We met in grad school in Mississippi in the summer of 2012–an interesting fate as this was over 500 miles from where either of us grew up. Abby was starting her second year of a two-year master’s program and Rachael was beginning her first year. We became friends very quickly and over the course of that first year truly became best friends – falling in love, without ever noticing, over statistics homework and long hours spent working in lab together.

Our story is our favorite story: long, developing gradually over time and full of small, sweet moments that in hindsight seem obvious, and eventually culminated into the love of a lifetime. Ultimately, as Abby’s graduation and departure from Mississippi drew near, we had a heart to heart, with Abby expressing her desire to stay, and Rachael having the courage to admit she didn’t want Abby to go.

That conversation ended up being the best decision either of us has ever made. What started as a fun summer spent hiking and going on road trips together turned into 18 months of a long-distance relationship while Abby moved home and Rachael finished school. Finally, almost a decade ago, Rachael moved to Abby’s home state of Arkansas to continue this adventure, and we’ve never looked back.

We love to play games and to be outside, and we try to stay active – which is easy when you have a toddler at home! Our weekends are filled with visits to one of the dozens of parks in our town, running around the backyard, or checking out the farmer’s market downtown. We go almost every weekend and the trek almost always turns into a visit with friends we run into along the way. We are also fortunate to live near plenty of lakes, rivers, and mountains where we can explore either on foot or in our kayaks. There’s even a bike path that runs through our neighborhood and connects to other trail systems in our city and the region, and we take advantage of it often. While our adventures may not go quite as far or last as long as they used to, we have really enjoyed sharing our love of the outdoors with our son. Seeing the world through a child’s eyes makes you experience and appreciate every activity in a whole new light. When the weather keeps us indoors, we are likely curled up on the couch with a movie, building spaceships out of legos, or visiting with friends and family. Occasionally we head to the children’s science museum and spend our Saturday tinkering, experimenting, and learning in the most fun and unique of ways. We love where we live and try to make the most of our time together no matter what we do.

In December 2021, we got a call that a family had chosen us for adoption. In that moment, our lives forever changed. We were able to meet the family in person before Finn’s birth and got to know them through text and a few phone calls. We immediately bought books for kids about adoption (All Kinds of Families is a favorite) and a few for ourselves to learn how to best support Finn and his birth family. With him, and any sibling he may have, we want to make sure adoption is never a secret; It’s part of who they are, and they are loved. At the same time, we know adoption is not simple. It involves many complex feelings and situations. We will honor that complexity, let him learn more as he grows, and not shy away from the hard questions he may have.

As with his birth family, we also want to welcome you into the conversation. There are many aspects of adoption that we will never fully understand the way you do, and we value your perspective. We also have a close friend who was adopted, and her experience and point of view have been incredibly helpful in better understanding our role in our child’s life. She has been a great resource for us, and we hope that one day she can be a personal resource for our children!

We live in a 4-bedroom home with a large kitchen that opens up into the living room, set in a wonderful, older neighborhood with big trees and a small creek. We love to cook and play games in the house, but our backyard is probably our favorite spot. We have a large vegetable garden and a fire pit where you can find us spending most of our free time from spring to fall – blowing bubbles and laughing while we play with our son. There's a playground and picnic area within walking distance and a bike trail that connects to trail systems that expand throughout the city and the region. We often take walks to the park and compete to see who can spot the most hawks, turtles, or rabbits along the way.

We absolutely love our community and the area in which we live. Northwest Arkansas is a region full of growth and there is always something fun to do, no matter what your interests are. We have a world class art museum, children's science museum, and a great music venue, but we are also situated close to plenty of lakes, rivers, and hiking trails to explore. The downtown area has family friendly events throughout the year, and every Saturday you can find us at the farmer's market or strolling through the city park—It's a wonderful place to live and an even better place to raise a family.

Family is incredibly important to both of us, and we are fortunate to have the love and support of so many people in our lives. Both of our parents are so incredibly happy being grandparents it’s like they’re kids again themselves. Abby’s mom, older brother and his family all live nearby and we get together often for family dinners and to watch sports or play games. We also spend time at parks or attending local events downtown together. Abby’s mom was a pediatric nurse in an intensive care nursery and has been a huge resource for us as first-time parents and would love to welcome another baby into the fold. Our adopted son Finn and his cousin Max are the best of buds; their respective grandparents watch them every Thursday so they can have play dates. Rachael’s parents and sister live in another state, but daily phone calls bridge the distance and her parents visit multiple times a year; They are more than happy to shower Finn and any future child with love in that special way only grandparents who live in a different state can. Rachael’s sister is energetic and caring and is a wonderful aunt. Plus, she works at a Little Gym so she knows how to make anything fun. All of the important people, and cats, in our life are so excited and supportive of our adoption plan and will be such a big part of any future child’s life. They already are!

We know you have a lot of options and a very big choice ahead of you so we sincerely thank you for taking the time to get to know us. We have lives that are full of love, adventure, and the chaos of young parenthood, but we are excited to expand our family and our hearts.

We have been through plenty of mountains and valleys in the 10 years of our relationship - from 18 months of long distance and the death of Abby’s father to the excitement of buying a house and getting married, and later adopting our son and becoming parents - overcoming those obstacles, making tough or complicated decisions together, has only made us stronger. These experiences have cemented our bond as a couple and solidified and reinforced our decision to be parents, not only individually, but together. Raising a child is a huge decision and an important responsibility, choosing to do it all over again carries just as much weight for us. You can trust that, no matter what happens, this child will be guided through life by two people who work as a team and are not afraid of the hard parts of life. We firmly believe that everything we've been through, good and bad, has led us to this moment and we promise to use all we've learned to help any child in our care grow into a happy, healthy, and loving person.

Besides, we know that the best way to handle the challenges of life is to have fun. We promise to expose your child to a variety of activities so they can find that thing that inspires them ?" we’ll enroll them in sports, encourage them to join clubs, and sign them up for camps. They’ll have crayons and paints, as well as Legos and stuffed animals. They will undoubtedly learn the name of every bird and plant that we see, and probably the winning strategy in each level of Mario Kart as well ?" our son is already well on his way to all of the above. We’ll give them a healthy push to engage in any or all of these things as they grow, and when they find what they are passionate about we will support them fully in exploring that love.

We promise to do this in a way that is structured yet fun, reasonable yet exciting. And we promise to leave the spoiling to their grandparents, who are so excited to be a part of a child’s life. This kid will certainly be surrounded by aunts, uncles, friends, cousins, and generally the type of family that radiates love and acceptance (even if they are a little weird).

As this child grows up, we promise to keep you as informed along the way as you desire. We’ll send pictures, write letters, and allow space for your relationship with this child to grow in a way that is natural and true, and in whatever role you choose for that to be. We want you to feel confident that your child is being loved and cared for, and we want them to know where they come from, which includes knowing you. In our eyes, the decision that you are making is a brave one, and we promise to always honor and respect you for that choice in our home. We will ensure that we consistently present this to your child in a positive light.

Your child is, and will be, loved, cherished, and raised to learn as much as they can about this amazing world and how to be a part of it.

Thank you again for considering us!

Rachael & Abby