Hi! We’re Sarah and Carl, along with our children, Silas, Lucy, Cora, and Jemma
We’re hoping to adopt!
Learn more about us by downloading and reading our adoption profile book.
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about us!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your little one as you make this important decision.
We are loving and experienced adoptive parents who promise to provide a warm, happy, and faith-filled home for your child. We want our children to grow up with a passion for learning, family, and adventure. We will love them unconditionally and provide them with the structure and guidance they need to develop their own talents and grow into joyful, capable, and courageous adults. We will welcome your child with open arms!
OUR STORY
We met when Carl’s Dad introduced us, and the attraction was immediate. At the time, Carl was serving in the Army. We married and moved from Texas to North Carolina where our family rapidly grew - three adopted and one biological child in less than three years! Years later, Carl has transitioned to civilian life, we’ve settled in Illinois, and we are still one another’s best friends. We share strong values and a love of humor, books, the outdoors, and our family life. Family comes first!
We spend deliberate time with one another, with our kids individually, and as a family. That means family dinner every day, reading books aloud (Harry Potter is a favorite!), taking our kids on road trips to National Parks, church as a family, cooking together, and playing board games.
Spending quality and quantity time together is at the core of our marriage and family life.
FAMILY HOBBIES
One of our favorite things to do as a family is to get out in the outdoors.
We’ve been taking our kids out on hikes since they were infants in chest carriers. As they’ve grown bigger we’ve loved heading further afield on adventures like canoeing in Quebec, Canada, hiking up mountains in Colorado, camping in State Parks, or seeing dolphins in Florida. Outdoor time doesn’t always have to be dramatic. We enjoy getting outside for neighborhood walks, tossing a football in the yard, having neighbors over for a bonfire, playing Ghost in the Graveyard after dark, and eating meals on our big front porch all summer.
Books are huge in our family. The kids love our regular trips to the library and we love watching their imaginations blossom as they cozy up on the couch with their latest read. Weekly family movie nights are another favorite.
Everyone in the family enjoys cooking and we have to rotate the kids’ turns to bake or we’d be neck-deep in cookies and cakes every day. Everyone enjoys drawing; keeping up with the constantly growing piles of half-done sketches on every flat surface is one of our biggest challenges.
Our main goal is just having time. Time to be together, for traditions, to be outdoors, to help others, to let the kids catch frogs in the creek with neighbor friends. A classic childhood. That’s what we want for our kids.
OUR HOME & COMMUNITY
We live in quiet community right on the border between town and country. “Downtown” in our village quite literally has one stoplight. We’re surrounded by farms and forests but live only minutes from bigger towns. Our home sits in a hilly area with a big yard, lots of open grass to play in, a large vegetable garden, and our own woods with a tree fort. We love living seasonally - sledding, skating, and drinking cocoa by the fire in winter, planting the garden and camping in the spring, swimming at the pool and in the lake, hiking, and going to town festivals in summer, and apple picking, having bonfires, and cozy candlelit dinners in the fall.
Our neighborhood is full of kids and our kids are out the door almost every day to play outside with neighbor friends or bring them back to our house for board games or lego building on rainy days. We’re part of an active scouting community and it’s been a great way for all of us to make friends, build positive values, volunteer in the community, and learn skills. Our church community is also important to us, both for the values and faith it builds and, if you ask our kids, for the monthly potluck dinners! Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins live nearby.
Fun Facts About Sarah
My Perfect Day: Waking up early for a peaceful hour of reading and tea, making a big breakfast of waffles and bacon as a family, heading out for a hike with Carl and the kids, working on a project, and ending the day with friends and family over for dinner.
Favorite Dessert: Strawberry rhubarb pie with strawberries and rhubarb from our garden.
Favorite Hobby: Making maple syrup. Our neighbor taught me, and it’s been fun to teach our kids to tap trees and make syrup as winter ends!
Favorite Food: Vietnamese pho with hot chili oil, a spicy and savory noodle soup.
Favorite Sport: Running. Who knew trail runs in the dark with friends could be so fun?
Fun Facts About Carl
Speaks: French
Loves: Raspberry cheesecake
Favorite Seasonal Activity: Sledding
Favorite Vacation Spot: Yosemite National Park
Favorite Place to Take a Child: 5 Guys Burgers and Fries
New Hobby: Cooking and grilling. He makes five star chicken drumsticks and bakes an amazing multi-tier chocolate cake.
Favorite Children’s Book: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
IN CLOSING
Thank you for taking time to learn about us and our family.
We know choosing a family for your little one is a hard decision and we’ve tried to give you a glimpse into what life might look like with us. We want you to be involved in their life in an open adoption as much as you’re willing. In our family your little one would grow up always knowing who you are and how much you love them. We promise to love them with all our hearts, surround them with joy, security, laughter, and loving siblings, and raise them to be kind and responsible adults. We hope you’ll consider us. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as you make this decision.
DESIGNED WITH ❤️ BY OUR CHOSEN CHILD