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.