Our story begins in the summer of 2007 when we met working as lifeguards in our hometown in Texas. By the end of that first summer, we had started dating, which was a little bit of a feat considering Lee is a few years older than me. Thank goodness my father loved him, as did the rest of my family. We dated for six years, with the majority being long distance because we went to colleges in different states. In October 2013, we got married in our hometown. Our relationship and love for each other continues to grow through the ups and downs. We complement and bring out the best in each other, especially when times get rough. Our relationship has weathered many storms: from our long distance relationship to recognizing our infertility, from several cross country moves to living in a house while we gutted and renovated it, and changes in jobs. Through all of it, our reliance on each other and our strength in overcoming any obstacle has been reinforced.

It is funny to look back, because we both remember that on our first date, sitting in Mellow Mushroom, one of our favorite pizza restaurants, we talked about how having children was important to both of us. The children in our lives were such a joy, from nieces and nephews to our ten godchildren. We did not know that having children of our own was going to be the journey it has been, having to accept infertility and failed embryo transfers. Our journey was not over though, and we came to realize together that adoption was the perfect way to grow our family.

We began working with Gladney Centers for Adoption and in April 2024 we got the call that our daughter, Juliana, was born and waiting for us. She is perfect and we fell immediately in love with her. Growing our family through adoption has been a wild ride and exactly what we were meant to do.

We look forward to growing our family again through adoption and Juliana cannot wait to be a big sister.

Elizabeth is loving, kind and faithful. She enjoys hanging out with friends drinking coffee and going on walks with Juliana during the nice weather. She loves helping others; it's one of the reasons she enjoyed being a physical therapist. Her passion is providing for others and showing God's love through service. She will make sure our children knows they are loved and has the support to achieve whatever their goals are.

Elizabeth is the most amazing mother. To watch her care and interact with Juliana brings me such joy. She is loving, calm, sweet and kind with whatever Juliana needs. I can't wait to see her grow in her motherly love with another child.

I love that Lee is a thinker and tinkerer who loves his family. He is a provider and planner, someone who thinks of everything and is always there for his loved ones. Lee loves to mountain bike and he will be all about getting bikes for our children before they even need one just so they are ready (or whatever else they will be into).

Lee is also incredibly funny. He already has all the bad dad jokes down and uses them with Juliana, our nieces, nephews and godchildren.

Watching Lee with Juliana is so precious. He is a loving, doting father that just wants to snuggle and be with his daughter. He is gentle and is the rock that allows our family to thrive. I have never been more in love with him and cannot wait to see him grow as a father as our family grows.

Juliana was born in Texas, like her parents, and spent her early weeks in the NICU. Elizabeth was able to spend the entire time loving and supporting her while she grew and got stronger; while Lee flew back and forth to take care of her and work. We were surrounded by so much love from both of our parents and they couldn't help themselves getting to soak up all the baby snuggles from her.

Juliana continues to grow and it is exciting to watch her learn new things and gain new confidence.

Our family grew the day Juliana joined us and we look forward to expanding our family further. Juliana will be such a great big sister.

We have two amazing dogs, Dagny and Reagan. They are both German Short Haired Pointers and were born one year apart in May of 2015 and 2016. Lee grew up taking care of a neighbor's pointers and came to love the breed because they are athletic, active and super kid friendly. They go everywhere with us, from hiking to mountain biking to just cuddling on the couch. They LOVE Juliana and children. They are sweet and gentle with her and look forward to the days where she learns about gravity and drops food or when she can throw a ball and play fetch with them.

Elizabeth is staying at home with Juliana and Lee is a veterinarian. We continue to be active in our community but it looks different now with Juliana. We got a bike trailer as soon as Juliana could ride in one safely and enjoy going on family rides. We hope our love of activities rubs off on our children and will support them in whatever they enjoy.

We especially cannot wait to teach our children to swim. With both of us being former lifeguards and having a pool in our back yard, we look forward to many summer days playing in the water.

We attend Church every Sunday and often attend other services throughout the week in our Eastern Orthodox Christian Church. Our faith is very important to our everyday life, and we are both heavily involved with our Church. Lee is on the Church's board, and I am the president of the Women's group and organize our Sunday coffee hour. Our congregation is full of young families, and children. We love that our children will get to grow up with peers to play and have fun with.

We live in a large master planned gated neighborhood. We love the parks, pools, splash pad and elementary school in our neighborhood that is within walking distance. There are many great sidewalk paths to go on walks as a family with the dogs.

Our home is the perfect family home - four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and a family room just off the kitchen. A family home was the most important aspect when we bought this house. We love having a pool in the backyard to cool down in the Arizona heat and to teach our child how to swim, just as we both grew up doing. We also love that we are on a cul-de-sac and our children can safely play and learn to ride bikes in the circle.

Two important things are near our home - our Church and the mountains. We live just a few miles from our Church and are actively involved in our community there. The mountains, in addition to being beautiful to look at, make riding our mountain bikes easy and accessible.

Thank you so much for spending the time to read and begin learning about us. Here is what we hope you walk away with - we believe you are truly amazing and brave. We pray that you find peace and love as you walk your journey and know that if you choose us to join you, we could not be more blessed and honored. We hope you have started to see that we are caring, loving, and passionate. We promise to care for your child and provide for all their needs, both physically, emotionally and spiritually. We do not know the end of this journey, but we are so excited to continue on, and we would love to meet you and learn more about you. Feel free to connect with us through the contact link. With gracious thoughts, Elizabeth and Lee