Our story begins in the summer of 2007 when we met working as lifeguards in our hometown in Texas. By the end of that first summer, we had started dating, which was a little bit of a feat considering Lee is a few years older than me. Thank goodness my father loved him, as did the rest of my family. We dated for six years, with the majority being long distance because we went to colleges in different states. In October 2013, we got married in our hometown. Our relationship and love for each other continues to grow through the ups and downs. We complement and bring out the best in each other, especially when times get rough. Our relationship has weathered many storms: from our long distance relationship to recognizing our infertility, from several cross country moves to living in a house while we gutted and renovated it, and changes in jobs. Through all of it, our reliance on each other and our strength in overcoming any obstacle has been reinforced.

It is funny to look back, because we both remember that on our first date, sitting in Mellow Mushroom, one of our favorite pizza restaurants, we talked about how having children was important to both of us. Today, the children in our lives are such a joy, from our nieces and nephews to our four godchildren. We did not know that having children of our own was going to be the journey it has been, having to accept infertility and failed embryo transfers. Our journey is not over though, and we came to realize together that adoption was the perfect way to grow our family. When we started the process of our home study and wanted to thank our friends and family who wrote our references, we found the perfect analogy for adoption to us in one of Lee's favorite candies. We gave our references Belly Flops, which are Jelly Belly jelly beans that come in unique forms, but are just as delicious as the candy you'd expect. They might not look like the other jelly beans, but they are just as good if not better. We hope we can share some with you. We can't wait to grow our family through adoption and, just like the candy we love, it might not look like the typical way, but it is still perfect

Elizabeth is a hard worker and wants to be successful in whatever she puts her mind to. Being active is a big part of Elizabeth's life. Running, swimming or riding a bike are all great! Elizabeth is caring and passionate about helping others. She will make sure our child knows they are loved and has the support to achieve whatever their goals are. Because of our adoption journey, we know that we may not get nine months to plan for our child's arrival, and Elizabeth is already creating something for our child for when they arrive. Like I said, she's a planner and also loves to quilt so she is excitedly making a Dr. Seuss quilt for the baby room.

Lee is a thinker and tinkerer who loves his family. He is a provider and planner, someone who thinks of everything and is always there for his loved ones. Outside of work, Lee loves to spend time with his family and enjoys being outdoors, most often on a mountain bike. Lee loves to mountain bike and recently has been drawn to teach/coach others. He realized that he didn't need to wait for our children to begin impacting the lives of other children. He reached out to our local middle school/high school team to donate his time and talents by coaching the next generation of kids. He will be all about getting bikes for our child before they even need one just so they are ready (or whatever else they will be into). He already has all the bad dad jokes down and uses them with our nieces, nephews and godchildren.

We have two amazing dogs, Dagny and Reagan. They are both German Short Haired Pointers and were born one year apart in May of 2015 and 2016. Lee grew up taking care of a neighbor's pointers and came to love the breed because they are athletic, active and super kid friendly. They go everywhere with us, from hiking to mountain biking to just cuddling on the couch. They LOVE when we have friends over so they can meet new people. They especially love our friends with kids and our nieces and nephews, because the kids are always up for playing or sneaking them treats. We know that they cannot wait to have little fingers, toes and a face to lick and a friend to cuddle with.

We live in a large master planned gated neighborhood. We love the parks, pools, splash pad and elementary school in our neighborhood that is within walking distance. There are many great sidewalk paths to go on walks as a family with the dogs. Our home is the perfect family home - four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room, and a family room just off the kitchen. A family home was the most important aspect when we bought this house. We love having a pool in the backyard to cool down in the Arizona heat and to teach our child how to swim, just as we both grew up doing. We also love that we are on a cul-de-sac and our child can safely play and learn to ride bikes in the circle. Two important things are near our home - our Church and the mountains. We live just a few miles from our Church and are actively involved in our community there. The mountains, in addition to being beautiful to look at, make riding our mountain bikes easy and accessible.

We love to be outdoors. It's one of the big draws to Arizona. There is so much we can do right by our house and within 2-3 hours of driving. Hiking, running, road biking, swimming and mountain biking - they're all great! Elizabeth has run two marathons, a few half marathons and even a half Ironman triathlon. Mountain biking has been Lee's love since 2004 and after eight years of marriage, Elizabeth finally decided to give it a try. Now we both enjoy it. Often on a Saturday morning, we will go riding for an hour or so and then Lee will set off on his own for a few more miles. We love to go to bike races and have a favorite 24-hour race where we camp for several days in the middle of nowhere with a couple hundred of our "friends" that we compete against.

Our travels always include the things we enjoy - the outdoors, country music or family. One of our favorite trips together has been to Utah where we camped and hiked Moab/Arches National Park and Grand Staircase Escalate with our dogs. It was a week of driving and hiking and absolutely beautiful. We've been to Nashville where we enjoyed amazing country music and all the food/fun. We spend most every Thanksgiving or Christmas with family, either we host or gather at one of our parents' or siblings' homes. We make sure we take turns with each family during the holidays.

Thank you so much for spending the time to read and begin learning about us. Here is what we hope you walk away with - we believe you are truly amazing and brave. We pray that you find peace and love as you walk your journey and know that if you choose us to join you, we could not be more blessed and honored. We hope you have started to see that we are caring, loving, and passionate. We promise to care for your child and provide for all their needs, both physically, emotionally and spiritually. We do not know the end of this journey, but we are so excited to continue on, and we would love to meet you and learn more about you.

With gracious thoughts,

Elizabeth and Lee