Adam and Krystal

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From Us

First, we want to say how much we admire and applaud you for your bravery to make such a selfless and tough decision for your child. We can’t imagine what you are going through and the emotions that you must be facing. We can say that we are extremely grateful to you for taking the time to read our profile and getting to know us. We admire the courage, love, and strength you have to make such a decision for your precious child. We want you to know that we are a loving family who is eager to provide unconditional love and support to you and your child.

There has always been a desire in our hearts to have children and be parents. We tried for several years to have a child and after a miscarriage, we started our first adoption journey. We are blessed to be the proud parents of a precious 2-year-old little boy. We are eternally grateful to his birth parents for the selfless decision they made to allow us to be his parents. He is an incredible blessing to us and we are excited to be able to grow our family again through adoption.

We pray that our children will always know they were wanted and loved. We will always share their adoption story with them. They will know where they came from, the sacrifice you made for them, and most importantly, the amount of love you have for them. We will always respect you and the choice you make as to what type of communication you desire to have with us. We want you to know that we are open to any level of communication that you are comfortable with. Our love and support will always be extended to you.

We are blessed to live on a farm in a small, tight-knit community. As our children grow up, we will instill in them Christian values and the importance of family. Our house will be full of laughter, love, and joy. We will make many memories, carry on family traditions, and make new ones. Your child will be surrounded by a large support system that includes our family, friends, and community.

If given the opportunity to be the adoptive parents for your child, we want you to know that your child would be the greatest blessing to us and the answer to many prayers. They will always know their story, where they came from, and the incredible amount of love you have for them. You can be assured that your child will be loved unconditionally and raised in a safe, supportive, and stable Christian home. We will provide for all their needs and encourage, guide, and support them in all aspects of their life.

With love,
Adam and Krystal

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Why We're Choosing to Adopt

Having children has always been what we have both prayed for. When we decided that it was the right time to start trying for a family, we never imagined the path that God would lead us down. Not being able to conceive on our own, enduring fertility treatments, and then having a miscarriage were just bumps on our road to becoming parents. With lots of prayers, time to reflect and heal, and encouragement from our family and friends, we knew God was calling us to grow our family through adoption. Those prayers were first answered when Bates’ birth mom and dad chose us to be his parents two years ago. We did not come to the decision to grow our family again lightly. We, along with our family and friends, have prayed about this for a long time. Bates brings our hearts so much joy every day and we have so much more love to give another child that we truly feel led to growing our family again through adoption.

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About Adam, by Krystal

Adam is the best husband to me and Da-da to Bates. He is patient, kind, the fixer of ALL things (even the things he breaks, haha), and always puts others above himself. I’m in awe watching him with Bates. He always includes Bates in what he is doing, whether it’s plowing the garden, fixing the lawnmower, or washing the cars. He works hard to make sure we are well taken care of and that all our needs are met. No matter what life throws at us, Adam always has a positive attitude and finds the good in the situation. He has the biggest heart of anyone I know and he is truly my soulmate and I thank God for him.

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About Krystal, by Adam

Before meeting Krystal, I had begun to wonder if I would ever meet the right person for me. Krystal has been a blessing to me since the first day I met her and is definitely my soulmate. She is a kind, genuine and family-orientated person. She never meets a stranger – she will see someone for the first time and talk and carry on a conversation with them like she has known them for years. Krystal is the best mom to Bates that I could ever imagine a child could have. She is patient, caring, and always puts his needs above her own. She loves spending as much time as possible with Bates and seeing and participating in new experiences with him and her family. Krystal is not afraid to get her hands dirty and works hard to provide for her family but always puts her family before work.

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Our Sweet Son

Bates is our handsome, two-year-old, energetic, full of curiosity, and loving boy. He loves ALL things outside – trucks, tractors, lawnmowers, and playing in the water (or wa-wa as he calls it). He enjoys taking care of the farm animals (giving them water or spraying us is his favorite), taking walks, and playing in his sandbox. Singing songs, picking out books to read, and counting are also among his favorites right now. We just love everything about him and can’t wait for him to be a big brother! These two years have been nothing short of amazing and we love Bates and his birth family with all our hearts.

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All the Animals

We have a big love of animals!

