Relative Adoption

Brandon and Brandy have been married 10 years and they are very eager to add a sweet miracle child to their family. We love to spend time with our families and attend church events. Brandon loves anything to do with music. From playing the bass, to playing the drums, to singing. Anything he can do that involves music that is his happy place. Brandy loves anything out doors, during the summer she is outside every chance she gets. As a couple they love to vacation at the beach in the summer then in the winter they love to go to the mountains. They just genuinely love spending time with each other and their families.

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

Alyssa was living in Jackson, MS dancing and touring with a ballet company when Jon moved to California (where Alyssa is originally from) after college. He met Alyssa’s family through a mutual friend, and eventually met Alyssa when she was home on break.  Jon was immediately attracted to her composure, beauty, and secure identity in Jesus.  Jon was able to convince Alyssa to move home. We were engaged for 3 months and married 3 months later.  I (Alyssa) was attracted to his confidence, his looks, and his love of Jesus.  I knew that if I married Jon, I would feel secure and cared for the rest of my life.

Hi! We're Darrin and Rachel. We first met in 2006 and started dating in 2009 right before I (Rachel) moved to college out of state; so we were long-distance for 3 years. We found a mutual love of comics, card games, adventure, and music. After getting married, we also enjoyed playing volleyball together and watching Seahawks games. We both grew up in the greater Seattle area and after our daughter Ellie was born in 2016, we bought a house here, near family and friends.

Some details about us: Darrin is a former truck driver, who now works in a school district. Rachel is an Aerican Sign Language (ASL) interpreter. Our daughter loves making friends and playing with every kid she meets, and her second grade school year is off to a great start. We have a 4 fish and 6 chickens, and our daughter would love a cat someday.

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.

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. 

Our love story is a unique and joyful one that began in the most unexpected of ways—on FarmersOnly, a dating site that matched us despite living an hour apart. Neither of us was actively searching for a relationship, but after encouragement from others, we decided to give it a try. From our very first conversation, it was clear we shared a surprising number of similarities, despite coming from different backgrounds. We connected instantly, bonding over our shared values, sense of humor, and love for family. What started as text exchanges quickly turned into in-person dates, where we discovered even more reasons to admire and love one another.

Haley was drawn to Garrick’s sense of humor, strong work ethic, and the way he treats everyone around him with kindness and respect, particularly the women in his family. Garrick was immediately captivated by Haley’s dimples, warm smile, and her ability to make any situation brighter. On our first date, Haley’s brother tagged along for safety, and Garrick’s understanding of this showed his caring nature. Over time, our love deepened, and just a month into dating, we both realized we wanted to spend our lives together. While Garrick’s proposal was understated—over BBQ at a local restaurant—it was heartfelt and meaningful, perfectly capturing the simplicity and authenticity of our relationship.

We were married in June 2019 in a small, intimate ceremony that reflected our personalities. From Garrick wearing a kilt in his family’s tartan to Haley’s laid-back approach, the day was a celebration of love and family. Since then, we’ve built a life together centered on faith, family, and shared adventures. Whether it’s traveling, enjoying a quiet evening at home, or raising our two beautiful children, we are partners in every sense of the word. Our relationship is rooted in mutual respect, open communication, and a shared commitment to creating a home filled with love and laughter.

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. 

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 Daniel and Vanessa Bittner. We are a normal couple who live in rural Indiana. We farm crops, have chickens, a small dog named  Parker, and we like to grow produce in or garden. We live a very stable and predictable lifestyle. Daniel works 8-5 everyday as a tractor mechanic for John Deer. Vanessa makes her own hours as a Ministry Director. 

Daniel loves gardening, puzzles, and spending time with his family. 

Vanessa enjoys reading, embroidering, writing, and archery. Vanessa is also a public speaker and published author who writes under a pen name for privacy reasons. 

We love children and have 9 nieces and nephews. We spend as much time with them as possible. Our families are both so excited to have a baby. This child will be adored by everyone. 

We have been trying to have a baby for over 6 years and we have known adoption was our path for a while. We are patiently waiting for our chance to be parents.