Family is a beautiful thing. Our family has experienced great highs and difficult lows. My wife and I could not have envisioned where we are today when we said "I do" nearly 13 years ago. In our home today are 5 healthy, vibrant children. In heaven is our Mary Elizabeth who lived only 44 days. We (Dad, Mom, and all the kids) are so very excited to welcome another into our home, into our family. Our hope is to adopt a young girl from South Africa. The girl that we have our hearts set on is 5 years old and has some special needs. We are in the midst of the process and hope to travel to South Africa in early 2017. Why South Africa? We pursued fostering to adopt but were told we had too many children already, I thought that was kind of funny. We also considered a domestic adoption but encountered other difficulties. Ultimately, God led us to this particular girl in South Africa. In God's providence this is where my stepsister lives and a good friend from college. Please consider supporting our adoption financially. We are thankful for the Adopttogether organization which makes your gifts tax deductible. We know that not everyone is in a place to support financially, and we welcome, need your prayers. Please also consider sharing our story. It's one of many stories of families seeking to adopt those without families into their own and others supporting orphans in a variety of ways. We are simply thankful to be a part of this larger story of hope and redemption. For those of you that are able, please help us as you see fit. I used to think it was cheesy, but I appreciate this quote more now and think it captures the way we feel, "Adopting one child won't change the world: but for that one child, the world will change." How often I've taken for granted the stability of a home and loving relationships, we are ready to give that stability and love to another.