Kyle and Leslie

>

<

From Us to You

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us! We know this is not a rushed decision, and one made with careful consideration. Please know that we ultimately want what is best for you, and truly wish you nothing but the best. 

This will be our second time adopting, and we are excited to begin this process. We have an open relationship with Rocky’s birth mom, and keep in regular contact with her. We send her photos and videos of the important milestones, of course, but also of Rocky’s silly antics. We Face Time her and have photos of her within reach so that Rocky can know her, and one day she can tell him her story. We talk about her often, and she is always included in our nightly prayers. She is able to celebrate Rocky’s achievements, and we get to cheer on hers as well. 

We are so thankful to have a strong relationship with her, and look forward to having the same kind of relationship with you, if that’s what you would like. We are very respectful of the decision that you are making, and keenly aware that we will always have a missing piece of your heart in our hearts. As with Rocky, that is something we will fiercely guard and protect. 

While we can’t pretend to know or truly understand how this decision may be affecting you, what we can promise is that we will always respond with compassion, love, and kindness. We can also promise that your baby will be beyond cherished, loved, and probably more than a little bit spoiled. Rocky has always loved “the littles” and will probably do the bulk of the spoiling!

We are praying for you and your precious baby, and that God will cover you with peace in whatever decision you make. 

>

<

Why We are Choosing to Adopt

We got married in 2014, and it became clear rather quickly that adoption was the way God had intended us to grow our family. Rocky was born in 2018, and while we knew we wanted him to be a big brother, the timing didn’t feel right until recently. We’re so excited to grow our family again – even excited about staying up all night!

Our Thoughts on Parenting:
As parents, we can promise that we might not always get it right, but we will always get it funny! We truly enjoy each other’s company and spending time with Rocky – it’s so wonderful to sit back and watch him discover something new or learn a new skill, and that’s something we are excited to do again with a new child. 

>

<

Our Son, Rocky

Rocky is 7 years old and is endlessly curious about everything all of the time – never ending energy! He loves exercising, Hot Wheels, Legos, helping Kyle build camp fires and carve wood, and helping Leslie chop food in the kitchen. He has always loved babies, and is a big helper in a group setting and with his baby cousin. 

>

<

Lifestyle

We retired several years ago, and that gives us freedom to truly revolve our lives around Rocky and any future children. 

Living on the Gulf Coast, there is an endless supply of fun activities! We have beaches nearby, trails, museums, parks, and our little pocket of Mississippi always has family activities happening. We try to keep outside as much as possible, but when homebound we are usually knee deep in Legos and Hot Wheels cars with Rocky. Building cardboard cities is also a fun past time. 

We enjoy traveling as a family, both near and far, and often drag extended family into our shenanigans. Sometimes we might take off to beautiful Florida for a night or two on a whim, and some trips require a bit more planning. We want to get Rocky to all 50 states before he turns 18 (he has been to 24, plus Washington DC), but now might need to start that plan all over again!

We truly love exploring and experiencing new things. Because Kyle is retired from the military, that opens up some interesting flying opportunities as we can fly on military planes as cargo! We love to be spontaneous, and while that sometimes doesn’t always work out as planned, we can usually laugh at the circumstances.

>

<

About Leslie by Kyle

Leslie is an incredibly task oriented and multitasking kind of lady. This part of her personality will likely never change, as she was a 911 dispatcher in one of the more dangerous areas in California. While she may be a little type A, Leslie has the biggest heart and is a natural with children. 

Of all the things Leslie does with Rocky, bedtime is her favorite. Reading stories, saying nightly prayers, and snuggling our son to sleep is her favorite thing. This works out well, because that is our son’s favorite as well. If I ever try to do the nighttime routine, Rocky is NOT happy!! 

Several of Rocky’s preschool buddies still run up to Leslie at birthday parties or get togethers to get those good snuggles in, however, they’re usually short lived because Rocky wants his turn too!!

Leslie is an encourager, a follower of God, and a lady with a lot of love to give. 

