Before we were married, we had already discussed our heart for adoption and made that a part of our plan, to come after having our first biological child.

Our God has adopted us as His beloved children. With this type of love as our example, adoption was an obvious choice for us.

As is often the case, however, things have not gone in the exact order that we anticipated. After a couple of years of trying without success, we decided to go ahead and pursue our dream of infant adoption.

We met at a large church in Houston and had known each other for quite a long time. We had many of the same friends and would sometimes have lively discussions about important topics, like which restaurant served the best BBQ in Houston. Over the years, we grew to respect each others' character, service for others, knowledge of the Bible, and general wit in conversation. After knowing each other for about 10 years, we somehow, by the grace of a loving God, escaped the "friend zone".

Once we began dating, it was soon clear that we were both head over heels for each other and ready to marry. What we weren't ready for was all the work that would be involved in our decision to make 96 mini cheesecakes for our wedding reception.

Within about 4 months of our wedding, the lockdowns for COVID began, so as newlyweds we were very quickly launched into uncertain times with only each other to lean on. This time was hard, but also wonderful for our relationship as we weathered the uncertainty together and found a way to lean in and strengthen our bond even more.

By Renee

Mark is one of a kind.

He is one of the smartest people I know. If there are two sides to a topic, he can argue either one. He knows what he believes but he also has a natural ability to see the merits of all sides.

What drew me to him after years of friendship was his steadfast character, his love for Jesus, and his love for others. He even volunteered at our church in the preschool ministry. Before we dated, I often found myself comparing other guys to him (and with that standard, none of them could make the cut).

Even as a single guy, Mark always carved out dedicated time to spend with his family. He makes a point to play and talk with each of the kids in his family, and I'm pretty sure he is the favorite uncle of every niece or nephew in the family.

He is a steady and committed person and I rest easy knowing that he loves me and loves our family. He makes being married so much more fun and joyful than I had imagined it would be.

I can't wait to see him as a dad, because he will be amazing at it.

Fun Facts

• Mark has qualified for and ran the Boston Marathon. His qualifying time was an average of 6:37 min per mile for 26.2 miles.
• He is renowned in our friend group for being a very skilled baker and cook. His specialty is mini white chocolate-wrapped cheesecakes.
• Mark and his friends canoed and carried their gear on a canoe/hiking trip that spanned over 40 miles through the Canadian wilderness.

by Mark

Renee is a kind and caring woman who loves her family very much. The love of Jesus is evident in her life and she shares that love with others. Renee loves her family and always takes time to engage her nieces and nephews individually. When you meet Renee, you'll notice her warm smile right away. She enjoys going to coffee shops and chatting with people. She works hard and is always ready to lend a hand to someone in need. Her kindness and love for others can be seen in everything she does. At work, she trains doctors to help people with epilepsy.

Renee has a positive attitude and isn't afraid to try new things. She grew up around horses and loves animals. She enjoys working out, and her competitive spirit drives her. She loves to visit new places and explore nature, sometimes stopping to draw the beautiful scenery she encounters. She is smart and funny, always looking to share a laugh. Her gentle and loving nature will make her a great mom.

Fun Facts

• Renee has been traveled to most states in the US for her job. Outside of the US, she has visited Israel, Peru, and Denmark
• Renee knows dozens of brain surgeons and prepares courses for them
• Renee loves goat cheese

We have a large open 3-bedroom house on 9 acres in the Texas Hill Country and absolutely love it. We are a short drive from lots of state parks. With Austin and San Antonio being a short drive away, we feel blessed to live in a place with the comforts of the country with the conveniences of the city nearby.

We enjoy a thriving community with our church who are wrapping their arms around us as we take this journey. We are thankful to have people in our church that have also chosen adoption and are excited for us.

Working from home, we get to enjoy our space. We love walking around and working on making our place prettier and more comforting, planting flowers and trees.

We are currently working on painting and decorating the nursery. The theme will be baby animals native to Texas.

We dream of having a home full of children and their friends, complete with pets and lots of fun.

We chose our property so that we would have room for kids to run and explore as well as a place to have a horse or two and maybe some livestock project animals at some point down the road.

