We met as teenagers while working at a small-town grocery store and quickly became close friends. After years of friendship, we started dating in our early twenties and instantly knew we had found something special. Our relationship was built on laughter, deep conversation, and shared faith. We love to adventure and have been to seven countries together. We also enjoy spending time together outdoors, whether it’s biking, walking, or working out together; we enjoy being active!

Over the years, we have walked through many beautiful seasons together, as well as hard ones, including infertility. Those experiences strengthened our marriage and deepened our trust in God’s plan for our family. Adoption has always been close to our hearts, and after years of foster care and welcoming 12 children into our home, we adopted our son Quade in 2025. Adoption has been one of the greatest blessings of our lives, and we are incredibly grateful to be on this journey again.

If I had to describe Sam in a few words, I would say she is intentional, thoughtful, hilarious, loyal, and wonderfully unique. Sam is the kind of person who loves deeply and notices the little things that make people feel seen and cared for.

She is an incredible mother—attentive, nurturing, sacrificial, and deeply invested in helping our child feel safe and loved. She has a natural gift for creating warmth in our home, whether through baking, reading books with Quade, or making ordinary moments feel special.

One of the things I admire most about Sam is her heart for people. She loves with incredible depth and always seeks to care for others well. I know she will continue to be an amazing mother to any child we welcome into our family.

Chad is truly one of the most loving, intentional, and joyful people I know. He leads our family with wisdom, compassion, and humility, always keeping his priorities in order: faith, family, and serving others.

He works hard as a CPA and financial advisor, but he also knows how to have fun. Chad is adventurous, funny, and naturally brings joy to every room he enters. He has a way of making people feel comfortable and loved.

My favorite role to watch Chad in is being a dad. He is patient, playful, and incredibly present. He is definitely the “fun parent,” but he also leads with gentleness and wisdom. Watching him love and guide Quade has only strengthened my confidence in the kind of father he is.

Family is one of the greatest gifts in our lives. Sam comes from a large family with four sisters and two brothers, and Chad has two brothers. Sam’s siblings all live nearby, aside from her older sister who lives in Arizona. We see each of Sam’s siblings at least monthly, if not more, which means between all five who are local, we are seeing them quite a bit! One of Chad’s brother’s lives in Canada so we only see his family about once a year. Chad’s other brother is local and we see them about once a month or so. Together, we are proud aunt and uncle to 15 nieces and nephews, ranging in ages 14 years old to 6 months old with most of them being under age 5! They are all so excited about adding another cousin to the crew. Quade has a special relationship with his cousins as many of them are some of his first friends!

Chad’s parents live in Florida for much of the year, but during the summer months, when they are home, they make it a point to see Quade very regularly and even have a special “Grandma & Grandpa Day” with him every week. Sam’s mom is also very involved with Quade and is probably his favorite person in the world! They spend the evening together every Wednesday so Sam and Chad can have a date night!

We are also deeply rooted in a wonderful church community which has brought us some of our closest friendships. Our church has an amazing foster and adoption support group that meets monthly and consists of many families who look like ours! Most of our friends have kids, which means that Quade always has a buddy (or twelve!) to play with when we are with our friends. We are incredibly thankful for the strong support system surrounding our family and the many people who are excited to welcome another child into our lives.

We live in a cozy four-bedroom home that we are currently renovating and making our own. Our home is warm, welcoming, and full of books, toys, laughter, and love. One of our favorite things about where we live is the community around us. We are within walking distance of coffee shops, parks, and the library. Our backyard backs up to wooded trails that lead to a beautiful park with a pond and playground. We truly love where we live and believe it is the perfect place to raise a family—safe, community-oriented, and filled with opportunities for fun and connection.

We believe parenting is one of life’s greatest privileges. Our desire is to raise children in a home where they feel deeply loved, safe, and known. Our parenting is rooted in faith, connection, intentionality, and grace. We want our children to know two important truths: that Jesus loves them deeply and that we love them unconditionally. We aim to create a home where emotions are welcomed, character is formed, and every child feels secure and supported. Sam stays home full-time with our child, which allows us to be highly involved in his daily rhythms, growth, and care. She is excited to be able to give that same love and attention to another child, while also giving Quade a new best friend! We are committed to nurturing each child’s unique personality, gifts, and story.

