A Christmas to Remember

It has been a whirlwind of activity!  We celebrated the birth of our boy with two baby showers and lots of visits from family and friends.

He has brought tremendous joy to our lives.  He's such a happy boy and so alert!  He's beautiful and looks so much like his birth mom.

We email with her regularly and send pictures and updates.  We're so blessed to have this relationship with her.  Our son will know that being adopted means that he is loved and adored by both of his families.

Welcome Home, Sweet Baby!

Our baby boy was born on November 18th!  We were able to stay in the hospital, just three doors down from his birth mother and grandmother.  Our sweet boy stayed in our room with us, but we visited his first mom every day.  The hospital staff were absolutely amazing!  They were so supportive of everyone involved.

We all cried when it was time to leave the hospital.  We will always be connected by the love we share for this sweet boy.  But, it was such a bittersweet moment.  There is a quote that sums up how we were feeling that day:  A child born to another woman calls me mom.  The depth of the tragedy and the magnitude of the privilege are not lost on me.

We spent just over a week in a hotel before we were able to drive across state lines.  We had to celebrate Thanksgiving in that little hotel room.  But, that was the best Thanksgiving ever.  There was so much to be thankful for.

Matched!!!

We met the most wonderful mother to be this week!  She is making an adoption plan for her little one and has chosen us to parent!  Our families and friends are beyond ecstatic.  There has been such an outpowering of love.  We could not feel more blessed.  God has heard our prayers!  

For Parents Considering Adoption for their Child...

Lately, we've been thinking a lot about what you must be feeling.  It's easy for us, as hopeful adoptive parents, to get so caught up in our own emotions.  But, we must remember that there is a mother and father (or mother and father-to-be) who are struggling with a major decision.  If you choose to place your child for adoption, you are choosing to place an infinite amount of trust in us to care for and raise your child.  We know that you must be so strong in character and faith in order to make this huge decision.  The courage that it must take to make an adoption plan is unimaginable.  We will never be able to completely put ourselves in your shoes.  But, there are promises that we can make.  Here are some of the vows that we take as adoptive-parents-to-be...
1.  We promise to love your child unconditionally. 
2.  We promise to send you pictures/letters as often and as long as you'd like to receive them (and we'd love a picture of you for your child's room!)
3.  We promise to never speak ill of you in any way and to always be open with your child when he/she begins asking questions about his/her adoption.  
4.  We promise to raise your child in a home that is safe, clean, and warm.  He/She will always have his/her needs met.
5.  We promise to provide your child with the best possible education, including college if he/she chooses.
6.  We promise to make sure your child learns about God and Jesus and the love God has for each of us.
7.  We promise to talk openly and honestly with your child about his/her adoption.
8.  We promise to give your child plenty of opportunities to make lasting friendships through social gatherings or sports and activities of their choosing.
9.  We promise to encourage your child to develop his/her talents and interests.
10. We promise that your child will be absolutely loved and cherished by all members of our families and by all of our friends.  They have been with us every step of the way through the pain of our infertility and the beginning of our adoption journey.  They will be there when we celebrate, too!

Even though we will likely make mistakes, as every one of us does, we will always honor you and each of these promises that we've made to you and your child.
Thank you for reading...
Ryan and Emily

Emily's 2nd 5 K this year...

Emily ran a second 5K today for a former student of her school who is now in 2nd grade.  When Cam's mother heard about service dogs who can sense a child's seizures before they occur, she decided her son would have one of these dogs.  Since that time, she has raised money throughout our community - through individual donations, restaurant donations from a portion of the proceeds taken in during a given day, a HUGE yard sale, and, now, the 5K run/walk.  At this rate, this special little boy with have his service dog in no time!  Here is a picture of the shirts designed and sold prior to the race...

Getting Ready for the Race...

Tonight, we will be running in a 5k downtown.  Most of Emily's school is participating, as well.  We're running in honor of the school counselor, Mark, who passed away this past summer.  It's a bit cold and rainy tonight, but we're ready!  

Parent Profiles

We have been in the process of creating a profile on the site parentprofiles.com. Our profile is now up and running!  If you are a birth mother or birth father who is interested in learning a bit more about us, please visit our profile on parentprofiles.com.  

Our Adoption Profile

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Just a few thoughts...

We spoke with one of our agents in Florida last night.  She shared a lot of insight into open adoption.  Since this agent's children are adopted through the process of open adoption, we feel as though we have a little better understanding of the different degrees of openness with adoption and what open adoption might entail.  

We have always felt the utmost respect for women and couples who decide to pursue adoption for their child.  We understand that this decision is not made lightly and that most parents who place their children for adoption are doing so out of a fierce love for their little ones.  

