Marcia has a 12-year-old daughter from a previous marriage. Cole entered her life when she was 3-years-old and has been more than just a step parent he has been a role model, supportive and loves her like his own. Kalli has been a joy to be parents to. Kalli is caring of others, enjoys helping others, and makes friends where ever she goes.

We both knew we wanted a family even while dating. After we got married we began to try. After six months we sought out professional help. We continued to try with their help completing numerous rounds of IUI and IVF, all of which were not successful. During that time we were pleased to find out we got pregnant twice on our own. Sadly, one ended early in miscarriage and the other was a late miscarriage. Even after our losses we continued to try but no success. After four years we determined that this may not be the way we were intended to grow our family. Our hearts concluded that adoption may be our way to finally have our dreams come true and be able to expand our family.

Marcia's aunt and uncle could not have children of their own. To this day, she still remembers her family and friends gathered at the airport (back when you could wait at the gates) and they all got to welcome her cousin, Josh, from Guatemala. At the time, Josh was just 1-year-old and it was so exciting and such a feeling of overwhelming joy to see her aunt and uncle become parents that day. A year later they were able to bring home her other cousin, Chelsea, from Honduras. Since Marcia grew up near their family the kids spent a lot summers on her family's farm (since they lived in town) and continue to have many fond memories watching them grow into adults. We actually sought out advice from Marcia's aunt and uncle when we decided to adopt, discussing what their journey was like to complete their family.

We also have a couple of close friends that have completed their family through adoption and have inspired us to do the same. Everyone is so excited for us to begin our own adoption journey and they cannot wait to meet our newest family member!

We are both animal lovers and both grew up having pets so we knew our family would love to have a pet, too. Before we knew it, we were the parents to our fur baby a "teddy bear" named Tank. Tank is a Shitzhu and Bichon mix and he is all of 20 pounds, white and fluffy. He is the best family dog we could have asked for - he is gentle with kids and loves playing hide and seek with Kalli and going for car rides. He loves pizza crusts and popcorn and will do anything for a carrot. We couldn't imagine not having him be a part of our family!

We built our dream home 2 1/2 years ago, which has four bedrooms and three baths, an open concept ranch floor plan that is complete with a movie room in the lower level. We spend time in the kitchen, which opens to the family room so even when cooking we are together. Kalli and Marcia enjoy baking and cooking new creations. Cole loves to grill and we often end up playing catch in our one-acre back yard with Kalli while grilling dinner.

We love our community! Cole was born and raised here and continues to be involved in the community. He coaches football at the same high school he attended and played for as a young man. He also serves on the softball board for the softball association Kalli plays in. Marcia moved to our community for college and has called it home ever since. We have a great support system within our family of coaches and softball parents that we have grown close to over the years watching each others children grow up. Kalli has many friends that oftentimes, there aren't enough days in the week for play dates!

We are both middle children; Cole is second of three siblings and Marcia is the third of four siblings. We currently have six nieces and nephews and enjoy spending time with all of them. Marcia's family and extended family lives back where she grew up two hours away. We make time to go back for visits and overnights throughout the year and each year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Kalli loves playing with her "faraway" cousins as she calls them and begs to stay longer. We make time to travel to our nephews baseball games and are excited to see him play in college, too. We live within five miles of Cole parents' house and enjoy spending time on their acreage having barbecues and many nights of s'mores around their fire pit down by the pond. Kalli enjoys playing with her younger cousins; they look up to her and light up when she walks in the door. Kalli enjoys overnights with Grandma and Grandpa during the summer and is always trying a new Pinterest idea with grandma or finding a new adventure! Holidays are always a special time filled with traditions. Our Elf on the Shelf visits and we have a special baking day with cousins and their children the second weekend of December. We always wake up at home on Christmas morning opening each other's presents and seeing what Santa brought in our stockings enjoying breakfast together and the peace of the holiday season.

It is with love and admiration that we write this letter to you. We know there is a lot of uncertainty and fear, but most of all there is a tremendous love in your heart and ours. What an amazing decision you are making to bring your child into the world, and then giving the indescribable gift to a family that would have no other way of making their dreams possible.

Starting this process has been overwhelming and yet amazing experience. Many emotions much like what you are going through. The paths that all of our lives have taken to get to this place may not have been what we planned or envisioned at the start, but we have certainly felt some unseen guidance bringing our worlds together.

Our names are Cole and Marcia; we have been together for 9 years and married for 7. In our time together we have been through some of the best and worst moments of our lives together and truly are partners in life professionally as well as personally. We have discovered that each other's downfall is the others strength; therefore, making a dynamic team. When we met 9 years ago Marcia brought with her a daughter Kalli. Shortly before we got married we got our fur baby, Tank. We all quickly bonded into the family you will see in our profile. Our dream as a couple has always been to expand our family. After years of trying, surgeries, procedures and suffering multiple losses our hearts have turned to adoption. Being Kalli's parents has truly been a blessing and the light of our world. Our dream is to grow that light by sharing all of our love and dreams with a new baby brother or sister.

The best way to describe us is caring, fun and generous. We work hard during the week and enjoy our time in the evenings and weekends spending time as a family and making memories doing things we enjoy. We love to travel, but also to experience new things within our own home town. We enjoy being well rounded people who love the arts of our community as much as the sports and more action filled activities. Cole enjoys giving his time to coaching high school football and also helping on Kalli's softball team in his spare time. Marcia enjoys working out and staying active at the gym. Marcia and Cole enjoy watching Kalli participate in extracurricular activities. In Marcia’s down time she enjoys planting seasonal flowers in spring and fall and decorating or DIY projects for our home. We believe that children should be encouraged to learn and try all new things and follow their dreams. We do our best to expose Kalli to as many opportunities as possible and spend weekends taking in a baseball or football game, exploring parks, zoos, visiting friends and family or just cozying up together to play around the house with our dog, Tank.

Our families and friends have always been a source of strength. They have all encouraged us to take our own paths in life. They cheer us on even when we aren't perfect; they empathize when we are sad, give us support and guidance and, most importantly, never give up on us. They teach us how to love and be loved. We both came from families that believed in discipline and exemplified good values and core beliefs. Right now, they can hardly wait for us to take this next step and bring home a new addition to the family. As always, they will support us as we try to make our dreams come true! They are waiting with open arms and loving hearts to fully welcome a new baby into our family.

Thank you for taking the time in getting to know us. This child making his or her way toward us has been in our hearts long before we began writing this letter to you. If you choose us, he/she will always know about the special way our families are joined. We will share the story of a family you helped create with respect, honor and love. We are happy to exchange pictures and letters with you, if that is something you desire. This child will always know what a gift you have given all of us.

Sincerely,

Cole & Marcia