we are
Samuel & angela
Dear Birth Mother,
We want you to know how deeply we respect and admire the incredible choice you’re making for this child. YOU’RE CHOOSING LIFE! It’s hard to put into words how much your love and selflessness means, and we are determined to make sure your child knows how much they were loved (not abandoned). We also recognize the strength and courage it takes to walk this path. We can only imagine the emotions you’re experiencing right now. We are committed to walking alongside you with support as we navigate this together.
- Samuel & Angela
why we chose adoption
In the very first week of dating, we sat down for a heartfelt conversation about our shared dreams of having a family. Sam and I had been friends for 6 years prior to dating, and it was clear to both of us that our relationship was not merely for funsies; we were destined to build a life together. Our love for one another had blossomed years earlier, but we had to wait for the stars to align and for God’s timing to move onto the next chapter of our lives together.
A previous battle with cancer had left me unable to carry more children, and although I already have three wonderful grown children from before my life with Sam, he and I had a strong desire for children together, and I couldn’t wait to embark on that journey with him. As a child myself, I had always dreamed of having a large family.
We explored the possibility of surrogacy, and over the next two years, we transferred five embryos to two incredible surrogates. Despite five unsuccessful transfer attempts, we came to understand that God had a different plan for us.
We sought solace in prayer and navigated the depths of grief. But, we remained steadfast, knowing that our Heavenly Father had a unique plan destined for us.
about angela
I’m a mom, homemaker, and homesteader at heart. I spent many years working as a web developer, and while I’m grateful for the creativity and skills that career gave me, I’ve come to realize that I’m happiest when I’m working with my hands and caring for the people, animals, and home that I love.
These days, you’re much more likely to find me outside than sitting in front of a computer. I love gardening, tending to our animals, working on projects around the property, sewing, crocheting, baking homemade bread and cinnamon rolls, and cooking meals for my family. Give me a beautiful day and a list of things that need doing around the homestead, and I’m a happy woman. I especially love the quiet moments… sitting in the pasture with our lambs, taking a walk through the property, or watching Simon discover something new.
I’m grateful for the different seasons my life has taken me through, but I’m especially grateful for where I am today. I love being home. I love making a home. I love raising children, growing things, caring for animals, creating things with my hands, and sharing everyday life with the people I love.
If you ask me where I’d rather be, the answer is almost always the same: **outside, somewhere on our homestead, with my family nearby and probably a little dirt on my hands.**
about samuel
Sam was made to be a dad. Children are naturally drawn to him, and it’s no surprise. He’s sensitive, kind, and always finds thoughtful ways to show how much he cares and truly wants to serve.
He’s the kind of person everyone can count on, the one who’s always there to lend a hand or a listening ear. Sam has an incredible ability to see the good in people and situations, no matter what. He often helps shift the perspective for me when I struggle to see the good.
By day, Sam works in IT and proudly embraces his inner tech nerd. He’s brilliant at solving problems, resourceful, and one of the hardest workers I know. On top of that, he has served our country for over 20 years as a member of the Army National Guard.
Sam’s imagination keeps him young at heart. He loves the outdoors… What used to be hiking, camping or just relaxing in a hammock with a good book is now him just out on the farm, working hard and keeping our home operating smoothly.
The world could use more people like Sam. He’s the perfect mix of strength and gentleness, and I’m so grateful to have him by my side.
Our children
Being a mom has always been one of the greatest joys of my life. I was blessed with three biological children before my cancer diagnosis: Brandon, 27, Grace, 25, and Ella, 22. Watching them grow into the adults they are today has been one of the most rewarding parts of my journey.
Our oldest, Brandon, lives in Arlington, Texas, with his longtime girlfriend, Whitney. Brandon is working toward an apprenticeship as an electrician and is excited about building a career with his hands. He has always been a hard worker, and we’re proud of the direction he is taking in life. Whitney is currently attending design school and has a real gift for art and graphic design. She is also a wonderful sketch artist!
Grace lives nearby in Central Arkansas and is finishing her final semester of nursing school. She has already been working for quite a while as a patient care technician at a large hospital here, so she has gained a lot of hands-on experience caring for people. She has always had a caring heart, and we’re excited to watch her begin this next chapter of her career. Grace has been dating her boyfriend, Jakob, for about a year. Jakob works in the digital marketing world, and they make a really sweet couple.
Ella, 22, also lives nearby. She works as a waitress… which still makes us laugh a little because Ella is quite introverted and not very outgoing! Somehow, though, she absolutely loves waitressing. It has been fun watching her discover something she genuinely enjoys and seeing her come into her own in her own unique way.
And then there is Simon, our sweet two-year-old. Simon joined our family through adoption, and becoming his parents has been one of the greatest blessings (the other blessings are mentioned above)! He is 1000000% boy… full of energy, curiosity, dirt, noise, and adventure. He loves being outside, getting into whatever he can find, exploring the farm, and being right in the middle of everything. He keeps us laughing, keeps us busy, and has brought an entirely new kind of joy into our home. Simon is also very much ready to be a big brother. He has so much energy and so much love to give, and we can already picture him having a little sibling to follow him around the farm, get dirty with him, and share all those everyday childhood adventures. He needs a playmate… and we think he would make a pretty wonderful big brother.
One of the sweetest things about Simon joining our family has been watching his older siblings become big brothers and sisters. We actually see more of them now than we did before Simon came along. They’ve naturally made more of an effort to come around, and it has been incredibly sweet to watch their relationships with him grow. They absolutely adore their little brother, and Simon lights up whenever they walk through the door.
