Hi! We grew up in the same small town and have built our life around our faith and our connections with each other and our families. It means a lot to be considered as adoptive parents for your child! We’ve always looked forward to raising a family together and we’re excited to adopt our first child. As a couple, we’re hardworking, fun, and like to try new things or explore places we visit. We’d truly love to get to know more about you and learn about the life you want for your little one. Thank you for being here!

Our Story

How we met: Growing up in a small town, we went to the same schools all throughout our childhoods. We didn’t share the same circle of friends, but we knew of each other. After high school, E’lee joined the Navy and Carlin went away to college. After we each moved back home, we connected and started dating. We have been by each other’s side for over 3 years and we’d love to start sharing the life we’ve built as parents.

Things we like to do:

• Cook dinner together


• Go see college football games (we have season tickets to Vols games!)


• Catching up and telling stories about our day while we listen to music


• Playing games with friends or family


• Going to the lake and out on the boat


• Working in the vegetable garden at Carlin’s family farm


• Attending our Bible study group for married couples each week

A Little About Carlin

E’lee says: Carlin is very loving and caring. I can see this from the way she talks about her coworkers and how she treats our friends. She adores our nieces and nephews too! I know she will be the best mom out there. She prays for her loved ones daily and pushes me to do my best. My wife is a natural caregiver and she’s passionate about her work as a Registered Nurse. Carlin is also a great cook and I always look forward to having dinner with her after work. Our talks before bed are one of my favorite parts of the day. She is my best friend and I enjoy any time we spend together.

Carlin likes:

• Gardening


• Baking (and maintaining her sour dough starters)


• Cross-stitch and needlepoint


• Reading with a cup of coffee


• A snuggly nap with our dog on the weekend


• Water skiing

A Little About E'lee

Carlin says: E’lee is hardworking, loyal, honest, and trustworthy. He loves his family and friends better than anyone I know. My husband will literally come running to help if any of his loved ones need anything. E’lee has a strong faith and is a good leader by example. He loves making time to do things that our niece and nephew will enjoy. He is also generous with his time, thoughtfulness, and gifts, making sure I have everything I need or could want, including help maintaining our house. It’s all of this, and more, that make me know E’lee will be the best dad. He has so much love and wisdom to give a child.

E’lee likes:

• Watching sports


• Riding our side-by-side on our land where we will build our future home


• Fishing on the lake and river every summer


• Hunting whitetail in the fall


• Grilling (you name it, I can grill it!)


• Volunteering to help families in need

Our Home in Tennessee

We live in a small town with a lot of history and beauty. Our home is in a historic neighborhood, right in the heart of town. The downtown area is beautiful and looks just like a Hallmark movie in the winter, with lights, trees, and ice skating. A lake and river surround our town, and we have a State Park with hiking, pickleball, and swimming. We love it here because this town is full of people who are there for each other, whether you need help in hard times or just to borrow a cup of flour.

Our historic 4-bedroom house has been in E’lee’s family for a while. It’s cozy and we enjoy collecting antiques and using furniture and décor that has been passed down in our families. We’re close to everything in town and within walking distance of a large park too. We have been working on the nursery, which already has an heirloom baby crib handed down through our family. The nursery will be at the center of the house, close to our bedroom. We’ve picked out greens and tans to make the room calm and easy to personalize for a boy or girl. E’lee even chose a green rug with cute insects and butterflies on it. We look forward to finishing this special room for our future child!

While we love it here, we also have plans to build our dream home on several acres of land in the country. Our land has a creek that backs up to E’lee’s parents’ property, and there will be plenty of space to run and explore. We look forward to having a large vegetable garden and chickens too!

Our Families

Adoption is already a special part of our extended family, so everyone, on both sides, is excited about our hopes to adopt! E’lee’s dad was adopted himself, and Carlin has a first cousin who adopted a child as well. We both come from large families who is very close and enjoy a lot of time together. Most of E’lee’s relatives are in the town where we live and they are very family oriented. He has two brothers, with families of their own. Carlin is an only child, and her parents live in this area too. The rest of Carlin’s family lives out of state, but we enjoy traveling to see each other. We’re so blessed to come from supportive, loving families who are always there for one other!

From Our Hearts...

As adoptive parents, we promise to love your child without end! In our family, your child will know what it is to be loved unconditionally, with respect and awareness that they will always be heard. We will be his or her biggest cheerleaders in whatever interests or things they get into. We promise to be honest about who you are, what you mean to us, and how we all came together through adoption. Your strength and love will always be a part of how we help this child understand his or her story.

We promise to provide a stable home and family life, with Christian values, good communication, joint decision making, clear boundaries and expectations, and lots of laughter. We will teach by example how to set goals, work hard, and reach their dreams through dedication and support. We will encourage him or her to enjoy learning and will offer opportunities for them to pursue educational goals as well. Above all, we’ll model the importance of family time and finding the good in life around us.

Your child will always know how we’ve prayed for them, and you, long before we ever met. If you’d like an open adoption, we’re ready to share a connection and would love to talk about what that might look like and what you’re comfortable with. Thank you for considering us as you make your plans. We’d love to hear from you! When you’re ready, please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.

With love and respect, E’lee and Carlin

In Closing

Thank you for the chance to share a little about us and the life we'd love to share with your child. We'd be blessed beyond measure to become your child's adoptive parents! It would be great to learn more about you and we will gladly share an open adoption with ongoing contact, if you're comfortable. We will always be honest with your little one about how we all came together and what you mean to us. When you're ready, please call or text Lifetime to ask about setting up a chat with us. We love to hear from you!