We love telling this story. We met in our first class of college in 2007 in a English class. Oddly enough, we learned that we lived across from one another in the dorm rooms on campus. We specifically remember this because Leanne worked off campus at the time and Marshall could hear her heels hitting the concrete pavement each time she left for work. We became friends, and would often walk from class back to the dorms together. We officially started dating in the latter part of 2008.

Our dating life was so fun and innocent. Neither of us really drank or partied, so we found ourselves at the campus library studying for exams and completing homework. We both really love coffee and would hang out at local coffee shops around campus. Outside of school we enjoyed hiking in the mountains, eating great food, hanging out with friends, and talking about our futures. Life was simple, wholesome, and perfect.

After we completed our undergrad, Marshall's work took us all around the country. We've lived in New Mexico, New Orleans, San Francisco, South Florida and Dallas. This opportunity allowed us to have great exposure to seeing different ways of life around the country and helped us to become more cultured. As we moved around, we both completed our higher education through graduate school as well. We tied the knot in 2020 once we found our forever city and purchased a home.. Today, Marshall is no longer required to move around or travel as much and we are both excited to dedicate our time to becoming parents!

Looking back, we treasured the time we've had together and we love each other more and more each day. We are very aligned in our values and both desire the same things out of life. We have similar approaches to our future parenting styles and have a really solid foundation. This helps us when we face obstacles and makes it easier to tackle things together in a partnership. We are each other's biggest supporters and we will carry this down to our future child. We will be their biggest advocate and cheerleaders!

Our dream has always been to become parents. We've tried to conceive naturally and when that did not work, we went through IVF and were unsuccessful. Leanne was adopted when she was 4 years old, so we always saw adoption as the next natural path to starting a family. We've been together since we were sophomores in college and have built an incredible life together. Our life is full of adventures, laughter and so much love. We are so excited to expand our family and share this life with our future child.

Our home sits in a beautiful master plan community and has three bedrooms with a giant kitchen. We were fortunate to design and build our home to make it place we love living in. We have a yard with a beautiful tree and we love sitting outside to watch the sunset every night. Our neighborhood is wonderful. We have two community dog parks, a playground, gym, large pool, and nearby parks and hiking trails. Our community is very family friendly and hosts weekly food trucks, kid friendly gatherings and many activities. We love that we live in a diversified community in a city that we love.

Marshall shares

Leanne is single handedly the most important person in my life, I would be lost without her. Once you meet Leanne you're drawn to her energy, her kindness, her bubbly personality, she's amazing. One of the great things about Leanne is how open-minded she is. She has so much empathy for other people and their experiences. She always has a way of telling you exactly what you need to hear in life's most important moments. Leanne loves staying active by spending time outdoors hiking and anything near water. She enjoys reading a good book and snuggles on the couch with our dog Zoey. I'm confident Leanne will be a fantastic mother. She is responsible, a great listener, can have honest conversations about deep topics, she's approachable, a loving wife, and my best friend.

Leanne shares

Marshall's kindness and compassion is contagious. I am so blessed to have Marshall as my husband and life partner. He is loving, happy, and kind. One of the greatest things about him is his love for experiencing new things like travel, trying new foods, and learning about different cultures. He loves to cook cuisines from all around the world and is well cultured. He loves to read, play golf, and watch sports. He takes great care of me by showering me with affection and always lifting me up. One of the many reasons I fell in love with Marshall is because I knew he'd be the best dad. The world needs more people like him.

Zoey is a 7 year old, 34-lbs, Terrier mix. She came to live with us when she was 3 and has been with us for 3.5 years! She is a constant joy in our lives. She is incredibly friendly and loving. She loves cuddling while watching TV and loves going for big walks. She can't get enough of people petting her and will lavish us with kisses.

We love watching live sports. We love the immersive experience of cheering amongst other fans and watching our favorite talented players. We enjoy an active lifestyle and regularly go for hikes and spend time outdoors as much as we can. We also believe there is so much value experiencing different cultures and meeting people from all different backgrounds. We have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to travel and will continue to travel we expand our family. Whether we are sipping coffee in Seattle, hiking through the mountains of Hawaii, ziplining through the rainforest of Belize or catching the train in London, we firmly believe that travel enhances our lives and makes life meaningful. We plan to continue exploring this world together with our child so they are exposed to diversity and other cultures.

I was adopted by my aunt and uncle when I was a young child. My parents have been married for over 45 years. They live in a small town in New Mexico where both are retired., and both are very supportive of everything I do. Growing up, I played the violin and piano. I was part of the church music group where I played in front of the church every week. I grew up an only child and my parents do not have any grandchildren, so any children that come into our home will be their first. They've been ready to be grandparents for years and are ready to shower our future child with lots of love and affection.

My parents have been married for 36 years. They are both retired and reside in a small town in Illinois. I grew up with one younger brother whom I love very much. Growing up, my dad had a boat and he would take my brother and I out on the water where we learned the art of fly fishing. Our days were filled with lots of sports and good quality family time. My father was adopted as an infant and my wife was also adopted as well. My family is very supportive of our decision to adopt and look forward to their first grandchild.

Leanne and Marshall both love what traditions are able to do when incorporated into family life. Often,traditions will provide structure, intentional time spent together, and the backbone of our family.

For Christmas, we'll travel to or host one of our families. This time is special because both Leanne, Marshall, and their families are of the Christian faith. We spend this time celebrating our faith, eating amazing food, decorating the Christmas tree while listening to Christmas music, watching incredible holiday movies, baking our family recipe cookies, drinking hot chocolate while looking at Christmas lights around the city, spending time with friends, and celebrating what a great year we've had.

During Thanksgiving, our travel or hosting is similar to Christmas. There's typically a large spread of food, we love it. We always have your main traditional food for this holiday, which includes, turkey, ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and several types of pies. The day after Thanksgiving is still fun because we get to enjoy all of the same food in the form of a sandwich or soup, it's incredible. We spend this time together being thankful for all that we have.

We celebrate other holiday traditions throughout the year, including Easter, July 4th cookout, and Halloween to name a few. For our birthdays we like to travel to new destinations and explore the world.

We have relatively mild winters where we live, so we like to spend a lot of time going on walks together in nature. We love to travel even if it's just for a weekend getaway. Many Fridays we have deemed as "Pizza Friday", where we'll make our own pizza from scratch and watch a fun movie or catch up on a show.

When we are able to welcome a child to our family, we intend to embrace them and include them in these traditions above. We're excited to start some of our own traditions, that may include traveling to different parts of the world during certain parts of the year.

We promise to provide your child with an incredible upbringing filled with lots of love, laughter, and joy. We will love your child unconditionally and will nurture them to grow up to be the best person they can be.

We promise to provide an upbringing in which God is a central figure. We will teach them values of kindness, integrity, and respect.

We promise to encourage their hopes and dreams and to provide the best opportunities through education. We are committed to providing access to cultural diversity including art, music, travel, science, books, and sports so they can benefit from all that the world has to offer.

Lastly, we promise to honor your role as the birth mother. They will have an understanding and appreciation of the tremendous sacrifice you made out of love, and they will always know where they came from.