Hello from small-town Nebraska!

We are delighted to share our story and would also love to hear yours.  Adoption was put on our hearts long ago, and we are now eagerly awaiting the joy of becoming first-time parents through adoption. We are a great team, and together we will provide a loving, creative, playful, grace-filled, and Jesus-centered home where your child can grow and flourish.  We are open to a boy, girl, or twins of any race, and we would be thrilled to share photos, updates, and yearly visits!

Jon is a youth and worship pastor, and Sharayah works part-time as an accompanist.  Faith, music, and ministry drew us together, and we have been married for nearly nine years now.  We talked about adoption early in our relationship, but infertility took us by surprise.  Through highs and lows, we are committed to each other and to our future child.  Together, we enjoy going for walks, spending time with our friends and their children, and having movie nights.  We look forward to including our child in these activities!

One of the first things that drew me to Jon was seeing him run around (leading a game) with a herd of preschoolers during a mission trip.  Jon has a tender heart, a playful spirit, an impossibly quick wit, and a knack for making people of all ages and backgrounds feel accepted and at ease.  He is flexible and not easily rattled, and he is a gentle, but strong and creative leader.  Playing sports, dabbling in videography, preaching, and flying drones are some hobbies he enjoys in addition to being a talented musician.  He will love going on adventures, playing soccer, telling dad jokes, and teaching our child guitar.

Sharayah has always wanted to be a mother and consistently displays a loving, tender nature to others.  Her passion and desire to reflect Christ in her life leads her to love well and show grace and kindness to all while using her wisdom to help so many others navigate the trials of life.  Sharayah enjoys playing piano, crocheting, spending time with our dogs, and using her artistic abilities to paint, write, design cards, and decorate cakes.  She is excited to teach your child how to do all of these things as well as live a life that brings glory and honor to God.

Our families are ecstatic about our adoption plans!  Both sets of our parents have been married for over thirty years and share our Christian faith.  Sharayah has one younger brother, and Jon has two older brothers and two older sisters.  All of our siblings are married, and we have seven nephews and three nieces!  Jon’s siblings are spread out over Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, and Nebraska, but we keep fairly close contact and look forward to having a family reunion this summer.  Sharayah’s family (pictured) and Jon’s parents are all in Colorado, so we travel there frequently for holidays and visits.  

We live in a 5-bedroom, 2-bathroom corner lot house in the middle of a small rural town.  Our home is within walking distance from a park, the local schools, and a lake with a walking path and playground area.  Hank and Drover, our outside dogs, lounge on our deck or soak up the love from our friends while we roast marshmallows over the fire pit in our fenced backyard.  Our small indoor dog (Nika) watches the neighborhood from our charcoal gray sectional in the living room.  The nursery is set up across the hall from our bedroom!

We promise to deeply love and cherish your child as our own.  We will teach them about their story and will speak of you with honor and respect.  We will strive to teach and model good character traits and healthy relationships.  We promise to teach the truth and to parent with grace and understanding.  We promise to be engaged and present.  We will read to them, sing and dance with them, snuggle them, help them with homework, and walk with them through life.

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