marriage length

12 Years

State Location

Indiana

Church Denomination

Nondenominational

pets

About us

Hello! We're Dave and Ashley!

We met in a college class when we were assigned to do a group project together. We began dating a few months later. A week after our first date, Dave found out he was going to be deployed after graduation. We spent a year communicating through emails and video chats. We married a few months after he came home. We've now been married over ten years and our life together continues to be an adventure. Dave finished his military career and is now an ICU nurse. Ashley is a junior high/high school teacher. We have two children, Audrey and Bryce, and love spending time together as a family.

Children

Audrey

9 yr

Audrey is our oldest. She loves school, reading, and drawing. She's smart, funny, and very creative. She is obsessed with animals (especially cats) and dreams of running her own animal shelter. She is a great big sister and is excited to help take care of our new sibling. She loves playing with and taking care of baby cousins, so she will love spoiling a new baby!

Bryce

6 yr

Bryce is a ball of energy and is always making us laugh. He loves talking about bugs, dinosaurs, and big machines and says that someday he is going to have lots of tractors of his own. He loves playing outside and being a big helper. He aways wants to help wash dishes or pick vegetables from the garden. He is constantly asking when our new baby is coming home and tells me that we have to take lots of pictures of our new sibling!

Letter to you

Dear Birth Mom,

We are so grateful you have taken the time to look at our profile. As you view our family, please know that we deeply respect the selfless love and bravery that you have shown in considering adoption. It takes great strength to do what you are doing, and great love. It amazes us beyond words that you might consider us as a family for your child, and we are praying for you as you make your decision. We hope that in this process we can get to know you and your story.

We are adopting because we have chosen adoption, not because it is our "plan B." We feel called by God to adopt and are beyond excited to add another member to our family.

Our hope is to have an open adoption so that your child would know you and know how deeply you love him or her. We would raise your child to appreciate the selfless sacrifices you made for him or her.

Please know that if we were to adopt your child, your child will be a full member of our family, just as much as our biological children. Your child would be loved deeply by so many people. In addition to two siblings who are beyond excited, your child would be welcomed by both of our extended families, who are excited to have another child to love on!

Thank you so much for looking at our profile! We are praying for you!

Sincerely,

Dave and Ashley

"

Dave's testimony

Growing up my family and I were in & out of church & my faith waxed & waned. As I became a young adult my faith was DOA. After marrying Ashley & going back to church my faith started to grow, slowly but surely. After my first trip to India my faith skyrocketed & as been increasing ever since.

"

Ashley's testimony

I grew up attending church with my family and extended family. While I am forever grateful for that foundation of faith, I have learned as an adult that I have to make my faith my own. I have grown so much and am continuing to grow as my relationship with Jesus becomes more personal. It is a priority in my life to attend church and grow in my faith while serving others. It is also a priority that I point my family to Jesus.

about Dave

Written by Ashley:

It's difficult to put into words what I love about Dave because he has so many wonderful qualities that I love. He is fun to be around and loves to laugh and have fun. He's the kind of person that makes friends wherever he goes. He has a big heart and genuinely cares about other people. He's the kind of guy that will drop whatever he's doing to go help another person.

He is a hard worker, as shown by the fact that he worked two jobs and joined the military in order to go to college. He is an amazing father. Our family comes first for him and he has often chosen what is best for the family over his own personal preferences. He is one of the most active fathers that I've ever seen and has a very close relationship with our kids. Our kids absolutely light up when Daddy walks in the door! Our kids will never have any doubts that he loves them and wants only the best for them.

Most importantly for me, he is my best friend. I cannot imagine my life without this guy by my side. He is my rock during difficult times, my cheerleader, and my strength.

This is one of my favorite photos of Dave because it shows how great a dad he is!

Our first pic after Dave returned from deployment! (He's no longer in the military)

Dave truly is my best friend. I don't know what I'd do without him!

about Dave EXTENDED FAMILY

My mom and stepdad married when I was young, so we have been a family for most of my life. My mom enjoys crocheting and my stepdad likes watching football.

I have three brothers and one sister. Each of my siblings has children, so we have lots of nieces and nephews for our kids to play with. My brothers and I spend a lot of time together and enjoy getting our families together.

My family enjoys playing card games and board games when we get together. We spend hours laughing and joking while we play. We also put together a big Fourth of July party every year with a cookout and fireworks show. When we were kids, we spent a lot of time outdoors. We went fishing as a family often. I still like to go fishing with my brothers and my own family.

I spent a lot of summers with my grandparents who live out of state, so I am very close with aunts, uncles, and cousins that live outside our state. At least once a year we take a trip to visit them.

