We both love to travel and while that is something we do often we also love hanging out at home. We enjoy watching movies by the fireplace in the winter, spending evenings outside during the spring and summer, and sitting by the firepit roasting marshmallows in the fall. One thing we love about living in Missouri is getting to experience all four seasons - we spend a lot of time outdoors and we have some amazing sunset views from our house!

On the weekends we frequently have friends and family over for game nights, to watch football games, host big family dinners, etc. We love hosting and Kayla enjoys cooking and experimenting with new recipes. When it comes to grilling though, that's all Rick! We can't wait to have a kiddo in the mix for these fun nights.

Kayla About Rick: My favorite qualities that I admire about Rick are his patience, his intelligence, his sense of humor and his adventurous spirit to always want to try new things with me and visit new places. We met through mutual friends years ago and were friends for several years before dating but once we did we never looked back! He keeps me grounded when I worry about little things and puts me at ease. He is a true partner - if something is important to me, it is important to Rick, and I love that about him among many other things. I can't wait to see him be a dad, I know he is going to be the best father!

Rick About Kayla: The first Christmas I brought Kayla to, she never questioned once why my whole family marched around the entire house dancing to 'Grandma got run over by a Reindeer.' That alone would scare most people off. Instead, she took it in stride, laughed and danced right along with us. I knew I had found someone special at that point. There are no words to describe how excited I am to start a family with Kayla and watch her become a mom. She is loving, fun, smart and just the right amount of competitive. I love her spirit and her desire to always be learning and growing.

We have two awesome fur-babies. Our dog, Diesel is 13 years old and has been with us since Kayla's first year of college. He's the happiest boy and loves everyone! Myka is our 5-year old cat that we rescued when she was a stray kitten. Rick is hands-down her favorite person and if he's laying down or sitting in a chair, you will for sure find her on his lap!

Both animals are far too spoiled but we love the joy and laughter they bring us! Diesel loves his neighborhood walks and Myka's favorite thing is drinking (playing with) dripping sink water! (Again, spoiled!)

Diesel and Myka are both endless entertainment and wonderful companions. They love people and Diesel especially loves playing with the neighbor kids and when our friends bring their kiddos over to the house. We're a little bias but we also think they are the cutest!

We live in a beautiful, safe community in Missouri, in a suburb known for their exceptional school district and was recently voted in the top 10% of places to raise a family in America (According to Niche.com, 2022).

We built our dream home here in 2017 with plans of raising kids here one day. We have the best neighbors, many of who have kids and growing families! We love the great location, large lots and the amenities. Our neighborhood has fishing ponds, a swimming pool, playground, walking trails and soon to have pickleball/tennis courts!

We live in a four-bedroom, three-bath home with an open layout- we loved designing our house and choosing all the finishes and details. Some of our favorite spots are the screened in deck, large fenced backyard and our recently finished basement. It's currently just us and our two fur-babies in the house so we have lots of room to grow as our family grows!

Our house is located at the end of a cul-de-sac and backs to green space and a pond. Our neighbors are wonderful people who've become close friends, all with growing families of their own.

We feel so blessed to have the families that we do.

Kayla has one brother named Scott who is her best friend (despite arguing like crazy when growing up!) and Kayla is extremely close with her parents, Don and Joni. We love playing board games, yard games, going to football games & tailgating. Our family has had season tickets to Mizzou football since Kayla was born and it's something we look forward to every year. Kayla's parents live less than 10 minutes from us, are both retired and are SO excited to be grandparents!

Sadly, we lost Rick's mom in 2021 to Parkinson's and dementia, she was the most loving mother and grandmother to her two kids, Rick and Melanie, and best grandmother "Nana" to Melanie's four kids (Kelsey, Noah, Colby, and Kaylee). We miss her every day. Rick is very close with his father, Gene, they talk daily and share many of the same interests such as boating, sports and traveling! We have taken a few cruises with Rick's entire extended family and they are some of the best memories we have together. Rick's family also lives nearby (about 30 minutes) and they are so excited for us to grow our family and become parents!

Thank you again so much for taking the time to read our story and getting to know a little about us and our lives. We hope you feel a connection to us, our family and our home and we can't wait to get to know you better!

We have wanted to be parents and grow our family as long as we can remember. We have been married for six years and while we technically have never been told that we aren't able to conceive naturally, after five years of trying it doesn't appear to be the best option for us. And that's okay! Because while we do have a strong desire to be parents, we've never felt that we must be biological parents. We both feel in our hearts that adoption is our path for growing our family and we are so excited for our adoption journey. We believe this is the path we are meant to be on.

Please know that we are wishing you strength, confidence and peace as you consider your options and ultimately decide what you feel is best for you and your child. We won't pretend to have been in your shoes before but we can imagine it is a very difficult and confusing time for you. If adoption is your decision, we would be so honored to be a part of that journey and would support and respect you being as much a part of your child's life as you wish to be. We promise to send letters and pictures sharing highlights and milestones of your child's life so you can share in the joy with us. If you are open to it, we would love to have email and phone communication as well. We are open to in-person visits also when the time is right.

We are very close with both of our families and they are thrilled to hopefully be welcoming a little baby into our family soon! We are so lucky to be surrounded by a wonderful support system. Kayla's parents will be first time grandparents and we are sure there will be no shortage of spoiling from them. Rick's dad is already a wonderful grandpa to his four grandchildren but he also can't wait for the new baby's arrival! Rick's dad is smart, outgoing and goofy as can be - the kids all adore him!

We aren't always the best with putting our emotions into words but we hope that we have been able to convey the love we have for each other and how much love we have to give your child. We promise to provide a home filled with support, unconditional love, opportunity, experiences and lots of laughter. We will love and care for your child with our whole hearts and we will never forget your selflessness in making this tough decision.

Thank you for considering us as potential parents for your child. We are not a perfect family but we love each other through our flaws and imperfections and it makes us stronger in the end. We hope that we are a good match for you and your child and we hope to talk to you soon!

Sincerely,

Rick & Kayla