We only have two indoor pets, Charlie our 4-year-old Brittany Spaniel, and Bubba, our 14-year-old rescue black lab. Charlie, or Sissy to Bates, is the best. She loves to play fetch with Bates, take boat rides with us, and snuggle. Bubba is our laid-back, easy-going dog. He is all about naps unless he knows Bates is eating and thinks he may get a crumb or two. Bates thinks he makes a pretty good pillow when he’s watching one of his shows.

Our farm animals include 2 horses (Jojo and Shadow), a pony (Rascal), a goat (Pee-Wee), 2 donkeys (Sue-Sue, Francis), and lots of chickens. We really enjoy all of our animals and it’s been fun watching Bates interact and “help” us take care of them.

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Our Home

We live in a small town in Virginia. Our community is very close-knit, safe, and has a large lake and several state parks nearby. Although we live in a rural area, we are within an hour’s drive of bigger cities. We can also be at the beach or the mountains in a few hours, which we love to frequent a couple of times a year. The state parks in our community provide lots of outdoor fun for our family. We really enjoy visiting the splash pad, nature trails, and playgrounds. Our community also hosts various festivals and parades throughout the year that we enjoy attending. Our home is situated on 23 acres of land. It features an open floor plan with three bedrooms and two-and-a-half baths. Our living room is spacious, which allows for plenty of room to gather as a family and to spend quality time together. We enjoy playing with our son in his bedroom where you can find us playing with trucks and tractors or reading his favorite books. We love spending time in the backyard as well. If it’s warm out, it guarantees that our son is playing in the water, including spraying us with the hose. Riding his power wheels tractor, helping us water the flowers, or feeding the chickens or “chickies” as he says, are some of our favorite ways to spend our afternoons.  We also have a large pond where friends and family gather often. Our property is ideal for riding our ATVs, bikes, or just taking nature walks through the woods. We can hardly wait to add another precious child to our family to enjoy all of these things, and more, together.

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Our Families

We are very close to our families. We live about ten minutes away from Adam’s mom and we live about 20 minutes away from Krystal’s parents. That allows us to visit with them every week. Birthdays, holidays, and special occasions are spent with our families. Adam’s family has traditionally gathered at his grandmother’s home for holidays. There we enjoy delicious southern food and fellowship with extended family. Adam also has one sister who has three boys. We adore the time we spend with our nephews. Our time together always includes trips to theme parks, sleepovers, swimming and boat rides on the lake, and many hours outside. We are fortunate to be able to visit Krystal’s family members who take turns hosting for the holidays. We enjoy fixing recipes that have been passed down from our grandparents. Krystal is an only child but was raised on the family farm with five cousins. We are close to them and their children. Our time with them is spent riding horses, fishing, and at church and tribal gatherings.

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Our Faith

We both grew up as southern Baptists. Our job as Christian parents is to pray for our children, teach them the ways of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and be an example to them in our speech and actions. Being an active member of our church is something that we enjoy and value. We enjoy serving in our church. Adam is a deacon and a part of a men’s bible study group. Krystal is in charge of the nursery, teaches small groups on Wednesday nights, and is a part of a women’s bible study group. Serving where there are needs, whether local or not, is something we enjoy doing as a family.

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How We Met

We have been married for nine and a half years. We have actually known each other all our lives because our dads worked together. It was a Saturday night at Wal-Mart when Adam’s parents ran into Krystal and her parents. Adam’s mom asked her if she was dating anyone and if not could she have her number. She was not but, to be honest, Krystal was hesitant to give her number as she had not seen Adam in a long time. Before Krystal could answer, Krystal’s mom gave them her number. HA! It took Adam two weeks to reach out via text. As they say, the rest is history. We texted back and forth before our first date and have been together ever since. We aren’t perfect and we balance each other. Our marriage is built on our faith, lots of love and respect, with plenty of fun and silliness mixed in.

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Our Careers

We both have a passion for helping others and we both have careers that allow us to make a positive impact on the lives of others.

Adam has been in the nursing field for 6 years and has a bachelor’s degree in nursing. He has worked in a hospital setting, a nursing home setting, and as a case manager for an insurance company. Adam enjoys being an advocate for his patients and helping them improve their health and quality of life. He now works from home as a nurse educator where he trains other nurses to care for patients as he did for a major insurance company. In addition to being a nurse educator, he also drives a middle/high school bus every morning. He enjoys being the first friendly face and hello to his students each morning.

