Adoption has been a desire of mine (Julianne) since I was very young. My parents fostered many babies and we often had additional people living in our home, whether exchange students or singles from church, family members, etc. I knew I wanted a family of my own one day and knew the Lord had planted this seed in my heart. As I grew closer to the Lord, I began to understand His heart for adoption and our status as adoptees in His kingdom and I wanted to follow after His heart for the orphan. When I met Matthew, we knew adoption would be part of our family story. We did not, however, know fertility struggles would be.

As a nurse (and now Nurse Midwife) who has worked in women’s health for over 17 years, it was initially unfathomable that I would be one of the patients rather than the care-giver. I was a nurse manager and fertility care manager at a fertility, obgyn & midwifery clinic when we realized we needed help. Being a fertility patient has been a deeply painful and maturing experience. But when our daughter miraculously joined our family through adoption almost two years ago, we knew our fertility journey was over. We knew the Lord was writing our story in a beautiful new way. We had engaged with several agencies and decided we’d wait until I finished grad school and Matthew’s business had a few more months to mature before pursuing the process. Little did we know, the Lord had our first miracle baby ready for us much sooner. After adding her to our family, we knew we would pursue adoption, rather than further fertility options, to continue to grow our family.

To catch everyone up, we have been parents for almost two years to our bright, smiley, energetic, joy-filled girl. She is funny, quick, and can be heard singing throughout the day; an outdoor lover and people-pursuer, she is happiest when in a room filled with folks she loves. She loves to sing and laugh, bake with her Mama and play with her Dada. As Matthew says, “I became a dad pretty suddenly because a little girl needed parents, and Julianne and I were willing to say ‘Yes.’ With just a few hour's notice, we had to quickly figure out the details and trust in a bigger plan. I've come to believe that adoption is an incredible expression of unconditional love and acceptance. The process is both amazing and complex. You can’t go through any part of an adoption journey without facing very real, sometimes difficult, challenges. It is truly both beautiful and hard at the same time. And we are ready to grow our family again! The Lord has prepared our hearts as we enter this process, and we would like to share it with you.

Thank you for joining us on this journey!