marriage length

5 Years

State Location

Oklahoma

Church Denomination

Nondenominational

pets

About us

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.

Children

Letter to you

Dear Birth Mom,

We want to introduce ourselves to you: we are Bryan and Elisabeth. Thank you so much for bravely considering adoption and taking the time to read more about us. We recognize that we cannot fully know or understand the emotions and decisions that you are facing.

God's grace and faithfulness have carried us through some tough times. He is sovereign in all things and we give Him the glory, even in our struggles. We both love children and began pursuing adoption when we learned that our likelihood of having biological children is low. We will love any child that comes into our family fully, whether adopted or biological.

A little about us: we met in 2018 when a mutual friend from church set us up on a blind date and we have now been married since September 2019. Bryan is a clinical pharmacist and Elisabeth is a librarian. I (Elisabeth) plan to stay home with any children we have until they are in school. We both love to play board games, read, hike, watch sports, and travel. Elisabeth has fond memories of family road trips as a child and we hope to share that experience with our child.

We enjoy spending time with our families and they are eager to shower love on our child(ren). One of Elisabeth’s sisters and her husband and adopted baby live 20 minutes away. Elisabeth’s mother lives two hours away but is a devoted “Grammy” and makes the drive frequently. Bryan’s family is spread out across the country, but Bryan’s brother and sister-in-law have an infant, so we are excited for our child to have cousins close in age on both sides of the family. We are also very involved in our church - serving in the nursery and helping to lead a community group. Our church family has walked with us on every step of our journey.

We long to be parents and to raise a child to know and love the Lord. Please always know we will unconditionally love and cherish your child and we will honor and respect the level of openness that you wish to have with your child. We are praying for wisdom and peace for you as you make difficult decisions.

Sincerely,

Bryan and Elisabeth

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Bryan's testimony

I grew up going often to a methodist church, but I had limited Christian instruction at home. I tried to earn approval/satisfaction through being a good kid vs if I am just good enough academically. When I didn’t get approval or satisfaction through my deeds, I would go to dark places. My ears weren’t opened/didn’t really hear the gospel till middle school at a church youth camp. My recent suffering is a reminder that I can’t on my own and must rely on Jesus. I was hospitalized in 2020 for an autoimmune condition for a week and was weak for a month or so. My wife had cancer in 2021 and went through three rounds of chemo with a reaction to one of her medications. It was so hard. I feel like sometimes you are asleep to God and go about your daily activities, and other times you hang onto him for dear life. This was one of those latter times. I have never felt the love of God as much as we did during that time. The church offered us so much support during this time. They were really the hands and feet of Jesus during this time. With her going through chemotherapy, we underwent testing for infertility. It was revealed that we are unlikely to have any biological children. I have always wanted to be a dad and it was hard to bear. I struggle with still trying to get approval from my works, but I am reminded that we are called to be content in all situations (Phillipians 4:11-13).

