When I was in high school, I worked part-time at our local grocery store. Barrett started working there in the spring of 2013 after I had been working there for about a year. We immediately hit it off and became best friends. In the summer of 2014, Barrett asked me out on a date to go out for dinner and play mini-golf. We dated for a couple of months, but we felt that it wasn’t the right time for us so we went our separate ways. We went from the summer of 2014 to the fall of 2015 without seeing each other, texting, or interacting on social media until one day I came to the store to buy a few groceries for my parents. This day happened to be Barrett’s last day before leaving for another higher paying job. Coincidentally it was also the day before his birthday. I wasn’t in the store long, but it was long enough for us to reconnect and start talking. From that day we began talking more and more before going on our second first date a few weeks later. We started dating again about a month after we reconnected and have been together ever since. Ten months after we started dating for the second time, Barrett moved to Starkville to finish his degree at Mississippi State University. By this point, we were so in love that for the three years he went to MSU, he came home every weekend to be with me since I couldn’t go there because of work. He proposed the summer after finishing his first year at MSU and we decided to have the wedding after he graduated. We were engaged for two years before getting married exactly two weeks after he graduated. We have been happily married ever since! Leslie is the definition of a great Christian woman. She always puts God first, family second, and others before herself. She’s very compassionate and puts the needs of others before her own. I love seeing how sweet and nurturing she is with our nieces and nephews. I know that she will be a great mother to our child and give him/her the best life possible. Ever since we started the adoption process, she has had so much fun preparing our nursery and buying baby stuff. I know how excited she is to be a mom and I know that she will be a great one! Barrett is one of the most loving and caring men you will ever meet. He always puts God and his family first above all else. He is a great Christian man that loves God and he shows it in his everyday life. I love seeing how good he is with our nieces and nephews. I know that he will make the best father to our child and I can not wait to see him become a father. Barrett is super friendly and never meets a stranger wherever he goes. I love how loving, smart, and funny he is, there is never a dull moment with him. He is not just my husband, but also my best friend!

We live in a nice neighborhood in a single story home, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, on half an acre. Our favorite things about our home is the huge yard to have family gatherings and activities. We love spending time at home together cooking, spending time outside, playing with our dogs, and just hanging out. Our home is in a quiet community where everyone knows everyone in the neighborhood. We are close to good schools, both public and private, and not far from local shopping. The best part is we live right next door to Leslie’s parents, so we get to see them often and enjoy hanging out with them.

We have the tradition of taking a family vacation every year. We love to spend time together outside, either cooking out or watching movies on our outdoor movie screen. We like to play board games with Leslie’s parents who live next door and look forward to doing all of these family activities with our future child. Leslie has a large family compared to Barrett’s. We live right next door to her parents so we get to see them often. She has two older step brothers that we are close to and get to see often along with our four nephews and two nieces. We love getting to play with our nephews and nieces and spending time with her siblings. We always celebrate birthdays and holidays together. One tradition is that we always go to Leslie’s Meemaw’s house on Christmas Eve to spend time with all of her uncles, aunts, and cousins. Barrett’s family is much smaller compared to Leslie’s and more spread out. Barrett only has one younger sibling, so we don’t have any nephews or nieces through his family. We don’t see them as often as we see Leslie’s family because they are more spread out. We get to see them on holidays and when they come into town to visit. Although we don’t see them often, we do talk to them regularly. One of our favorite things is when everyone gathers at Barrett’s Nana’s house to eat, visit, and catch up with each other.

We have always thought about pursuing adoption one day in the future. After being married for a year, we decided that we were ready to grow our family. We tried to get pregnant for two and a half years before being diagnosed with infertility. The fertility specialist said that I have low ovarian reserve which makes it extremely difficult to get pregnant. After that diagnoses, we started talking about adoption, researched adoption, and talked to people who have adopted. Most importantly, we prayed to God about it and He led us to New Beginnings. Ever since we found New Beginnings, we have both been so excited! We both have so much love to give a child and will provide a loving and nurturing home to him/her.