Amanda and Will's Adoption Fundraiser

Life is a beautiful mystery. A famous quarterback once said that—and we’ve come to believe it deeply. When Amanda and I got married a year and a half ago, we never imagined that quote would so perfectly describe our journey to parenthood. We chose December 17th for our wedding day—the same date Amanda’s grandparents married—because we believe in doing things with meaning. As teachers, symbolism and heart guide so much of what we do. Now, we’re following our hearts toward something incredibly meaningful: adopting a child.

Our story began on a school bus headed to Disney. We were chaperoning a student trip and ended up talking for nearly eight hours along the Florida Turnpike. By the time we returned to Miami, we both knew something special had begun. Five years later, we were married—and knew we wanted to start a family right away. Raising children has always been a priority for us. After years of pouring ourselves into the lives of students, we longed to nurture and raise a child of our own.

Unfortunately, we learned that having biological children wasn’t possible for us. It was a painful moment—but also a turning point. We realized that if we couldn’t grow our family the traditional way, we would open our hearts to a child through adoption. We know there are so many childre

who need loving, permanent homes. And we believe there's one out there meant to be ours.

But adoption—especially in the U.S.—is expensive. Between agency fees, legal costs, travel, and supporting the birth mother, we expect the total to reach $50,000–$60,000. Despite living in one of the most expensive cities in the country, we’ve taken on second jobs and are writing books to contribute all we can. We’re asking for help with the first $10,000, which will cover the matching fee—a crucial step in being connected with a birth mother.

If you can donate, no matter how small, it would mean the world to us. And if you can’t give financially, sharing this campaign can make a big impact too.

We’ve given everything we can to the children we teach. Now we hope for that love to come full circle—with the chance to raise a child of our own.

Thank you for helping us turn this beautiful mystery into a beautiful reality.