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.