Maddy & Caleb

We live in a small mountain town, where the community is small but mighty. From our church to our neighbors, we have personally experienced the support they give in every aspect. We have a great group of young adults who have all claimed themselves honorary aunts and uncles. They will more than likely shower our future child with all the love and affection. We have the knowledge and support of the church families, who have all walked through raising children themselves. We also have the blessing of several other couples who are adopting as well, and we already have plans of how we are going to support each other and our children as they grow up. In short, our community is all about doing life together, with care and love at the center of our time together. From fixing a flat tire to helping us move houses, we have never lacked support from our friends here in Washington.

Our home is in a small mountainous town. We are just a walk away from our church and closest school. We live in a 2 bed, 2 bath, with a spacious living room and a kitchen made to create memories. Our outdoor area is made up of our front yard (pictured below) and our fenced in backyard. We enjoy fresh apples, blueberries, and raspberries from our own garden. We love to go out to our front porch to sit, drink coffee and watch the sunrise on the mountains. This is where we have our friends and family over to play games and roast marshmallows over our fireplace. We have a back porch as well, where we grill out and get to watch our dogs play around. We aspire for our home to be a space where people can know they are welcomed, valued, safe, and loved. We genuinely want to love people well. Maddy and I were both blessed enough to grow up in homes that honored the “open fridge” mentality. This is the thought of feeling “at home” somewhere when you can comfortably go to the fridge and open it and look for food. And we want to be able to do the same for those that enter our home. We both love hosting people and we take full advantage of being hospitable hosts when we have the opportunity. To us it is truly a gift when people visit us and if possible we want to communicate that the best we can before they leave. Whoever steps into our home, whether family, friend, or first time guest, we have a desire to create a space that encourages them to feel welcome here.

With 12 siblings and 45 nieces and nephews, no one has ever accused me of having a small family. There are many perks to having a large family, but the biggest two for me are support and community. There has never been a time when I have faced a problem that my family has not been willing to help out in. I know they will be a wealth of knowledge when I become a mother, and will provide me with all the help and support I need to give a great home to our future child. My parents are of the same mindset, and are the kindest and most generous people I know. They all know of my plans to adopt and are more than supportive. They are all waiting eagerly to meet our future child.

You should know right off the bat that my mom is the star of the show. My parents divorced when I was about 10 years old, and my mom pretty much raised all 3 of us by herself after that. She sacrificed so much so that my brother, sister and I could have an amazing upbringing. She can’t wait to become a grandma for the first time, and is already thinking of what she wants her grandma name to be (her current favorite is GinGin). My brother Cole is the oldest, and is looking forward to being the cool and fun uncle. My little sister Kylea was adopted herself, and will be a great comfort to her future niece/nephew when they have questions. My grandma, who we call MamaJ, is the kindest and most thoughtful human I have ever met. She is looking forward to becoming a great grandmother. They are all so excited to welcome a new addition to the family, and our child will be well-loved by them.