Moses and Nyla

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From Us to You

As we reflect and try to think of the words to describe the selflessness of a child’s birth mother we are truly speechless. The first thoughts that come to mind are immense gratitude and humility. There is no greater gift that someone can give than the gift of motherhood and fatherhood. It is with this that we will be eternally grateful. We are not able to understand what you are going through, but we do want you to know that we realize this is one of the most important decisions you will make in her lifetime. We want you to be assured that you are fully supported. You are a great blessing to us and we will be grateful every day for the gift of life you have given us.

Saying we love to travel is an understatement! In the first year and a half of Ellis’ life he has traveled internationally multiple times.  Anywhere and everywhere is on our bucket list. We love to experience new cultures and meet new people. Having our children alongside us while we travel is something we are so excited for! Watching them experience new things and places is one of the absolute greatest joys we have experienced as parents so far. We have a nonprofit which focuses on providing education to children in Kenya. Working on this organization is something we are very proud of and love sharing with our family. Going to Kenya and visiting the students is something that we are committed to and want our current and future children right there alongside us.

While you look at the rest of our profile and decide if we are the right family for your unborn child, we want you to know that we promise to tell them where they came from and how  unbelievable grateful we are to you, the mother that gave us the gift of growing our family.

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Why We're Choosing to Adopt

God led us to our son Ellis and his birth mother and we are so incredibly grateful for what He has given us in our lives. Because of this we want to continue to expand our family through adoption. Adopting Ellis truly changed our lives. Putting the amount of love we have for him into words is impossible. He is, without a doubt, the biggest joy in our lives. Seeing the world through his eyes and watching him experience something for the first time or watching him finally catch on to something is life changing. It’s almost like we’re experiencing the world for the first time, too.  The days aren’t long enough. If we could double the amount of time in a day, we’re not sure that would even be enough time to spend with him. He will be the absolute best big brother! We can’t wait for him to be best friends with his new sibling! Adding another child will only double all of those feelings. It truly has made life come full circle and been a missing piece to our puzzle. Children are a blessing from God and for that we will cherish every moment that we are given with them. It is impossible to truly describe how impactful it will be for us to be able to raise another child.

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About Moses, by Nyla

Moses is the most kindhearted person I have ever met. He is fair and just and truly sees the best in everyone. He never has a bad word to say about anyone. He has a great sense of humor and rolls with the punches when I joke around. He is the type of person that will not just talk the talk, he will also walk the walk. If he says something, he is going to make it happen. It’s very inspiring. He is incredibly passionate about helping others and giving back to the community. He helped start and still helps run a tutoring program throughout church and the joy that it brings him is so contagious. He also has started a nonprofit to provide children with education in Kenya, where he grew up. He is the most selfless person in my life and makes me a better person every day. Watching him become a father and bring these principals into fatherhood has been one of the most incredible things to watch. He dances, he plays, he reads, he changes diapers, he does bath time, he does laundry and dishes, he travels solo with Ellis. He does it all. He is the best father and best husband I ever could have imagined for myself and for our children.

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About Nyla, by Moses

Nyla is one of the most cheerful and loving people I know. She has a big heart for every person (and animal) that she meets in her life. She has a strong work ethic, in fact in the last eight years working she has never called in sick! She goes above and beyond to make sure everyone is loved and cared for.

Soon after meeting Nyla I knew she was going to be a wonderful mother and I couldn’t wait for the opportunity to raise a child together with her. I cannot thank our son’t birth mother, and our future child’s birth mother, for giving us the opportunity to become parents and will forever be grateful for this wonderful gift of parenthood. My wife is such an amazing mother to our son Ellis, and will continue to be a wonderful mother to your beautiful child.

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How We Met

We met at church in 2014 when we were both involved in the same fellowship group.  We were friends for about a year before we started dating. Once we started dating, things moved pretty fast for us. We dated for six months then we were engaged for three months and then married. We were married for four years when we adopted our son Ellis.

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Our Home

We live in a quiet and established neighborhood. Most of the houses in our neighborhood were built in the ’60’s so we have big trees that line the streets, and the homes have a lot of individual character to them. We live on a corner lot, and it is perfect for our son to ride his tricycle on the sidewalk and the yard is perfect for kicking a soccer ball around, having a spontaneous picnic and Easter egg hunts.  We have some of the best neighbors. We have had multiple neighbors snow blow our driveway and sidewalk just out of the goodness of their hearts. One of our neighbors is a NICU nurse and when we brought our son home, she would often leave diapers, formula, diaper rash cream, teddy bears, etc. on our front porch for us to use.

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Our Sweet Kitties

We have three cats: Strider, Moggie and Robin. Robin is extremely playful. He and Ellis play together all the time. He is very patient with Ellis. Moggie is a very nervous cat and will only come out once she gets to know you and Strider likes to relax (A LOT). Strider has been with Nyla since 2012. Moggie joined our family in fall 2019 and Robin came spring 2021.

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Our Families

Moses’ family

Moses was raised in Africa and has been in the states since 2006. Our goal is to travel to Kenya every year to visit family and so far, we have been able to fulfill that goal. That is a tradition that we are very excited to plan and will continue for as long as we are able. Even with Covid we were lucky enough to make it over once a year. Moses has a big family and every time we are together it is nothing short of laughter and fun. They are loud, talk a lot and are everything one could wish for in a family! One of the best things about Moses is that he has a bonus family. When he was a senior in high school in Iowa his family moved back to Africa and, since he was the youngest, he stayed in Iowa to finish high school. His American family is just as fantastic as his biological family. They have since moved to South Carolina, but we are very intentional about seeing them a few times a year.

