorers and instill those values in our family.

Some of our favorite places we’ve visited are Costa Rica and Thailand- both were different in their own way, and both were incredible places to experience.

Book You’re Currently Reading or Show You’re Currently Watching: 

Our reading these days mostly consists of kids books- Stella Brings the Family and Don’t Push the Button are two favorites.

Do you speak Spanish- or have you learned any in the time you’ve been a part of the Tierra community?

Un poquito? Even just in my experiences of being a parent and working here I’ve been able to pick up a little Spanish, and I’m looking forward to developing those skills more.

When you were looking for childcare, what specifics were you looking for (or what led you to Tierra Encantada)? 

With our first adoption, we only had 10 days between finding out we were approved and meeting Maya. Part of our commitment to our daughter’s birth mother was that she would grow up bilingual, which put Tierra Encantada on our radar. Some of our favorite things about Tierra are definitely the meal program and knowing that with both of us having busy work schedules she’s well taken care of during the day!

Favorite memories/stories involving Tierra Encantada/TE Staff/the greater TE Community?

Everybody is so warm and welcoming- they make us and our daughter feel so welcome. Even the teachers that aren’t directly in our daughter’s classroom, when we walk down the halls they’ll wave and say hi!