This Is Us

Our love story is a unique and joyful one that began in the most unexpected of ways—on FarmersOnly, a dating site that matched us despite living an hour apart. Neither of us was actively searching for a relationship, but after encouragement from others, we decided to give it a try. From our very first conversation, it was clear we shared a surprising number of similarities, despite coming from different backgrounds. We connected instantly, bonding over our shared values, sense of humor, and love for family. What started as text exchanges quickly turned into in-person dates, where we discovered even more reasons to admire and love one another.

Haley was drawn to Garrick’s sense of humor, strong work ethic, and the way he treats everyone around him with kindness and respect, particularly the women in his family. Garrick was immediately captivated by Haley’s dimples, warm smile, and her ability to make any situation brighter. On our first date, Haley’s brother tagged along for safety, and Garrick’s understanding of this showed his caring nature. Over time, our love deepened, and just a month into dating, we both realized we wanted to spend our lives together. While Garrick’s proposal was understated—over BBQ at a local restaurant—it was heartfelt and meaningful, perfectly capturing the simplicity and authenticity of our relationship.

We were married in June 2019 in a small, intimate ceremony that reflected our personalities. From Garrick wearing a kilt in his family’s tartan to Haley’s laid-back approach, the day was a celebration of love and family. Since then, we’ve built a life together centered on faith, family, and shared adventures. Whether it’s traveling, enjoying a quiet evening at home, or raising our two beautiful children, we are partners in every sense of the word. Our relationship is rooted in mutual respect, open communication, and a shared commitment to creating a home filled with love and laughter.

A quick snapshot of us: 

• We live in rural Iowa. 

• Bryan is a pastor of a Reformed Presbyterian Church.

• Olivia is a homeschool mom.

• We value: faith, joy, and love.

• In our home, kids are safe, wanted, guided, and deeply loved.

 

How we met:

Bryan is from Southern California, and Olivia grew up in Ohio. We met at a Christian student conference in Virginia while Bryan was serving in the Navy.


Why Adoption: 

It's been a long-held desire since we were both kids. 

We want an expectant mother to be able to choose adoption with real hope, knowing her baby will be safe, cared for, and deeply loved in a stable home with open hearts and open arms.

Our faith shapes this deeply. In the Gospel, God welcomes those who were not His children and makes them His beloved children through Jesus. We see adoption as a reflection of that love. 

 

Hello! We are Daniel and Marissa. We met at church in 2021 and quickly became close friends. In 2022, we went on our first date, and both knew it would be our “last first date.” One year later, we were married and have been joyfully building a life together ever since.

We love staying active, hiking, skiing, running, and playing soccer, but also enjoy slower moments like getting lost in a good book or playing a board game. Serving others, building meaningful relationships, and living out our faith in Jesus are at the center of our lives.

Individually, even before we were married, God placed the desire to adopt on each of our hearts. We have been prayerfully hoping and planning for the Lord to grow our family through adoption. We are incredibly grateful for the journeys that brought us here and feel honored to be ready to love, nurture, and welcome a child as our own.

We are Blake and Steph! We are very happy to share our life with you. We have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. We adopted our youngest son in 2019. We are high school sweethearts and have been married for 17 years. We knew we wanted to grow our family through adoption before we were married. Our home is Christ-centered surrounded by people who are loving and supportive. Having Christ as our foundation is very important to us. We know through Him all things are possible. Our kids are very involved in church and school activities and we love to spend our time supporting them. Steph is a school nurse at the same school the kids attend and Blake works in agronomy and farming. We have several other activities we enjoy doing as a family which include, golfing, fishing, playing games, and having bonfires. We also enjoy boating in the summer and trying new foods. We look forward to learning more about you! 

We have been married for six years. Allison is Oklahoma born and raised. Nate was born in Missouri, but lived in Pennsylvannia, Arizona, Oregon, and California before finally settling down in Oklahoma. We have one wonderful little boy named Adrian, who is three years old. The pregnancy was very hard on Allison, and we were advised to not have any more children.

We are a fairly active family. We enjoy going fishing, hunting, or to the local park on a nice day. For the past couple of years, we have gotten zoo passes. Adrian really seems to enjoy getting to run around and see all the animals. We also really enjoy spending time with our friends. We have been greatly blessed by having several families that attend our church who also have young children. We have made it a habit to have lunch with them on Sundays, so we can enjoy each other's company while our kids run around and be kids.

We have also been blessed by two wonderful sets of grandparents that enjoy being involved in our and our son's lives. Nate's parents live about 30 minutes away. We attend church with them (Nate's father is a pastor), and hang-out with them at least a couple of times a month. Allison's parents live even closer. They are both retired and graciously volunteered to watch Adrian while Nate and Allison work. We see them fairly regularly including when we go on our annual family trip to Branson, Missiouri.

