Introductions

Hello! We are Justin and Kaitlin and we are so grateful that you have taken the time to glance into our lives. Justin and I have always wanted to be parents. We had plans to have children biologically, hopes and dreams of what our family would look like, however God's plans look different for our family. After two years of infertility, negative tests, unsuccessful fertility treatments, many prayers and trusting in the Lord’s timing, we are overjoyed to start this next journey. We feel  strongly that the Lord is calling us to welcome a child into our home through adoption. We have been praying for this future adopted child for a long time, and now we pray we get to meet them soon. 

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 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 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.

Together Andrew and Hailey are known as the fun couple – always making each other laugh, willing to take a spontaneous trip, or go to a hockey game with friends. We love hanging out with our friends and family – but also value our time at home together. That is a core value in our family – spending time together. We want to show up for the school play, or the sporting event – as a family. We both feel very blessed to have been raised by incredible parents who were there for us and we want to be able to give that to our kids as well.

We met 10 years ago and have been married for 7 years. We met online and found a few ways we could have met before! We went to the same college and frequently had classes at the same time in the same building and went to the same conferences in high school for our extra curricular activity. Once we met though we quickly bonded over our love of board games. Today you can still find us playing games together with friends and family. Our favorite to play with family is Letter Jam since it’s a good one for any play level. We already have a list of games we are ready to play with kids including our childhood favorites like Sorry, Life, Clue, and more. We have a large extended family that all live within 20 minutes of us and we get together with both side weekly! We recently got back from an extended family airbnb trip to Broken Bow with some good family fun including too many smores to count and a kids train ride in the forest.  We love spending time in the evenings together usually at our local park and exploring our city on the weekends from splash pads to zoos. We love holiday traditions like 4th of July kids bike parade, Christmas volunteering, and huge birthday celebrations! We are excited to add a little one to our family and for them to be able to bond together over being adopted.  Harper is so excited talking about how good of a big sister she is going to be.  We hope this helps you get to know us and if you have questions hope to hear from you soon!

We were married in 2017 and made our home in southcentral Minnesota. We were SO excited to start a family! God led us on a challenging journey with the loss of our boy before birth. After the losss of Samuel, doors were further closed as we pursued infertility treatments. We knew we were meant to be parents with God leading us to adoption. During this growing time, we realized more deeply how blessed it is to be given the opportunity to adopt. God has made us stronger as a couple through the challenges we have faced, and we have learned the importance of self-sacrificial love. We have come to believe that families are created, not born. God is the Master Designer of all families, and we trust his architectural plans for our family.

As a couple, we enjoy spending time outdoors and engaging in activities like hiking, camping, skiing, walking our dog Maverick, going to the lake and biking. We also have a love for Friday movie night, playing games and watching Minnesota sports. We feel blessed to have the opportunity to go on many travel adventures over the years, as we both love experiencing different cultures, visiting family and exploring the many beautiful places around our world. 

We first met in 2005 at a local show. A couple months later, we officially met through mutual friends. We became best friends and realized we had so many things in common. In 2006, we officially started dating. In 2008, we were engaged and 6 months later were married. We became parents to our oldest son, Levi, in 2013 and a year later had another son, Knox. In 2020, we adopted our daughter, Nori. Together, we love to go on road trips, gather with friends and family, go camping, attend concerts, go to church, and play music together. We are ready to give our unconditional love to another child and expand our family through the miracle of adoption! Our goal as parents is to raise Jesus-loving children while encouraging them to pursue their interests and passions. We truly desire to be encouraging and supportive as they discover what they love and enjoy. This will be no exception for the little one God has in store for our family through adoption.

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