Our children are at very different stages of life, but they are all deeply loved and an important part of our family. We feel incredibly blessed by each of them, and we’re excited about the possibility of welcoming another child into the family they already love so much.
simon's adoption story
Simon’s adoption story is simply divine. ❤️
After our final embryo transfer, we had already made the decision to pursue adoption for a sibling journey. I immediately started getting things in order, beginning with our home study. Our initial meeting took place in mid-November, and the woman completing our study told us it would likely take until January to finalize everything because of the holidays and upcoming travel. We were completely fine with that — we assumed it could take months (or longer) to be matched.
Then, at the beginning of December, I remembered how we had connected with our surrogates through Facebook match groups and thought, “Surely there are adoption match groups too!” So on December 4th, I shared a short paragraph about our family along with this website.
Just four days later, on December 8th, Simon’s birth mother sent me a long, heartfelt message. She shared that she had known all along she would place her baby for adoption, but had been feeling overwhelmed during the pregnancy. She said that when she came across our post, she immediately knew in her heart that we were meant to be his family. And here’s the wild part: Simon was due just EIGHT days later.
Everything moved so quickly after that. We rushed to find an adoption attorney, and our home study worker somehow managed to condense the process enough to satisfy the judge in time. Every piece fell into place in a way we never could have orchestrated ourselves.
It was truly a God thing from beginning to end.
our values
We want our values to align, so it’s important to us to be honest about where we stand and how we live our lives. We are whole-Bible believers, and our faith in God is at the center of our family and the way we live. We believe the Bible is meant to shape not only what we believe, but how we treat one another, how we raise our children, and how we live our everyday lives.
More than anything, we want our home to be a place that feels safe, grounded, peaceful, and full of love… a place where children can grow into exactly who God created them to be, without being overwhelmed by so much of the noise, pressure, and confusion that surrounds children today.
Love, kindness, honesty, humility, and compassion are deeply important to us. We want our children to always know they can come to us with anything and that they will be met with love, even in moments when we may not agree. We want them to know that they never have to earn our love and that home will always be a place where they belong.
God is at the center of our lives, and we try our best to live that out daily… not just in words, but in action. We are far from perfect, but we try to live with grateful hearts and open hands. We pray over our meals, give thanks for the blessings in our lives, and try to slow down enough to notice the beauty God has placed all around us. Honestly, just walk outside on our farm… it’s hard not to see Him everywhere.
We also deeply value rest, family time, and being present with one another. We observe Shabbat as a family, setting aside time to rest from our normal work, worship, enjoy one another, and appreciate the blessings we’ve been given. Family time is something we intentionally protect.
Sitting down together for meals has always been important to us. When my children were younger and all still at home, we used to go around the dinner table and each share three good things from our day. It was such a simple thing, but it taught us to look for the good even when life wasn’t easy. Life can be heavy sometimes, but we’ve always tried to remember that there is still something to be thankful for.
We also value living simply and caring well for the bodies and resources God has entrusted to us. We grow much of our own food, cook from scratch when we can, bake with freshly milled grains, spend as much time outdoors as possible, and try to make thoughtful choices about what we bring into our home. We believe God has given us an abundance of wonderful things in creation to nourish and care for ourselves and our family. While we recognize that there are appropriate times and places for conventional medical care, our preference is generally to begin with natural, whole-food, and holistic approaches whenever appropriate.
We don’t expect our family to be perfect… we aren’t. We simply want our home to be a place where faith is lived, family is cherished, children are loved deeply, and everyone is encouraged to grow in wisdom, compassion, gratitude, and a genuine love for God.
Our wishes
We are praying for a child from birth through age 2. We also hope to maintain birth order in our home, so we are looking for a placement that would fit naturally within our current family.
We lean toward a semi-open or open adoption, where updates, photos, and videos can be shared regularly. We currently have a relationship with our son’s birth mother that allows for continued connection and updates, and we value that relationship very much. That said, we understand that every adoption situation is unique. We want to build a relationship that feels comfortable and healthy for everyone involved, and we will respect a birth parent’s wishes regarding the level of openness they feel is best for their child.
We wholeheartedly welcome a child of any race or ethnic background into our family. Our son is biracial, and our extended family is also culturally diverse, including a large part of my family who is Eastern Indian. We want every child in our family to grow up knowing that their heritage is something to be celebrated and embraced.
There are also a few things that are particularly important to us when it comes to birth and newborn care. We believe it is important to be honest about these preferences because, for some birth parents, they may be a deciding factor in choosing an adoptive family.
Because of our holistic approach to health and our personal convictions, we prefer not to have the routine Vitamin K injection, erythromycin eye ointment, or the Hepatitis B vaccine given at birth. We also strongly prefer delayed cord clamping.
For a baby boy, we prefer to delay circumcision until the eighth day of life, rather than having it performed immediately after birth. This is a personal conviction and something we feel strongly about.
We recognize that these decisions belong to the birth parents during pregnancy and birth, and we don’t take these preferences lightly. We would never want someone to feel pressured to agree with us. At the same time, we want to be upfront about where we stand so that we can find a situation where the birth parents and our family feel comfortable with one another from the beginning.
Ultimately, our greatest wish is simply to welcome a child into a family where they are deeply loved, cared for, prayed over, and given the opportunity to grow up knowing exactly how wanted and cherished they are.
Why you see a yellow heart...
You may notice a yellow heart covering our son’s face in many of our photos. While we love sharing glimpses of our life and adoption journey, we also believe children deserve privacy and protection online. The internet can be a beautiful tool, but it can also be a very broken and exploitative place. For that reason, we choose to limit our son’s digital footprint and protect his identity as much as possible. 💛
we'd love to
meet you
Thank you sincerely for taking the time to delve into our lives. We recognize the weight of your decision and pray for your peace in choosing the best path for your child. We’re open, transparent, and willing to address any questions you may have. Our thoughts and prayers are with you throughout this difficult journey.