marriage length

8 Years

State Location

Colorado

Church Denomination

Evangelical

pets

About us

Hi we are Jim and Melissa and we live in Colorado. We moved here 3 years ago (from Texas) to be closer to family.

We met on a camping trip. Being the only people who could leave early to head to the campsite, we carpooled. Jim, although introverted, decided he needed to be as talkative as possible so Melissa wasn't bored, and Melissa had a headache and just wanted him to stop talking! But through all that, we both realized we had a lot of common interests and after a few months, we started dating at the beginning of 2015. We've been married for 8 years now!

Adoption was always our plan to grow our family, and we adopted our son, Elliot, in 2019. He is 4.5 years old now! We have a wonderful open adoption with his birthmom and we get to see her twice a year (she lives out of state) and also exchange pictures and texts. He is very excited to become a big brother and tells us how he will help "new baby" grow and learn to play.

Jim is a structural engineer and works with a company in Denver. He grew up as a missionary kid in Argentina and is fluent in Spanish and speaks it to our son, who is now bilingual. He loves working on projects around our home (recently re-doing our back deck!), backpacking, ultimate frisbee, watching soccer, and playing strategic board games.

Melissa is an aerospace engineer turned stay at home mom. She enjoys gardening, quilting, hiking, reading, and researching all the great childrens books and activities to encourage our son to have a lifelong love of learning and exploring.

As a family we love to be outside - hiking, camping, exploring. Elliot has recently started playing board games with us (Ticket to Ride!) and that's been a great way to spend time together as a family. We like going to zoo and the Children's Garden at the Botanical Gardens.

Thank you for stopping to learn about us and please reach out if you have any questions!

Children

Elliot

4 yr

Elliot is a joy! He is a curious and observant kiddo with a huge imagination who loves to play. His favorite things are currently the sandbox, magnetic tiles, trains, and firetrucks. He is excited to be a big brother. Elliot is also adopted and he will be a great support for another sibling who is also adopted - something they will have in common and be able to discuss as they get older.

Letter to you

Dear Expectant Mom,

Hi there,

First of all, thank you for reading this letter and looking through these pictures that show a glimpse of our lives. Please know that we're amazed and humbled by your love and care for your child as you weigh the choices in front of you. We respect and honor the difficulty of your situation, and pray for peace in your heart as you choose a family and a home for your child. Even as we were falling in love with each other, adoption was a part of our conversation, our future plans, and our hope to become parents. As you are facing the unknown, the hard decisions, we pray that it will give you peace knowing that we are sure of our open hearts to adoption, as we have adopted a child before, and know how to love and support a child placed with us, teaching them about their loving and courageous birthmother, and, if you are willing, to welcome you into our family as well.

Our names are Jim and Melissa, and we live in Highlands Ranch, CO. We met on a camping trip with some mutual friends and quickly realized that we had a lot in common and enjoyed spending time with each other. We've been married 8 years, and have already had lots of adventures together! Jim spent his youth living in Argentina and speaks fluent Spanish and speaks it to our four year old son, Elliot. Jim is a structural engineer at a company in Denver. Melissa is an aerospace engineer, but now stays at home caring for Elliot and volunteering in womens ministries. She plans to continue to stay at home with our future children and is currently considering getting her Master Naturalist certificate.

Besides our shared love of camping, we just enjoy any way our family can be outdoors as a family- hiking, playing with Elliot at the playgrounds near our home, going to our niece's and nephew's soccer games, and doing projects around the house. We love our home church and enjoy serving there - Jim is a drummer and plays in the worship band, and Melissa works with women, mentoring and providing counsel.

Melissa has known since she was 22 that becoming pregnant wasn't an option for her, so we discussed adoption early on in our dating relationship. In 2019, we adopted our son, Elliot, and our families and friends have welcomed him (and his birthmom) with their whole hearts. We know they will do the same for any more children that we are privileged to add to our family.

We belong to a tight-knit group of friends made up from our coworkers and church members. We cheer each other on and cry with each other during hard times. Another child in our home would be unconditionally welcomed. Should this child be of a different culture or race from us, we have such a diverse group of friends that this child will always have someone who looks like them in his or her life.

Please know that we are praying for you and trusting God as you seek to make the best decision for this child. We hope peace will fill your heart as you move forward.

