I (Mandy) found out that I wouldn't be able to become pregnant when I was 16 years old. In order to wrap my head around what this would mean down the road, my mom and I related it to the show Friends. I could either be a Monica and adopt, or have a Phoebe through surrogacy. When Chris and I first started dating, I let him know on one of our first dates that I would not be able to have biological children. He was extremely supportive and accepting from the start! We talked about this more and more throughout the years, and we always veered towards growing our family through adoption. As we started doing more research, we learned stories of family members' connections to Gladney and adoption. Chris's older half-sister is a birth mom. She made an adoption plan with her first baby at an early age through Gladney. We found out last year that Chris' grandmother (who had recently passed away) had been a transition home for infants through Gladney. Everywhere we turned, we spoke with more and more people who were adopted or were going through the adoption process. This assured us that we were making the right choice for us in this moment of time.
Quick Facts
Amanda
- Age: 32
- Race/Ethnicity: White
- Religion: Christian
Chris
- Age: 31
- Race/Ethnicity: White
- Religion: Christian
Preferences for a child
- Newborn to 1 year of age, 1 to 3 years of age
- Either
- Twins, Triplets or more
- All
- Open to discussion
Post Adoption Contact / Level of Openness
- (open to an in-person visit before adoption placement, phone, email, sharing pic/letters after placement)
- If you want a more closed adoption, we would honor that request as well.
- * A Caseworker to work with you throughout your pregnancy
- * Counseling
- * Medical Care
- * Maternity-related financial support
- * Legal services
- * Lifelong support through a Post Adoption team.
Favorites
Mandy and Chris love baseball and Mandy forces Chris to go to at least one game every time the NY Yankees are in town.
Mandy and Chris love the beach. Mandy and Chris visit her family's beach house every summer.
Chris loves board games and has collected many throughout the years. Mandy and Chris love to spend their nights playing board games or cards.
Mandy and Chris live across from a lake and love to venture out on their boat each weekend.
Recommendations
Jessi, Sister
" I'm sure you read this a lot, but in full honesty, I can't think of anyone else more deserving of a family then Mandy & Chris. My sister has always wanted children and has known for quite some time she'd never be able to have biological children of her own. That would make some people bitter, jealous, hardened...not my sister. When I struggled to start a family of my own, she was there supporting me through it - through thick & thin. She is supportive, highly attune to others emotions/needs but also knows when to enjoy & just have fun. When I first met Chris, I couldn't believe how kind he was. Like ;give the shirt off my back' kind of kind. At first I just thought it was the 'meet the older sister' routine, but as I got to know Chris, that's just genuinely who he is. He loves my sister dearly and I love that family is one of the biggest values he has (which is the same for our family too). They compliment each other well and are both just really good, considerate people. For example, Mandy & Chris got married on my daughter's first birthday. They made sure to incorporate small things throughout their wedding weekend & day to let people know it was her birthday as well. That was completely unnecessary, but they didn't even think twice incorporating her in. I know Chris & Mandy will make excellent parents because they are amazing with my daughters. In fact, my youngest is quite shy and very observant. It takes her a long time to warm up to people. The ONLY person I've ever seen her immediately take a liking to is Chris. Everyone else, it takes some time. But we have to routinely Facetime so that my youngest can see Uncle Chris. My oldest is spirited and very independent. Mandy has been immensely helpful in walking me through techniques she learned in her teaching programs to help me connect more deeply with my oldest. I could go on & on about what will make Mandy & Chris excellent parents. But at the heart of their relationship, they both really care about family. And to me, that's everything that matters. They will love your child unconditionally, and so will our family. We cannot wait to meet our new niece or nephew! "