Adoption Terminology

Hi! We are Adam and Amelia. We appreciate you taking the time to get to know us and considering entrusting us to parent your child. We met each other through friends from church in early 2012 while Adam was living in St. Louis and Amelia was living in Seattle. We had a long distance courtship that led to marriage at the end of 2012. We both desired to have children with birth and adoptive children always being part of the discussions for growing our family. We began pursuing both adoption and biological children simultaneously while trusting God to provide children as he saw fit. We were blessed to have our daughter, Penelope, become a part of our family in 2023, which put a brief pause on the adoption process while we adjusted to caring for a little one. We are praying and trusting God to continue to grow our family through adoption. We desire to have multiple siblings for Penelope, and our hope is for them to join our family through adoption. 

We seek to foster a home environment that encourages exploration and inquisitiveness. We like to go for walks as a family, play at the nearby park, visit with neighbors, and work in the garden. We enjoy being silly and laughing together. We all like to read, and there are lots of books in our house to encourage reading. We also cook together. Penelope loves to help make food with us, so we find ways for her to participate in an age-appropriate way, such as adding the seasonings to a dish or stirring something in a bowl.

We both like board games and look forward to playing them with our children. We have discovered that cooperative games are a good way to play together since it is everyone against the game. Amelia taught Adam how to knit, and it is a hobby we both enjoy. We knit things for family and friends to share our love of knitting with others. Amelia loves to garden and shares that passion with Penelope. We both enjoy cooking. Adam also enjoys baking, which is something he likes to share with family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

As you consider us, know that we value you and want you to have interactions with your child, if that is something you desire. You are important to your child, and we want them to know about you. We are thinking about you and praying for you. We hope to meet you and your child soon.

Greg and I always enjoy our time together. We like to spend time outdoors, on a kayak or paddleboard, and are always up for a competitive driveway basketball game! We also like working in our yard. I plant flowers and watch them grow, and Greg keeps them watered. Together we make a great team! We love grabbing ice cream with our nieces, cheering on our favorite teams, and watching funny movies together. Christmas movies are in season all year! Whether we’re at home on game night or out sharing a pizza, we always have fun laughing together. 

Our love story:

Greg and I met through my younger brother, Will. Will and Greg met shortly after Will graduated from college. Years later, Will bumped into Greg at the grocery store. He told Greg he should give me a call. Will had never set me up on a date before, so I knew this guy must be someone special! I agreed to go out with Greg, and we have been together ever since.

We dated for one year before becoming engaged. On a cold New Year’s Day, Greg and I went on a romantic walk along the riverfront in Nashville. We were on the beautiful pedestrian bridge overlooking the city when snow began to fall and music began to play. A man on an electric keyboard was playing Ed Sheeran’s song, “Thinking Out Loud”— a beautiful love song about growing old with your true love. I looked at Greg and he was down on one knee. He told me how much he loved me and asked me to marry him. I enthusiastically said, “Yes!” I complimented Greg for having the musician play the lovely music for the proposal, but Greg said he had not hired him. The musician just happened to be on the bridge performing the perfect soundtrack for our engagement! Every time we pass the pedestrian bridge, we remember the wonderful night we promised to belong to each other forever.

Our wedding was a dream come true! The fun began at our rehearsal dinner. Instead of a traditional dinner, we invited the wedding party to a baseball game. We enjoyed the fireworks display over the ballpark that night—it was as if everyone there was celebrating with us. Our wedding was held at the Nashville Symphony Center. The wedding was a family affair. All our siblings, their spouses, and their children were included in the wedding party. We had an amazing band and everyone danced all night! Our wedding was a joyous event and a true celebration of God’s promises.

We are incredibly grateful that you have taken the time to learn about our lives. It is truly an honor to introduce ourselves, and we hope this gives you a small glimpse into who we are.

We are Beau and Erin, and we were both born and raised in Washington State. We have been married for almost 20 years and have desired to grow our family for more than 15 of those years. We met in high school at a summer Bible camp in 1998. We started dating later that summer and quickly realized we were meant to be together. After six years of dating and once Erin completed her bachelor’s degree, Beau proposed, and we were married on August 13, 2005.

From the very beginning of our relationship, we have wanted children but faced challenges conceiving. Our doctor informed us that it was unlikely for us to get pregnant without medical intervention. At that time, we were devastated; however, we strongly felt that the Lord was calling us to welcome a child into our home through adoption, and we found peace in that decision.

Both of us come from medium-sized families and grew up with siblings. We understand how special sibling relationships can be, and we believe that family is one of the most important aspects of life. In addition to our immediate family, we have an extended community of friends who are also very important to us.

