God’s Plan

Paul and I met during our first semester at Texas A&M Veterinary school in 2012. We formed a study group together and would spend late nights at the library studying for tests. We were fast friends and started to build that foundation before we ever went on a date. Paul is steadfast and calm in life's struggles while Haley is goofy and always ready to laugh. We made a great team. Thank goodness Paul worked up enough courage to ask Haley out! Two years later we were engaged and in August of 2015 we were married! From a young age, Haley knew God was calling her to adopt. When we met, Haley shared this calling with Paul and he agreed but wanted to try for a biological child first and then adopt as a second or third. After 2 years of no luck and a diagnosis of endometriosis for Haley, we knew God had already called us to adoption. We never pursued any in-vitro because we knew God had a child waiting for us that was perfect for our family. God definitely followed through with that promise after meeting our first son, Luke. We know there is another child out there God plans to add to our family and we cannot wait to meet them! 

We know it sounds cliche, but we met online…by accident. We connected via social media, thinking that the person we connected with was someone else. When we started looking at each other’s pictures, we soon noticed that there had been a case of mistaken identity. After realizing we didn’t actually know each other, we had a mutual friend reach out to us individually to try and play matchmaker. We chatted back and forth for three weeks via email, talking about everything you can imagine – music, work, church, friends, food, and life. Our first conversation on the phone was incredible and lasted for several hours. After a month of speaking to each other, we decided to meet. Our first date was the day before Valentine’s Day and we both knew instantly that we were going to marry each other. From then on, we frequented new and unique restaurants, wandered through museums, hung out at the beach, and got to know each other’s friends and family. 13 months after our first date, we were married, and it has been the most incredible journey.

We both work in the agriculture industry and while we would have likely run into each other at some point, the timing couldn’t have been more divine. At the time, we had a few mutual friends who were trying to play ‘match-maker,’ and it wasn’t until I was assigned a new territory and walked into a particular ag retailer that I met Austin. I remember him having a hard time coming up with the words to say when I walked in because of course, neither of us expected to meet each other but we both knew about each other because of the whole ‘match-making’ bit.

Austin asked me on a date THREE times before I finally relented. The third time, he invited me to the lake, and being from northeast Oklahoma where lakes are abundant, I was convinced this part of Texas didn’t have lakes so I really only said yes because I missed home and missed being out on the lake. We had instant chemistry and fell for each other pretty quickly. The first time we ever went out to lunch, for a work meeting, he says he left that meeting and told his co-worker that he could listen to me talk for the rest of his life. We didn’t immediately date. In fact, we went on a few dates and then stopped abruptly, but months later we reconnected and as they say, the rest is history.

Austin proposed in May 2017, during the busiest season of our careers – cotton planting season! Even though the day didn’t go as planned and I ended up hauling seed during the time Austin intended to propose, it was still a night we will never forget, and now we have the most hilarious story to tell when people ask about our engagement. We wouldn’t trade it for anything. Well, maybe Austin would. He was awfully stressed out that night. 

It’s hard to believe we’ve been together for nearly 9 years and married for almost 6. Time has really flown by and each and every day in our marriage is so much fun. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, you can count on us to be the life of the party and always down to have a good time. We love laughing and creating memories together. We recently remodeled our current home together that we purchased originally as an investment property, and while we did that we lived in our motorhome with our dogs for 6 months. I feel like that is a great test of a relationship, not to mention, the home remodel. We only grew closer during that time and really learned that we don’t value ‘stuff’ much and we’d rather have the time and finances to create memories and travel together.

We couldn’t believe we sat near each other in nursing school for 2 years and never shared more than a few words with each other. After going on our first date, almost a year after graduation, we realized how much we had in common and we were instantly attached to each other. We realized we grew up with similar beliefs and enjoyed the same hobbies. We love sports and going to events together, cheering on our favorite team. We both love trying new restaurants and exploring new cities. We love to ride around looking at mountain views and just enjoy each others company. We love to plan vacations with the kids and surprise them with new adventures. We truly are best friends. We love each other so deeply. We respect each other and stand behind each others dreams. We make sure to put each other first and continue learning ways to grow our relationship with each other and the Lord. Having children was always a dream of ours, even before we were married. We love parenting together and we are so grateful for these special blessings that God has given us.

