In late 2015 we received the best news of our lives! Through Facebook a high school acquaintance of Amanda’s mother contacted her about a possible birth mother. Within a few days we met Tenley’s birth-mother and began our journey. We met Bobbye when she was 6 weeks pregnant. We developed an outstanding bond. Through the entirety of her pregnancy she was incarcerated, but that did not damper our ability to develop a lasting relationship. We spoke every day on the phone and visited her once or twice a week. We were involved with as much of the pregnancy as the jail would allow. Bobbye gracefully allowed us to be a part of every step with her and we were allowed to be there when Tenley was born. The three of us watched Tenley take her first breath, cry her first cry, and see the world for the first time. This experience will forever be seared in our hearts. We were able to meet briefly when Tenley was four months old, but since Bobbye has been incarcerated and we have been unable to visit. We keep in touch through letters and send pictures often. Our bond is something that is unexplainable and no matter the physical distance we may experience, the love, admiration, and care we feel will never waiver. Bobbye is unexplainably near and dear to us, and will forever be in our thoughts, prayers, and lives.

1. Tenley and Amanda share a birthday

2. Our wedding date is the same date as our first date- not on purpose

3. Christmas isn’t a holiday, it is a way of life!

4. Todd has 27 first cousins and Amanda has 2

5. Tenley is named after a character in a baseball movie- we plan to make this a theme

6. We built our house specifically to fit our 9 ft Christmas tree

7. Todd and Amanda share a love and passion for baseball

8. Amanda dislikes her middle name because of its distinct use in a 90’s TV show

9. Tenley and Amanda look identical as babies

10. Todd’s first car was a 1969 yellow Chevy Truck

We are very friend and family oriented. We like to have both friends and family over for dinners or barbecues. It is rare that a week goes by that we are not hanging out with someone. When we built our house, we made sure it was the right setup to host larger parties. We have an annual ugly sweater Christmas party, football watch parties, or just the random summer barbecue. All of our friends have kids ranging from newborns to 12 years old and they all love to play together. We are very social people and love interacting with everyone. We are the neighbors who wave to every car that drives by whether we know you or not. We love to laugh and enjoy each other’s quirkiness. We love to spend time together as a family. We are very traditional in the fact that we all sit around the dinner table and have a family meal to talk about our day. We also love to cuddle up on the couch with popcorn to watch a movie. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and would do anything to help friends and family in need. We like to enjoy life and make sure that everyone around us is having a good time too!

We are very family oriented and prioritize family as a core value. All of our immediate family lives nearby so we are able to get together regularly. Amanda comes from a small family but are very close. Amanda’s family is often at our house barbecuing and at the neighborhood pool during the summer; and playing Domino’s and watching football during the colder months. We have dinner with Amanda’s family weekly- even a couple times a week sometimes.

Todd comes from a very large family and we enjoy traveling to see his extended family. Todd’s family loves gatherings for all birthdays, holidays, and events as well as family meals and time to catch up. As a family we enjoy laughing and sharing life together- the grandkids especially love sleepovers at Nana and Poppi’s (Amanda’s Parents) house. With both our parents and siblings living within 15 minutes of us, we are frequently found socializing with one side of the family or the other. Everyone is so excited to welcome a child to the crew!

We live in a young, up-and-coming, and family-oriented neighborhood with a lake, pools, parks, and trails all within walking distance to our two-story farmhouse style home. Our home is an open floor plan with four bedrooms, a playroom, and room for more in the unfinished basement. We make great use of our spacious backyard and often cruise to visit neighbors in our golf cart. Our favorite things about our community are the two great neighborhood pools and the walking paths- including sunset bike rides around the lake!

Annually we love to participate in neighborhood events including Christmas lights contests, Halloween parade, pool parties, visits from the Easter bunny and Santa Claus; along with the many neighborhood barbecues and gatherings. Our favorite event is the 4th of July fireworks show around the lake with food, drinks, and plenty of fun for all the kids! Our social committee even puts giant yard signs out for all the kids’ birthdays- the kiddos just love it!

We are Amanda and Todd! Attempting to truly tell you about us in writing is proving itself challenging. Our personalities are rarely captured in pictures or in just a few short words. Our beauty is in the imperfections of our quirkiness. We both love to laugh and live by that every moment possible- humor, in a sense, is the core to our dispositions.

We have been together for 8 years, married for 6 years- though our relationship extends far longer than that. We started as simple acquaintances as we have close friends in common. Our friendship grew over time and once we both were home from college, we started seeing much more of one another with increased friendly gathering as our friends had children. We were convinced to go on a double date and have spent very few nights apart since that night. We got engaged just shy of one year later and were married exactly two years after that first double date.

We have always talked about starting a family and having a larger family. We have always wanted a full house as we dreamed of having the sounds of laughter and togetherness brought from larger families. We talked about having two biological children and adopting two children. But our plans were derailed in the best way possible. Shortly before being married we were informed of our infertility struggles. We were given just a .0025% hope of conceiving a biological child, even using IVF. After many tough conversations and a lot of tears we concluded that biological children were just not in the plan for us. We felt as though adoption was our calling. It had always been heavy on our hearts and we had always been drawn to it- now we know it was much deeper than either of us realized. Adoption comes with its own set of struggles and we wove our way through them together. It has made us stronger as individuals and as a couple. Simply put, it has been the best gift of our lives as it gave us our daughter, Tenley.

We love our life together and are very excited for the future. Our families are very supportive of our adoption journey and have been with us every step of the way. We all look forward to the togetherness of family vacations, barbecues, and social gatherings. A baby is our perfect addition to an already wonderful life. Tenley is elated to become a big sister and as parents we are looking forward to watching our children learn and grow together; to watch Tenley navigate the new adventure of teaching a sibling and the bond they build.

We have so much love to share with another child and we are excited to have the opportunity to expand our family through adoption. If we are given this privilege to adopt your child, always know we will unconditionally love and cherish your child and they will forever know the sacrifices you have made from love. In the future we hope to share a lifelong journey with you. We know the bonds formed during adoption and we hope to continue growing that bond with you, if you desire. We would be happy to share photos, letters, emails, videos, and yearly visits with you. We look forward to sharing with your child how much you love them and their unique adoption journey.

You’ve traveled a long road to make it to this decision. We respect your choice to follow your heart and whatever family you choose to parent your child; may God bless you on your journey and give you peace and comfort with your decision. Your strength and courage are admirable. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Todd & Amanda