We are high school sweet hearts that met through mutual friends over 16 years ago. Our married life, 7 years ago, began in Salt lake City, where we first became parents when we adopted our cat, Cora. Living in Salt Lake City taught us a lot about working together as a teamby leaning on on another for support. After 5 years together in Salt Lake, we returned to the St. Louis area. This is where we met, and we are elated to be surrounded by friends and family that inspire and motivate us everyday.

Our marriage is strong, built on  a foundation of trust, communication, and teamwork. These are the core values we will use to guide us as we transition into parenthood. We have known about our fertility struggles long before we were married, so adpotion has been on our hearts for a large portion of our relationship.

We are potential parents who love living life and want to share that love with your child. We have love in our hearts for God, first - family, next and from there it extends into our community. Marriage, to us, means working hard daily showing our love to each other. It helps that we both share a deep faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ. We exist with Him at the center of our lives. One of the things for which we pray daily is that God would bless us with a child. It does not look like this will happen biologically but, with God’s help, it may through adoption. We look forward to pouring our love out to a baby boy or girl, sharing all that we have with them. We especially look forward to helping them grow up knowing how much God loves them and the wonderful things He has in store for their lives.

We want to grow as a family through adoption. We respect all children’s uniqueness and believe that each has been created intentionally by Our Lord. The two of us often find ourselves in lively interaction with the children of our extended family and in our circle of friends. During these conversations, we both learn from the youngsters as well as share lessons we have learned in life..

We met in 2008 when Facebook had apps that became the precursors to today’s dating apps. After chatting online for a few weeks, we decided to meet for dinner after church. I (Mindy) spent the whole service praying Clay wouldn’t show up because I was so nervous. But he did show up, and we had a great evening. We talked for hours over queso and tacos. I was disarmed by his lack of pretense, his willingness to show me who he really is and not cover up rough patches in his life. We hit it off that night and began dating exclusively. A few months later, Clay wanted to be baptized at our church, and he asked me to do it. That afternoon was the first time our parents met each other, and it is a wonderful memory. After dating for about a year and a half, Clay proposed and we were married just three months later.

When we met, I had a degree in counseling and was working for Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services. I felt called to teaching though, and shortly after we began dating, I accepted a position to teach 5th grade at a private Christian school. Sixteen years and so many good memories later, and I am still here and now our daughter attends as well. Clay was working for an accounting firm when we met. He has continued to work in office administration and finance, while also getting his master’s of education.

Our life is focused on our faith in Jesus and love for one another. We are surrounded by family and friends who love and support us and have fun with us. We are active in our church and school, and both of these communities are extensions of our family. We still eat lots of tacos and queso, and we are thankful that we both stepped out in faith through what seemed to be just a chance meeting online.

Hello! We are Justin and Kaitlin and we are so grateful that you have taken the time to glance into our lives. Justin and I have always wanted to be parents. We had plans to have children biologically, hopes and dreams of what our family would look like, however God's plans look different for our family. After two years of infertility, negative tests, unsuccessful fertility treatments, many prayers and trusting in the Lord’s timing, we are overjoyed to start this next journey. We feel  strongly that the Lord is calling us to welcome a child into our home through adoption. We have been praying for this future adopted child for a long time, and now we pray we get to meet them soon. 

Greg and I always enjoy our time together. We like to spend time outdoors, on a kayak or paddleboard, and are always up for a competitive driveway basketball game! We also like working in our yard. I plant flowers and watch them grow, and Greg keeps them watered. Together we make a great team! We love grabbing ice cream with our nieces, cheering on our favorite teams, and watching funny movies together. Christmas movies are in season all year! Whether we’re at home on game night or out sharing a pizza, we always have fun laughing together. 

Our love story:

Greg and I met through my younger brother, Will. Will and Greg met shortly after Will graduated from college. Years later, Will bumped into Greg at the grocery store. He told Greg he should give me a call. Will had never set me up on a date before, so I knew this guy must be someone special! I agreed to go out with Greg, and we have been together ever since.

We dated for one year before becoming engaged. On a cold New Year’s Day, Greg and I went on a romantic walk along the riverfront in Nashville. We were on the beautiful pedestrian bridge overlooking the city when snow began to fall and music began to play. A man on an electric keyboard was playing Ed Sheeran’s song, “Thinking Out Loud”— a beautiful love song about growing old with your true love. I looked at Greg and he was down on one knee. He told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him. I enthusiastically said, “Yes!” I complimented Greg for having the musician play the lovely music for the proposal, but Greg said he had not hired him. The musician just happened to be on the bridge performing the perfect soundtrack for our engagement! Every time we pass the pedestrian bridge, we remember the wonderful night we promised to belong to each other forever.