We are Tom and Abi! Thank you for taking the time to take a glance into our lives! We got married in May of 2015 and are still in love today. In a busy world, we make it a point to prioritize our marriage and family. God comes first, family second, and work comes third. We've known and planned on adopting since before getting married, and we continue to hope and pray that the Lord chooses to bring children into our home for us to love, teach, and raise. 

We met on an online dating site. I noticed right away that Peter was special. He asked good questions and took a genuine interest in getting to know who I was. I was intrigued by him. After a couple of weeks of exchanging long messages, he asked me out to dinner. Our first date was at a restaurant called Smokey Bones. We felt at ease with one another right away and more dates followed, including bowling, a trip to the zoo, going to an indoor amusement park, and trying new restaurants. We enjoyed our second date at a local Thai restaurant where our connection deepened. Later, Peter proposed by setting up a private dinner with food from this same restaurant. He also had a book made that included all of our email messages from when we were getting to know each other online. Since we decided on a small wedding, we had our ceremony at a local park pavilion on the most beautiful fall day. It was a perfectly simple, sunny, and wonderful day. We chose a small wedding with hopes of going on a big adventure for our honeymoon. We went to Ireland, a place I had always wanted to go. Peter had been there before on a high school trip, and had wanted to come back with his wife someday. I guess both of our dreams came true :)

We’re Andrea and Nelson! We’ve been together for twelve years and married for eight (this March), and about five years ago we were blessed to adopt our amazing son, Oliver. Andrea is fascinated by a lot of things, ranging from shark biology to crazy celebrity beef. Nelson enjoys working with his hands and BBQing on our smoker. As a family, we love going on adventures together, spending quality time, and exploring whatever is making us curious at that moment (like animals at the zoo, the jellyfish at low tide, or what we can build with Legos or cardboard boxes). Our family believes in open communication, unconditional love, and asking questions. No topic will ever be off limits in our home. Oliver is very excited about welcoming a sibling home and has been praying for it to happen “tomorrow.” We, too, are excited for another little one to join our family. Thank you for considering us!

One of the greatest things we can share as parents is access to our friends and family. We are unconditionally loved and supported by so many people whether they be biological or adopted relatives, or dear friends. We have strong relationships with some special people – some who have been in our lives for 30+ years. Several of our friends live minutes from us, and a few have recently started their own families so are itching for play dates. Both sets of our parents are still married and are wonderful grandparents. Andrea has an older brother and sister-in-law, and Nelson has 2 sisters, 3 brothers and 2 sets of in-laws. We are aunt and uncle to 13 nieces and nephews and combined, we have 10 aunts, 10 uncles and over 60 cousins. Simply put, we have a lot of family and friends! And everyone is beyond excited to welcome home a new member!

Along with our extended human family, we have two fuzzy members of our family - our adopted animals Indy and Obi. We rescued Indy as a 3 month old puppy. And 2 year old Obi chose Oliver. Really! He came right up and head nuzzled him. It's been love every since! These two pets are characters who love us, but most especially they love kids. 

Greetings! 

We are Cade and Isabel, and we cannot wait to meet you. Our 8 years of marriage have been full of adventure, travel, and togetherness, and our Christian faith remains at the center of our relationship. We look forward to providing our child(ren) with the same love, commitment, and opportunities to explore that we’ve enjoyed throughout our marriage. 

We reside in northwestern Wisconsin in a mid-size city, where Cade works as a Graphic Designer and Isabel works as an Admissions Director. As a couple, we enjoy travel, hiking, reading, watching movies, going on walks, and hanging out with Phoenix, our 10-year-old cat that we welcomed into our home 2 years ago. 

We could not be more ready to grow our family through adoption and share the love and life we have had with a child(ren).

We are potential parents who love living life and want to share that love with your child. We have love in our hearts for God, first - family, next and from there it extends into our community. Marriage, to us, means working hard daily showing our love to each other. It helps that we both share a deep faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ. We exist with Him at the center of our lives. One of the things for which we pray daily is that God would bless us with a child. It does not look like this will happen biologically but, with God’s help, it may through adoption. We look forward to pouring our love out to a baby boy or girl, sharing all that we have with them. We especially look forward to helping them grow up knowing how much God loves them and the wonderful things He has in store for their lives.

We want to grow as a family through adoption. We respect all children’s uniqueness and believe that each has been created intentionally by Our Lord. The two of us often find ourselves in lively interaction with the children of our extended family and in our circle of friends. During these conversations, we both learn from the youngsters as well as share lessons we have learned in life..