Darrin and Emily

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From Us to You

Hi there!

As we sit to write this letter we are filled with emotions: excitement and nervousness, just to name a couple. We can only imagine that this is an emotional and quite difficult time for you as well. We hope that as you learn a little about us that the adoption process will seem a bit less daunting.

We met 18 years ago in college and got married pretty young. The following years were full of changes as we finished school, moved several times, began careers, and started having children. We love kids and decided to have four of our own! All sweet little girls. Our family settled in a great neighborhood, with lots of young families, close to schools, church, and work.

We fell into a pretty comfortable life and felt for a time that our family was complete. But, God had other plans for us. We couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more we could do to make the world a better place for a little somebody. One morning Darrin woke up with a strong feeling that we should adopt, and when he shared this with Emily, she felt like it was a calling. We had talked about adoption many times before but knew it was the time to start taking our first, official steps. Now every time she prays or talks about adoption she can’t help but tear up. The idea that there may be a mother and child out there who may become part of our family has completely filled our lives with joy.

You might be wondering what your child’s life will be like if they join our family. We love to be active! We go hiking, go on bike rides, play sports, go to the beach, and go fishing. We like to travel both for fun and to see family. Day one in our home will likely start with waking up to smiling faces of adoring sisters. Once the girls are off to school we will have lots of one-on-one time to snuggle, play, and nap since Emily is a stay-at-home mom. After school can be busy with girls’ activities, but Darrin is always home pretty early from work to help. Evenings are family time. We eat dinner together, play, and hold family devotional every night. Your child’s day will likely end as it began, surrounded by loving family.

Over the last 13 years, we have learned a lot about parenting! Practice makes perfect, right? In our experience children develop best when they feel safe, loved, and valued. We have found that our kids follow our example. When we are happy, optimistic, kind, calm, and helpful they follow our lead. Likewise, if we yell, argue, or are grumpy, so are they! (Hey, we aren’t perfect). In our home, we value faith, education, and hard work.

Your child will have a loving and supportive community beyond parents and sisters. A set of grandparents, aunts and uncles, and 8 cousins live minutes away. Other grandparents and cousins live in other states, but we FaceTime regularly and try to visit them often. Our church is very close and your child will have the support of a great faith community. Being experienced parents with a strong support network helps us be open to your situation. No matter what your child’s gender, race/cultural identity, or special needs are, we feel confident that we can adapt our lives to meet their needs.

We want your child to know how much love and courage it took to trust their life to us. We feel it is important for them to be connected to you in whatever way works best for you; whether that be regular visits or occasional letters.

You are reading this letter because you are looking for a happy home for your future child. We are writing because we are looking to share our love and family life with another child. Maybe we are looking for each other?

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Why We are Choosing to Adopt

We know that not everyone has been blessed with financial resources, health, safety, or certainty about the future to allow them to raise a child. There are also families, like us, who find deep purpose and joy in raising children. We have talked casually about adoption for many years, but now feel like we are experienced parents, with strong family support and a stable life. We feel called by God and prepared by Him to be able to love and care for another child as our own. In our hearts, we know adoption is right for us and can’t wait to add to our family.

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About Emily, by Darrin

I think Emily was just born to be a mom. Every night it makes me smile to see her packing a cute little lunch box or reading bedtime stories. Whether it’s love notes or play dates, Emily does the little things to make our girls feel special. Our house is spick and span, she makes great food, and our girls are always well-dressed with their hair done. I secretly wonder if she is Mary Poppins. Emily is super-organized. She is in the PTA and helps lead our Church women’s group. She enjoys lunch and book club with her friends. Things Emily doesn’t like: conflict, messy bedrooms, and bananas.

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About Darrin, by Emily

Darrin is kind, has a great sense of humor, is always serving others, is a spiritual strength in our home, and loves to solve problems. He is one of the hardest workers I know. He is extremely dedicated to our family and is the fun dad! Darrin works hard on building his relationship individually with each of our girls and is always finding ways to lift them up. He often takes them on one on one dates, which they love. Darrin loves to be outdoors and the mountains are his happy place.

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Our Sweet Girls

Addilyn (13) is a super-star big sister. She is nurturing, sensitive, and creative. She loves to be busy playing tennis and basketball and is the middle school volleyball team manager. Like most teenagers, she is currently into friends and rolling her eyes at her parents. Addi is always making up games or creating some craft, which makes her a favorite babysitter for neighbor kids and her own sisters. With Addi in our home, you can be assured your child will receive extra attention and care.

Sadie (10) is everyone’s best friend. Cheerful, sweet, and very obedient, she is our peacemaker. Sadie likes things a certain way and isn’t always big on trying new things. She plays piano and basketball, and is a talented runner and gymnast, always impressing us with her latest trick. She will not only be your child’s big sister, but a lifetime friend.