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Elisabeth's testimony

I grew up in a strong Christian family. I saw my parents model authentic faith and I’m very blessed by that. I came to faith at the early age of six. I understood as much as I could at that age that Jesus’ death and resurrection offered me eternal life and redemption from my sins. I’ve continued to grow in my understanding since that time, but it was a genuine childlike faith. I was a very good child - teacher’s pet, that kind of thing. For me, it’s never been so much a struggle of guilt or shame or feeling like I have to earn salvation, but I have struggled with pride in my “goodness.” I have had to learn, and still have to remind myself, that I am a sinner in need of grace. Psalm 40:2 says, “He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” In essence, I have had to learn that, without God, I would be in the slimy pit. On my own, I am insufficient. The more I grasp that, the more in awe I am of God and his goodness toward me. The second part of that verse says, “he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.” I think it was Spurgeon who said, “I have learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the Rock of Ages.” I’ve told you about how I came to faith; now let me tell you about my life since then and how I have learned to stand upon the Rock. I had a speech impediment growing up and had trouble saying all kinds of sounds. I was in speech therapy for years, and this combined with my natural introversion made me a very shy, sort of socially anxious child. Plus, I have a twin sister who is very much a ‘people person,’ so generally she would make friends and I would tag along. During my junior year of high school, God brought a passage to me several different times in different, unrelated contexts. The passage was Exodus 4 where God is speaking to Moses in the burning bush and Moses uses the excuse of being slow of speech and tongue. I tell this for two reasons. One, the passage itself has helped me grow in boldness and faithfulness. Secondly, this was one of the first times I can pinpoint where I really felt that God was speaking directly to me through Scripture, that it was intensely personal rather than general wisdom, so that was a shift for me. After high school, I attended college and grad school in Oklahoma, then took a job with the public library system in Oklahoma City. On Veteran’s Day in November 2014, my dad had a sudden massive heart attack and passed away. That’s the kind of moment where the rubber meets the road - you can read Scriptures like “O death where is your sting?,” but do you really believe them? It was a really hard season but also one where I experienced the presence and comfort of God and became more convinced than ever in my faith. A few years later, a friend from church told me she knew a great guy and asked if she could give him my number. That’s how I met Bryan. We went on our first date in June 2018 and were married September 7, 2019. We’ve only been married a few years, but we’ve faced many challenges together. In January of 2021, a CT scan revealed a large mass coming off of one of my ovaries. I had surgery in February to remove the mass and the ovary. Then they discovered cancer in the mass and I was diagnosed with stage 1C mucinous ovarian cancer. Starting at the end of April, I went through three rounds of chemo. Two ways that I saw God during that season: One, community. I was so grateful to not only have my amazing husband by my side through that experience, but also to have our church community. They took care of lawn work for us. They were with me as I went wig shopping and shaved my head. Secondly, I learned to trust God’s sovereignty - I think in some ways it’s easier to see God as sovereign over the whole universe than over the microscopic individual cells of your body. Praise God - I’ve been cancer-free for over two years now. Coming out of that, though, Bryan and I both had a strong desire to be parents. We were actually starting to try before the cancer diagnosis, which obviously put things on hold. I was referred to a reproductive doctor before starting chemo to make sure that cancer treatments didn’t interfere with fertility, and from that we actually found out about some other things that will make it highly unlikely for us to have biological children. We tried a couple of things medically without success, and now we’re on a journey to become adoptive parents. This has been another journey where we’ve had to learn deeper trust in God, that He is enough in and of Himself even if He doesn’t do things the way we want or in the timing we want.

about Bryan

My friends would describe me as hospitable and thoughtful. They would also mention my famous boisterous laugh!

about Bryan EXTENDED FAMILY

I grew up in south Georgia, but my parents now live in Connecticut. My brother and his wife and their infant daughter live in the Phoenix area.

about Bryan work & education

I work as a pharmacist at a large metro hospital. I enjoy the challenge of continually learning new things on the job while helping people.

about Bryan HOBBIES & INTERESTS

In my spare time, I love to read, watch sports, and listen to podcasts. I have started gardening some at our house. We have apple trees and blackberry bushes.

about Elisabeth

My personality is introverted, calm, and peaceful. I am deeply committed to my family and friends.

about Elisabeth EXTENDED FAMILY

I grew up in a loving Christian home. My father passed away in 2014. My mother lives in Kansas and loves being "Grammy." I have a twin sister who lives in Missouri and a younger sister who lives with her husband and adopted son nearby in the OKC metro.

about Elisabeth work & education

I have worked as a librarian in a public library for over a decade. In my role, I plan and implement teen programs, provide reference and readers' advisory, and do outreach in the community. I plan to step away from my job for a few years while we have young children in our home.

about Elisabeth HOBBIES & INTERESTS

In my spare time, I enjoy reading, crafting (knitting, crocheting, card-making), and doing puzzles.

Bryan & Elisabeth