Even before we met, we each hoped adoption would be a part of our stories. When we discovered we had that in common, our desire to adopt brought us closer. Early in our marriage, we tried to have children biologically, but the Lord does not seem to have that in our plan. After we realized we might not be able to have kids, we put all of our energy into adoption.

We love adoption for many reasons, one of the main ones is the picture it is of God's loving relationship to all of us. He welcomes us all into His life, home, and heart, giving us a diverse family of brothers and sisters. Mary and I feel so loved by such a generous God and want to open our hearts, home, and family in the same way.

We are thankful that our church has a lot of adoptive families and a robust community to support them. Also, the enthusiastic support and love of our friends and families makes choosing adoption easier and more meaningful for us and our community. People in our lives regularly ask us how the adoption process is going and this shows us just how big the community is that will welcome and support the life and future of your child (they are already praying for him/her!).

Mary is a very loving, servant-hearted woman who loves to dance, cook, sing, joke, host, and be with friends and family. She is great at understanding and solving practical problems - she especially loves when we solve them efficiently. She keeps us organized, on budget, from getting lost when traveling, and figures out better ways to run our home. Her love of science and skill in teaching make her fascinating to be around as she can explain much of what goes on in the world around us. When we are around others, Mary is the life of the party and also makes people feel loved, important, and interesting. She also loves to plan and host gatherings small and large.

Kyle is a smart, fun, kind man who loves being around people, being creative, reading, fishing, running, and being outdoors. His creativity comes out when he teaches or preaches, draws, writes, and plans parties and surprises. Kyle loves to talk with and understand people. Even when he meets a stranger at a store, he talks to them, tries out a joke, and treats them as a friend. Kyle also is a deep thinker who is well-read and is good at connecting what's going on in the world with how God loves us.

The Christmas season is a tradition-rich time of year for us. It all starts the weekend after Thanksgiving when we pick out our tree from the same, local place we go to each year. As soon as we bring it home, we begin decorating while watching a Christmas movie marathon (including the Grinch, Elf, White Christmas, Christmas Vacation, etc.). Mary runs the show as our house turns into a Christmas wonderland and many of the decorations carry special meaning for us - especially the wooden Santas Mary's grandfather carved by hand.

Once our house is decorated, we are ready for the month of celebration in which we host a Christmas party, make Christmas cookies for our neighbors, and go to our church's Christmas Eve service. We wake up Christmas morning to cinnamon rolls, calling our families, and opening presents. Christmas is definitely Mary's favorite time of year and she earned the nickname "Mrs. Claus" in a certain group of friends. We look forward to welcoming our children into these traditions and hanging a new stocking between Mary's and the one Kyle's mom stitched for him when he was young.

Other traditions we have include celebrating Birthday Week (and not just a birthDAY), praying together before bed, a big family breakfast on Saturdays, Friday date night, and hosting a neighborhood block party. We form traditions often and look forward to forming more with your child.

We love our home in a cozy town in North Carolina in which we have lived for almost nine years. Our local community, and our church community more specifically, is very supportive of adoption. We are close with a number of families who have adopted, have an adoption support ministry in our church, and have family who have adopted. Adoption makes sense in our community.

We have a three-bedroom home with abundant skylights and woody surroundings, which makes us feel like we live in the country (though we're actually within walking distance of our downtown). We spend a lot of time together cooking, exercising, and watching movies.

Our neighborhood has a good mix of ages and a few families with children who play in their lawns and our shared natural areas. We love living here, nestled among trees, within walking distance of our community pool and large neighborhood park. We can walk to nature trails in minutes and we're close to multiple parks and schools, the regional hospital, and even have local sports.

Family is so important to us. We both have been blessed by being raised in loving homes with parents who remain active in our lives. Our parents are VERY active grandparents who love to babysit and spend time with the grandkids. Our siblings are great parents of their own children and Mary's brother and sister-in-law will likely be your child's godparents. Both of Kyle's stepsisters have adopted and all of our siblings, parents, and extended family are so excited for us to adopt.

Though much of Mary's family lives in another state, we get together for regular beach trips, visits, camping, and the holidays. Most of Kyle's family is within the state and we go to the beach every year with his mom, concerts with his brothers, and see his dad throughout the year. Like many families, ours loves to gather for meals - especially around Christmas - and, whenever we get together, we spend our time talking in the kitchen, playing games, building puzzles, and playing with our nieces and nephews.

Thank you for taking the time to consider us and allowing us to share about ourselves. We can't imagine how tough the decisions are that you face, but we want you to know we will give your child a safe, encouraging, nurturing, and joy-filled home.

Our journey to this letter has been a hard one, but also one where we have seen God watching over us. When each of us were little, we started telling our parents that we wanted to be a mom and dad when we grew up. Throughout our childhoods, we received great love from our parents and saw them model the kind of love and care we hope to give to children in our home. When we got married, kids were a central part of the plan, but we learned over time that the Lord wouldn't be adding biological children to our family. This was a tough realization for us, but we grew to understand that this unexpected turn is God's good plan for us and that plan includes you.

The kind of life we hope to provide for a future child is one of loving support from our family and friends. We live in a great, family-friendly little town where we have established strong roots and the deep relationships with friends and other families who will be a part of our parenting. Our own parents are retired and cannot wait to play games, babysit, and join in the life of a child who would be a part of our home. We cannot wait for our children to join the ranks of the other grandchildren for all of the holidays, beach vacations, camping trips, and cheering for the "right" football team (Clemson or Ohio State, depending on who you ask).

We look forward to raising children to highly value education, be a kind and good neighbor to anyone they meet, have a strong work ethic, not take themselves too seriously, and to love the God who already loves them. We want children raised in our home to see these strong values even more than they hear them spoken about. We plan to serve in the community, participate in the life of our church, and practice hospitality as a family. These are things we both were so blessed to see growing up that we want to pass them on as parents.

As you consider us as a potential match for adoption, we want you to know that we will share your child's growth and experience with you through photos, letters, and emails if desired. We will always be open and honest with regards to adoption and will make sure your child knows how much you love him/her and how hard this decision was for you. We will speak highly of you and honor you with our words and actions. From where we sit, you have made a brave decision and we will always respect you for it. Our gratitude for your selflessness will be evident in our home.

Thank you for considering us as potential parents for your child. As you go through this process, we will be praying this blessing for you and your little one:

'May the LORD bless you and keep you; may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.' (Num. 6:24-26)

Warmly,

Kyle & Mary