Ever since we first met each other, we always felt that adoption would be the chosen path for us to build our family. This was a belief we shared individually, and upon realizing we both envisioned the same journey to parenthood, we knew in our hearts how special it was and that God was laying this path in front of us.

For quite some time we only considered adoption as our path. Prior to getting married we thought we would try for a biological child as well as adoption. We made a decision to try for one year to have a biological child and left it in God’s hands to decide if this is was what He desired for our lives.

A year passed and we did not become pregnant. We never went through fertility treatments or discussed any alternatives to open adoption. We believe in our hearts that God has His plan for us and we embraced our journey to build our family through adoption.

Spending time with our family and friends is our favorite thing to do! BBQ’s are a big event for us. We will regularly have a get together at our house where our family and friends come to visit and our nephews, niece and our friend’s children come to play. We always bring out our bouncy house for the kids to play in, have a soccer game going on in the backyard, or a summer time pool party at one of our best friend’s home.

When we’re at home we are always out in our yard, throwing a toy for our 12 year old miniature dachshund, Franklin, or just spending time on our patio talking, listening to music or enjoying a campfire. We have a Friday night tradition of grilling out, playing board games, and enjoying our backyard. We can’t wait for the days when we can chase our child around the yard and listen to their squeals of excitement.

Becoming parents and building a family would be the greatest gift God could ever give. We dream and pray of being “Mom & Dad”. To experience life through a child’s eyes, love and nurture, and watch as they grow into an adult is a blessing that could never fully be put into words.

We're excited for the precious snuggles, giggles, first words, and first steps. We smile thinking of the excitement on their face when they see an elephant, rhino and giraffe up close when visiting our friends and family in South Africa. We dream of being able to spend time getting their hands dirty playing in the yard, planting flowers, building forts and Christmas mornings when our child runs to the Christmas tree to see what Santa brought. We giggle to ourselves as we think of our child walking around the store wearing their Halloween costume, in June, just because it’s their favorite outfit. We even dream of being lucky enough to have the sleepless nights, late night bottle feedings, and diaper changes so we, too, are lucky enough to experience all the blessings parenthood has to offer.

Our family is spread out across the world, with some just minutes away and others in South Africa and Australia. We have 5 siblings and 7 nieces and nephews between us. Watching our nieces and nephews grow up, cheer them on during soccer games, school plays, piano concerts or just watching a funny movie together makes our hearts full. Our friends are family and all their children know us as Aunt and Uncle (Tanie an Om in Afrikaans). We regularly get together to BBQ, play games, spend a weekend camping and every other year the entire family travels to South Africa for a few weeks to spend time together.

Our families come together for every holiday dinner at our house. Christmas Eve we read “The Night Before Christmas” together, sing Christmas carols and dress up in ugly Christmas sweaters. We host a 4th of July party where the kids play in a bouncy house and have water balloon fights and we’re known for our huge firework display!

Our family is thrilled for us to start our family through adoption. Our nieces and nephews can’t wait to play with their new cousin and our parents to have another grandchild to spoil and shower with love! We look forward to bringing a child into our family, being part of our family traditions, spending time in South Africa and creating new memories to last a lifetime!

We live in a quaint home with 3 bedrooms and a large fenced backyard. We have many trees on our property and are back up to a wooded area. Last winter we saw 10 deer pass in our backyard at the same time! We love sitting in our backyard listening to all the birds chirping in the spring and summer.

We love our city! It has been named the safest city in the state and is in a top school district. It’s the perfect mix of urban & suburban. We have parks nearby, soccer fields, tennis courts, pools with water slides, walking trails, shops and restaurants. We're just an hour away from lakes where we go boating with friends, or a couple hours away from the Blue Ridge Mountains for a weekend getaway.

Our neighborhood is quiet and family-friendly. Our neighbors are always out walking with their dogs, waving and saying hello as we are out in our yard. There are lots of children and there is always something fun happening like Halloween trick-or-treating or Christmas light contests. We love putting up Christmas lights and decorations to try to win first place! We haven’t won yet, but keep trying every year!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read our profile! We are thrilled, beyond words, to have the opportunity to bring a child into our home through adoption. We can only imagine all of the emotions you are feeling with making your decision; one we know is made from pure unconditional love for your child. Even though we have not met, please know we pray for you daily as you consider adoption for your child.

We met five years ago have been married for two and a half amazing years. From the moment we met, we have shared an incredibly strong and special bond with each other and knew that we were meant to be together for life. Building a family together has always been our dream and we are so excited at the opportunity to adopt. We are each other’s best friend, confidante, pillar of support, and source of so much laughter and joy. Through all of life’s ups and downs, we tell each other how “we are the lucky ones” and your child will be raised with the same view on life. We will raise your child in a home where they will always know how much they are unconditionally loved, that they can always rely on our never-ending support, and that no matter what we are a safe haven to share their thoughts, fears, and dreams.

We will raise your child to know their dreams are possible and that we are there to support them to help make those dreams come true. Your child will be raised to be kind, confident, independent, think about others before themselves, never stop chasing after their dreams, and to have conviction in their thoughts, feelings and actions. We will teach your child that they should never stop learning, appreciate that there is a power greater than us all, and never forget to have a little fun along the ride that we call life. We will be there on the sidelines to cheer them on, teach them that when they fall to get back up and try again, and that all of life’s experiences teach us something valuable even if we don’t see it at the time.

Your child will be brought up to cherish family and know that friends can become a part of our family, too. We have seven, very excited, nieces and nephews who can’t wait to have another cousin and grandparents ready to spoil a new grandchild with love. We are blessed with many close friends, that we consider family as well, who have many children of their own. From the first day, your child will be a part of a large group of very close-knit children that frequently play together and create so many fantastic memories of birthdays, holidays, camping, and BBQ's in the backyard.

One of our many promises we make to you is that your child will always be told how much you love them. You will always be spoken of positively with honor and respect. We will share the precious memories with you through pictures, letters and emails. When your child is ready to meet you, we will be there to support, encourage and be excited with them in their decision. We know that without you, we would not be able to live our dream of having a family of our own. We will never let a day go by without letting your child know how special and important you are in all of our lives.

We are so thankful you have taken the time to get to know us and we very much look forward to getting to know you, too.

With all our love,

Erik & Michelle