Dan & Amanda

Dear Expectant Mother,

We are Dan and Amanda. First we would like to take the opportunity to thank you for looking at our profile and getting to know us a little better. How do we even begin to express our gratitude, love and respect? It is impossible for us to imagine all you must be going through, but we have no doubt that the overwhelming concern you have is that your baby has a fantastic family to grow up with. We know we can be that family.

Having both come from a large family we dreamed for our home to always be filled with the love and laughter of children. It has always been on our hearts to adopt. Last year we completed Foster Care training and became licensed Foster Parents. We did this with a passion to not only make a big difference in children’s lives, but also with open arms should a situation present itself allowing us to adopt and grow our family. We are confident that we have much more to offer on a more permanent basis.

We know our family is not complete yet. The Lord has spoken to our hearts and has given us the desire to expand our family by seeking adoption. We are diligently praying for the child that God has in mind to complete our family. We are excited about this next step in our life’s journey, and we know that God is actively preparing us to receive, welcome and love a new baby. In our home your child will be nurtured, loved and safe.

Sincerely,

Dan & Amanda

A Note From Us

We have been in love for 22 years and married for nearly 19 of those 22 years. We both love the Lord with all of our heart and know He is the biggest reason we have been able to weather every storm and remain steadfast in our love and commitment to one another. We we’re originally introduced through Amanda’s brother. From that point on we courted for about one year, Dan proposed and then we were married a year later. Our personalities complement one another quite nicely and we are best friends. Often times we know what the other is thinking before we even speak a word. We truly can’t imagine our lives without one another. Dan has a financially secure career as an Electrician. He takes great pride in his work and is regarded as very knowledgeable and skilled in his trade. He has job security and carries very good medical insurance for the family.Thanks to Dan’s love and support for the last 22 years, Amanda has always been able to live her childhood dream being a completely devoted full -time stay at home Mom and Homemaker. During our courtship we unanimously agreed that having a stay at home parent would be a fundamental key to raising our family. We share the same values and we teach our children to know and love the Lord. We encourage them to do unto others and show love to all. We have a happy home! There’s an emphasis on fun and we show unconditional love and acceptance. We try to set healthy boundaries for our kids allowing them to make some of their own choices and learn from mistakes. As husband and wife our love has only grown deeper and stronger over the years. Through struggles and trying times we lean on the Lord and His undying promises. He continues to bless us and we are trusting in His plan and His timing. The best is yet to come!

My wife Amanda is the true sense of the word Mom. This is all she has wanted to be and does a great job at it. From going to ball games and hauling all the kids along to the ball fields, to staying at home and playing games with kids, reading books, or just hanging out she loves every minute of it. She is a very loving wife and has always been there to support me. Building a house together was a great adventure for the both of us and could never have done it without her. Through the early years in our marriage I worked a lot of hours to be able to get by and she was always there to pick up the slack for when I was not able to be there as much as I wanted to be. We have a lot in common and love to spend time together. We have lots of friends and family we will do things with, but we love to just spend time together and be with the kids. Amanda as a Mother makes me so proud to call her my wife. She loves being able to stay home with the kids and I so much appreciate her wanting her to do this. She does a great job at helping me to raise our kids in a Godly home. She is very loving and affectionate with the kids and they always know they can go to Mom for anything. We have been very blessed that our children have wanted to talk to us and will always let us know what is going on in their lives.

Where do I begin? Quite simply, Dan is everything that you hope and pray your daughter grows up and finds in the man that she will marry. He truly is kind to all. He is a loving man and an honest person. Dan is never afraid to put in a full day of hard work. He has always more than provided for our family. As a husband, Dan is attentive and cares about my feelings and needs. He is a sensitive guy and wears his heart on his sleeve. When we watch sad movies together he can usually be found wiping away a tear right along-side of me! We laugh about that, but I think it really says a lot about his character and find it to be so sweet. Dan would give anyone the shirt off his back. He’s the guy that stays and holds the door open for every last person. I admire him. During our wedding service I sang the song “Wind Beneath My Wings”, by Bette Midler to him. Even today, 19 years later, those words still hold true. He’s still my hero! As a Father, Dan is a God fearing man that was brought up with good morals. He leads our family bringing all of us to church and he reads the bible with our children. He’s the sweetest Daddy and dotes on the kids. He praises each of them daily and builds them up. He has never shied away from being an active and absolutely equal partner in raising our children. He doesn’t run from dirty diapers or puke- HEY- ha-ha, I know that might sound gross or funny, but I think it’s very cool that even in those situations he helps me. I

know without any question or hesitation that I can always trust him and count on him. The Lord has blessed me with Dan and I am proud that he is my soul mate!