We have always said we would share as many pictures, letters, and e-mails with our child's parents as they would like to receive.  Speaking with the adoption agent only strengthened our decision to share this type of information with the birth parents if this is what they would prefer.  We know that birth parents will want, and need, to know that their child is loved and is happy and healthy.  We also imagine that our little one will have many questions about his or her birth mother and father.  We want to be able to answer those questions, if and when they arise, and this can be done if there is an open line of communication between us and the birth parents.

We are so grateful that our agent spoke so freely with us about her experiences with open adoption.  We continue to pray that God will lead us to the woman or couple who we are meant to be matched with, thereby leading us to the child we are meant to parent.

We know that one day, our dream will come true and we'll bring our little one home.  One day, all of the pain of infertility will be just a distant memory.  We have faith in God and in His timing.  He has a plan for our lives, and we feel in our hearts that part of His plan for us is to allow us the privilege of parenting and loving a little one.

Recent Photos of Us

We had our pictures taken today!  It was a lot of fun.  Emily is usually the one behind the camera.  If you would like to receive photos of your little one, we are more than willing to send pictures to you through the years.

 

       

 

 

          



Our Adoption Agencies

We are currently working with three adoption agencies. 

Our first agency is called Adoption Professionals.  They are located in Ohio.  If you are a birth mother who lives in Ohio and would like to learn more about our family, please contact Sheryl at 513-321-2229 or visit www.adoptionprofessionals.net. 

Our second agency is Adoption Authority.  They work with birth mothers across the country and are located in Florida.  You may contact Tracy at 1-800-747-5145 or visit their site at www.adoptionauthority.net. 

We are also working with our Home Study agency in Louisville, Kentucky - Adoption Assistance, Inc.  If you are interested in developing an adoption plan for your child, please feel free to contact Julie at 502-254-2425 or you may want to visit their website at http://www.adoptionassistance.com/.  

 

A Great Man...

We love you, Donny, and miss you lots.

This past Monday, Ryan's dad passed away.  He was only 60 years old.  He was such a good man - a big part of why Ryan is the man he is today.   We know that he is in heaven.  Our faith keeps us strong, even though we don't understand why he was taken from us so soon.  

Summer 2012



We truly enjoy traveling.  This summer we were able to travel to Kauai.  It was just beautiful and an amazing experience.  But, we can not wait until we can take our little one along on our travels.  We would love to explore and discover all that our beautiful country has to offer alongside our child.  We love to travel to states other than our own.  But, we also love to go on outings just for the day (to the
local parks or nature preserve).  We enjoy horse back riding, swimming, snorkeling, canoeing/kayaking, hiking or pretty much any other outdoor activity.  We're not much for extreme sports, though (hang gliding, parachuting, or mountain climbing).

we found a completely secluded beach for sunset viewing

This summer, we also celebrated with Ryan's little brother and his new wife as they made their vows.  We love Ryan's brother's new wife.  She is a great addition to the family and is just as excited as everyone else to meet our new little one when he or she arrives.

A Little More About Us...

Our House:  We live in a little town in Kentucky in a small subdivision.  We have a three bedroom home with a fenced-in backyard.  Our house is only minutes from schools and shopping, but is just on the outskirts of town so it still has a bit of a country feel.  There are lots of small children in our neighborhood for our child to play with.  We have great neighbors and close friends are just minutes away.  We love walking through our neighborhood or going to the park for the day, grilling out on the back deck or working in our garden.  

Our Interests:  Ryan loves to run, go target shooting, and is a great cook.  He's always experimenting in the kitchen with new recipes.  Emily likes to read, draw, and write.  Her passion is photography.  Together, we love traveling to new places (even if it's just going for a drive for the day), working in the garden, and hiking.  

Pets:  We have a cat named Buddy.  He showed up on our back deck the winter before last.  He was so cold and pitiful.  We took him in, had a visit to the vet, and now he thinks he rules the roost!  He's definitely pampered and loved.  

Our Work:   We are definitely blessed in our work.  Fortunately, we both LOVE our jobs.  Ryan is a computer programmer with flexible hours, Monday through Friday, for a forty hour work week.  Emily is a special education teacher which allows her to choose the best schools for our child to attend.  We will both have at least six weeks leave from work when we do adopt in order to bond with our child and develop a routine.  Both of us have the flexibility to leave work or ask for time off if our child needs us for any reason (doctor's appointments, illnesses, activities, etc.).   

Questions You Might Have...

