Casey & Karen
Marriage Length
14 Years
Home State
Idaho
Denomination
Nondenominational
Pets
1
Children
Landon
8 yr
About Us
We met in 2007 at Grace Christian University in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After filling out an "Application to date my daughter" for her dad, we started dating and quickly fell for each other. We got married on May 29th, 2010 in Seattle, Washington in the church where Casey was raised. After a 6 month internship in Phoenix, AZ, and a final semester in college for Casey, he was offered a full-time position as the Associate Pastor of Youth Ministry at Mountain View Bible Church in Post Falls, ID.
We moved to Post Falls in 2011 and haven’t looked back. We love the family we have at the church, especially since our families don’t live nearby. We have the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in many ways including hiking, camping, fishing, swimming, disc golf, and much more. We also enjoy regular time together as a family playing card games and board games at home, throwing a football or kicking a soccer ball at the park, and traveling to visit our families.
We wanted to have a family soon after we got married, but God has been teaching us to wait on his timing. After 5 years of marriage, we adopted our son Landon at birth on November 20th, 2015. He has brought so much joy into our lives, and his story is truly incredible. We are beyond blessed to be his parents. Now we look forward to the day that we can bring another little life into our family to love and protect.
We are looking forward to growing our family through any of the following adoption opportunities:
Type
Open , Semi-open , ClosedGender
Any genderRace
Any RaceCircumstances
- Twins
- Multiples
Casey's TESTIMONY
As a child, my parents set a good example of what it looked like to live for Jesus. They demonstrated things like generosity, service, joy, peace, and many other elements of the Christian life. As I grew in my understanding of God, who He is, and what Jesus did for me, I learned to submit my life to Jesus as my Lord and savior. Through that commitment, I find myself today seeking to bring honor to Him in everything I do. As a youth pastor, my goal is to help the students in our community grow in their understanding of who Jesus is and what He has done, and can do for them.
Karen's TESTIMONY
I grew up in a pastor's home. I was taught from an early age how to be a follower of Jesus. I made the decision to make Jesus the Lord of my life when I was very young. It has then been a time of learning and growing and deepening my relationship with God. I fully believe that Jesus died and rose again and is now providing a way for me to have a relationship with Jesus. It has not always been easy, and I can see in my life where God grew me and stretched me. I married the love of my life at the age of 20, and we wanted to have a family right away. It was then that we realized the challenges we would have in trying to conceive. We are 13 years in to the infertility world, and have experienced deep loss and grief. But we have also seen God’s hand of mercy, grace, and provision. We were able to adopt our son 8 years ago, and it has been such a joy and answer to prayer. We are excited to grow our family again through adoption, and be on a road that so obviously points back to our Creator and Savior.
Letter to you
Read MoreOur Christian Commitment
Casey is on staff at Mountain View Bible Church, where we attend and serve. It is a smaller church that strongly emphasizes biblical teaching and our Bibles are open every week. Our ministry participation is truly a partnership as we serve side by side in many different ministries. Since Casey is the youth pastor, we run the youth ministry for students in grades 6-12. In addition to that, we serve side by side in our churches mid-week children’s ministry. While Casey plays worship for the kids, Karen runs the powerpoint, and Karen keeps score while Casey runs the games. We have also been meeting with a young adult bible study once a week for young men and women that are out of high school.
Our family enjoys doing life with the people at our church. We are very close and appreciate the relationships that we have built over our time here. As we do life with our church family, we get the privilege of supporting the students in our ministry by attending things like sports, concerts, plays, and other extra curricular activities. In the long run, we realize that our primary goal is to encourage people in their walk with Jesus as we come alongside to encourage and uplift the people around us.
Vision For Raising A Child
We have known for a long time now that our family has more love to give. Our primary vision for our adopted baby is to provide a safe, secure, loving, and nurturing environment for the child to grow. We have seen God work in our lives in many ways, and we look forward to being able to share with this child how God brought them into our lives to love and care for. As we raise our children, we strive to embody godly values like generosity, service, compassion, and truth. We desire to clearly teach the difference between right and wrong, establishing a pattern of integrity, biblical standards, and a pursuit of God’s truth. As our child grows, we pray they will come to an understanding of the person of Jesus Christ, what He did for us, and what He has to offer both now and in eternity.
ABOUT Casey
What Karen wants you to know about Casey:
He is loving
He is an amazing dad!
