To say I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with this blog would be an understatement. Rather than sharing what's been going on in our lives the past year and half, I think I would rather share a letter I wrote. I finished our family profile a few weeks ago and included this letter. I wanted to share it with all of you because you never know when you might meet someone who will need to read it. Plus, it is a great way for you all to hear our heart as we travel on this journey of adoption. Thank you for your continued prayers. Love you all!
Hello,
Somehow I thought when it came time to write this letter it would be much easier. Not easy in the sense of the circumstances being easy, but easy in the sense that I feel like you are already a part of our life. We have known for several years that adoption was how our family would finally be complete. We have talked about it for years knowing that it wasn’t just a way to add another child, but a way to expand our hearts in ways we couldn’t with our birth children. Whether you realize it or not, you have been an important part of our conversations and our plans. Now that it’s time to actually put all of this in writing I realize my only desire is for you to hear our hearts and get a glimpse of who we are as a family, hoping that you will choose to be a part as well.
Steve and I have been married for 14 ½ years. We met through a mutual friend and quickly became best friends. I know it can be cliché to say “I married my best friend,” but in our case it is very true. When we were first married and talking about our future family we both knew adoption was going to be an important part. We weren’t sure exactly how it would all come together, but even then we began praying for our future children (birth children and adopted). We even started praying for you. How could we pray for you if we didn’t even know you? Well, we believed that even if we didn’t know who you were, God did.
Steve is the youth pastor at our church and I am an administrator at a charter school. We have three beautiful daughters: Rachel is 12 (almost 13) and going into 7th grade. Leah is 10 and going into 5th grade and Hailey is 8 (almost 9) and going into 3rd grade. All three of the girls go to the school where I work. We live in a very quiet neighborhood with caring neighbors all around us. Our house is very close to our church and the school. We love being smack in the middle of our community because we get to see people from the church and the school everywhere we go. It’s not unusual for our driveway to become the neighborhood basketball court. We have a dog, Buckeye, who thinks he is the king of our neighborhood. He gets on top of the girls’ clubhouse and watches the neighborhood. All of the neighbors love him and even buy him treats.
Steve and I come from very similar families. Both of our parents have been married for over 35 years. We are both the oldest of three kids. His brother and sister are both married and have children of their own. My sisters are both married and one of them has two children. All together we have 5 nieces and 3 nephews. Family “get-togethers” include lots of cousins running around keeping us on our toes. Both of our dads were in the military. Steve’s dad got out of the military after Steve was born and moved back to their home town. My dad retired from the Air Force and settled down in the same area. Both of our families go to our church and we all live within 15 minutes of each other. It is such a blessing!
We definitely enjoy keeping busy and staying active. There are a lot of bike trails in our area and we love to go on bike rides as a family. We also really enjoy finding new places to go hiking and spending time outside. All three of the girls play soccer & basketball. Leah plays softball too and also takes horseback riding lessons. Hailey is our dancer and takes jazz & ballet lessons.
Each night as we get ready for bed the girls make sure they pray for two very specific people. The first prayer is for their brothers and that God would keep them safe wherever they are. They also pray that He brings them to us soon. The other prayer is for you. They pray that you are safe, that you know you are loved, and that God would bless you. Our hearts desire truly is to allow you into our lives in a very special way. Our desire is to have an open adoption with the possibility of building a lasting relationship with you and your extended family. We take the responsibility of raising your son very seriously and we will never allow the miracle of adoption to be forgotten in his life.
Thank you for taking time to hear our heart. We pray that one day our hearts and lives will be joined by the miracle of the little boy you call your son.
Somehow I thought when it came time to write this letter it would be much easier. Not easy in the sense of the circumstances being easy, but easy in the sense that I feel like you are already a part of our life. We have known for several years that adoption was how our family would finally be complete. We have talked about it for years knowing that it wasn’t just a way to add another child, but a way to expand our hearts in ways we couldn’t with our birth children. Whether you realize it or not, you have been an important part of our conversations and our plans. Now that it’s time to actually put all of this in writing I realize my only desire is for you to hear our hearts and get a glimpse of who we are as a family, hoping that you will choose to be a part as well.
Steve and I have been married for 14 ½ years. We met through a mutual friend and quickly became best friends. I know it can be cliché to say “I married my best friend,” but in our case it is very true. When we were first married and talking about our future family we both knew adoption was going to be an important part. We weren’t sure exactly how it would all come together, but even then we began praying for our future children (birth children and adopted). We even started praying for you. How could we pray for you if we didn’t even know you? Well, we believed that even if we didn’t know who you were, God did.
Steve is the youth pastor at our church and I am an administrator at a charter school. We have three beautiful daughters: Rachel is 12 (almost 13) and going into 7th grade. Leah is 10 and going into 5th grade and Hailey is 8 (almost 9) and going into 3rd grade. All three of the girls go to the school where I work. We live in a very quiet neighborhood with caring neighbors all around us. Our house is very close to our church and the school. We love being smack in the middle of our community because we get to see people from the church and the school everywhere we go. It’s not unusual for our driveway to become the neighborhood basketball court. We have a dog, Buckeye, who thinks he is the king of our neighborhood. He gets on top of the girls’ clubhouse and watches the neighborhood. All of the neighbors love him and even buy him treats.
Steve and I come from very similar families. Both of our parents have been married for over 35 years. We are both the oldest of three kids. His brother and sister are both married and have children of their own. My sisters are both married and one of them has two children. All together we have 5 nieces and 3 nephews. Family “get-togethers” include lots of cousins running around keeping us on our toes. Both of our dads were in the military. Steve’s dad got out of the military after Steve was born and moved back to their home town. My dad retired from the Air Force and settled down in the same area. Both of our families go to our church and we all live within 15 minutes of each other. It is such a blessing!
We definitely enjoy keeping busy and staying active. There are a lot of bike trails in our area and we love to go on bike rides as a family. We also really enjoy finding new places to go hiking and spending time outside. All three of the girls play soccer & basketball. Leah plays softball too and also takes horseback riding lessons. Hailey is our dancer and takes jazz & ballet lessons.
Each night as we get ready for bed the girls make sure they pray for two very specific people. The first prayer is for their brothers and that God would keep them safe wherever they are. They also pray that He brings them to us soon. The other prayer is for you. They pray that you are safe, that you know you are loved, and that God would bless you. Our hearts desire truly is to allow you into our lives in a very special way. Our desire is to have an open adoption with the possibility of building a lasting relationship with you and your extended family. We take the responsibility of raising your son very seriously and we will never allow the miracle of adoption to be forgotten in his life.
Thank you for taking time to hear our heart. We pray that one day our hearts and lives will be joined by the miracle of the little boy you call your son.
Steve & Shannon
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