In our home, we emphasize love and respect for one another, striving to demonstrate a love similar to that of God. We have always hoped and prayed for children. Adoption has been on our hearts for a long time, and we are very excited about the prospect of adding a child to our loving family.

If you choose us, know that you will always be an important part of your child's story, and your child will grow up knowing just how very loved they are and we would love for you to continue to be a part of their life as well if that is something you would like.

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.

Hi, we are Austin and Hannah and we met the summer of 2019 in the college group at our church. I (Hannah) still remember walking to the patio of the building where Austin was grilling tacos (the location of our proposal a few years later). We both thought the other was cute but neither of us said anything at the time. We became friends and hung out in group settings throughout the summer. Following graduation from college I returned home to WA to stay and at the end of the summer he asked me out and we enjoyed our first date getting some tacos and going to a Mariner’s game! We introduced the topic of adoption early on since we both had a desire to grow our family through adoption. Austin's mom was adopted from Korea and Hannah saw adoption firsthand when her youth pastor adopted when she was younger. We both knew that we desired a partner who had the same passion for adoption.

Hello, we are John and Alisa Rachan.

We met in Spanish class in college at Olivet Nazarene University. We were acquaintances at first, but reconnected after graduation. John reached out to Alisa to get together since he worked at an engineering company close to where she lived. During college, she had a crush on him from afar, so instantly accepted the invitation to dinner. We spent 3 hours talking that evening and felt as if we had known each other for years. Alisa then went to live in Mexico City to do missions work with her nursing degree for a year. God was always working during this time, however, and we reconnected once again after she returned. We started dating a few months later, were engaged after 6 months of dating and married 9 months later. 

We have 2 children: Eliana, who was adopted, is 4 years old, and Ava, who is biological, is 3 years old. We have always desired to have a large family and first considered building it through biological means and later through adoption. However, when we struggled getting pregnant and were diagnosed with unexplained infertility early in our marriage, we decided to pursue adoption instead of extensive medical treatments. Eliana’s name means God has provided, and we truly feel that her life was an answer to our prayers in many ways. We have an open adoption with her birth family, and we are so blessed by this relationship. Ava was a surprise gift from the Lord as well, when we did not think that we could conceive. She was born to us about 6 months after Eliana was born. Her name means breath of life, and we are thankful for her life and for the friendship that our two daughters have with one another. They are truly best friends. We have been trying to grow our family for a few years now and are feeling led to pursue adoption once again because of secondary infertility and because of the joy that adoption has brought to us already. 

Together as a family, we enjoy playing in our backyard, going to parks and meeting other young families, going on walks/bike rides, exploring the outdoors, doing bonfires, playing board games, and hosting friends and family in our home regularly. 

In our lives, there have been both trials and joys. Through it all, we have seen God's faithfulness to provide for us and give us His peace. We are eager to participate once again in the beautiful gift of adoption because we also have been adopted as children into God's family. We hope to provide the best possible loving and caring home for another child, and will strive to teach our children to love the Lord, to be kind and compassionate to others, and to cherish every moment that God gives us. 

We have always felt called to adopt, and passionate that families can be defined by LOVE as well as biology. We are grateful to be considered as you make such a loving decision for your baby. 

*Links to our Instagram and Profile Book are in the "Letter" Section* =)

"Adventure is out there!" UP is our favorite movie. It would be awesome to talk more with you and see if you'd like to go on this adventure together!

We were set up on a blind date by some mutual friends at church and have been married for 5 years in September. We had met for coffee and cupcakes on our first date. We were going to share a cupcake, but Bryan learned that Elisabeth didn't like chocolate. We were able to get past this obstacle. We love to travel and have been to six countries together. Elisabeth grew up going on road trips with her family. She has been to all fifty states. We plan to do road trips and travel in the future as a family. Elisabeth grew up playing board games often with her family, and we play them often together. We love to have friends over for games and dinner. We both have  love of reading and plan to share that with your child. As Stickland Gillian wrote: "Richer than I you can never be-- I had a Mother who read to me." We both have a love for the arts: symphony, art museums, and Broadway plays. Bryan's mom introduced him to plays as a child, and we plan to share that with your child. 

We are high school sweet hearts that met through mutual friends over 16 years ago. Our married life, 7 years ago, began in Salt lake City, where we first became parents when we adopted our cat, Cora. Living in Salt Lake City taught us a lot about working together as a teamby leaning on on another for support. After 5 years together in Salt Lake, we returned to the St. Louis area. This is where we met, and we are elated to be surrounded by friends and family that inspire and motivate us everyday.

Our marriage is strong, built on  a foundation of trust, communication, and teamwork. These are the core values we will use to guide us as we transition into parenthood. We have known about our fertility struggles long before we were married, so adpotion has been on our hearts for a large portion of our relationship.