Understanding Orphans

Hello!  We're Sam and Robyn, and we're excited to give you a peek into the happy craziness that is our family.  We were married in 2016 and God has taken us through a lot of ups and downs, and a lot of adventures so far, and we're excited to see what lies ahead.

We love bright colors, interesting foods, books (more than we have shelves for), and being with friends and family.  We are passionate about theatre, histroy, and theology, and board games.  We're both extroverts and have hobbies that involve lots of people!  We're excited to open our hearts to you and we invite you to learn what our family is all about!

We were both home schooled and met in 2007 at a Speech and Debate Tournament.  We became good friends and were both involved in choir and drama, so we would see each other frequently.

After Robyn graduated high school, she spent some time doing volunteer work in Israel alongside people from all over the world.  During that time, because of the distance, we started writing letters.  The hand-written letter continued for years to be our favorite method of communication, in addition to facebook, email, and when things got serious, phone calls.  We talked about life, our faith and spiritual growth, our dreams for the future.  We talked about our views on family building and parenting, including our hope to adopt a child someday, as many people we knew had adopted (including Sam's parents).

Although we were both raised in faithful Christian families, our churches were very different from each other, which was a major point of contention, particularly with Robyn's dad.  It took many hears to work through things, but God changes hearts.  So, in July of 2016 we were officially engaged, and were married that October.

Our son Ambrose was born 10 months later, the first grandkid to his dad's parents, the 13th grandkid to his mom's.  Then 18 months after Ambrose, Dulicinea came along.  Do to complications with the placenta, Dulcinea had to be delivered 5 weeks early by C-section, followed by a hysterechtomy.

Dulcinea was so tiny and beautiful and strong, and we are so thankful that God preserved her life.  But it was a hard blow to not be able to have any more biological kids.  Adoption has always been on our hearts, but we had thought it would come later in our lives.  It appears that God's plan is for us to pursue this path now.

Ambrose and Dulcinea are very excited about the idea of growing our family through adoption.  They pray for the child, and ask others to pray.  We have a huge extended family and a great community  of church friends, drama friends, reenacting friends, and friends we knew from home school activities.  They are all excited to welcome another little friend into their lives.

I became best friends with Jerad’s sister while I was in nursing school. She and I played on a kickball team with nursing school friends, along with Jerad and some of his friends. Jerad and I became friends, started dating, and quickly fell in love. Our relationship has always had a strong foundation based on faith and family. We still consider ourselves lucky to share the same values and opinions on the most important aspects of life: religion, prioritizing family and wanting children.

About a year after we began dating, Jerad cooked a steak dinner at his house for me. After dinner, we were going to watch a movie, but he proposed instead! We sat and talked for an hour before we called anyone which was special to us. We then called our family and close friends and met some friends out that night to celebrate. It was a fun, low key night—the way we like it! We had a large wedding in the church I grew up attending. All our family and friends were there to celebrate with us. It was a beautiful and perfect ceremony. Afterward, we had a reception with dinner and a band. It was one of the most fun nights we have had together. We felt so loved, and we talked to and celebrated with the people we loved and even had time to dance and enjoy the night ourselves

We are a faithful couple who desire nothing more than to do Our Heavenly Father's will. We are fun, creative, outgoing and prayerful. We try to our best to serve God in many ways, always putting God and family first. We live life to its fullest and do so by embracing God's creation, living a healthy lifestyle, fostering healthy relationships, and engaging in adventures! We enjoy the beauty of simplicity and because of this we are always happy. 

We met while we were both in college.  There was an immediate connection. On our first date, we danced to country music for hours. We both love to laugh and be silly and watch funny sitcoms like The Office and Schitts Creek.  We share a passion for reading and like to discuss books.  We also are huge foodies and love to try new restaurants and cuisines. It quickly became evident that we were meant for each other and got married. Growing our family was not as easy as we expected, and we were faced with many losses and pregnancy complications along the way.  However, we have been blessed with two great kids.  Fast forward a few years and we feel led to complete our family through adoption.  We both have strong faith and raise our children to follow God. We try every day to set the example for them of love and compassion and model a healthy marriage.

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 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 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 are truly honored and humbled that you are considering our family in your adoption plan. The strength, and sheer courage that it takes to walk through, and stand in this adoption journey is inspiring and remarkable.

We are Paul and Stacie. We were high school sweethearts, that met in church youth group. We married in 2004. Stacie miscarried in 2008 and was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure that eventually lead to a full hysterectomy. We never thought that adoption would be part of our story, but the Lord has blessed us with this beautiful path. We adopted our son, Samuel, in 2017, when he was four months old. We would not change one minute of our loss and hardships, knowing now that Jesus was piecing together His rich and glorious plan for our lives.

Samuel is so excited to be a big brother!! He prompts us to pray almost daily over his future sibling and asks where they are. We are ready to love and cherish a new little one. Our plan is for Stacie to stay home with our newest child. Paul owns his own business, and mainly works from home. We have a lot of flexibility and time to devote to our children. Samuel attends a Christian private school and so will his future sibling. He will be thrilled to teach his sibling all about “his” school!

We are committed and excited about all ethnicities, and backgrounds. We value honoring each other in our family. We celebrate our differences, and family backgrounds that make life so rich and enjoyable. We are looking forward to exploring another open adoption. We have been so blessed with Samuel’s birth family. We are excited to explore what this will look like with you.

Hosea 2:14-16 says, “Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give back her vineyards, and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came out of Egypt.” The desert often represents unsafety and uncertainty in the Bible. The “Valley of Achor”, translates to the Valley of Trouble. The Lord promises as we walk and trust Him through our hardships, and uncertainties, that He will make a way and a path of hope, of restoration, and joy for us. You are deeply loved, and fully known by the Creator and Lover of your soul.

Sincerely, Paul and Stacie

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.