You are facing an impossible decision, and we want to take a moment to see you where you are right now and to recognize your love, courage, worth, and needs. We honor your thoughts, emotions, and experience.

Thank you for taking the time to review our profile. We hope it demonstrates all that our family is – silly and joyful people who celebrate the big and small memories, care for ourselves and our big world, and have a deep love for each other, our families, our friends, and our neighbors.

One of our main goals in parenting is to accept our children for who they are and to be in awe as we discover who they will grow to be. Another one of our goals is to raise enthusiastic and passionate people. We promise to extend this acceptance, encouragement, delight, and love to the newest member of our family.

Our hearts are yearning to expand in love for another child, and we hope that, through this profile, you see us as a potential match. We know that whatever decision you will make, it will be the right one for you, and we are thinking of you at this time.

Warmly,
Nate, Marinna, and Evergreen

Before we even met, Marinna’s sister, Eliza, started calling Nate her “brother-in-law.” She had a gut feeling that, if we could ever meet while Marinna was living in Arkansas and Nate was living in Chicago, we would hit it off. She was right. We became a couple the night we met, and after dating long distance for two years, Nate moved to Arkansas and proposed with a ring that only fit on Marinna’s pinky.

We got married in May of 2017 and officially started life together. Since we are both animal lovers, we added another dog and chickens to the crew. A lot of our relationship is about how much we enjoy spending time together, whether we are walking the dog at the neighborhood park, playing board games (our #1 hobby!), going to concerts, or planning a whimsical gathering with friends.

I’m a mom to an almost-four year old, and I always try to be present with her in every moment – from dancing with her in the aisles at grocery stores to going down the slide with her at the playground. My love of reading is a big part of my life. I often wake up extra early, make coffee, and curl up on the couch with my book, just to ensure I get some reading time that day. On weekends, you can find me worshiping at church, swinging by the local independent bookstore (where I also work), filling the driveway with chalk drawings with my daughter, or going for a run while listening to 2000s hip hop.

I would describe myself as:

• Joyful
• Organized
• Empathetic
• Funny

What Nate Loves About Marinna

Marinna is the primary driver of fun and joy in our family. She is always coming up with a game or activity to bring us together. Marinna is a very passionate person who pours herself completely into everything she does. This attitude extends from her home life to her life as a teacher, where she leads a service learning class that has a huge impact on the students and the community they serve. Around the home, she is very present and loving and sets an amazing example for me and Evergreen.

My life centers around my wonderful wife, 3-year-old daughter, and our dog, Missy. It’s a pretty simple life, and that fits me very well and brings me a lot of joy. I work in tech on a computer all day, but when I’m not working, I prefer to be outside – hiking or biking, or tending to our chickens. Being in nature is where I feel the best. These days I get to experience the outdoors with our daughter, playing in the creek by our house or going to the park. I come from a big family – 6 siblings- and even though we are all over the country, we are very connected, and they are a big part of my life. I’m an introvert by nature, but when I can, I like to get out and see a concert or go to a basketball game. Sports have always been a big part of my life; these days, more watching than playing.

What Marinna Loves About Nate

Nate is the most generous person I have ever met. He would give the shirt off his back to help someone in need. He shaped our lives forever when he signed up to be a Big Brother through the Big Brother Big Sister program. This brought Kendrick and his family into our lives, which has added so much joy and friendship. Nate is incredibly funny and always has me cracking up. He is the sweetest dad, often giving our daughter whatever she wants. He is super silly with her. I often hear her say, “Dada’s just joking,” or hear her giggles all throughout the house in response to his humor.

Evergreen adds light to every part of our lives! She enjoys helping around the house with her “jobs” (and will be so helpful with her future sibling!), constantly snuggles our dog, is getting better on her scooter every day, and loves to play pretend with her “stuffies.”

She wants a sister, a brother, or “just a baby.” When asked by the social worker what she would teach the new baby, she simply said, “tricks.”

We cannot wait to see her in this new role!!

We have both always felt called toward adoption. For Marinna, this started at a very young age, as she has an uncle and two aunts in her life because of adoption. She saw how this enriched the life of her father so powerfully and always felt this would be part of her story too. For Nate, the love of children is all-encompassing.

We first began talking more seriously about adoption when we struggled with infertility before the birth of our daughter. When we found out we were pregnant, we were shocked and thrilled! Being her parent has been the biggest blessing in both of our lives. We knew we wanted more children to continue to enrich our lives and her life. Upon experiencing secondary infertility, we learned that Evergreen is a miracle baby and that we would not be able to have more biological children without serious medical intervention.

With this news, our hearts moved quickly back to adoption. We found Gladney and attended orientation and felt hopeful about expanding our family for the first time in a long time.

We have prayed for our future child and are praying for all of the moms who are working with Gladney. We trust that an expectant mom will find our family, that we will be a perfect fit for one another, and that our two families will become one, forever connected by the beautiful magic of adoption.

We want you to know that you are in our hearts and our minds. We may not know you by name, but we believe that every human is worthy of love and compassion, and we hope you can feel our care for you through this letter.

Thank you for getting to know us a bit! No matter where this journey leads you, we wish you clarity, hope, and peace as you move through this process.