Hello!
Thank you for taking the time to get to know a little more about us. We hope this finds you well and know that there is a lot to take in. We know this is just a snapshot, but hope that this leads to more conversations and maybe getting to meet you.
About Us
We met online and agreed to a date. That date led to another, and another, and soon we were discussing our childhoods in the rural Midwest. You know you might have found a match when you can discuss crop rotation and understand the nuances of them.
After two years dating, we decided to get married. But then the world shut down, and in that time of social distancing and staying in place, we learned to communicate better and deepen our relationship. The pandemic taught us how to better understand each other and that we also prefer to stay home on the couch and watch reality housewives.
We finally married in 2021 and have since started creating our own home together with our plants and animals. We love spending time in the garden, playing fetch with one of our cats and teaching the dog how to shake.
Why adoption?
Adopting made the most sense to us. We both have family members who we love deeply who are adopted. This allows us to grow a family, and also have people in our lives who will understand what the child is going through growing up.
We know that an open adoption is one of the cornerstones to The Cradle’s philosophy. We know that with that, we are expanding our family in more ways than just one. As we bring a child into our lives, we also want to welcome you into our lives as you are the one to bring this miracle into existence.
We know that openness can take many forms, and we want to be supportive of what that looks like to you. Whether through letters, video calls or coming over for Sunday dinner weekly, we welcome you to be a part of all our lives.
Our Families
Sam’s family hails from Iowa and is small. It consists of his brother, sister-in-law and adopted niece Rosie. Although small, we make time to see them and share in some of the community traditions that we grew up with, helping keep the memory of Sam’s mother and father alive.
Justin’s family is quite massive compared to Sam’s. Justin is from central Illinois and has an older half-brother on his mother’s side and a younger half-brother and half-sister on his father’s side. We have two nephews and two nieces who are Justin’s eldest brother’s children.
His mother was one of five siblings and also gained four step-siblings. Family is very important and we get together when we can. That can be spending a week together in Northern Wisconsin or meeting for a holiday barbecue. Thanksgiving is a three day event, and aunt Amy makes sure the family gets together to celebrate.
Justin’s father, who he found when he was 24, is one of nine children. His tias (aunts) and tios (uncles) live primarily in Texas and Mississippi. We have been working on building a stronger relationship and Justin’s father is excited to become an abuelito (grandfather).
