Raleigh and Maria

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From Us to You

Having a child to love has always been an experience that we have been excited for. In 2017, when we were informed that Maria was diagnosed with hormonal breast cancer, we were also informed that if we decided to grow our family through the natural process that she would be at a greater risk. Maria is now cancer-free and we still want to grow our family and are very thankful for mothers like you that make such a sacrifice to trust another family with your child.

We are very humbled by the selfless decision that you are considering. There’s no way for us to understand what emotions you’re experiencing but know that if you are led to choose us, we will be there for you to talk to through those difficult times. We already have something in common – the desire to give your child the best life possible in a loving environment that will provide them with many opportunities.

Should you decide to give us the opportunity to care for your child, we can assure you they will be loved. They will have a mother that is caring and puts the needs of others in front of hers and a father that is kind-hearted and a provider. The love your child will experience will extend well beyond the walls of our house; they will be loved by our extended family, friends, co-workers, and church family, just to name a few.

Our journey together began in 2009 in our hometown at a fundraiser event that Raleigh’s employer was sponsoring that Maria had brought an individual she was providing care services for. Our mutual interest as being caregivers started our bond. We were engaged in 2012 and married in 2014 with all our close friends and family in attendance. Our story has had several chapters over the years and we’re excited for the next chapter to be the expansion of our family through adoption.

If your decision is to choose us, we promise to provide the love and support that your child will need to have the best life possible and to provide them with opportunities for growth and success. We are forever grateful that you have taken the time to consider us and we are very humbled by your decision. We will forever consider you as part of your child’s life and promise to share with them that the decision to place them for adoption was an act of selfless love.

Forever Grateful and With Love,
Raleigh and Maria

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Why We're Choosing to Adopt

We have been together for 12 years and having children has always been a frequent topic in our relationship. We would always discuss the possibility of children and wonder, “What would they be like?” or “What kind of parents would we be?” After we got married, we decided that we wanted it to be just the two of us for a while to give ourselves the time to finish our schooling and grow our relationship as a couple so we could provide a strong foundation to our children.

We didn’t know what our future would hold at the time, and at the age of 29, Maria was diagnosed with breast cancer. We are thankful that everything went well with treatments and surgeries and Maria is now cancer-free, however getting pregnant would be very high risk. As we continued to talk and our desire to grow our family grew, we started having real conversations about the possibility of adoption. We did not go into this decision headfirst and it took us about a year of discussion and educating ourselves until we made the decision to start our adoption journey. We know that we have a lot of love to give and the desire to grow our family and share our love grows stronger and stronger each day.

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About Maria, by Raleigh

Maria is the most caring, compassionate, loving, and STRONG person that I know. She illustrates these characteristics not only at home but also in her career as a nurse. She is the type of person that always puts others’ needs first and I can assure you that will be the case for your child as well. Maria loves BIG! The love she shows to her niece and nephews is indescribable and I wait to see how BIG she loves your little one. I always knew Maria was strong but when she was faced with the battle with cancer, I learned quickly that my understanding of her strength was underestimated. Maria strives for success in everything she does and strives to do her best which is shown by her success in her career as well as personal education and distinctions. As a mother, I know Maria will not only demonstrate these characteristics in her parenting skills but will also instill these values in your little one to make sure they have the best and brightest future as well as being a respectful individual. I can’t wait to see the excitement on her face the day we are chosen, as her desire to be a mother has been so strong for such a long time!

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About Raleigh, by Maria

Raleigh is a kind-hearted and sweet man. He always ensures that his family is taken care of and we all have what we need. He always puts others first. He is the favorite of our smallest niece, but both of our nieces have him wrapped around their fingers. He loves teaching them, playing with them, and he loves to see them happy. He cannot wait to have a child of his own to play with, make special memories with and build traditions. He has already talked about things that he cannot wait to teach a child how to do. Things like fishing, swimming, being outside doing yard work or washing a car, playing sports, and his love for old trucks are just a few things at the top of his list. Raleigh is super smart and education is very important to him. He holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting and is working on his goal of becoming a CPA.  Once Raleigh sets a goal, he stays determined until he reaches that goal. Raleigh is a deacon at our church. He loves God and makes sure to include him in all things that he does. Raleigh is fun and always likes to have a good time. He is up for an adventure anytime and he cannot wait to share that with a child. He is my very best friend. I cannot wait to see Raleigh become a dad, because I know he is going to be the sweetest and best dad in the world.

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Lifestyle

Our lifestyle is all about fun, family, and love. We both work Monday-Friday jobs, so our time off is always together. During the weekdays, we typically spend our time together in the evenings, cooking dinner and relaxing. We have four friendly dogs and we love spending time playing and spending time with them. They are all gentle and love children! We have a Chihuahua, Labradoodle, Great Dane, and an Australian Shepherd. If our nieces have sporting activities or school activities, we always attend so we can cheer them on.

On the weekends, we love going to the beach or the mountains. We can’t wait for your child to join us on our adventures and give them the opportunity to experience different places. We will go to the beach and show them the ocean and how to build sandcastles. We will teach them how to swim early in life so they can enjoy swimming in the water. It is not unusual for us to take day trips and we live in an area where there is a lot of fun things to discover. Sometimes our day trips involve shopping and sometimes it’s a trip to visit some of our favorite places to eat. There have been a couple of times we have even driven 4 hours one way just to shop and revisit some of our favorite restaurants. We also enjoy going to concerts and going to seasonal outdoor festival events. We try to keep life exciting and fun.

We often spend one night during the weekend with our nieces just hanging out and doing whatever they want to do. When your child joins our family, we imagine these special nights will turn into fun cousin sleepovers complete with fort building and movies.

Family is at the center of our favorite things to do and your child will grow up knowing how important family is.

