Raelynn is our 10-year-old daughter, she has been extremely excited about adding a child to our family and cannot wait to play and grow with them and begin this new chapter as a big sister. She has the sweetest most caring soul, she is always making sure she is not hurting anyone's feelings and including everyone. She is far beyond her short years in maturity. Raelynn has such a happy spirit, she is very goofy, outgoing, kind, and talkative. Raelynn loves going to school, dancing, anything to do with animals, painting/crafting, baking, and spending time with family and friends. Raelynn is loved by so many. She takes on the motherly / mentor role wherever she goes, leading the younger kids along and keeping everyone safe. We have no doubts that Raelynn will not only transition seamlessly into the role of being a big sister but will flourish.

We have a very long history. Growing up in a small community, we began school in the same pre-K class and graduated high school together in 2007. All through school we knew each other and socialized with the same groups of friends. It was not until a year after high school that we began dating, after attending a summer course at a local community college.

Our relationship began to develop over that summer, we spent the entire summer together going on dates, taking road trips, and going to the lake. Meghan knew right away that Blake was someone that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with and Blake loved the fact that he and Meghan grew up in the same small town and shared the same values and beliefs and knew that there was a future with Meghan. We have since been inseparable, we were married in 2013 and now have been together for a total of 15 years.

We both grew up in very tight-knit families that spent large amounts of time together. We have lots of family traditions, spending each holiday throughout the year with both sides of our families. We love doing Easter egg hunts at Blake's grandmother's and Meghan's parent's houses. We also enjoy large Thanksgiving meals where all of our extended families gather together. Meghan's side of the family has over 30 people who come together for the Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. We celebrate birthdays for each member of the family and cherish those little moments.

Meghan's favorite tradition is strawberry picking for Mother's Day. During the Christmas season all of the women and children from both sides of our family gather together and go to see Christmas lights at a local botanical garden, while the men in the family enjoy time in the outdoors during hunting season. Our favorite tradition each year is summer vacations - we typically take two trips to the beach, one with Blake's side of the family and one with Meghan's. We are so lucky and blessed to have so many family members and family traditions that we get to enjoy.

Our home is a fun and busy, yet a peaceful place to be. We live at the end of a long private road on 11 acres of land with plenty of yard and woods surrounding our three bedroom home. We have plenty of room for activities in our large living area. We enjoy spending family time together during our weekly movie or game nights, as well as riding bikes on our road. We have 2 four legged children that are great with children and love people.

We love our rural community. We live close by to the local park, library and YMCA gym/pool and our church. Blake and Meghan grew up together in this small town and love that our children will grow up in the same small town. Our daughter even attends the same elementary school that we went to as children, which is only a few miles from our home. We know so many people in our community and usually do not leave home without seeing someone we know. We are so lucky and blessed to be surrounded by a great community. Our location in Virginia is a great place to live because we are within about a 2 hour drive to the beach and mountains.

Family is extremely important to both of us. Both of our parents are very present in their grandchildren's lives. We live very close to both of our families and maintain a very close relationship with both sides. We are fortunate enough to have time together frequently and enjoy the weekly (if not daily) visits from both sides.

Blake's younger sister was recently married and Meghan's older sister is married with five children. Both sides of our families are also very close to each other, we often spend time together at events such as birthday parties, holidays, or other social events. We enjoy playing board games and outdoor activities with Meghan's family and concerts, baking and enjoying meals together with Blake's family. We also go on annual summer vacations with each of our families. Both sides of our family are extremely excited and supportive of our adoption plan. They cannot wait to spoil and love another family member. We are also very lucky that we have many friends that we consider family, who are also supporting us through this journey.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us better and for considering adoption. We understand that this can be a difficult decision and we have nothing but admiration and respect for you. You are courageous and selfless. We hope that learning more about our family will give you peace of mind as you continue to navigate through this difficult process.

First, we want you to know that you will always be significant to us and we welcome contact with you throughout the child's life in whatever capacity you desire. We are happy to send emails, pictures, letters, and are open to making arrangements to meet in person to keep you updated on the child's life and development. We would like to maintain a healthy lifelong relationship with you, give you comfort by honoring you in our home, speaking highly of you, sharing how brave you are, and the weight of your decision. This child will always know their adoption story, how much you love them, and you will always be viewed in a positive light in our home.

As parents we promise to provide any child a loving, compassionate, accepting and nurturing home. We feel that raising a child is the greatest responsibility and gift that one could have and cherish the opportunity to raise another child. We value unconditional love, respect, diligence, communication, and Christian values. Our plan is to pass these values down to our children as we love and nurture them along the way.

We have been married for 11 years and have a 10-year-old daughter, Raelynn, who is the MOST excited to become a big sister. After the birth of our daughter we suffered many devastating losses and were unable to carry another child without great risk. We chose adoption because we feel that we have more love to give to another child and that our missing piece is out there waiting to find us. We very much look forward to the day we can welcome them into our lives.

We are very blessed with loving and supportive families. We spend a lot of time with them and they are very involved in our daughter's life and we know that will continue with any addition to our family. Our families are also supportive of our decision to adopt and are ecstatic to have another child to love, nurture, and spoil.

Thank you again for allowing us the chance to share our family, life, and hearts with you. We hope you've seen how much love we have to offer. We look forward to what the future holds for our families.

Blake & Meghan