Jordan & Braden

I grew up in a small, rural town in Nebraska where I was fortunate to be in a home that supported my activities in school including swimming, choir, band, musicals, and whatever else I could fit into my schedule. My mother was a special education teacher and my father worked in agriculture. My sister and I were often outdoors with our neighbors or spending time with friends. I was a choir nerd in high school and ended up majoring in vocal performance in college. I went on to get a master’s degree in education and am now getting another master’s degree in social work to become a therapist. I love to exercise (especially yoga), read a good book, and enjoy time with Charlie (our dog) and Jordan, enjoying life’s simple moments. I love hanging out with our friends and family, hosting get-togethers, traveling, and singing random songs that pop into my head. Also, I have a library card. I absolutely adore the public library!

I grew up in a small town in the Midwest and spent a lot of time outside, playing, running, and building forts in the trees. Both of my parents were teachers, starting my love of education. I was a typical kid in many ways, a rule follower, excited to learn, and had more bad hair cuts (that I chose) than I want to remember. I was an active kid throughout school being involved in music, sports, plays, and student government. I’ve always loved education and have continued since high school, with my degree in Elementary Education, a Masters in Educational Administration, and am currently working on my PhD in Educational Psychology. I currently work with college students. Now you’ll find me running on a trail, reading a book, playing a board game, working on a house project, or cooking to host all of our friends and family. My husband calls me a social butterfly, but I also love nothing more than a night on the couch watching a movie with him and our dog, Charlie.

We adopted our rescue, snow-loving dog, Charlie, four-year ago at an animal rescue fundraiser. Charlie walked in, beelined to the table where we were sitting, curled up under our legs, looked up at us with her big brown eyes, and the rest is HERstory. It’s Charlie’s world, and we are just happy she lets us live in her house. Charlie is the most gentle dog we have ever met with kids. Jordan’s godson and his sisters are not super comfortable with dogs. However, they all adore Charlie! Unlike other dogs, Charlie has a natural instinct where she recognizes kids and knows to be gentle with them. She approaches kids slowly, sniffs them a little, and lets them take control of the situation without ever getting aggressive or territorial. Charlie told us that she is so excited to be a big sister so she can take her family on walks around the neighborhood, play in the backyard, take naps together, and have a travel partner in the backseat of the car. We are also positive Charlie is excited for the food crumbs that will drop in her direction.

Braden’s parents are both recently retired and can’t wait for the next adventure. They love getting to spoil their current grandchild and spending time with their kids. While they don’t live in the same town as us, they always make the trip for anything important. Braden’s sister lives nearby and we often spend time with her, her husband, and our elementary-school aged nephew. Jordan’s parents retired several years ago. They live in a neighboring state and spend time traveling to see their kids and spending time with their siblings. Jordan’s sister and her daughter are a blast and our toddler niece never hesitates to make her opinions known or perform a concert for us via facetime. Jordan’s older brother and his wife live on a farm where Jordan and Braden got married. Jordan’s younger brother is studying to be an accountant and enjoys making music and hiking. All of our family are excited to add another member to our families and cannot wait to spend time seeing a child grow.

Our main hobby is our dog, Charlie. She keeps us busy and we take her on multiple walks a day. One of our favorite things is to be outside on a hike or hosting friends on our patio. We love to be around people. Our calendars are filled with events from going to our nephew’s sports, traveling to see our niece, spending time with Jordan’s godson and his sisters, or going to fun events with our friends. We love spending time together going to breweries, bookstores, cooking new recipes, and doing home projects. Traveling is important to us as a couple. Both of our parents live several hours away from us, but both us and our parents travel back and forth often to see one another. We love traveling together beyond family, too. We have gone to new cities and countries, tried new food, and learned about other cultures. We have a long list of places we hope to travel with our family.

We live in an old, brick house on a street filled with trees. We overheard our neighborhood kids call our house the gingerbread house which hopefully means our house is cute enough for a story book. Our house is a place full of love and amazing memories for us. Our days start in our cozy living room, drinking coffee and watching Charlie take her morning nap next to us on the couch. We have a ton of windows that let in natural light and allow us to either relax with coffee or hang out with friends around the dining room table. We also love spending time in the kitchen finding new foods to try. The bedroom we have for a future child is quiet and cozy. The windows let in tons of light and face a big tree. We hope it will become a place where any child feels comfortable, while also being right next to a bathroom when potty training and growing up. Outside we have grass to play in, a patio to hang out on, and a fenced-in yard where we garden and play fetch with Charlie. We’re lucky to be in a neighborhood where we know our neighbors and we all look out for one another. There are always people walking dogs, kids playing, or people doing yard work. We have already lined up a day care for the child. Our schools in the area are also consistently highly rated. We believe strongly in a good education and will ensure any child in our home has the best education possible.