-written by Dan

-written by Amanda

About Us

Family is very important to us and we are very family oriented. We spend a fair amount of our time together doing things like attending church, camping, bike riding, relaxing days at the lake on our boat, long strolls walking our dogs, fishing, swimming, baseball games, basketball games, preparing and eating meals together, being lazy on the porch swing out on our deck, vacationing, taking trips to the playground or park, adventures at the Zoo and celebrating Holiday’s and Birthday’s in a BIG way. One of our favorite things to do together is having family FUN night which includes pizza, popcorn, games and movies! We all have a great time building a large “tent” out of blankets and chairs to lay and watch the movies in. We have family close by and some of them are scattered in other states. Still, we all make a point to get together on a regular basis and stay in touch. Our children are beyond excited and they each inquire daily wondering when the baby will come home, what they can do to help, when can they see and hold the new baby? In addition to having a large extended family that supports us in all that we do, we also have a beautiful church family. The Lord led us to an amazing church that we adore. We are loved and supported beyond measure at this church. We are so ready to welcome baby and introduce this new little one to our family and friends. We absolutely cannot wait to kiss, cuddle and completely immerse ourselves in getting to know our new baby. If your heart leads you to us, we promise to be the best parents that we can be to your child. Your baby will be celebrated and surrounded by brothers, sisters, family and friends who will always cherish them.

Amanda & the kids made brownies - Yum! Dan & Amanda stealing a

“squeeze” at a family gathering

Amanda enjoying time with the kids at Disney Princesses on Ice Spending time with friends

decorating “after prom” for the local high school

Dan & his oldest sister Donna at a family get together

Amanda’s mom & sister

Dan’s sister & her family

Dan’s mom & dad

Enjoying time with Dan’s family in North Carolina

Amanda playing dress up with their daughter

Amanda with their oldest son at his basketball award ceremony

Dan advocating at Wednesday night Youth Group

Our Family

Dan’s sister & her family

A few of Amanda’s aunts & her grandfather

Some of Amanda’s uncle’s & cousins

We live on five acres of beautiful partially-wooded rural land. We absolutely love country living! It’s so calm and peaceful here. Our house is a ranch style home with approximately 4,000sq ft. of living space, including 6 bedrooms, a toy room and a walk out basement leading out to our swimming pool. We designed it with plenty of room in mind for a large family. Something that is unique about us and our home is that we built the home with our very own hands in 2006. We set the trusses, framed the entire home, constructed and raised each of the walls together. Right down to the actual “guts” of the home such as the plumbing, electrical and finishing details. We were quite the team! We did it all! We casually poke fun at one another that if we could build a house together we can do anything we put our minds to and get through anything! There’s a swing set out back and a sledding hill for winter fun when the weather turns cold. Lots of room to run and play! Dan even built a fort out in our woods for the kid’s adventures and sleeping under the stars. We have a fire pit for roasting marshmallows and an upper deck with lower patio for our summer cookouts. We don’t live very far from our church and we are near LOTS of playgrounds, parks and campgrounds. One of the great spots that we like to visit in the colder months or just for a nice change of pace is a lovely indoor playground. It’s only a few miles from our home. Also, not to be forgotten we live just a short drive from many various lakes that we like to take our deck boat out on in the warmer months too. An added bonus is living near a drive-in movie theater! We have a lot of fun going there as a family.

some of our favorite things...Food:Color:Candy:Movies:Vacation Spot:Hobbies:

Favorite Season:

Prime Rib or SteakBlueWhoppers or Reese’s PiecesGame DayThe mountainsFishing, Camping, Boating, Hunting, Watching Cleveland Browns or CavaliersFall

Prime Rib or SteakGreenHershey Bar or Reese’s Peanut Butter CupsFried Green TomatoesBeach with palm treesRiding bike, Camping, Cooking, Swimming, Fishing, BoatingSummer

DAN AMANDA

Our Home & Some Extras