Laura + Kyle
Hello there!
Thank you so much for taking the time to learn about us and for considering us as you make the difficult decision of who will parent your child. We hope that through this book, you will be able to see the love we have for each other, our families and friends, and our future child. We have dreamed of starting our family for many years and are so excited to share our story with you.
We want you to know how much respect and love we feel for you already. We cannot imagine the emotions you must be feeling, and we are praying for you while you come to your decision. Regardless of the path you choose, we wish you the very best and hope you are able to find peace and comfort in your decision.
We are so grateful that you might consider us to adopt your child.
Our Why
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We have been trying to grow our family for over four years, including going through fertility treatments. We have dreamed of being parents our entire lives - to share love and support unconditionally. We now know that there is a greater plan in store for us.
Adoption has always been a consideration for us. Both sides of our family story include adoption - Kyle's mother and Laura's nephews. We have always known, and celebrated families being created in non-traditional ways - we just think this makes them more special. We are in awe of the love and strength each mother and family possess when choosing to place their child for adoption.
More than anything, we want you to know that we will love your child unconditionally and will devote our lives to providing him or her with all the love, security, and joy we can offer.
We want your child to always know where he or she came from. You will always be an integral part of his or her life, and we plan to raise our child with an understanding and appreciation for you and the sacrifice you are making for him or her. Your child will be loved beyond words by us, by our families, by our friends, and he or she will always know the great love you have for him or her as well.
We want him or her to be in a neighborhood with tons of other kids and be around people who cherish life. Your child will be raised in an environment filled with love and laughter. We want to raise them to always feel safe, protected, loved, and cherished. We want to embrace the interests they develop, encouraging them to be who they want to be. We value friendships, love, and kindness and will teach them to appreciate those things and to be kind and gentle to others - to appreciate differences in culture and backgrounds, and to be curious about life.
We want to give them all of the things we had and all of the things we didn't have. We want to give them every opportunity for a full and happy life.
Our Story (written by Laura)
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We first met in 2002 in college, but life took us in different directions before fate brought us back together in 2014.
In 2014, Kyle reached out to me on Facebook after some encouragement from my best friend and we had dinner. I remember not being ready to date someone seriously at that time, but I knew Kyle was someone to be serious about. We became great friends, and often was the other's 'plus one' to work events and parties. He became one of my best friends, and while he always let me know he was interested in more than friendship, he respected that I wasn't ready. He helped me move into a new apartment in 2016, where he met my entire family. I was already seeing Kyle in a new light by then but seeing him with my family cemented it for me. Our friendship grew into love. I am always grateful that our foundation was built on being best friends first.
On New Years Eve 2018, Kyle secretly planned a proposal with my best friend. Our friend group made BIG New Years Eve plans. I went shopping with my best friend, selected those perfectly fun shoes for the night, got our nails done, oblivious to the bigger plan. After dinner, as we walked to a concert to bring in the New Year, Kyle pulled me aside and walked us toward the Arkansas River, where he got on one knee and asked me to marry him. He gave me that quiet moment that he knew I would love, and then we celebrated with our friends at the concert until the wee hours.
In November of 2019, we got married overlooking the Arkansas River at sunset, surrounded by our friends and family.
Through four years of infertility, we have certainly been tested. We are now thankful for those hard times because it's made us stronger both individually and as a couple. We've had the hard conversations and learned how to communicate with each other and support each other through hard times.
As our love for each other continues to grow, we are eager to grow that joy by including children in our plans as well.
Meet Kyle
"Kyle is the most fun-loving guy you'll ever meet. He is quick-witted and will surprise you with his clever jokes. He makes me laugh every single day - it's one of my favorite things about him. He is so funny! He brings such joy to our lives and I know he will teach our child to see the fun side that life offers. He makes every activity fun.
He is disciplined and hardworking. He constantly pushes himself to be better, whether that's with his health and fitness or his career or his communication. He is very active and has worked out near-daily since I've known him. He is determined to be active and healthy for his family so he can show up the way they deserve. He is committed too. He sets goals and sticks with them until he's achieved them. His determination is one of the characteristics that inspires me to do better myself.
He has an unbelievable ability to recall movie quotes, sports facts, and song lyrics. It's his hidden talent. He played a lot of sports growing up and that has made him a lover of all sports as an adult. He's a Cowboys and Cubs fan through and through.
He is THE best cook. I can bake but gosh, can he cook! He is always finding new recipes to try. He loves to grill and smoke meat on his smoker.
He has a big heart. He's the biggest animal lover - he's never met a dog he didn't want to pet.
He will be the best dad. He is so patient and never quick to frustration. He is calm and protective and gives the best hugs.
Kyle is a territory sales manager for industrial automation. It sounds complicated but in its most simple form, he sells labels. He works from home most days." - written by Laura
Meet Laura
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"Laura is the most genuine, caring, thoughtful, loving, and all-around best partner I could dream of having. She is always down to have fun and go on new adventures so we can have new experiences and memories. She loves doing DIY projects, doing fun things with our pups, playing basketball, reading, watching anything on the Food Network, and doing crazy hard workout routines! Her dedication to health and wanting everything out of life is amazing to see.
Laura has always had a plan and goal for her career, and she has not missed a beat working to achieve those goals. She is an Associate Principal for an architecture firm and designs the interiors for businesses, schools, and community buildings. She is determined to not only be successful but to make an impact in the interior design world. I am excited to see her share her work ethic, creativity, and drive with our child, giving them the best opportunities in life.
Laura is the best person to have in your corner. Her heart for the people she cares for shows no bounds. She will always help family and friends with anything they may need and make sure they are having a good time when we're all together, even if she isn't feeling her best.
