About Us

We always laugh because we should have met before we did. Andrew’s family came to my (Jessica’s) church when we were teenagers to preach and neither of us remember the other. All we can figure out is maybe I (Jessica) was out of town that Sunday. We just say God knew it wasn’t the right time for us to meet! When we did finally meet in our mid-20s it was through a mutual acquaintance. Andrew has moved from California to Mississippi to be a youth pastor and Jessica had moved from Texas to Ohio to teach at a Christian School. Jessica came to Mississippi to a youth conference that Andrew was at with the youth group he was over at the time. Although it was an awkward “Andrew this is Jessica-Jessica this is Andrew” introduction and then us left standing alone. We hit it off and talked all night (with the interruptions of many of the teens in Andrew’s youth group who tried their best to embarrass him as he talked to a girl).

Jessica is as real and genuine as any person could be. She is down to earth and connects easily with others. She never stops working whether it’s cooking and cleaning, homeschooling our daughter, or serving people in our church and community. She is always busy giving of herself to others. She loves fiercely and has a passion to see her children succeed and to be great in all areas of their lives. And with that, her children will always come first before any other pressure of responsibility gets in the way. She believes and often expresses that her greatest ministry is to raise and nurture her children.

Andrew is kind and gentle. He truly cares for people no matter their background or life circumstances. He has given his life to helping others as a youth pastor, traveling minister, and not senior pastor. He is a strong Christian leader not only to those he is a pastor of but most importantly of his family. He is a patient and attentive listener. He is able to love and care for so many but make his family his first priority. He is our families personal comedian and makes everyday fun. He is a very present father that reads books giving character accents and plays no matter if it’s a board game, Mario cart on the Nintendo, or the prince in one of Arabella’s plays.

Our Home / Community

We live in a wonderful bustling city that still manages to keep its small town feel. We moved here 3.5 years ago and have always felt welcome and part of the community. There are several Universities and lots of businesses and restaurants. There are multiple parks and a hiking/bike trail that runs through the city. The city is ethnically diverse and is continuing to grow in that area. The area of town we live is close to the hustle and bustle of town but is still somewhat rural and quiet. We are 11 minutes from Target but we have a pond and deer in our back yard.

We live in a beautiful 2 story brick home with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms. We particularly chose this home because we believe we will parent more children. We like to decorate for each season and Holiday. It has a beautiful brick fireplace in the living room where we find ourselves gathered at any point laughing or chatting. There is also a massive play/game room upstairs that is set up to encourage hours of play filled with toys and bookshelves with hundreds of children’s books. Right now there is a Barbie dream house, American Girl Doll horse stable, and American Girl Doll ice cream parlor. There is still plenty of room to add a boy zone if needed! The house sits on 2 acres of land with lots of grassy areas as well as a fenced in side yard. Arabella has made it a game to name all the animals we watch from our back porch. A wild bunny named “Chocolate”, “Bambi’s” family of deer, and red birds named “Mr. and Mrs. Valentine.” We enjoy sitting on our front porch swing or rocking chairs. We have a special cabinet in our dining room filled with art and craft supplies and play-dough for when it’s too hot or cold to play outside as well as a closet full of board games for family game time. We keep a clean and tidy home but most of the time you will find toys in every room because fun and play is more important to us than a spotless house.

Right now Arabella is homeschooled primarily by Jessica who has a degree in Christian Education. The child that we adopt would receive the same education. We do have many great private Christian schools in our area that our children have the opportunity to attend if we choose to in the future.

Family Activities / Traditions

We live in a city that is a “Hub” for many smaller surrounding towns. Because of this as well as the Universities in our city there is always something to do. Sometimes we eat out in a local restaurant, go to a play at the local theater, or visit one of the local festivals or events. If we’re at home we may eat a home cooked meal or grill on the back patio. Our daughter loves for us to read countless books to her, or for her and her dad to paly Nintendo Switch, and spends countless hours playing dress up to preform plays and performances for us and having tea parties with her dolls. Our home is a bright and cheery place filled with laughter and love. We have our family over to eat often as well as friends. We spend a lot of time together as a family.

We love to take trips and explore the coastal communities. Tavel is a big part of our lives. We spent 10 years traveling the nation as ministers before settling in Mississippi to pastor a church. We attend various church events and conferences all across the nation and also travel to different states for vacation as well. We have vacationed in the mountains, at the beach, Disney World and Disney Land. We traveled with Arabella from infancy and plan to do the same with our future child. We love diversity in all forms. We have lived among various races and in various cultures and see the beauty in all.

Church is a lot of what our life revolves around. Our church is a wonderful welcoming place that is also full of diversity and happiness. People are welcomed and loved from the moment they walk through the doors. Many of our members are aware of our adoption journey and are in full support of us. Andrew is the lead pastor of the church and Jessica fulfills many support roles across many departments in the church and wears many hats. We are very involved in various church activities weekly and would involve our children as well.

We love holidays and any chance to celebrate. We switch between each side of our families for Christmas and Thanksgiving since Jessica’s family is in Texas and Andrew’s is in Mississippi. During Christmas we always decorate gingerbread houses, go look at Christmas lights, visit Santa, and get an advent calendar to count down the days until Christmas. Arabella opens one present on Christmas Eve and wears new Christmas pajamas to bed.

In October we spend weekends visiting pumpkin patches and harvest festivals. For Valentines Arabella wakes up to balloons, a stuffed animal, and candy. Andrew will take us to a special restaurant. For the 4^th of July we go to Andrew’s parents house to grill and spend the day. When it gets dark we go to the state park to watch the firework show. Birthdays are always special with a special breakfast and the kitchen table decorated.

Our Adoption Journey

We both had experience with adoption around us but us adopting was not talked about until we experienced infertility. We married in our mid 20’s and quickly began trying to grow our family. After some time we realized there was an issue. We just prayed and believed God for a miracle. We also talked about adoption but didn’t feel it’s what God had for us at that time. After several years we received our first and only positive pregnancy test and it was our daughter who is now 8. We praised God for our miracle and thought that was the end of our struggle to grow our family. We knew our family was not complete and we began trying to have another child. It once again did not happen. As the years passed we asked God to give us peace if He had planned one child for our family but felt God was leading us to continue to pray for another miracle. We did 2 years of IUIs and IVF that all failed. In 2024 I had a surgery and was told the only way to have another child would be with IVF (which had failed). We did not walk away from that upset but rather with peace. We had continued to discuss the idea of adopting throughout the years and felt that we had an answer from God. It was time for us to pursue adoption. We knew that what felt like unanswered prayers was God leading us here. Those years of prayer after having Arabella were not for us to give birth to another child but the miracle we were praying for (even though we didn’t know it then) was the miracle that would join our family through adoption. Our hearts have been being prepared to love whatever child is entrusted to us. We have a sign that we will hang in the baby nursery that says “Sweet little one, you will always be the miracle that makes our life complete” and that’s exactly how we feel! 

A Little More About Us…