
image credit: Main Street Studios
We met while working with our church youth group. Kristy was a college intern working with the students in middle and high school and Dale was volunteering. During a family campout weekend, Dale noticed Kristy’s heart to serve while working with the students and their families. Later, he asked her on a double date with mutual friends. We dated for two years and were married in the church where we met.
We enjoy being outside and have done a number of backpack trips, day hikes, and we both enjoy photography. In our eleven years of marriage, we’ve celebrated joys and supported each other during times of the unknown. A few years after being married, Dale finished his graduate work and we moved to a new town. We purchased a home, settled into our community, and we were ready to start a family. This was a struggle for us for a few years, and then we found ourselves moving to Ohio for work. Again, we found ourselves looking for a house where we could raise a family and trying to get settled into a new community. Our journey to starting our own family hasn’t been easy…lots of prayer, doctors appointments, tests, blood work, changes in supplements and diet, research, and self reflecting.
After complications with starting our own family, we decided to pursue adoption. We have friends and extended family members who have adopted children, so this feels like a natural step for us. God showed his love for us by adopting us into his family. Our heart’s desire is to also demonstrate that love by growing our family through adoption.
On this adoption journey, we are learning what ethical adoption practices can AND should look like in the United States. This information was important as we searched for an ethical adoption agency in the state where we live, Ohio. We are passionate about honoring and respecting all sides of the adoption (adoptee, expectant parent(s) pursuing an adoptive plan, and hopeful adoptive parents). In our adoption, we are interested in an open adoption relationship with the expectant family. The trend over the last 20 years has shifted to this type of relationship due to the research and benefits for all members of the adoptive triad. We believe that in adoption, we need God’s grace and love, just as He demonstrates that for us.
Support us in PRAYER: Please be in prayer for these expectant families our agency works alongside. We pray for expectant moms that may be facing an unexpected pregnancy that they will be given grace, wisdom, and strength. Please pray for us as a couple in this new stage of our lives and as we continue on this adoptive journey. We will post updates and insights of what we’ve learned on our journey and we hope you will continue to follow us as we enter this new stage of life!
Support us in adoption EDUCATION: Please follow us on our blog and/or on social media as we share things we are learning on this journey. | follow us on instagram or facebook
Support us FINANCIALLY: We are raising funds to help with the large cost that adoption brings. To make a donation as we grow our family through adoption, please follow this link to make a tax-deductible donation online.
Thank you for your support and prayers,
Dale & Kristy