James 1:27

A little about us: we met near the foothills of the beautiful Rocky Mountains at a discipleship school. When we first started our relationship, Brandon (who had never dated before) thought it'd be quite sweet to get Jess a flower. But when he took the carnation out of the car to hand it to her, the heavy flower head fell off! Not quite the impression he was hoping for, but despite the "flower that flopped", the relationship did not, and we joyfully were married less than a year later. 

After 8 years of marriage, we still enjoy laughing together at life's quirky happenings and dreaming big about the future. We love and follow Jesus Christ. Because of that reality, our home is filled with peace, joy (and so much of it!), love, laughter, giggles, excitement, hope ... the list could go on and on! 

To sum it up, our home and our family is a place where Light and Life are found.

We met at a Christian Club that Rick had started with a friend at a local college. We dated for four years and then got married and it was the best decision we could have made. We are perfect for each other.

About Paige (from Rick’s perspective)

Paige is the love of my life. I feel that she is the most generous, caring, loving, and thoughtful person I know. She continually motivates and encourages me to be the best version of myself. Paige is an amazing mom to our two boys and is always investing love and time into their lives. She loves to bake with them and read to them. She loves making special moments and memories in each day. For every holiday that comes around, Paige plans exciting projects for the kids to bring as much anticipation for that holiday as possible. Tea parties and fun educational games are a common occurrence in her homeschool days. She loves to take the kids outside to explore and she has the best way of bringing whatever she is teaching them to life. More than my wife, Paige is my best friend. When we are together, we are always laughing, and sharing with each other all the amazing things God is doing in our lives. I feel infinitely blessed to be married to her and to have her in my life. I look forward to the years ahead knowing that we have each other for the rest of time.

About Rick (from Paige’s perspective)

Rick is a wonderful husband to me and Father to my boys. We work, play, and laugh together daily. He is the most loyal and patient man I know and he never ceases to amaze me with his dedication to our family. He is compassionate yet strong. He is honest and trustworthy. If I ever doubt myself or get discouraged, he is always there with a hug and a listening ear. When I have an idea to try, Rick is always supportive and gives his all to help me achieve it. He embodies all the qualities I dreamed of finding in the man I would marry. As the years go by, I find myself more and more in love with him as we live this life as purposefully as possible. We hope that our children remember us most for bringing joy to others and making a difference wherever we go. Watching Rick with our two boys is a gift. He can make them laugh like no one else can. They love to spend every waking moment with him. We are thankful that Rick works from home often which gives him the ability to have more time with us than most. He knows how to make life fun and memorable even on the most mundane days. I love this man and cannot imagine my life without him. The bond we share is truly a gift from God.

We met in Virginia the summer after Katie graduated college and had an immediate connection. We started out as good friends and soon after fell in love. We live in a small town in the northern DFW area with our son Josiah, and two small dogs Sophie and Riley. We all enjoy spending time outdoors, trying out new restaurants and going on adventures. We love to laugh and have fun just being together as a family.

We are Blake and Steph! We are very happy to share our life with you. We have 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. We adopted our youngest son in 2019. We are high school sweethearts and have been married for 17 years. We knew we wanted to grow our family through adoption before we were married. Our home is Christ-centered surrounded by people who are loving and supportive. Having Christ as our foundation is very important to us. We know through Him all things are possible. Our kids are very involved in church and school activities and we love to spend our time supporting them. Steph is a school nurse at the same school the kids attend and Blake works in agronomy and farming. We have several other activities we enjoy doing as a family which include, golfing, fishing, playing games, and having bonfires. We also enjoy boating in the summer and trying new foods. We look forward to learning more about you! 

We first crossed paths at Zilker Park in Austin, TX. John was playing lacrosse with friends while Sarah chatted with a friend. New to Austin, Sarah remembers seeing his group and wishing she could be a part of it. John remembers wishing he had stopped her and said hello. Months later, Sarah was invited to a mutual friend’s birthday party on Cinco De Mayo, and we officially met! Six months later we were dating. Sarah knew from the start we were meant for each other—we have now been together for 8.5 years! We got married in New Hampshire in the sumer of 2019. All the Texan guests brought the heat with them, though; it was 100 degrees on our wedding day!

We are laid back, outgoing people with a strong support network of close friends and family nearby. We love spending time together and seeing and experiencing new places, people, and foods! As a couple, we both enjoy spending quiet time at home with our dog as much as we enjoy going out to restaurants and spending time with friends and family. Boating, beaches, and nature fill us both, so we spend a lot of time outdoors and traveling to New England. We also love skiing and snowboarding together.