"

Jim's testimony

My parents were missionaries, and they taught me about God from as far back as I can remember. At around four or five years old, I believed that I needed Jesus in my heart and that he would save me and forgive me. As I grew older, I learned more about what it meant to believe, trust, obey, and love God. I was baptized when I was about ten, while they were still missionaries. We returned to the US full time as I entered sixth grade, and church youth group and Christian schools both helped me learn more, but were also initially culture shocks I had to try to fit in to. Being a well behaved kid helped smooth things out, but following God did seem to be more about rule following. I discovered a new depth of joy in serving God and sharing about him through a short term mission trip in High School. When I went to college at a state university, I experienced a new level of hunger for God’s word when in a secular environment and surrounded by mostly people who weren’t Christian. I got involved in InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and led a Bible study my sophomore and junior years there. After graduating, I interned with Engineering Ministries International, were we got to serve missionaries and local ministries in Latin America through planning their building projects. I moved to Texas for grad school, continuing to be involved in a church while also meeting a number of international students through classes. After grad school, I moved to Houston, where I plugged into a church, and also volunteered with international student ministry as God had put that on my heart. I met Melissa, my wife, thanks to some God-orchestrated friendships and timing, and we dated almost a year and a half before getting married in 2016. We began attending her longtime church together after getting married, where I hoped to jump into serving, but instead, she had a severe health crisis, including three weeks hospitalization and a long recovery, and so God taught me the hard way a posture of being needy, insufficient, and being served instead. Our plan for children had always been to adopt, due to Melissa’s health, and in 2019, we adopted Elliot, where God again showed his orchestration in more ways than we could have imagined. And, God again provided a path for us that allowed us to move to Colorado in 2021, where we get to live near my sister and her family, be part of a church we love, have a good job, and enjoy the mountains we both love. We pray God would again orchestrate that we could adopt a second child, but trust whatever he would have for us.

"

Melissa's testimony

I grew up in a family where both parents believed God existed, but did not know the Gospel, attend church, etc. I became a believer the summer after my high school graduation through a childhood friend who had been faithfully sharing about God and shared the Gospel with me for years. I responded to an altar call at a youth revival at her church. A few weeks later, I went off to college, knowing I was saved but not knowing what walking with Jesus meant, besides reading my Bible. My sophomore year in college I joined Baptist Student Ministries and that is really where my spiritual life began growing. Through my several seasons of extended waiting for answers/results, I have grown more deeply in my knowledge of Him, my relationship to Him, and my desire to encourage women in the Lord. He truly is my Rock and I am absolutely dependent on Him and so thankful for Him.

about Jim

Jim as described by Melissa:

Jim is a caring, patient, and has a great sense of humor. He loves the Lord and studies to learn more about Him. He has this deep well of energy, whether it being chasing Elliot around in the backyard after a long day of work, or using his weekends to lay new floors in our home or update the back deck, he does it all with a calm and patient work ethic, involving Elliot in whatever projects he is doing. He had a great nerdy sense of humor and cracks the most groan-worthy Dad jokes from time to time. He is a loving and supportive husband and father and we are so thankful to have him in our lives!

Picnic time!

Playing in the icy cold creek after a hike

Sledding time!

Playing Ticket to Ride

Coloring with Daddy

about Jim EXTENDED FAMILY

Jim's parents live in California and has two sisters, one is local to us and has three children, and the other lives in Spain. We get to see his parents usually 2-3 times a year.

Melissa's family all lives in Arizona. She has one brother, with two kids, and one sister, who has four kiddos. We get to see Melissa's parents twice a year and usually her siblings once a year (lots of kids with busy schedules!).

We both have good relationships with our familes, we're thankful for that! We moved to Colorado so that our son (and furture children) could grow up having some family and cousins around and it was the best decision to move!

about Jim work & education

about Jim HOBBIES & INTERESTS

about Melissa

Melissa overflows with love for others! She's always thinking of selfless, generous things to do for other people. She has a great, smart sense of humor and loves laughing with me. She's always pushing herself and setting big goals, aiming to serve and encourage other people. Melissa is an incredibly loving mama to Elliot, and is totally dedicated and attentive to his needs, happiness, and growth. I've never met anyone like Melissa, and am so privileged to know her deep love.

Mom and son camping trip - hanging out in the tent until the rain passes

Train ride!

Camping breakfast!

Throwing rocks in to the lake!

Hammock time!

about Melissa EXTENDED FAMILY

about Melissa work & education

about Melissa HOBBIES & INTERESTS

about Children Elliot

about our home

We live in a quiet cul-de-sac in a 4 bedroom/4 bathroom home with a huge backyard (that was the main reason we bought it!). We've done a lot of work ourselves to make it a cozy and inviting space. We want our home to be a place where friends and family can come and feel at rest.

We host our friends and family several times a year for visits and have hosted Thanksgiving. Melissa has a tradition in her family to eat chili on Christmas Eve and so we invite friends and church family over to eat chili and be festive.

As for some traditions in our family - we fill Elliot's bedroom with balloons on his birthday and he has birthday donuts at breakfast. We go as a family the weekend after Thankgiving to the forest and cut down a Christmas tree. We have BBQ and watch fireworks on the 4th of July.

We also enjoy getting together with Jim's sisters family and Melissa's cousin's family (they have two young kiddos) for soccer games, camping, and birthday parties! As well as just good family time.