If you had asked us years ago what our dream life looked like, we would have said: a home filled with love, resilience, hard-earned accomplishments—and one day, a child to share it all with.

Our journey together has never been simple, but it has been powerful.

Between the two of us, we have overcome challenges that once felt insurmountable. Char completed a PhD after years of intense dedication, sacrifice, and perseverance. Kaelyn made the courageous decision to return to school for nursing—starting over academically in order to pursue a calling centered on care and compassion. Then we packed up our lives and moved to Seattle to build new opportunities and create the future we envisioned together.

Along the way, life tested us in ways we never expected.

Kaelyn faced serious health challenges, including endometriosis and two pituitary tumors—diagnoses that brought fear, uncertainty, surgeries, and long recoveries. We have navigated the physical pain, the emotional toll, and the financial strain that these medical issues brought. She has also faced mental health challenges and has overcome addiction by doing the hard work of healing, rebuilding. Together, we have grown immensely over the past year and continue to fight for each other and our future every single day.

Through all of our years together all of the bumps in the road, one dream has remained constant: becoming parents one day.

As a same-sex couple, growing our family requires assistance. More like a village. After careful consideration, medical consultations, and countless conversations, we are ready to take the next step—purchasing donor sperm so we can begin trying to conceive. Unfortunately, the costs associated with donor sperm, medical procedures, and fertility treatments are significant and not covered by insurance.

Asking for help is absolutely not easy for us. We are used to pushing through on our own. But we’ve learned that building a family, much like building a life, can take a community.

Your support would mean more than financial assistance—it would mean hope. It would mean a tangible step toward hearing a heartbeat, decorating a nursery, and finally holding the child we have dreamed about through every exam, every move, every diagnosis, and every hard-earned milestone.

We have fought hard to build stable, loving, and healthy lives. Now we are ready to pour that love into a child. We have chosen a donor who seems genuine, compassionate, and thoughtful- not to mention he was an ADORABLE baby with the same bright blue eyes as Char.

If you are able to give, share, or simply send encouragement, we are deeply grateful. Thank you for being part of our story and helping us take this next brave step toward becoming parents.

With love and hope,

Char and Kaelyn