American Adoptions -- America's Adoption Agency
 We are so excited to be growing our family through adoption! We want to give your baby everything that we had growing up; a loving home, a supportive extended family, an education, and many wonderful experiences! We can't wait to add another child to our family to share our love, our lives, and our traditions with. We will be forever grateful to you if you choose us and will speak positively about you always. |
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We live in "The Natural State" of Arkansas where there are many nature trails, parks, and outdoor activities. When we discover new places, we put them on our list of places to share with others.
In the summer months, we spend several weekends at the lake with our family. There is plenty of room on the houseboat for everyone. We enjoy taking boat rides at sunset and swimming off the boat while Mike scuba dives and spending time with family.
We had so much fun on our honeymoon in Belize in 2001, that we have made it a tradition to take a vacation each year to somewhere new. Each year we have fun deciding on a vacation spot and making plans. We have been to St. Louis, Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg, the Smokey Mountains, Houston and Galveston, Florida, and Alabama. When we travel, we visit museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and of course the local entertainments like Disney World, Six Flags, Busch Gardens, and the Kennedy Space Center.
This past year, we rented a townhouse for 3 days in Northern Arkansas on Table Rock Lake and took Ian on his first horseback ride, a train ride and to see the big cats at Turpentine Creek, and Mike got to scuba dive while Ian and Marla fished off the boat.
We truly enjoy spending time together and can't wait to share with another child the wonderful things that this state and this great country have to offer.
We adopted Ian in 2009. It has been the best thing that we have ever done. Our experiences have taught us a lot about what adoption means.
We suffered a "disrupted" adoption that was heartbreaking in 2008, but jumped right back in knowing that God was guiding us. We met Ian's birth parents and immediately were set at ease. They are wonderful people who wanted a stable life for Ian. They gave us a most precious gift! We are grateful to them both for their selflessness.
Mike always knew that he would someday adopt, but Marla never expected it would be how we created our family. Before our adoption journey we discovered that several people in our lives had adopted or were adopted themselves; neighbors, close friends and even family. Adoption has completely changed our lives! And we believe that God led us to the decision and brought us together with Ian and his birthparents.
Mike works on the Air Force base as a Flight Engineer and has every other Monday off. We have designated that day as Family Day and we do family things like go to the zoo, take the boat to the river, or go to the Big Playground. We recently went to the State Fair and Ian rode some kiddie rides, had a pony ride, and fed a zebra, a llama, and baby ducks.
Marla works 2 days a week as a Microbiologist in an area hospital laboratory. On those days Ian goes to daycare where he gets to run and play with lots of kids his age. Otherwise we play ball outside, color and play with play-doh, or Ian's favorite - play with his trains.
Marla and Ian wait anxiously for Mike to get home each day ("Daddy's home!") Mike and Ian play outside while Marla cooks supper. Afterwards it is bath time, then we take turns reading books with Ian until bedtime.
Weekends are often busy with visiting family or friends, neighborhood parties, or just hanging out at home washing the cars and playing ball in the backyard. On most Sunday mornings Mike cooks a big breakfast before we head off for church. Then Mike and Ian get their naps in and Marla enjoys some quiet time to herself.