Above all, we hope that our home will be a place of love and joy for all those who enter it. We also hope that it will be a place where our children have happy memories and will look forward to visiting when they are grown.

We have a sweet dog that loves people and has never met a stranger. She will run up to people that she does not know with a ball in her mouth hoping and expecting that she will get a game of fetch. With her wagging tail and puppy eyes, she often does.

She loves running around our place and will hurdle our rock fence like a deer! She also loves to chase after the deer that visit our house daily.

I was raised in a small town in West Texas. I have an older brother and a younger sister.

My older brother married his high school sweetheart and has 4 kids (3 girls and 1 boy) between the ages of 7 and 15. My sister has 3 kids (2 girls and 1 boy) between 4 and 9. My parents love spending time with grandkids and creating a close-knit family atmosphere, and taking family vacations together or just taking grandkids for a weekend trip.

Each year, we gather as a family at my parent's ranch and spend lots of time together enjoying each other's company. Whether it is putting a puzzle together, finding fun rocks, feeding fish, or climbing cool trees, we always take time to make sure everyone knows they are part of a loving family.

Our Traditions

• Christmas is a week long extravaganza with the whole family staying out at "The Ranch", exploring the property and checking on the goldfish in the tank.
• My Mom or "Memom" spoils everyone and is very serious about making sure that everyone gets the gift they've been dreaming of.

I'm the youngest of 3 girls, raised waaaay out in the country with my sisters (5 and 8 years older than me). They are still two of my best friends. My parents recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary and have been such a rock to our family throughout our lives.

My mom is one of the most generous people I know and is fiercely loyal to her family. My dad is a hard worker, can design and build almost anything you can dream up (including their log house), and always has an opinion and a joke ready at hand for any given situation. Throughout my life, they've served as great examples of how to love God, spend your time and resources helping others in your community, make family a priority, and spend time outdoors.

Our Traditions

• Kid's birthdays are a big deal for my family, not necessarily that we spend a lot of money, but all the family comes in and celebrates together.
• Thanksgiving with my family is always at my oldest sister's house. This allows all the families on both sides to come and be together. We often spend the Friday after Thanksgiving doing our online Christmas shopping in our PJs.
• Christmas at my Mom & Dad's house has several features you can always count on: gifts for absolutely everyone, neighbors, cousins, people who might stop by; a whole hutch cabinet full of snacks. If you've ever told my mom you like a sweet, she will have it on deck waiting for you, and best of all Mexican food on Christmas Day.
• Oh, and a ride on the "mule", you can't visit Grannie and Grandpa's house without a ride to check cows on the ATV.

We enjoy the outdoors from the mountains to the ocean and everything in between. Our honeymoon in Jamaica included (small) cliff diving, hiking up Dunn River Falls, and sailing lessons. When in the mountains, Mark prefers to ski and Renee prefers to snowboard. When traveling, we make time to visit beautiful places like the Grand Canyon, Zion and Arches National Parks.

At home, we live near many state parks and enjoy day trips to enjoy the natural beauty around us. We also enjoy kicking back and watching University of Texas sports, both live and from home. Our favorites are football, baseball and volleyball. Renee also enjoys to curl up with a book and a blanket on lazy days.

For exercise, Mark is an avid daily runner and Renee enjoys a variety of cross-training activities including weightlifting, backpacking and rowing.

And everywhere we go, we are on the lookout for new and delicious food to try. If it sounds interesting enough, we will go out of our way to find a great meal.

We promise to raise our children with lots of fun and connection at home and through community and family relationships. We promise to always have animals around for them to befriend and hope to always provide them with wide open spaces to run and explore.

We both decided a long time ago that if and when we did marry someone, it would be a commitment for the rest of our lives. This commitment to love each other, work things out, and see the best in each other will form the stable foundation of our home and our relationship with our children.

We promise that as far as it depends on us, the child entrusted to us will always know what a brave choice you made for their good. Always be loved no matter what choices they make, how many times they make them, or whether we agree with them. We promise to lead and guide them in wise ways that will lead to their thriving. To the best of our human ability, they will be shown the steadfast love of Christ, a love that never gives up.