What are our views on religion?  Ryan was raised Catholic and attended Catholic school until high school.  Emily was raised Christian, non-denominational.  We do not currently attend church on a regular basis.  However, we know that not all who go to church are "good", and not all who do not attend church are "bad".  We have strong morals and are of the belief that everyone should follow the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated.  We believe in the power of prayer and in God's word.  We love one another and treat each other with kindness and respect.  We have faith in God and in His plan for our lives.  If we are able to find the right church for us, we would love to raise our child within a church family.  

What are our views on parenting?  In terms of managing behavior, Emily is a teacher and is very familiar with a variety of strategies for classroom management (token-reward systems, succes charts, time out, positive reinforcement, etc.).  We are both very calm, easy going people.  Even when one of us does become upset, we are able to talk through our feelings - to forgive and forget.  We know that a very young child will not be able to understand right from wrong.  But, we firmly believe that there are other strategies for teaching a child how to manage their own behavior without resorting to spanking or yelling.  We believe in the power of communicating, sharing our thoughts and feelings.  We plan to encourage our child to be very open with us.  We will encourage them to be involved in whatever hobbies or interests they might have and will support them in every way we can.

Family...

Family is so important to us.  We are fortunate to live within driving distance of our parents and siblings.  Emily comes from a small family with one older brother.  Ryan has a larger family.  He is the middle child with two brothers.  His older brother is married with two children - a girl, who is soon to be a teenager, and a boy, who is soon to be in kindergarten.  Ryan's younger brother is getting married this weekend!  We love his fiancee and are looking forward to celebrating with them as we welcome her into the family. We enjoy getting together with our families as often as we can.  We get together for cook outs, holidays, birthdays, or just for a fun day of visiting.  Our parents and siblings are so supportive of our decision to adopt.  Emily's parents look forward to welcoming their first grandchild into the family, and Ryan's parents cannot wait to meet their third grandchild!

Our Story...

Ryan and I met at Western Kentucky University in 1998.  We believe that the Lord definitely had a hand in bringing us together.  We dated for four years before Ryan proposed.  Then, we were engaged for three more years before deciding to marry.  We wanted to make sure that we were financially stable and emotionally ready for marriage.  As of this post, we've been married nearly seven years!  Wow, time does fly!  We are still head over heels in love, but are ready to expand our little family through adoption.  We look forward to all the joy a child will bring to our lives.

Dear Birth Parents...

We have no idea what you must be experiencing.  But, we imagine that it must be a huge decision for you, and we want you to know that we have the utmost respect for you and your journey.  We are definitely willing to meet with you if you would like.  If you do decide that we are the adoptive family for you, we are more than willing to send you letters and pictures of your child as often as you'd like to receive them.  We are also open to exchanging texts, e-mail, cards and letters.  We know that you will want to ensure that your child is loved and that all of their needs are being met.  We realize that your decision to place your child for adoption was made out of your love for your child, and we believe that this is such a selfless act.  If you choose to entrust us with your child, we can promise you that we will love your little one with all our hearts.  We will provide a safe and supportive home for them.  We will provide structure and learning experiences every day.  We have waited so long for a child, and we will never take for granted the opportunity to parent and raise a little one.  When we do adopt, we know that our child will have questions about his/her birth family.  We will always tell your child of the sacrifice that you made and the love that you feel for him/her.  You will be celebrated within our family.  If you are willing, we would definitely like to keep an open line of communication between you and us.  Thank you for taking the time to consider us as adoptive parents for your little one.  We wish you the best, whatever your decision may be.

An Introduction to Us...

Hi!  We are Ryan and Emily, and we are so excited to begin our adoption journey!  We have been married for just over seven years and have struggled through several infertility treatments.  We came to realize that our plan for our lives was not the same as God's plan.  When we decided to turn to adoption, we felt a sense of peace and knew this was the path for us.

If you are a birth parent, who is interested in making an adoption plan and would like to know more about our family, please contact our agency, Adoption Authority, at http://www.adoptionauthority.net/ or call 1-800-747-5145.  Adoption Authority also has a Facebook page where you can learn a bit more about the agency.  We are also working with an agency in Ohio to help connect us to birth parents seeking an adoption plan for their child, Adoption Professionals.  The founder, Sheryl, has been great and so helpful and supportive.  If you are a birth parent who lives in Ohio and would like to know more about our family, visit Adoption Professionals at:  http://adoptionprofessionals.net/ or call (513) 321 BABY (2229) and talk with Sheryl.  Adoption Professionals also has a Facebook page where you can learn a little more about the agency.

It's hard to express how grateful we are to you for taking the time to read our blog and learn a little more about us.  We cannot imagine the decision you are facing or the range of emotions you must be feeling.  However, we can promise you that any child that we adopt will be loved and cherished.  We will be forever grateful to you for the joy that we know a child will bring to our lives.