One of my favorite things about Laura is that she loves to laugh, sometimes so hard it makes her eyes close, and she'll fall to the floor. She makes me a better person every day. I know I would not be able to complete the goals I have for myself without her help and guidance. She always does a great job of keeping me in line.
She will be the best mom. Her warmth and caring for our family is unwavering and she has so much more to give. She also gives great hugs." - written by Kyle
Meet Griffey & Finley
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Griffey is our 12-year-old Basset Hound. He is the most cuddly dog you'll ever meet - he'll let you do anything, including put sunglasses on him! He has the softest fur, the longest ears, and he loves treats. He's named after Ken Griffey Jr, Kyle's favorite athlete since childhood.
Finley is our 3-year-old Newfoundland Doodle. He is the smartest boy and just wants to please. He has many different looks, depending on the weather and how long his hair is. He can sport a ponytail in the winter and be a sharp dresser in the summer months. He is our hiker and loves to be outside. His size surprises people but he's so gentle.
Our Home
From the moment we walked into our house, we knew this was the place to start our family. Our four-bedroom, three-bathroom home is in a quiet, safe neighborhood with tall trees in every yard. We have so many windows that bring in natural light. It has a beautiful stone patio that overlooks our backyard and our city's trail system, connecting us to the city's park half a mile away. We connect with our neighbors on the trail daily. We are making this house our own with DIY projects. With each project, we dream of the future memories we will create with our family in that space.
Our Hobbies
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It sounds so simple...but we love to laugh. We embrace being silly and we're going to have fun at whatever we do!
We both fell in love with basketball as kids and it's one of the things we love to do together - watching college basketball or playing against each other. Bragging rights on who beat who at HORSE are sacred in our house! We also go to at least one of our state's college basketball games every year. Go Razorbacks!
We love to be active. We're both committed to being healthy for our family. We both have our own workout routines that we enjoy, but we like to do some of those together, like hot yoga, pickleball, and hiking! We love to take our dog Finley on hikes.
We're always finding new bands to listen to and we go to concerts as often as we can. Every time we get in the car together, Kyle says 'I have some new songs for you.'
Laura loves to read. She reads every day, even if just for five minutes. Kyle loves to cook, especially using his smoker. Every weekend, we try out a new recipe, trying to recreate something we found at a restaurant. We are total foodies! We love trying new restaurants and types of cuisine. Kyle's a little more adventurous than Laura - she draws the line at octopus!
Our Travels
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We both love to travel. We have a goal to make one big trip each year and small weekend trips several times a year.
One of our favorite trips was to the Pacific Northwest, where we visited friends for a few days in Bend, Oregon, and then drove the coast the rest of the time, finding small adventures along the way. We paddle-boarded across lakes, hiked to waterfalls we didn't know existed, hiked mountains, and found a family of sea lions sunbathing next to a restaurant we stumbled upon. We loved driving through the massive tree-filled forest to discover these areas off the beaten path.
We also love to vacation with our friends and see parts of the world we haven't experienced before through adventures with them. One of those recent trips was to Oak Harbour, Washington. We picked strawberries, went to drive-in movies, played games all night, made smores around the campfire, and hiked trails every day. Our house overlooked the body of water between the US and Canada, and we could actually see Canada from our backyard. It was a really peaceful week!
While we love to travel far, we also love to go see Laura's parents just a few hours away. They have a farm with horses, cows, and goats.
We cannot wait to create new adventures as a family. We look forward to showing our child all there is to see in the world so he or she can grow, learn, and blossom.
Our Family
Laura's family lives nearby and we are very close to them. Her parents live just a few hours away with her youngest sister and two nephews. Her older sister and cousin (who is like a sister) live just thirty minutes away. Aunts, uncles, and cousins are all within a few hours.
It's become a tradition for Thanksgiving to be at our house every year, as well as a weekend around Christmas. We always spend Christmas morning at our own homes and then gather the weekend before or after to celebrate as a larger family. We always find an excuse to gather a few more times each year too. Laura's parents and nephews come to visit many times a year, and it's some of our favorite times - to have our house so full of love and activity.
Kyle's family is a bit more spread out - mom in Las Vegas, dad in North Carolina, and sister in southern California. We embrace the travel to see all of them, and for them to come visit us. Weekly calls keep us close!
Our family is big and loving. We respect everyone for their individualities and opinions. And there are many! The house is always loud when we get together, but it's loud with laughter and games and pure joy.
Our family is so excited to add another family member and love them unconditionally.
Our Village
We have an unbelievable group of friends that are more like family than friends. They each have kids of all ages and we're more like the Aunt & Uncle to all of them. We support each other in activities, we eat together often, and you can find us all at the pool in the summer. We play pickleball together, watch movies, and go on vacations together when we can. This group of people are an extension of our family and are so excited to welcome a new member to the FRAMILY!
Our Promise
We promise your child will be loved each and every day by us, our friends, and our family.
We promise to share their adoption story with them from the beginning.
We promise to only speak of you and their adoption story with love and respect.
We promise to embrace their interests.
We promise to encourage them to chase their dreams no matter how big they are.
We promise they will get to travel the world and enjoy vacations.
We promise to celebrate each milestone.
We promise to provide a safe and loving environment for your child to grow up in.
We promise your child will always know how much you love them.
Four things we want to teach our children
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Be kind. You never know what is going on in someone else's life. Kindness goes a long way.
Believe in yourself. And always know we believe in you.
Be uniquely you. You were created perfect just the way you are.
You are so loved. We love you unconditionally and you have a large extended family that loves and supports you.