John is a partner at his firm, focusing on marketing and PR strategy for portfolio companies. We are lucky in that John works from home and he’s able to make his own schedule, so he is looking forward to being a hands-on dad. John is Scotch-Irish, English and German—and a multi-generation Texan! He played lacrosse in college, chaired several social organizations, and started a charity with friends that built 15 public wells in Africa. He currently mentors and sits on the advisory boards of many startup incubators.

Sarah loves animals…a lot! She is obsessed with her dog, Auggie, and three young nephews. They are her world. Sarah is Swedish, Chilean, English, and Scottish. She loves learning about history and family traditions. She has two sisters, one is 11 months older and the other is her twin! Sarah is a former corporate IT manager and experienced project manager. She now consults but is lucky to be a stay-at-home mom for our future child!

We have been married for 12 years, and we have two amazing, biological daughters. Kenlee is 8 years old, and Taylor is 6. We have always dreamed of having a house full of kids, but when we tried to conceive our third child we began suffering recurrent miscarriages. We have endured 7 miscarriages in the last 2 years with the latest being at 14 weeks gestation. We’ve sought treatment from fertility doctors, but the cause of our losses remains a mystery. Our infertility journey has been heartbreaking, but we believe God has good plans for our family (AND FOR YOURS TOO)! We feel strongly that God has led us to adoption to grow our family.

We both attended Oklahoma State University and started dating after we graduated and moved back to our hometowns, in September 2011. On our second date we had a pizza baking competition, since Matt is the pizza connoisseur! Other favorite dates included going to museums, taking the dogs to dog parks, Thunder games, annual trip to the State Fair, and going to the local drive in movie. 

We were engaged in December 2013 on a ski trip. After discussing with Shae's mom how to do it, Matt decided he just couldn't wait any longer and proposed while our group was playing cards - right after Shae ate a blue sucker and had changed into her comfy clothes for the night. Shae's blue sucker caused her mouth to look like a Smurf, but love is blind! 

We were married on May 3, 2014 in the church that Shae grew up in and where we are now members. We asked our guests to wear orange, black or white and had Pistol Pete as a surprise guest at our reception!

Karsten was born in the crazy year that was 2020! Her birth mom choosing us to be her parents is truly a gift and an honor. Some of our favorite things to do as a family include going to OSU football games, visiting the zoo, and playing outside! 

Thank you for taking time to look through our family's profile. We know the magnitude of the decisions you're making right now, and although we do not know your name, we are praying that you are safe and healthy, and that you feel loved, supported and at peace.

With love,
Matt and Shae

We are Cory and Kelsi, with three children, Abe, Hazel, and Riley. We love spending time together as a family doing activities like bike rides, movie and pizza nights, individual and family date nights. We live in a small rural town that is currently growing quickly. Kelsi is a stay-at-home mom, that works part time for the local libraries providing early childhood activities. She has her degree in Early Childhood Education. Cory is a software engineer and gets to work from home two days a week. Cory has his degree in Computer Science. Our children range in ages from 5-10.  With the youngest in morning preschool and the oldest in Junior High.  Adoption has always been part of our plan. We were blessed with our three children, but are ready to add to our family through adoption.

Both transplants to South Alabama, we met via Facebook in 2010, after mutual friends suggested getting to know one another, and hit it off immediately! We initially spent hours chatting via messenger until Mark conveniently misplaced his phone during one our conversations and asked Katy to call it–an easy way to get her phone number. Since that time, we have never gone longer than 48 hours without talking, and that was only because Katy was out of the country!

Though born in Tennessee, Mark spent his early years in Alabama before moving to Colorado in elementary school. As an only child, Mark quickly made friends with the neighborhood kids and kids from church–some of these relationships have spanned not only miles, but years! A childhood cancer survivor, Mark, is resilient and determined, qualities that serve him well in his position as a project manager and architect. Mark loves being outside, woodworking, anything sports related (especially the Atlanta Braves and his alma mater, Texas Tech), and making memories!

Born and raised in North Mississippi, Katy is the oldest of three; each of her siblings is the answer to her little girl prayers, and they are two of her best friends and biggest supporters. Married for almost 40 years, Katy’s parents instilled in her a love for God, the value of hard work, and the importance of family, all of which Katy, along with Mark, is working to teach to their own child. A teacher/librarian at a small private school, Katy enjoys reading, baking, crafting, watching girly movies, and traveling!

Our son, Jaxon, was born in the summer of 2018. He is an absolute joy, even in his most stubborn moments, and inspires us each day to be better and do better! Knox was born in the fall of 2023 and placed in our arms by his wonderful birth mother shortly after. The perfect addition to our growing family at just the right time, Knox is hands down Jaxon’s favorite person and the feeling is mutual! Our life can be a little crazy and a little messy, but we wouldn’t have it any other way because it is also absolutely amazing, and we cannot wait to share our life, our love, and our family with a new precious little one!