Our wedding was a dream come true! The fun began at our rehearsal dinner. Instead of a traditional dinner, we invited the wedding party to a baseball game. We enjoyed the fireworks display over the ballpark that night—it was as if everyone there was celebrating with us. Our wedding was held at the Nashville Symphony Center. The wedding was a family affair. All our siblings, their spouses, and their children were included in the wedding party. We had an amazing band and everyone danced all night! Our wedding was a joyous event and a true celebration of God’s promises.

We met in Virginia the summer after Katie graduated college and had an immediate connection. We started out as good friends and soon after fell in love. We live in a small town in the northern DFW area with our son Josiah, and two small dogs Sophie and Riley. We all enjoy spending time outdoors, trying out new restaurants and going on adventures. We love to laugh and have fun just being together as a family.

We met while we were both in college.  There was an immediate connection. On our first date, we danced to country music for hours. We both love to laugh and be silly and watch funny sitcoms like The Office and Schitts Creek.  We share a passion for reading and like to discuss books.  We also are huge foodies and love to try new restaurants and cuisines. It quickly became evident that we were meant for each other and got married. Growing our family was not as easy as we expected, and we were faced with many losses and pregnancy complications along the way.  However, we have been blessed with two great kids.  Fast forward a few years and we feel led to complete our family through adoption.  We both have strong faith and raise our children to follow God. We try every day to set the example for them of love and compassion and model a healthy marriage.

We met at a Christian Club that Rick had started with a friend at a local college. We dated for four years and then got married and it was the best decision we could have made. We are perfect for each other.

About Paige (from Rick’s perspective)

Paige is the love of my life. I feel that she is the most generous, caring, loving, and thoughtful person I know. She continually motivates and encourages me to be the best version of myself. Paige is an amazing mom to our two boys and is always investing love and time into their lives. She loves to bake with them and read to them. She loves making special moments and memories in each day. For every holiday that comes around, Paige plans exciting projects for the kids to bring as much anticipation for that holiday as possible. Tea parties and fun educational games are a common occurrence in her homeschool days. She loves to take the kids outside to explore and she has the best way of bringing whatever she is teaching them to life. More than my wife, Paige is my best friend. When we are together, we are always laughing, and sharing with each other all the amazing things God is doing in our lives. I feel infinitely blessed to be married to her and to have her in my life. I look forward to the years ahead knowing that we have each other for the rest of time.

About Rick (from Paige’s perspective)

Rick is a wonderful husband to me and Father to my boys. We work, play, and laugh together daily. He is the most loyal and patient man I know and he never ceases to amaze me with his dedication to our family. He is compassionate yet strong. He is honest and trustworthy. If I ever doubt myself or get discouraged, he is always there with a hug and a listening ear. When I have an idea to try, Rick is always supportive and gives his all to help me achieve it. He embodies all the qualities I dreamed of finding in the man I would marry. As the years go by, I find myself more and more in love with him as we live this life as purposefully as possible. We hope that our children remember us most for bringing joy to others and making a difference wherever we go. Watching Rick with our two boys is a gift. He can make them laugh like no one else can. They love to spend every waking moment with him. We are thankful that Rick works from home often which gives him the ability to have more time with us than most. He knows how to make life fun and memorable even on the most mundane days. I love this man and cannot imagine my life without him. The bond we share is truly a gift from God.

We were set up on a blind date by some mutual friends at church and have been married for 5 years in September. We had met for coffee and cupcakes on our first date. We were going to share a cupcake, but Bryan learned that Elisabeth didn't like chocolate. We were able to get past this obstacle. We love to travel and have been to six countries together. Elisabeth grew up going on road trips with her family. She has been to all fifty states. We plan to do road trips and travel in the future as a family. Elisabeth grew up playing board games often with her family, and we play them often together. We love to have friends over for games and dinner. We both have  love of reading and plan to share that with your child. As Stickland Gillian wrote: "Richer than I you can never be-- I had a Mother who read to me." We both have a love for the arts: symphony, art museums, and Broadway plays. Bryan's mom introduced him to plays as a child, and we plan to share that with your child. 

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.