Hello! Thank you for taking the time to get to know a bit about us!  We are a family of 3, and we are so excited to expand our family through the gift of open adoption and to partner with you on this journey.  We are an active, creative family of learners.  We both work in education, and we keep learning ourselves.  We are excited to teach your child new things, and learn new things from him/her as well!

Bad traffic was the catalyst for us meeting each other, and we got married a year and 3 days later!  Now we have been married for 13 years, and we continue learning and growing in our love and respect for one another.  Each year is a new adventure and, in 2018, we were blessed to adopt our son, Ezra, and it has been the greatest adventure of our lives!

We love to play games (like DC Deck Building, Fluxx, and Escape Room), watch movies/TV (mostly about superheroes or home renovation), go for walks, go to live sporting events (especially international soccer games), travel, and work on renovating our house. We also both really love learning, so we spend lots of time conversing about good books, interesting podcasts, articles, videos, or current events.

We are excited to teach your child about the greatest soccer team (Arsenal) and to include them in our family adventures exploring places close to home and far away.

Ethan is silly, fun, and also is a deep thinker who values authentic conversations. Ethan enjoys his career in campus recreation and as a part-time adjunct professor.  He loves that he gets to promote lifelong health and ethical decision making.  He is a wonderful provider and I am constantly amazed at the new things he learns so he can fix up our house!  One of my favorite things about Ethan is that he constantly reflects and tries to do things better.

Sports and exercise have always been a big part of Ethan’s life, and he loves teaching Ezra about those activities.  They are often together doing push-ups and lunges, or playing a toddler’s version of soccer, baseball, or basketball!  He will enjoy helping your child to develop active lifestyle habits as well!

Kara is dedicated, creative, and always invests time in our family. In her free time, she is reading, crafting, or creating new experiences. She has a heart for learning, understanding, and creating an environment that is fair for everyone which is part of what makes her an amazing elementary school literacy teacher! Being a teacher means Kara gets to be home on school breaks, holidays, and in the summer.  She and Ezra enjoy lots of extra adventures together during those times, like picking blueberries or picking up homemade ice cream from a local farm.

Reading and writing have always been a big part of Kara’s life.  Her passion for reading means our home is full of great children’s books for her to read to Ezra- books she is excited to read to your child as well. She loves to share her passion for books and even hosts a monthly book club with some neighbors.

We were blessed to adopt our son, Ezra, in 2018, and, to this day, have a wonderful open relationship with his birth family.  He loves vehicles of all sorts, being outside, balls, dogs, and books.  He wants to do everything Daddy does, and he loves helping with things like cooking and laundry. His laughter is so full of joy, and we know he will be a wonderful big brother!  

Our parents, siblings, and extended family live all over the country and the world – Minnesota, Georgia, Missouri, Costa Rica, and elsewhere.  Even though they are spread out, we have very close relationships with them.  We video chat with family almost every day, and we always have people to visit in fun places! They are all very excited to welcome another child to our family!  They look forward to teaching your child about gardening, baking tasty treats,  and speaking Spanish.

We were both raised in Christian homes and have dedicated our lives to following Jesus. We are involved in a diverse church that has lots of great programs for kids.  We participate in a small group as well as attending weekly services.

We bought our large, spacious, 5-bedroom home recently as a “fixer-upper” and love working on projects to make it our own.  One of the rooms is set up and ready to personalize for your child.  We are located in a quiet, diverse neighborhood with great neighbors and lots of kids.  Our home is close to trails, parks, and every kind of store we need.  It is also located in a great school district! We highly value education and believe that true education goes beyond acquiring facts- it includes the development of one’s own character. 

We promise to love your child unconditionally, to laugh with them, play with them, and read to them every day.  We promise to teach them that it’s ok to make mistakes, how to empathize with others, and to show integrity in all they do.  We will do everything we can to provide them with every opportunity to help them grow up to be a responsible, compassionate, godly person. We will encourage and support them to value education and to pursue whichever talents and dreams they desire.

We would love to keep an ongoing, open relationship with you (and your family, if you wish for that) and promise to share with your child their heritage and story. You will always be part of their life, and we want to honor you.

If you would like to learn more about us, please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.