My mom and stepdad celebrating their anniversary

My younger brother and I at a football game

My grandpa, brothers, and some of my extended family

about Dave work & education

Dave holds two bachelor's degrees. He has a degree in social studies education and was a teacher for five years. He also has a bachelor's degree in nursing and is currently an ICU nurse.

about Dave HOBBIES & INTERESTS

Dave's hobbies and interests include:

watching football (Go Colts!), basketball, and wrestling
travel, especially to India
cooking
fishing

about Ashley

Written by Dave:

I have been so lucky to have Ashley in my life for over a decade now. To say that I'm batting out of my league is a drastic understatement. Ashley is a beautiful person inside and out. She is compassionate and caring. She is patient and kind. She has made a life in the service of others. Watching her raise our children and love on them has made me love her more. She reads them bedtime stories, kisses boo-boos, and snuggles with them when they are scared. She epitomizes being a loving and compassionate wife and mother.

This is from our first year of marriage! I love doing life with Dave!

I love having summers off so the kids and I can go on adventures!

I enjoy being in nature, whether it's a park or an outoor art trail like this.

about Ashley EXTENDED FAMILY

I am very close to my extended family. We live just a few minutes from my parents, grandparents, and a large group of aunts, uncles, and cousins, so we see them regularly. My parents have been married over 35 years. My mom is a teacher and enjoys quilting. My dad is an electrician and enjoys beekeeping. They are wonderful grandparents and often have all the grandkids come over to play.

My sister and her family live nearby, and our kids love playing together. My grandparents love being great-grandparents and spoil our kids every chance they get. My grandparents were very active in my life, so it's been very special to see my kids love them too!

We spend lots of time with my family. Once a year, we stay at a condo with my grandparents, parents, our family, and my sister's family. This tradition started when I was little, so it means a lot to continue with my kids. It's a full house, but we love it!

My family loves kids and can't wait to have another child to love on and spoil!

My mom, my sister, and I love to do things together! This is from a girls' trip to see Hamilton!

Our kids love spending time with Nana and Grandpa!

We love going on vacation with our cousins

about Ashley work & education

I have a bachelor's degree in social studies education. I am a junior high and high school teacher in a small school. I love teaching in a small school because I often have students more than once and I get to watch them grow as they go from 7th graders to seniors. I also love teaching because it means that I have summers off with my kids! I teach in the same building where our kids go to school, so we're always on the same schedule and just a phone call away.

about Ashley HOBBIES & INTERESTS

Some of my hobbies and interests include:

reading
travel
visiting state parks to hike or spend time outside
doing arts and crafts
learning more about history and science

about Children Audrey

Riding bikes at the park

Audrey loves helping with baby cousins

Audrey loves cats so much that she asked for a cat birthday cake!

about Children Bryce

Bryce was excited about his dino birthday cake

Bryce loves to help pick veggies and haul them with his toy tractor

Bryce laughed the entire time while feeding the lorikeets at the zoo

about our home

Our home sits on several acres in a peaceful rural area. We have lots of room to play outside, explore our woods, grow a garden, and raise chickens. We love spending time outside. We pick wildflowers in the spring and watch wildlife wonder through our yard. We have a playset that Dave and his brothers built for our kids, and Ashley's grandpa built a swing that sits under the shade of a tree. It's a perfect spot to watch the kids play or read a good book.

Inside, we have enough bedrooms so that each child will have his/her own room. Our main living area is an open concept living room, dining room, and kitchen. We spend most of our time together in our livingroom and love hosting birthday parties, holidays, and family meals.

We love spending time together in our living room!

Exploring the woods behind our house is something the kids love to do.

In this picture, it isn't done, but the kids couldn't wait to see the playset.

We love decorating our home for Christmas! We have several traditions, including new Christmas PJs.

I love how the sunlight comes through the woods and into our home. This is from Christmas morning!

So much room to play and run!

about our world

While we live in a rural setting, we're just a few minutes away from town and from lots of things to do. Our local community is a great place with several festivals, a pool, a park, and a wonderful library with an active kids' program. Our church hosts lots of family events and has an amazing children's program that our kids love. Nearby are several state parks that we love to visit. We ride bikes, hike, swim, and picnic there often. Our kids attend a great school where the teachers and staff truly care about them and their success. Our kids have also participated in nearby dance studios and sports programs.

Within a drive of our home are many more great places that we love to visit. We go every year to visit the zoo and a children's museum. We live not too far from several bigger cities that offer lots to do. We like to visit art museums, watch professional and college sports games, and try new foods at international restaurants.

Visiting the zoo is one of our favorite things to do together

We love trick-or-treating with family and friends

Exploring a cave at a state park!

Our local area has so much to do! Audrey had the chance to try riding lessons as a birthday gift.