Krystal has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She is a teacher and has taught for 13 years. In those 13 years, she has taught all ability levels in 6th-grade science, 6th-grade math, and 7th-grade math. She is currently working as the math interventionist for grades 6-8 in a middle school. She enjoys the bonds she creates with her students and helping them achieve success in a subject they are often intimidated by.

Both of our jobs allow us to be home every evening, holiday, and weekend.

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Our Lifestyle

We lead a very active lifestyle and love to be outdoors. During the week, we both work but are fortunate that our jobs come with a family-friendly schedule. While we are working, Bates goes to his babysitter whom he adores. He loves his time there playing with his buddies and learning so many new things. We prioritize family time and enjoy eating dinner together each night, playing and reading books with Bates, and spending time outside where we enjoy gardening, spending time with the farm animals, tractor rides, and much more! Our weekends include visits with the grandparents and cousins, going out to eat, or taking boat rides with friends. We are very active and involved in our church as well. Adam serves as a deacon and Krystal serves in the nursery and teaches the children every Wednesday night. We are also involved in Krystal’s tribal activities as well where we attend various events and gatherings. Krystal serves on the tribal council for her tribe. As a family, we enjoy attending homecoming festivities with her tribe, which includes hours of fellowship, storytelling, and eating lots of yummy homemade food. We like going to Pow Wow’s, participating in the tribe’s 5k, and cultural classes. Living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment is how we strive to live each day.

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Family Traditions

We appreciate and enjoy the family traditions from both of our families that we still continue to carry on as well as making new ones along the way. Every Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving we spend time with both sides of our family. We enjoy church services, fellowshipping with each other, eating tons of delicious food, and exchanging gifts on Christmas with our families. We have enjoyed making our own traditions of cooking a big breakfast every Christmas morning and attending the nighttime Christmas parade in our town. Every Memorial Day we attend a parade, spend the afternoon on the lake, and then cook out with family and friends. Birthdays are celebrated BIG and are very special to us. We have enjoyed giving Bates a themed birthday party where we invite our family, and friends, and serve all his favorite things to eat.

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Our Relationship with Bates' Birth Mom

We will always admire and respect Bates’ birth mom and dad for the decision that they made to allow us to love and raise Bates as our own. Being able to meet both of his birth parents and spend time with them in the hospital was a blessing. Both his birth mom and dad wanted an open adoption where we agreed to communicate via phone calls and texts with picture updates. After about a month and a half, we stopped hearing back from them. Despite that, we still continue to check in and send updates. We know that they love Bates with their whole heart, and we do not judge them for not communicating with us right now, as we can’t imagine how hard it must be for them. We continue to pray that when they feel comfortable they will reach out again.

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Vacations

We love taking family vacations in the mountains and at the beach. We are fortunate to live where visiting both is within a day’s drive. Adam is more of a beach person and Krystal loves the mountains, which means we get to visit both each year.

Taking our annual beach vacation is something we look forward to every summer. Our favorite thing to do as a family at the beach is to take a boat ride to an island where sand dollars are in abundance. We pack a picnic lunch and spend a couple of hours walking around the island at low tide, wading in the water, and finding sand dollars. Visiting the aquarium, eating plenty of seafood, and playing in the pool rank pretty high as well.

Krystal attended college in the mountains and loves going back to visit every fall or winter. It’s something about that cool mountain air we love. We enjoy walking around the campus, especially if it’s in the fall and the leaves have turned. Visiting the old general store, where Bates enjoys picking out an old-fashioned toy, taking hikes, and snow tubing (if the visit is in the winter) are also some of our favorite things to do.

Besides our annual beach and mountain vacations, we love to hop in the car and take day trips to the zoo, amusement parks, and children’s museums where we always google to find the best ice cream shops!

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Our Promise to You

First and foremost, we promise to love your child unconditionally. We will make it our life’s mission to protect and provide for them in all aspects of their lives. We vow to raise them in a Christian home where they know that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. We promise to help them achieve their dreams and reach their fullest potential. They will know that they are loved, not just by us, but by you as well. We will always share with them how much we admire, love, and pray for you. They will know how incredibly brave you are and the sacrifice you made for them. We want you to know that we are comfortable with whatever level of communication you are comfortable with.