We both grew up in Shelby County, Kentucky, but we did not attend the same schools. We had many of the same friends and I knew who Casey was just from living in a small town and through mutual friends. That led to us dating for 5 years throughout college, then getting engaged when we graduated. We are members at our local church where we both serve in different capacities. We are both lucky to have large families that get together regularly and all live close by. We have longed to be parents our whole lives and feel so grateful to have the opportunity to adopt.
As mentioned above, we grew up in the same town and knew of each other towards the end of high school, but we did not become friends until after we began college. We shared many of the same friend groups, so we ran into each other often. We began dating in 2009, got engaged in 2013, and married in May of 2014. We were both teachers for 8 years (Casey is still a teacher) and during that time we were able to travel the world during our time off from school in the summer. We have been blessed enough to enjoy many adventures together, and in 2018 we decided we were ready to embark on a new adventure by growing our family. We tried for 4 years until ultimately deciding that adoption was the route we were meant to go in order to grow our family. While infertility has been a heavy burden to carry, we are beyond honored that God would use such a burden in order to call us to adopt a child. It just took us a little while to hear His calling! We feel that this is a blessing and a privilege and we are so excited to see where He will lead us.
Our home sits on 5 acres of land about 7 minutes from our town. We aren’t far from grocery stores, restaurants, doctor’s offices or schools, but we are far enough away to feel like we live way out in the country. It is absolutely beautiful and we are so blessed to live in such a wonderful place. There are three flowing creeks on our property. We have fabulous neighbors who all own farm animals like ourselves, so we look out for each other as needed. Our home has 3 bedrooms, 2 full baths, a large front and back yard and a pasture in the back for our animals. Our home is a brick ranch and we love how open it is, which is so nice for having company and when we have children in the house it makes it easier to keep an eye on them. We also have a vegetable garden we plant each spring and enjoy the harvest from it through the summer. We don’t have traditional pets, but we have a small sheep farm with 10 breeding ewes and a sweet guard llama named Bobby who protects them all from predators.
Casey’s family consists of his parents and three sisters. Between the three of them there are 11 kids, one of which was adopted through foster care. Casey’s whole family gets together every Wednesday (and most Sundays) at his parents’ house for family dinner. We also go on many trips with his family, including a Florida trip where we rent one large house and spend the whole week together. Kristen’s family has a different dynamic, but is also close. She is the oldest of 3 children (a brother and a sister) and Kristen’s sister recently welcomed her first child into the world in January. This has brought her family closer together as well. She spends a lot of time with her grandmother and is her care taker once a week. Her family has always celebrated holidays together and this continues to be a tradition. While her parents are divorced, her father is remarried and they all spend time together often.
First and foremost, we are committed to raising a child in a Christian home and teaching them to love the Lord. We plan to take them to church and keep them engaged in church activities. We want to raise them to be close to our families, just as our nieces and nephews have enjoyed doing over the years. With our teaching backgrounds, we know the value of a stable home life for kids and that’s what we want to provide for a child. We want to be firm, but loving parents who raise a child who will grow up to be well-rounded with a heart for God and for others. We are both hard workers, and enjoy taking care of our farm and home, which has reinforced our own work ethics. We would like to instill that same ethic in our child. We also both love spending time outdoors and traveling, so we want our child to enjoy those life experiences as well.
We have desired to have children for as long as we’ve been together. Raising a family was a dream planted in our hearts long ago before we even met, but that dream grew over time. As our relationship blossomed and matured through the years, we watched our loved ones grow their families and our parents become grandparents. We waited and prayed for the right time to come along for us to grow our own family. When we believed the time was right and we were ready, we started trying. It didn’t work out the way we’d hoped and we struggled with infertility for over four years. We continue to wait and pray, but in the meantime, we’ve opened our hearts to other possibilities. Our friends and even family have adopted in the past and encouraged us to explore this option. After much prayer, discussion, and research we desired to pursue adoption. We don’t consider adoption a “solution” to our infertility, rather, we believe this was the path God has always intended for us to follow. It may have taken us some time to realize it, but we believe it is God’s will for us to adopt a child and provide a loving, Christ-centered home. It is an honor to be called to do so and we are thrilled God led us to this point.
We love to travel, as it is one of our favorite hobbies. Combined, we have been to around 20 different countries together and have also taken several trips exploring the US. We have learned a lot and grown together in our travels and it’s an experience we want to give to our child as well. As much as we love to travel, we also genuinely enjoy spending time at home and tending to our animals, garden, and home projects or even just hanging out together! We have many lifelong friends who we continue to spend time with when we get the chance. We consider ourselves very blessed to be able to say we regularly get to spend time with many of the same wonderful people who surrounded us on our wedding day. We often plan and host get togethers at our home which is always a fun time. Some of our friends have adopted children of their own which has been so special to walk through together.
First, we want to make sure you know how much we appreciate and thank you for taking the time to read and get to know us through our profile. We can’t even begin to imagine how you may be feeling right now, but we want you to know how much we respect you. Your sacrificial love is not lost on us, though we don’t want to pretend to understand what you are going through. We know how much you love your sweet baby, and we admire your courage in considering an adoption plan. Please know we are praying hard for you during this time.
If we are chosen, Casey and I are committed to an open adoption plan and we intend to honor whatever you desire. We want you to know that whatever you may decide during this time concerning level of openness, or building a relationship, we are willing to do. We want you to feel supported and loved. Our desire is for this child to have a relationship with their birth family. We want them to know their unique story and we will share with them about the loving sacrifice that you made from the very beginning.We look forward to potentially getting to know you and we are praying that you will have comfort and peace through the journey ahead. Please know that we are happy to answer any questions you may have about us and our lives.
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