When I look back on how Kelly and I met, I still smile. We both worked at American Express in Phoenix, Arizona. At first, we were just two people who passed each other every day, offering polite smiles and quick hellos. But over time, those small moments grew into conversations, laughter, and before long, love. Six weeks after meeting, we found out we were expecting. It was a surprise, but one that filled our hearts instantly. Four months later, we got engaged, and by September 2003, we were married on the beaches of Hawaii, barefoot, happy, and ready for the life ahead of us.
But a week after we came home, our world shattered. We lost our son, Hunter. It was the kind of heartbreak that leaves a mark on your soul forever. Not long after, we had another miscarriage. I had always known adoption might one day be part of my story, PCOS ran in my family, and so did adoption. But after losing two babies, Kelly and I knew deep down we were meant to be parents, however God planned it. While still in the hospital after our miscarriage in 2004, we made that promise to each other.
The very next day, we began researching adoption. One evening, we watched a National Geographic special called China’s Lost Girls. It opened our eyes to the reality of China’s one-child policy and the thousands of baby girls left without families. That was the moment our hearts knew where we were being called.
The adoption process was long and intimidating at first. The paperwork alone felt endless, but we met so many kind people who guided us step by step. As time passed, our fear turned into excitement. Every form, every class, every home visit, it was all leading us closer to our daughter.
When our agency finally called on August 2, 2007, my hands shook so badly I could barely hold the phone. They had matched us. We waited until we were both home from work to open the envelope, and when we saw Allison’s face for the first time, we both cried. Her little eyes, her sweet expression, it was as if she had always been ours.
Meeting her in China was one of the most powerful moments of my life. The second she saw us, she reached her arms out as if she already knew us. That hug will live in my heart forever. In that instant, every mile, every prayer, every tear felt worth it. Bringing Allison home was seamless she was joyful, curious, and full of life.
A little over a year later, we began the process again. In December 2009, Katie joined our family, then Harper Skye in 2012, and Jennifer in 2016, our rainbow baby, born in the very same hospital where we lost Hunter years before. I still get chills thinking about that how God can turn grief into grace so beautifully.
In 2018, I helped my dear friend Dawn start Seas The Connection, a ministry for foster and adoptive moms. Through that, I felt God nudging us again. In 2019, we brought home Gracie our fifth daughter, just before China’s borders closed in 2020. We were one of the last families to travel, and I know in my heart that God’s timing made that possible.
Now, after years of adoption journeys, paperwork, and endless prayers, we’re doing something new, adopting a boy from China. After losing our son Hunter all those years ago, this feels like God redeeming that loss in the most beautiful way.
Each of our children has their own story and struggles. Some have special needs, and all have faced the loss of their first families in some way. But together, we’re learning, healing, and growing as one. Our home is full of laughter, noise, and love, the kind that only God could orchestrate.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: God’s plans are always better than ours. We thought we’d be a family of three. Today, we are a family of seven soon to be eight. Every delay, every detour, every heartbreak led us right here. And I wouldn’t trade a single moment of it.
