We value quality time spent with family and friends. We regularly have dinner and spend time with Kayla's family locally and make sure that we travel to see Justin's family whenever possible. This time is important to us because it allows us to deepen those relationships while growing with and supporting each other. We enjoy spending time with our friends on camping trips, exploring new towns, or having a game night. It has been fun to see our friend's families grow and be a part of their children's lives and we are excited to see our family and friends welcome a child into our home. We also love being active and seeing the U.S. and other parts of the world. We do so by hiking, kayaking, disc golfing, eating, and exploring. Then we get to post a picture from our trip on the U.S. map of places we travel together. We have pictures with our dogs, but we can't wait to have a child join us on those trips and pictures.

Kayla About Justin: Justin has a unique ability to connect with everyone he meets. He is fun, kind, and compassionate and is accepting of others. I admire his dedication to learning and perfecting new skills and old hobbies. He has this great way of using his love of music to bring people together. I am excited to see Justin share his passions with a child while supporting them in their own interests and hobbies.

Justin About Kayla: Kayla is the most selfless and caring person I know. She asks the best questions that stimulate deep learning and love for others. She is constantly listening to podcasts for how to be the best parent, physical therapist, and person she can be. She is the person you want to host a family get together. No one will go hungry, there will be lots of friends and family, and lots of fun and games to be had. She was in the hospital to meet her two godchildren right after they were born. She continues to make time to be present in their lives and make them feel loved.

We are Christian and enjoy being a part of our church community. Justin is part of the worship band that assists with services regularly. Kayla helps with the song selection and sound balance for the worship band. Together, we are growth group leaders and plan small gatherings with the younger members of the church so we can enjoy time together and support one another. Our faith has played a major role in our adoption journey as we feel God is calling us to grow our family through adoption. We believe that we are to show our love of God by loving others through our words and actions.

We live in a diverse neighborhood that is a short drive from Detroit and Ann Arbor. Our local community has lots of parks, hiking paths, and places for us to go kayaking.

We especially enjoy the community events held throughout the year including summer family fun nights, community concerts, and the annual fall festival.

Living in Michigan we are close to several in-land lakes and four of the Great Lakes. We enjoy taking road trips to spend time on the beach and adventuring together and with our family and friends.

Our home has room for our family to grow and has a nice backyard space that we enjoy using all year. We have plenty of open grass for yard games and BBQ’s and we have a garden area where we plant vegetables each summer. There are several children in our neighborhood and we see them playing outside all year as we walk our dogs.

Family has always been an important priority in our lives. Kayla's family lives close by and we gather for weekly family dinners and often see her brother's throughout the week. Though Justin's family lives in different states, we frequently travel to see them and make time to text, talk on the phone, or FaceTime throughout the week. We alternate major holidays traveling to see Justin's parents in Wisconsin and spending time with Kayla's family here in Michigan. Our families have both expressed how excited they are to love and welcome an adopted child into our family.

We are blessed to have a large base of friends and extended family in Michigan that we see frequently. We love to do various activities with our family and friends including: camping, playing board games, and going to concerts. We enjoy attending birthday celebrations at local restaurants, holiday parties, and summer cookouts.

In the summer we have a big family 4th of July party where there is a family bean bag tournament that people get really involved with. They even make official brackets and T-shirts for the winners! It's a great way to have fun, enjoy each other's company, and eat lots of good food!

We are so thankful for you taking the time to learn more about us as you consider adoption. We know how important and difficult a decision this must be and we hope you are reassured that we would provide a loving and supportive home to any child. That same love extends to you. We hope you feel comforted that we will teach a future child about not only the difficult decisions, but also the selflessness and love that a mother has for her child to consider adoption.

We met in Physical Therapy school and quickly fell in love with each other. Justin loved Kayla's connection with family and her ability to care for and truly listen to others. She has a beautiful gift of asking questions that open up conversation and trust. Kayla fell in love with Justin's welcoming nature and ability to make others feel seen, heard, and important. We were blessed to spend a significant amount of time with each other and got to know each other very well while we were dating. We have now been married for 6 years and continue to learn and grow in our communication and support with each other.

Infertility has been a part of our journey to adoption as we had tried for several years to have a biological child. We went through several infertility treatments and Justin had a minor surgery in hopes that we would be able to conceive naturally. Adoption was always part of our family planning discussions and with each failed treatment, we felt God was calling us to adoption. The more we learned about adoption and talked to our community, the more we knew adoption is how we are supposed to grow our family.

Being physical therapists, we get to show grace, kindness, and patience to every single person we see in the clinic. We both do so because we truly care about these people we've never met before. We quickly develop very trusting and genuine connections with our patients. We get to help these people return to getting on/off the floor to play with grandkids, regain the ability to walk down the aisle in their child's wedding, and return to the things that mean the most to them. We see our connection with a birth family going well because this type of connection comes so naturally and is so important to us.

We are very open to sending updates via phone calls, texts, letters, emails, and photos. In our household we will value a relationship with you and your child will know that we honor you, your story, and heritage. Your child will always know how much courage and love it takes to consider adoption.

In our family we value love, family, and learning. Our love for family always has and always will extend beyond biology. We open our home and share our unconditional love and acceptance with family, friends, and others who enter our lives. Our love of learning will be a blessing to teach a future child about the world. We are constantly learning how to communicate and love without reservation through reading, listening to podcasts, and learning from others. We are blessed to have such a strong family base close by, jobs we absolutely love, and wonderful puppies we have raised into loving dogs. We look forward to a time we can share our love for learning and family with a child.

Thank you again for considering us as you are deciding what's best for you and your child. We hope these words, our prayers, and knowing more about us provide some comfort in a difficult time. We hope you know your child will know they are loved by us and we will give every opportunity for them to grow and experience this beautiful world.

Sincerely,

Justin & Kayla