Quade joined our family through adoption at birth in January 2025 and has brought more joy than we could have imagined. He is full of personality, laughter, and energy. He loves making people laugh, being outside, exploring new places, and spending time with his cousins. He is curious, adventurous, and so full of joy. He also has a sweet and gentle side, especially with younger children, which he has displayed countless times while we babysat his younger cousins. He loves playing with the babies and gives them toys to play with. Watching Quade grow has been one of the greatest joys of our lives. We know he will make an incredible big brother and are so excited for him to have a sibling to grow up with.

Our faith in Jesus is the foundation of our family and influences everything we do. It shapes how we love, serve, and parent. We attend our non-denominational Christian church every Sunday, and we have other church activities that we participate in throughout the week as well.

Some of our favorite memories are made through the simple traditions we’ve created together. Our favorite is a made-up holiday we call “Stooksday,” celebrated every year on the day after Thanksgiving. We love Christmas time so it’s a really special tradition to our family. Stooksday is a tradition we started before we were even married, and one we look forward to every year. During the winter, you’ll also find us bundled up in the car with blankets and hot drinks, driving through neighborhoods to admire Christmas lights.

During the week, you’ll often find us gathered around the table for homemade pizza on Friday nights. Picture flour everywhere, Italian music playing, and eating more pizza than you thought possible! It’s less about the pizza—though we love that—and it’s more about slowing down and spending intentional time together. Sometimes we do it as a family, but most of the time, we try to invite others to enjoy it with us!

We believe every good gift comes from the Lord, and we want our home to be a place where gratitude, joy, and togetherness are woven into everyday life. We can’t wait to share these traditions—and create many new ones—with our family.

Diversity is something we are intentionally pursuing because we believe every child deserves to grow up seeing themselves reflected, celebrated, and affirmed within their own family and community. Since our son, Quade, is a child of color, we are intentionally pursuing the adoption of another child of color so that he is not the only person of color in our home. We want our child(ren) to grow up with shared experiences and with siblings who can relate to important parts of their identity.

We also know that building a diverse family is only one part of honoring our child(ren)’s heritage. We are committed to surrounding our child(ren) with meaningful “mirrors”—trusted adults, mentors, friends, and families who share their racial and cultural backgrounds. Through our foster and adoptive community, church, friendships, and intentional relationships, our child(ren) will have opportunities to see families who look like ours, understand their experiences, and celebrate their culture. We are committed to continuously learning, listening, and ensuring our home is a place where every part of our child(ren)’s identity is embraced, celebrated, and deeply valued.

Like many families, our path to parenthood didn’t unfold the way we had imagined. After several years of infertility and experiencing the heartbreak of miscarriage, we grieved the loss of the future we had envisioned. Those seasons were painful, but they also deepened our faith, strengthened our marriage, and reminded us that God was faithfully writing a different story than the one we had planned.

Long before infertility became part of our journey, adoption had already found a place in our hearts. During a mission trip to Guatemala, Sam felt a clear calling to one day grow our family through adoption. As the years passed, that calling only grew stronger. We became foster parents, opening our home to 12 incredible children, and in 2025, we experienced the incredible joy of adopting our son, Quade.

Today, we don’t see adoption as a “second choice.” It is one of God’s greatest gifts to our family and a beautiful part of the story He has written for us. While infertility changed our path, it never changed our desire to become parents. We are incredibly grateful that adoption has allowed that dream to become a reality, and we feel deeply honored to continue growing our family through adoption once again.

To the expectant mother reading this: we want you to know that we see your courage, strength, and deep love for your baby.

We understand that considering adoption is not easy, and we hold immense respect for the thought, care, and love behind every decision you are making. We want you to know that your child will always know your story and the love that led you here. We will speak of you with honor, respect, and gratitude.

We deeply value openness and would welcome an open adoption relationship, when or if that is something you desire. We do not currently have openness with Quade’s birth mom, at her request, and while we fully respect her decision, we believe openness can be a beautiful gift for everyone involved, especially your child. At the same time, we will always respect your comfort level and wishes.

Thank you for taking the time to learn about us. We are praying for you and are deeply grateful for the possibility of connecting with you.