Claire (7) is the life of the party! She is energetic, adventurous, intense, and so much fun. She is our tomboy, loves softball (or any sport), and can usually be found playing outside with neighbors. Recently, she started piano and gets so frustrated when a song doesn’t come easy. We can guarantee that Claire will make sure your child’s life is filled with adventure.

Elle (5) can’t wait to be a big sister and asks about it every day. She is going to shower your baby with love. As the youngest, Elle has to stick up for herself sometimes! But, she is always fast to forgive and say sorry. She is a feisty, girly girl who loves high heels and Barbies. Pre-school is her happy place and she is always trying to keep up with her sisters. Elle and Claire share a room with bunk beds. It is pretty common to find them cuddled up, sharing one bed.

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Lifestyle

We enjoy living a simple life that allows us to focus on what is most important to us: relationships, learning, wellness, and spirituality. Darrin has a great job that allows him to be home a lot and for Emily to be at home full-time. Our top priority is to spend a lot of time with our kids and we will have plenty of time to focus on your child. Each day we eat, play, and pray together. We know it’s important to keep our marriage strong and make time each week for dates. We also love family dates with fun activities, eating out, or getting ice cream.

We love to learn by reading books and doing homework together. Just like our girls, we would foster a love of learning in your child and save for college or whatever education they want to pursue.

We both like exercise and the outdoors and encourage our girls to be physically active by participating in sports and playing outside. We enjoy volunteering through our church and attend services every week. Our church provides fun, faith-building activities that our girls really love and we think your child will too.

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Faith

We believe that we are all children of God, and every soul is precious to Him. This truth is an invitation to love and care for each person as if they were our own family. Jesus Christ is at the center of our lives and we find happiness by following Him. He asks us to have hope, love, serve others, and be generous. We feel God has guided us to adoption and hope we can be an answer to your prayers.

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Home & Neighborhood

We live in a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with plenty of room for a new addition. The heart of the home is the large kitchen with a big island where we love to cook and eat together. The kitchen is open to the family room where we love to snuggle up on the couch to watch movies and sports, read books, or play games. Upstairs is a large playroom that is usually half covered in Barbies and dress-up clothes. We love relaxing on our back patio while the girls jump on the trampoline or play on the swing set.

We love calling Texas our home. We love our neighbors who have shown us that southern hospitality is a real thing. Sadie and Claire ride their bikes to school with many of the kids on our street, and after school, they often take turns playing in each other’s yards. We have nice community parks, fishing ponds, and swimming pools (our girls love swim teams).

Everything we need is close-by in our little suburb, but we also like to venture downtown to enjoy food, sports, museums, and a terrific zoo. Day and weekend trips to the nearby beach, amusement, and water parks are family favorite activities.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

We live in a very diverse community. For example, when we go to the local grocery store we usually hear multiple languages spoken. Our girls have friends and classmates with families from Africa, Europe, Asia, and South and Central America. There is a good chance that there will be other kids that look like your child whatever your background. We hope the diversity of our city will provide many chances for us to help your child explore their unique heritage.

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Our Families & Friends

We feel lucky to have the families we do. Our extended family has been excited about us adopting and their support is a major reason we feel like we can do this. Emily’s parents and sister live in our neighborhood, and so does one of Darrin’s brothers. Emily’s sister has one boy and two girls. Darrin’s brother has four boys and one girl. We gather often for birthdays, Sunday dinners, or at kids’ events. Sleepovers with Grandma and Grandpa are a big hit with our girls. Between school, church and activities your child will likely see family almost daily. Emily has a brother in Michigan whom we FaceTime almost every day. Darrin’s parents and 3 of his brothers live in Utah. We look forward to going each summer to work and play on the farm. We like riding the horses and motorcycles. We especially love to go camping in the nearby mountains.

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Family Traditions

We have a few favorite traditions but we also like to change things up and try new things!

We celebrate birthdays by singing happy birthday to wake them up. They come down to a decorated kitchen and have all their favorite meals and activities for the day. We do parties with friends every other year but always do a big family celebration! Emily loves writing a special letter to each girl on their birthday.

Christmas is a special time in our home. We love to decorate a tree, make cookies, or drive to see Christmas lights. But, the most anticipated tradition is our daily advent calendar. Each morning in December the girls run downstairs to take their turn opening a little numbered door. Inside is a note with that day’s activity like sleeping under the Christmas tree, reading a new Christmas book, or delivering treats to firemen. These special events really bring the Christmas spirit into our home.

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Our Promise to You

We promise to give your child the same love, care, attention, and opportunities as their siblings. We will be their number one fans! We promise to shower them with hugs and kisses. We promise to teach them right from wrong, how to serve others with kindness, and how to believe in themselves. Above all, we promise to raise them knowing they are a loved and valued child of God. We would love to continue a relationship with you and be sure they know who you are and how much you love them. We would be honored to have you be a part of our life.