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Faith

Our faith is a very important part of our life. We are currently members at a local baptist church with a diverse congregation. We are very active members and serve in different capacities to minister to others. Raleigh was ordained as a deacon in 2020 and has held several leadership roles within the deacon body, most recently, as moderator. Raleigh has also served on the finance committee and currently serves on the personnel committee. Recently we made a commitment, together, to lead our youth group and it has been a great experience helping them grow in their faith while having fun activities to go along with it. We hope to continue to grow our youth program and make an impact in our community. Having a child involved in church and knowing the importance of faith is very important to us.

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Our Dogs

We both have always had a love for all animals, but especially dogs. We currently have 4 dogs that all have their own personalities. Duke is our Chihuahua that we’ve had since the start of our relationship. He has been through every journey with us and we can’t wait to see him love your little one. Duke’s favorite things to do are eat and sleep! Brodie is our Australian Shepherd/Lab mix that we rescued from going to the pound. He was born in a barn close to the hospice home where Maria worked and when they were old enough to walk, their mom brought them to the front steps of the hospice home. As soon as we laid eyes on the little fluff ball, we had to bring him home. Remington is our Great Dane/Husky mix and is our gentle giant. He is the largest of the pack, but is so sweet. Brodie and Remington are inseparable! They love playing outside and going to the river to swim! Maverick is the baby of our crew and our Labradoodle. We got Maverick during Maria’s cancer journey and what a huge support he was during this time. His love for children is so infectious! We know that our four boys will love having your child around to play with!

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Home & Neighborhood

We live in a small, close-knit community in a rural area. Our neighborhood has an elementary school about two minutes away from our home, as well as a park to play in. We know we will spend a lot of time there with your child, playing, swinging, and going down the slides.

We built our home four years ago and it has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Family meals are important to us, so we chose to have an open living and dining area where everyone can be together. We cannot wait to grow our family and have a little one join us at the table!

We have worked to create a nursery that is warm and welcoming for your little one. Raleigh painted the accent wall and put together the crib and we’ll add the name of the little one over the crib once they arrive. Our friends and family have showered us with gifts that include car seats, strollers, clothes, a dresser/changing table, and so much more. We can’t wait to spend time reading books and telling stories to your little one while they fade off to sleep. 

Our home is very important to us and it is where we spend most of our time. We want it to feel safe, warm, and loving to anyone who enters.

There is also a river in our backyard and your child will have so much fun playing and fishing in it. Our dogs love playing outside and they can’t wait to have a new friend to run and play with.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

When it comes to diversity, we see all people as equal and believe that everyone should have the same opportunities. We live in a community where there is diversity in cultures that are present. Maria is a school nurse at a school that has a minority population of greater than 60% of the entire school and has continued exposure to different cultural resources. Raleigh works for an organization that has a large emphasis on diversity and inclusion and works with people from all types of backgrounds. We understand the importance of racial and cultural diversity as well as the importance that one’s culture has on their identity and would put an emphasis on making sure your child understands their backgrounds as well as providing them with opportunities to learn and experience what their culture has to offer.

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Our Families

We have a close relationship with our families and spending time with them is very important to us. We each have one sibling. Raleigh has a younger sister and Maria has an older brother. Both of our siblings are over the moon about becoming an aunt or an uncle. They cannot wait to have someone to spoil and pay us back for all of the loud toys we have given their children. So, that will be a lot of fun! Both sets of our parents are very excited to welcome a new little one into the family!

Aside from our immediate family, we also spend time with Maria’s cousins. They all grew up together spending summers at Maria’s grandma’s house. Raleigh also grew up spending time with his cousins and making those memories that they now talk about as adults. We want your child to experience the special bond that cousins share. Raleigh has grandparents that he refers to as Nanny and Papa who enjoy spending time with their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. They love to have family time, go out to eat, and for every birthday they do something special for each grandchild and great-grandchild. Our moms are loving, fun, and enjoy spoiling their grandchildren, and take any opportunity they get to spend time with them. Your child will always know how important family is and how important those relationships are.

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Family Traditions

At Christmas time, we usually go to Maria’s brothers’ house the night of Christmas Eve, have snacks, and try to guess what Santa will be bringing our nieces! Having a little one to join those little moments is definitely a dream. We also celebrate Christmas with Raleigh’s family on Christmas Eve for lunch and we all have a meal and exchange gifts. Each year on our anniversary, we go to Wilmington, North Carolina to celebrate another year of marriage. Wilmington is where Raleigh proposed to Maria, so it holds a special place in our hearts and is a place that we visit often. We cannot wait to share those times with a child and show them the places that are special to us. Another holiday tradition for us is Halloween! We love dressing up and having trunk or treat at our church. We usually have a theme and we dress up with our labradoodle and give out candy! We cannot wait to include your child in our fun festivities!

In both families, we go big with birthday celebrations. Maria enjoys helping her nieces with character birthday parties and loves making it a special memory. We may take a trip or just have dinner together to celebrate birthdays for the adults, and we always make it a fun time! We cannot wait to celebrate each year of life with a child and create those special parties that will make lasting memories!

Between the big celebrations, we often travel with Maria’s family when we go on vacation. We cannot wait to have your little one join our travel adventures, see and experience new places, and be as excited to go somewhere as we are!

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Our Promise to You

We promise to provide your child with a home where they are loved and where they will feel safe and secure. We promise that our home will be filled with fun times and laughter. We promise to support your child in his or her goals and dreams to help them become who they want to be and succeed in doing so. We will encourage them to explore and try new things when opportunities present themselves. It is very important to us that we raise him or her to respect others in all differences. Your child will know how thankful we are for you and the decision you made to share your child with us. Thanks for considering us and taking the time to get to know us. We promise that if you give us an opportunity to love your child, we will not disappoint you.