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Hi! We are Michael and Chrissy (and we can’t forget our goldendoodle, Penny). Michael is a Sales Manager for a manufacturing company, and Chrissy owns her own Virtual Assisting business. The last four years, our marriage has been full of game nights, hosting family and friends in our home, w-a-l-k-s (it’s unsafe to say out loud with a dog around, lol!) around our local park with Penny, and traveling to visit our favorite spots. If we aren’t at home, you can find us at the nearest boba tea or coffee shop, or trying out a new restaurant in town. While we really enjoy our life, we’ve always longed to be parents to a little nugget. We are so excited for this next season of life and are already thinking about and praying for you!
Michael was willing to miss a March Madness Purdue Basketball game to go on a date with Chrissy, so that’s how we knew this was going somewhere. After months of building a strong friendship, we were both pretty certain that we had met the person we would spend forever with. In the blink of an eye, Michael proposed in the same spot we had our first date (he wrote Chrissy a song!), and in another blink, we got married during the pandemic. While we missed out on a lot of the traditional “wedding” things, it helped us build a really solid foundation and taught us to focus on the things in life that really matter – relationships. We have a deep respect for each other that has allowed us to build a life we love, but our lives wouldn’t be complete without the amazing friends and family that surround us. We have a beautiful 100 year old home near the city where we enjoy hosting our community as much as possible. Don’t get us wrong though, even though we are social butterflies, we still love cozy nights in. We can’t wait to add a sweet baby to our home!
I didn’t know men like Michael existed. He is kind, gentle, and caring in a way I didn’t know men could be. He is a hard worker and goes above and beyond to make sure we are safe and provided for. When I first met him, all I could think about was how he made me feel like I was the only person in the room. After four years of marriage, I know this wasn’t just because he liked me, but because he cares so deeply about people.
Over the years, I’ve heard person after person describe him as a “golden retriever,” not just because they leave time with him feeling like he was intentional, but because he has this youthful spirit about him that is so special to be around. Michael keeps our life fun, silly, and full of laughs. He was made to be a dad. Recently, we went to a baby shower where he met a friend’s daughter. By the end, her daughter had had so much fun with him that she was more interested in hanging out with Michael than her own family! It’s stories like this that remind me I am so lucky that I get to raise a baby with him. I know that he will always make sure they are safe, secure, deeply loved, and most importantly, that they get to experience all the fun, amazing, silly parts of being a child.
Chrissy is the most loyal person I have ever met in my entire life and I wish everyone could experience being in her circle, because we need more Chrissys in the world. Her passion for people is what makes her so good at her job, and running her own business shows her ability to handle multiple things at once. I always describe Chrissy as someone who makes people better. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without her. She is wise, confident, caring, resilient, and gorgeous, of course!
If Chrissy’s love for our dog is any indication of how she will care for a baby, then she is going to be the kindest, sweetest, most caring mother in the world. Any time we are around babies, she is always wanting to hold them. She’s always looking for how to help other people, and she will carry that on with a child. The best phrase that describes Chrissy and shows who she is more than anything else: “I’m not going anywhere.”
Our relationship with God is central to our lives. We believe that all people are made in the image of God and, because of that, should be treated with dignity, love, and respect. This impacts more than just our Sunday when we attend church, but it is something we carry with us each day of the week. It causes us to value people from all different backgrounds – no matter how different from our own, and it is so important to us that we teach a child to live out their faith in a way that honors others.
This belief also makes our hearts ready to love and honor a child of any race, even if it is different from our own. We recently joined a multi-cultural church and intentionally live in a diverse side of town because we want to assure that a child, no matter their race, can have deep relationships with people of color. We are continually working to make our world a little bigger because we feel it is important to honor a child’s identity.
Aside from this, we believe that family is so much more than sharing genetics with someone. We have friends that are our family. We connect with them deeply and share the joys and hardships of life with one another. That is why, when we found out we had male and female factor infertility, we knew adoption was the path for us. We long to be parents more than anything – it doesn’t matter whether or not a baby shares our DNA. We will love them just as deeply, if not more.
As parents, we can’t wait to spoil a sweet baby with love. Our primary goal will always be to remind them how cherished they are and make all our decisions around providing them with a safe, stable life. Because of this, Michael recently switched careers so that he could have a stable and predictable schedule. In addition, Chrissy has cut down her workload significantly to allow herself to be with the baby most of the time.
Our community is everything to us. We are very close to Michael’s parents and they live in the same town as we do. They are going to make the most wonderful grandparents! They raised four rambunctious, but wonderful boys and have lots of wisdom to offer. We love getting together with Michael’s family, as it is always full of laughter, games, and very yummy food. Chrissy has an older sister who visits often as well. She is an elementary school teacher and already sends daily messages of how she can’t wait to spoil her future niece or nephew.
Aside from biological family, we have such a wide community of friends who we get together with often, including some who have adopted and others who have adopted transracially. Our community is so excited and eager to support us in this next season of life.
Trips out West – Every year, we travel out west to celebrate our anniversary. We love the food, the weather, and the warmth! This year, we are headed to Arizona!
Egg People – A tradition passed down through generations, each year several members of our family create what we call “Egg People.” As you could imagine, they are made from an egg shell and turned into some of our favorite characters. The first person we created together was Edna Mode from the Incredibles!
Christmas Lights – Christmas is our favorite time of the year. A tradition from Chrissy’s childhood: we always venture out to see the houses around and rate our favorites while sipping on some hot chocolate!
Halloween Festival – Our little part of town is known for its Halloween festivities. We think it is such a fun holiday and always venture out to the festival to see everyone dressed up!
Summers at the Lake – We are fortunate that Michael’s parents own a house on a lake. Every summer, we head over as much as we can to spend time together and take rides on the boat. We especially love seeing the fireworks over the water on 4th of July!
Brackets – Our family is all about a little friendly competition. Every year, we have a family-wide March Madness bracket and a Survivor bracket (yes, the reality television show!). Chrissy does surprisingly well, despite having no idea what’s going on.
We always want to make decisions that uplift others. We believe that it is so important for a child to know as much as possible about their birth family, because they will always be a part of their identity. We want to honor that part of their story and are excited about the possibility of openness in our adoption journey, to whatever level a birth family is comfortable with.
We hope this has given you a glimpse into our lives. We are ready and excited to welcome a sweet little bean into our family. Above all else, we promise to give them the most fun, safe and happy life we can. They are loved so much already! Know that we are thinking about and praying for you every day and can’t wait to potentially meet you or connect with you in the future!
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