He assumes the best in everyone
He invests in others
He is an awesome youth pastor
He is goofy and fun
He is a musician and very active
He loves Jesus with his whole heart
EXTENDED FAMILY
Casey's family has lived in the Seattle area his whole life. His parents are Steve and Sheri, and they have lived in the same house since he was 3 years old. His sister, Holly, is the middle child, and Shawna is the youngest. Shawna and her husband, Danny, have three boys: Benett, who is 2, and Hunter and Remington, who are 1. We enjoy getting together as much as possible!
Aunt Holly (Casey's sister)
Pops and Grams
Aunt Shawna (Casey's sister), Uncle Danny, Bennett, Hunter, and Remington
Casey, Steve, Sheri, Shawna, and Holly (The original 5)
We go to a lake house with the Duke side just about every summer for a long weekend.
Landon with his three cousins, Hunter, Remington, and Bennett
WORK & EDUCATION
Casey is a full time youth pastor at our church. He is a teacher, mentor, challenger, event planner, and more. He loves to watch people discover their gifts, and then use them to serve God and serve others. His schedule is fairly flexible, which means he is able to make family his top priority.
Service project at a camp in Washington State.
He runs the games at our youth summer camp every year
The bond of father and son
He graduated from Grace Christian University with a Bachelor of Theology in Pastoral Ministry.
While Casey doesn't get paid for this job, teaching Landon how to be a godly man is of utmost importance
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
Casey is a fun guy. Because ministry is so woven into our family life, there isn't much time for actual hobbies. But his enjoyment comes from being around others, encouraging others, having fun with others, and building others up. He likes to live an active lifestyle, where disc golf, hiking, sports, and camping are often involved.
ABOUT Karen
What Casey wants you to know about Karen:
She is an amazing wife
Family is top priority
She loves to laugh
She is a great mom
She is a hard worker and a strong mentor
She loves Jesus with everything she has
EXTENDED FAMILY
Karen's family is the Spykerman clan. Her parents are Gary and Sue, and they live in Holland, MI. She is the youngest of 4 kids. Michelle is the oldest, Kevin is next in line, then Brian, then Karen. Both Michelle and Brian live in Michigan with their families, and Kevin's family lives in southern California. Even though we are spread out, we remain close, and visit as much as we can. With 11 grandkids for Karen's parents, there is never a shortage of fun, silliness, and laughter.
WORK & EDUCATION
Karen graduated from Grace Christian University and taught 1st grade for a few years. Once Landon was born, she was able to be a fulltime mom, staying at home. She works hard to keep the house clean, the meals planned, the schedule organized, and is also involved in the ministry at church. One of her giftings is making people feel seen, acknowledged, and important. She is good at encouraging others, but also challenging them.
HOBBIES & INTERESTS
Karen's primary hobbies and interests revolve around her family. Her favorite nights involve spending time as a family with nothing specific on the calendar. Going shopping, out to dinner, or just staying home to watch a movie are some of her favorite things as long as she's with her favorite people, Casey and Landon. She can often be caught watching cookie and cake decorating tutorials, and makes and decorates some amazing cookies.
Landon
Meet Landon:
How old are you? 8
What's your favorite color? Blue
What is your favorite food? Pot pie
Where do you like to go? Legoland!
Who's your best friend? Peter
What do you like to do in the summer? Go to Silverwood
What are you really good at? Soccer
What do you want to be when you grow up? A missionary
Casey's mom has horses, so we get to enjoy learning about them and riding them
Gingerbread house decorating together! One of our favorite family traditions
2nd grade school picture
Landon likes to make pancakes for the family
A big helper!
Landons birth mom and birth sister
The day we brought Landon home from the hospital
Loved by both sets of grandparents
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ABOUT OUR WORLD
ABOUT OUR HOME
We bought our current home in 2018, and it is truly our happy place. With four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and both a living room and play room, it is perfect for raising a family. With the addition of a basketball court in the back yard and a park right around the corner, it fits perfectly with our active lifestyle. If the sun is out, there isn't a day where we don't spend time outside.
ABOUT OUR WORLD
Basically our world is filled with family and friends. We worship together, serve together, laugh together, play together, support each other, encourage each other, and all around 'do life' together. We visit our families as often as we can, but are content to be a family here in Post Falls, Idaho.