>

<

About Kyle by Leslie

I often describe Kyle as a cross between a toddler and a German Shepherd puppy. He is just SO SILLY. No one makes me laugh harder than he does. He constantly makes up funny songs about mundane chores, and is always smiling. Friends say he reminds them of Buddy the Elf. 

Kids are just drawn to Kyle. If we are at the park, or in the pool or anywhere really, you’ll see a gaggle of kids literally hanging on to him and following him around. He and Rocky love to play tag and hide and seek IN the house, which makes for a lot of screaming and laughing. 

My father passed away when I was 5 and one of my favorite things to do is watch Kyle be a daddy – he is just so good at it! He’s always ready to get muddy, jump on trampolines, or go for bike rides. He serves in the children’s ministry at church, and takes Rocky to every single troop meeting and camp out. 

>

<

Our Home

Heading to the beach or biking / hiking along the bayou looking for alligators are some favorite activities. We live about 10 minutes from our local beach, and Rocky takes a kids’ fitness class on the beach on Saturday mornings. We are close to some great aquariums, military museums (with interactive displays, old aircraft/ships submarines/vehicles), and have an adorable downtown with fun restaurants and shops. Every year there is a MASSIVE car show that brings cars from all over the world for a couple of weeks. 

Our weather usually goes from warm to hot to HOT, but we did have a once in a lifetime 10 inches of snow fall one day this year! It was so crazy to see our neighborhood covered in snow, but all of the neighborhood kids had a blast getting to go outside and play. 

>

<

Our Family

We moved to this area in 2020 to be closer to Leslie’s extended family (lots of cousins). Within a few years, Kyle’s parents moved and then his brother and nephew followed a year later! Now we all live within about 20 minutes of each other, and its great for random get togethers. It’s great being able to see each other often for swimming parties, cook outs , camp outs, and school events. Kyle’s parents are very involved grandparents, and love coming to Rocky’s school events and our nephew’s sporting events. 

>

<

Racial and Cultural Diversity

Rocky is mixed race – his birth mother is from Ghana (and has the loveliest accent!). He notices the difference in our skin colors, and we just affirm we all have beautiful skin. We have a book he likes to read called “Mama and Me Don’t Match” and it helps him see our similarities. We also have close friends who Rocky says “are my twin!”

Our Relationship with Rocky’s Birth Mom:
We have an open relationship with Rocky’s birth mom. We constantly send her photos / videos of Rocky’s shenanigans, text messages about other just life things, and she gets to share in his growth. We get to cheer her on with her accomplishments too! Sometimes we’ll tell him something silly that Rocky has done, and she says ” Yep! I used to do that too!” and then she laughs at us.

>

<

Our Faith and Traditions

Our faith is very important to us, and we are very involved in our church – in fact, our pastor’s family lives in our neighborhood so we joke that God made sure we couldn’t get away with anything!

Kyle serves in the Sunday school, and Leslie serves at special events. Rocky attends a Christian school with wonderfully loving teachers.

We regularly discuss Jesus in our home, and work hard to be kind and loving. 

Our Traditions:
Moving to Mississippi from California in 2020 meant we were much closer to Leslie’s family, and Kyle’s family followed soon after! This has made holiday celebrations much bigger and more fun … and more chaotic! We’ve started Christmas traditions that include very messy cookie baking (usually with food fights), Christmas light boat shows, and drive thru Christmas lights. We usually end up traveling somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s, with the Smoky Mountains being a favorite destination. 

>

<

Our Promise to You

• Our promise to you is to honor you and respect your story. 
• We will love on your child as strongly as two people ever possibly could. 
• Your child will be safe, loved, and protected. 
• We want to pass on a sense of wonder about the amazing world we live in, encourage curiosity and questions, and to seek out adventure. 

We want to sincerely thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We are excited to get to know you too, and learn about what is important to you. Your child will always ALWAYS know just how very loved he or she is, always was, and always will be. We will make sure your child knows his or her birth story, and that love brought everyone together. 

We promise to provide absolutely every opportunity to him or her for success. 

Just know, regardless of your decision, we are cheering for you! We know you are brave and strong.