Hi! We are Jared and Brittany. We have felt called to adoption for a long time. Brittany has been dreaming of pursuing adoption since high school and Jared has since Brittany brought it to his attention. We have been blessed with our son, but we have also dealt with our fair share of loss and heartache through miscarriages, infertility, and a fatal birth defect with our second son. We hope you know how much your child will be loved and cherished by all of us if chosen.

We have been married for almost 10 years and have one living biological son who is 3 years old. We have two dogs who are loveable, silly and cute that get along with children great. Our son and our youngest dog are pretty much best friends. We live in a rural area with 2.5 acres that is perfect for children growing up at. We have plenty of space to grow our family and are so excited to see our children thrive as they grow up. We love trips to Disney and the beach but also love the things we can do around our area. We love going to the zoo and aquarium or heading out to the pool on a nice summer day. We take walks around the fairgrounds frequently and go out for ice cream a little too much. Pretty much anything outdoors we love doing. You can find Aiden reaching for cookies when we’re not looking or just running circles around the house. He can be shy at first but if you give him about 5 minutes he will talk your leg off. He loves playing with other kids and we can’t wait to see him with a sibling.

Both of us work for family which gives us the flexibility to be there for our kids whenever they need us. Brittany works as an accountant but is able to be home most days of the week. When she has to go into the office our son gets to come along with her. We have a whole area set up just for him and our future children. There’s even popsicles in the freezer for him. She loves that this gives her the ability to provide for our family but also be as close to a stay at home mom as you can get. Jared is the Service Manager at the same business. 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read a little bit about us. We admire your strength and courage during this process and pray you feel at peace when making your decision. We are honored to be considered as adoptive parents to your child and hope you know how much of a blessing your child would be to us. We look forward to hearing from you and would love to hear more about you and your story. 

Jared and Brittany

Hello! We are Micah and Achelle, along with our three amazing kiddos - Jackson, Jeremiah, and Sofia. Thank you for taking the time to look at our family profile. We have been married for twelve years and have been blessed with our three amazing children, We have been blessed twice by the gift of adoption and we are excited to welcome another child into our home and family.  Our house is often loud and crazy but full of love and memories to last a lifetime. 

 

We first met during our Freshman year in college, initially connecting through mutual friends and playing intramurals together. Micah noticed Achelle right away and thought she was cute and sweet. Achelle was attracted to Micah's lighthearted and goofy personality. We grew closer and began dating. Throughout college, we enjoyed studying together in the library, taking walks around campus, and became better friends. Two years later, Micah proposed, and we married a few months later in July of 2013. After college graduation, we settled in Micah's hometown in Wisconsin to be near family. Over the past twelve years of marriage, we've learned to lean on one another and grow in both the good and hard times. We credit our strong marriage to our foundation in Jesus and our commitment to love one another daily.

We believe life is best lived together in the everyday - whether it be doing dishes, yard work, playing with the kids, or relaxing together on a family vacation. Our goal each day is to cherish the small things and enjoy each moment we are given with each other. We strive to create a home that is full of love, respect, and laughter. We love to spend time together and enjoy being outdoors. As a family, we enjoy bike rides, board games, camping, playing in our yard and just being together! We are a homeschool family, which allows us to have a lot of flexibility in our days. It’s a huge blessing for our children to be together daily and develop deep relationships with one another.  

We have always felt called to adopt, and passionate that families can be defined by LOVE as well as biology. We are grateful to be considered as you make such a loving decision for your baby. 

*Links to our Instagram and Profile Book are in the "Letter" Section* =)

"Adventure is out there!" UP is our favorite movie. It would be awesome to talk more with you and see if you'd like to go on this adventure together!

 

 

We met at church and started playing board games with our friends and we often flirted across the table. We had the same sense of humor and we were both very competitive. After a year, we had our first date, a perfect picnic at the lake! A few months later, we flew to Liam’s hometown to meet his family. During that trip a blizzard began and our flight home got canceled. So, we did the sensible thing to do, and rented a small car to drive 20 hours through a blizzard. We tested our relationship on that long drive home while sliding on the road and running on no sleep. We realized from that trip and other dates that we were made for each other. Which led to our marriage. Then, we discovered we were pregnant! Kensi had a difficult pregnancy. We knew we wanted another child, but we wanted to look into other ways. This brought us to adoption. We know the love that Christ has for all his children. We are very involved in our church and close to our small group. We often are with them playing board games, roasting s’mores, or playing with our kids together. We love to go hiking, camping, anything outdoorsy, traveling, eating and making good food, and spending time together.