American Adoptions -- America's Adoption Agency

Riding the Four-Wheeler with Our Niece and Nephew

We are lucky to be able to live a lifestyle that is ideal for raising a child. We are simple people and live a simple, but very fun life. We are best friends. We do everything together. Bill will go shopping with Julie. In return, Julie will go hunting with Bill. We enjoy spending our time together. We often take our nieces and nephew and do all kinds of things with them - Chuck E. Cheese, the park, the zoo, the movies, carnivals. You name it, we have done it and love every second of it. Bill's work schedule allows him the opportunity to be an active participant in hobbies and interest of our family. He is home every night for dinner and off on the weekends. Julie is a full time student right now which allows her a very flexible schedule as well. Our nights are usually spent at home or with our families. We still attend our high school football games on Friday night, if you can believe that. We are not world travelers, but do enjoy taking a trip when our schedules allow it. But honestly, we love being at home. There is always things to do. Whether it be riding our four wheelers, playing with our animals, doing things in the yard or on the farm, camping, spending time with our friends and families, taking a scenic drive, watching movies or just sitting on the porch, we love our small country town atmosphere and lifestyle.

Playing Outside with Our Niece and Nephew

Loving on Domino and Gizmo

We are animal lovers through and through. Living on a farm, we are surrounded by animals. We have 4 dogs, 2 barn cats, 18 goats, and a pet cow named Jersey. Yes, you read that correctly, a pet cow. He is so funny. He was raised with our goats since he was just a baby. We are not too sure that Jersey doesn't think that he is a goat now. Our dogs range in size from small, medium to extra large. Mattie, the smallest, is our 7 years old Chihuahua. Mattie was rescued from a puppy mill. She is such a sweet puppy and she loves Bill!! The first night Mattie was with us, she was so scared. Bill wrapped her up in a blanket and held her all night to make her feel safe. Next comes Doofy. He is our 14 year old mixed breed. Doofy was taken in as a puppy after his mother was killed. Doofy is a very smart dog, despite what his name might say about him. Freckles is next. He is a 11 year old Great Pyrenees. He is the guard dog for the our goats. Last is Bos. He is our 5 year old American Bull Mastiff. He is one BIG dog, and also one BIG baby. Our barn cats are Sweet Pea and Little Pea. We also have all kinds of wildlife stop in to see us from time to time. We never know who we will have to feed.

With Our Niece Lavaeh and Jersey

Christmas at Mom and Dad's

We have experienced both sides of adoption. We have been lucky to be involved with adoptive parents and birth parents. Julie's aunt and uncle adopted her first cousin over 40 years ago. To us, there has been no difference in how our family interacts with our cousin. She is our family just like anyone else. It is natural and never even thought upon as her being adopted.

We have a very close friend who fathered a child at a very young age. He and the birth mother decided that adoption was the best thing for them and the baby. Through all the years, the adoptive parents kept in touch with our friend and shared with him the child's life. Never once did they shut him out. As of a year ago, the child turned 18 and felt that it was necessary to meet his birth father and know that side of who he is. We were fortunate enough to share that reunion. It was remarkable to see the overflow of love between the child and his birth father. We asked our friend how he feels about the adoptive parents. He says that he is so very thankful for them giving the child such a good life and always keeping the truth of the adoption up-front and positive. He offered the advice to us to always be true to the situation to help the child understand who they are. That is something that will stick with us forever!