We are Joshua and Karen and we have been married for 13 years. Our daughter, Evie, is three years old. We were blessed to adopt her in 2008, and our open adoption relationship with her first parents has been wonderful. Parenting has been the most rewarding experience of our lives, and we are excited to grow our family through adoption for a second time!

About Us

We are both from large extended families, with many aunts, uncles and cousins in addition to our immediate families, and we have always known that we wanted to have a family of our own. After being married for a few years and establishing our careers, we began to try for a baby and discovered that Karen has severe endometriosis that has prevented her from conceiving. Infertility treatments were a difficult time for us, but we depended on our faith in God and the support of family and friends to make it through that experience. We quickly embraced adoption after fertility treatments failed, and were lucky to find Hillary's agency through a friend.

Adopting Evie

We were matched with our daughter's first parents in July of 2008 and were overjoyed to meet Evie on the day of her birth two months later. We value her first family and our relationship with them; we communicate with Evie's first parents via phone and e-mail, send them photos and videos, and visit with them regularly (they live in the KC metro area). Every adoption is different; it is a unique relationship between the child, first parents and adoptive parents, but we are very willing to have an open relationship with the first family of our next child, according to their own comfort level with open adoption.

About Karen

Hello! I'm 33 years old and work as a stay-at-home mom to Evie these days. Before we adopted I was a high school English teacher, and although I loved my students and my career, I am grateful to have the chance to stay home with Evie and any future siblings. My mom stayed home with my brother and me, and I've always wanted to give that same gift to my kids. Evie and I stay active during the week: visiting the park, grocery shopping, swimming at the community center or having friends over to play at our house. I am a teacher at heart and enjoy my role as Evie's first and most important educator, but I am also pretty silly—Evie and I love to sing together and make up nonsense rhymes like Dr. Seuss. During nap times and after Evie is in bed I enjoy reading, scrapbooking, practicing yoga and watching "Glee" with Joshua. I also serve as a leader of a local women's Bible study.

About Joshua

Hi, I'm 38 years old and have worked for the Federal Department of Transportation as an engineer for almost ten years. My job is very flexible; I work nine days every two weeks and three of those days are working from home. I love being able to spend so much time at home with my family. We enjoy making breakfast together on mornings that I work from home, and taking a break for lunch to have a picnic in the back yard with Karen and Evie. In my spare time, I brew my own beer and make wine as a hobby. I also play drums for our church's praise band. For exercise, I run, lift weights and also enjoy practicing yoga with Karen.

About Evie

Evie is a sweet and social three-year-old. Her favorite things include going to the park, swimming, eating chocolate and pretending to be a pirate: "Argh! Walk the Plank!" Evie loves to read (so do her parents!) and her favorite books include Madeline and Curious George. She also loves to sing, and her current favorites are the ABC song and "I've Been Working on the Railroad." Evie just started ballet lessons, and enjoys walking around on her tippy toes whether we're home or at the post office. She is a "big helper" around the house, scooping food for our dogs and carrying her own dishes to the sink. Evie adores other children and babies, and we look forward to seeing her relationship grow with a little brother or sister; we predict Evie will be a devoted and fun big sis.

We have lived in Liberty, Missouri for over nine years. During that time we have made many friends in the area and we feel comfortably rooted in our community. Liberty is known for its historic downtown, highly-ranked William Jewell College and a superb public school system. Our home sits on a quiet, tree-lined street only one block from a park and three blocks from the local elementary school. We appreciate our mature, shady trees, beautiful hardwood floors and the huge screened porch where we spend a lot of time during nice weather. Our neighborhood is a fun mix of senior citizens, empty-nesters and young families like ours. In good weather you can find us walking our dogs to the park or chatting with our neighbors while Evie pedals her tricycle. We have a large yard with gardens, where Evie and Karen have enjoyed digging for worms and watching our roses, basil and tomatoes grow. This summer we got to watch a nest of cardinals hatch and fledge in the bush right next to our porch. Our dogs are Apollo, a beagle, and Phoebe, a black labrador mutt. We chose them from a shelter when we were newlyweds, and so they are senior citizens in dog years. They are slow, patient and low-key in their old age.

Our Values

Our lives together are full and rich; each day is a gift to be opened and enjoyed. Our relationship as a couple has stayed strong and loving over the years and we are careful to nurture our marriage and keep it healthy so that it will last a lifetime. We parent together, share household duties evenly and find time every evening to sit down together and talk about our day. We value our faith in God above all else, and we particularly cherish our church friends. Joshua has four weeks of vacation each year, so we get to see out-of-town family frequently as well as take fun trips. Our three-year-old has already visited Washington D.C. monuments, Florida beaches and wine country in California. As parents, we value balance. We try to provide structure and flexibility, table manners and finger-painting, security blankets and freedom to explore, teaching with books and tickling with finger puppets, lavishing Evie with kisses and giving her room to become independent and unique.

In Conclusion

It has been utter joy to watch Evie change from a newborn into a roly-poly infant and now a giggly, running, chatty little girl. We can't wait to see what comes next in parenthood, and we can't wait to do it all again with a second child, who will add a special new voice and delight to our family. Thanks for taking the time to read about us and consider us as adoptive parents. We would love to meet you and tell you more. We respect your decision to create an adoption plan for your baby, and we hope you find peace in the process.

In Friendship,
Karen, Joshua and Evie