E and T's Adoption Journey

Click here to view our adoption profile book.

OUR STORY

We met in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, through a dating app. Evan is in the Army Reserves and was away at drill when we matched. He promised we’d go on a date when he returned. Theresa’s perspective of our first date is that she was nervously talking so much that Evan barely got in a word and thought she totally blew it! From Evan’s perspective, when Theresa shared her whole life story, he knew he wanted to be a part of it. In 2019, Evan proposed on Main Street at Disney World as a band was performing a song from Theresa’s favorite childhood movie. Our engagement is Evan’s favorite memory; it was sweet, thoughtful, and meaningful for both of us. We had a beautiful elopement (due to the pandemic) in 2020 on a nature reserve at sunrise with our families tuned in virtually. The adventures we have together keep getting better, including welcoming a little one into our family through adoption!

We love to unplug and go to the beach or camping. Away from life’s distractions, we ask the big life questions about what our goals are, how we are feeling about certain things, or how we can work better together. We are deliberate about taking the time to care for one another and continue to explore life together. We are very intentional and fun-loving in our relationship. If we are not camping, the weekend might include a movie night, a puzzle or board game, hiking, and/or dinner with Evan's parents. On Sundays, we go to Sunday school and church service together. Whenever we face conflict, we tend to slow things down so they don’t escalate and try to work through things together objectively. Whatever comes at us in life, we know that we can face it as a team.

WHY WE ARE ADOPTING

We have always wanted to adopt because of the incredible adoption stories from friends and family, though we thought we’d adopt later on we walked through a season of reoccurring miscarriages that resulted in the loss of four babies, and we grieved and reconsidered how we wanted to grow our family. The more we prayed and learned from an adoptee in our family and a few adoptive parents, the more we felt encouraged to grow our family through adoption would be our path. We decided to pursue adoption, and once we made the decision, it was like a weight lifted off of our shoulders.

We are excited to become parents and also that we get to support an expecting mama through this journey with love and prayer. We commit to providing our child with a church community that encourages a meaningful walk with God, fostering curiosity, promoting creative thinking, and the development of our child’s interests and talents. This child will have opportunities for quality education and learning, as well as adventure and travel. We will surround our child with love and a large family and will create rich traditions and intentional memory-making.