Nyla’s family

Nyla was born and raised in Iowa. Her dad and his wife live on 50 acres and we love to visit. He has an ATV that we take around the acreage. It’s close to a river and surrounded by hundreds of acres of farm land so it’s very quiet and serene. One of our favorite things to do during the summer and fall is to have bonfires and roast s’mores. After a heavy snow is one of our favorite times to be there. You can look out the back windows and see nothing but pristine snow and usually dozens of deer. It is so peaceful. Nyla’s mom lives just two houses away from us. She has just two grandchildren and is very excited for more. She watches Ellis every Tuesday and many other times throughout the week. She will often stop by on her way home from work or the store and ask, “Can I take Ellis home with me?” He is so loved by so many, and our future children will also be just as loved. Nyla’s mom’s favorite hobby is sewing, and she loves to make all sorts of things. She has made Moses many custom suits and shirts. Any pictures that you see with matching outfits in them, it’s Nyla’s mom who made them for us.

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Our Faith

We met at church when we were both a part of the same small group that met every Monday night. After a year of friendship, we started dating and then were married in 2016. We make an active effort to stay involved in our church by volunteering on the hospitality team and kids’ ministry and also volunteering with our church in the community as much as we can. Our faith is the most important part of our relationship. It is the foundation on which our marriage it based. Because of this, we are able to have more grace towards each other, which has helped us become better partners to each other and better parents to Ellis. Being good stewards of what God has provided for us and living for Him is something that we hope to instill in our children.

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Racial and Cultural Diversity

We love to experience new cultures. When we travel, we try to make it a point to see how local cultures are different or how they have experienced trials in the past to get to where they are today. We have so much to learn from each other when it comes to these two things. Diversity and culture are something that make this world a better place; it makes us grow as individuals. Differences are a beautiful thing and should be celebrated. We also continue to seek and find ways to be conscious to teach culturally relevant aspects of lives to our son and to your child.

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Our Lifestyle

We love to get together with friends or take small trips. Day trips to the zoo or water parks are a typical occurence. Our son loves the water, so discovering new pools has been a lot of fun. We also love to see family and have BBQ’s and bon fires with them.

We are laid back parents. We don’t run on a schedule. We like to play and do just as much as our son. When we go to the park, we slide on the slides, climb across the monkey bars, and swing on the swings. We only have one television in our house and that is in the basement. Our days mainly consist of playing with toys and reading books on the main level. We go to the park, library and pool as much as possible.  Even on cold, windy days we are at the park or outside all bundled up! It doesn’t faze kids whatsoever!

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Our Parents

Nyla’s mom lives two houses away from us and is in our lives daily. We often do ice cream runs together after dinner, or grocery shop for each other so the other doesn’t have to get out. Nyla talks to her dad a few times a week. He lives about an hour and a half away so we don’t get to see him as often as her mom. A lot of her dad’s sisters are moving back to Iowa though and holidays have become a lot of fun to have lots of kids around and big family gatherings. It’s never a dull moment! We stay in close contact with Moses’ parents. Moses communicates with them almost daily. When we do visit Africa, we spend a lot of time with them!

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What We will Tell your Child about You

Although our son is only a year and a half right now, we already are open and honest about how he came to us and how much his birth mother loves him. We plan to always be open from the very beginning about where our children were born and that they were adopted. We will tell them of the great sacrifice their birth mother made for them. We will teach them about how strong and brave she is to do such a loving and selfless act and that she trusted us to raise her child with unconditional love.

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Our Relationship with Ellis' Birth Mom

Ellis’ birth mother’s only request was to receive pictures and we have made it a priority to update the shared album we have together. We have communicated with her when she has reached out to us and have let her know that if she were to ever change her mind and want more communication or visits, we would be up for that. Although we may not have a lot of communication with her, we recognize that she is an incredible woman and have the utmost love and respect for her decision.

During our first adoption journey, we learned that one of the hardest things for birth mothers after placing their child for adoption, is when adoptive parents don’t keep their promise of sending updates and pictures. It would be an honor and give us great joy to share pictures and updates with you as we know, without a doubt, that you love your child. We will always be upfront and honest with you from the moment we meet and would love to have an ongoing relationship with you.

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Our Promise to You

We want you to know that, although life provides a lot of unknowns, there are also a few things that we know we can promise to you and your child. We promise to love and cherish your child with every breath. We promise to rock them to sleep and read them bedtime stories for years to come. To let them lick the spoon after mixing up a batch of cookies. We promise to be fair and equal. Kiss the bumps and bruises when needed. We promise to let them eat way too much cake on their birthdays and stay up late watching holiday movies. We promise to not only take them to parks, but also play with them at the park. To let them sit on our laps going down the slide until they are ready to do so on their own. To be the first and the last ones at the park. We promise to bend down and push the tricycle up and down the sidewalk, until they are able to pedal on their own. To read the same book over and over countless times. We promise to teach them how to be kind and respectful. How to explore the world and find the good wherever they go and in whomever they meet. We promise to encourage them to dream big and unleash their full potential. To learn about and take part in their interests with them. We promise to love your child fiercely and unconditionally. Most of all, we promise to tell them where they came from and how unbelievably grateful we are towards the mother that gave us the gift of building a family.