Brandon Kristin+

(& our kids!)

HelloBrandon and I are mom and dad to four wonderful children and cherish

the beauty in the diversity that adoption brings to our family. Oh! How

grateful we are that you would take the time to get to know our family!

We also look forward to when we can hear your story as well. Life is such

a gift! Thank you for choosing life for your child! We cannot adequately

express how much respect and admiration we have for that decision-

we can only imagine the emotion involved. We want you to know just

how humbled we are that you would even consider us to be part of this

miracle. We long to do what is best for your child and promise to love

and care for them with all that we are and all that we have! We have

experienced so much peace because of our open relationship with our

youngest daughter’s genetic family and would be committed to open

communication with you as well! It brings so much joy to our hearts to

see her point to their pictures on her dresser and ask us to pray for them

by name at bedtime. They are loved, not only by our daughter, but by

us as well! We would make sure that your child would always know how

much you love them! We pray that God’s love and grace would surround

you always and give you peace!

We have prayed for this moment!

OUR NAMES ARE BRANDON AND KRISTIN. WE ARE HOME BODIES AND CAMPERS, BOOK READERS AND CRAFTERS, ANIMAL LOVERS AND TOGETHERNESS SEEKERS.

StoryOur

BRANDON AND I MET WHILE WORKING AT A SUMMER

CAMP AT THE UNIVERSITY WE BOTH GRADUATED

FROM. Brandon was the recreation field director and I

was a youth counselor. About six months later, we began

attending the same church and met again. Brandon was

slow in making the first move, so I had to step things up

a bit! Ha! We dated for 7 months before he asked me

to marry him. When he asked me, he surprised me at

my apartment with the help of my brothers and sent me

on a scavenger hunt with clues. The final clue had me

sit on my couch with my eyes closed. He knelt down in

front of me and sang my favorite love song, “When I Fall

in Love”, while playing his guitar!!! I said yes! We were

married in 2002 in a beautiful Presbyterian church with

all of our family there. The church bell rang as my dad

and brothers walked me down the aisle. Brandon was so

nervous, he tried to put my ring on the wrong finger. Ha!

Seventeen wonderful years have come and gone since

then, but our love and commitment to one another just

continues to grow. Brandon and I are opposites in a lot

of ways. He is a morning person and I am an evening

person. He is slow paced and I am fast paced. He loves

dogs and I love cats. I love to bake and he loves to eat!

Ha! We have many things in common as well. We both

love reading, camping and gardening. We both feel that

family is a precious gift and make it a top priority. We

work very hard to balance one another and find middle-

ground that we can share. All these years of marriage

have taught us that we are better together than we

could ever be apart!!

WE JUST FINISHED BUILDING OUR

FOREVER HOME THIS YEAR. It is a one story

farmhouse with four bedrooms and two and

a half baths. We love that it is new, but has

an old homey feel to it. The atmosphere

is casual and the layout is very open and

spacious so it feels like we are all together for

our daily activities. We have a large island in

the kitchen with bar stools and that is where

the kids usually choose to do their school

work and projects. I love that, because we

can all be right there together as they study

and I prepare meals or play with Kollyns in

the living room. We have a couple of acres of

grassy yard around the house for the kids to

run and play chase or fly drones, etc., as well

as six more that are wooded with a beautiful

creek at the back surrounded by big old

trees. There is a sandbox, baby swing and

a kiddie pool for Kollyns on the back deck,

and a trampoline, three tree swings and a

basketball goal out back for the older kids.

We hope to get a large above ground pool

this summer for all of us to enjoy together.

It is our dream to have chickens and a big

garden! The kids are already planning all the

veggies they want us to grow (wink!). We like

that our home is casual and comfortable,

that our land is quiet and full of wildlife and

children laughing...and anyone is welcome!

homeSWEET

home

meetKristin

I grew up with two brothers, one older and one younger. We were homeschooled

by my mom until high school and we were very close. From the time I was about

ten, we lived in the country on a 40 acre farm. I loved our animals and have fond

memories of picking blackberries along our fence, collecting wildflowers from

along our dirt road, and swinging in a tree swing that hung from a huge old tree

next to one of our ponds. My brothers and I used to go on long adventures in the

woods and swim in the pond for hours in the summer-when we didn’t have to

work in the garden. Ha! Life was simple and good.

After high school, I went to college just an hour and a half from home and earned

a counseling degree. I loved being home though, and would drive home on the

weekends to spend time with my best friend and my family and eventually Brandon

too (love you babe!). Both of my brothers actually attended the same school and at

one time we were all three on campus together! That was fantastic!

I would describe myself as introverted and passionate. I find that serving others

brings me the greatest joy in life! I have always longed to be a mother and couldn’t

wait to start a family. I began to dream about adopting when I was just a little girl

and would pretend to adopt my baby dolls. I feel that I was made to be a mom. It

is the small moments in life that bring me the most joy! I love looking around at

our kids’ faces at a big Saturday morning breakfast and treasure tucking them in

at night with a good story. I love family traditions and planning birthday parties. I

love baking, but I love it most of all when one of the kids bakes with me! It’s still the

simple things that make life so good!

Kristin creates deep vibrant friendships because she is a deeply loving and caring

person. She is incredibly discerning, full of wisdom, and insightful in all things. One

of her greatest joys is being a mother, and some of her favorite moments are when

she spends one on one time with our kids making memories. She is always thinking

and planning about how to best train our children so that they are prepared for

when they are launched into the world on their own. One thing we all appreciate

is her love of cooking which shows up in the greatest of ways—family dinners,

birthday cakes, pies, and cookies. Her smiles and hugs are some of my favorite

things, and seeing her pass along those smiles to our kids is one of the things I love

the most. She is an exceptional woman.

about me

What Brandon loves most...

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE

THINGS:

Holiday:CHRISTMAS

Children’s book:LITTLE BLUE TRUCK

Place: HOME

Food:CHOCOLATE

I would describe myself as a stable and responsible person who likes to enjoy

life and the people around me. I think this comes from my upbringing, which

was marked by stability and love. That is also what I want to provide for my

family. My parents are still married and still live in the same house I grew up

in. I have one sibling who is married with two kids. My love of the outdoors

(camping, hiking, lakes, pine trees) brought me to Arkansas where I finished

my schooling and met my wife. One of the great things about Arkansas is

that we are within driving distance of tons of outdoor activities, which we

take advantage of for family outings and vacations. Not long after finishing

pharmacy school, I became employed at a health plan. I have worked there

for 13 years now. I currently have oversight of our plan’s quality care, which I

enjoy, because I feel like I’m helping people. My hobbies are reading, studying

the Bible, listening to music, and being outdoors.

Brandon is hard-working, professional, adventurous, dependable, tender

hearted and silly. He really cares about his work and treats every coworker

with respect and kindness. He always sees the good in people and believes

the best about them. Brandon is a rock. We have faced many hard things

on our journey together and he always stands firm and points me back to

God’s sovereign and loving hand on our life. As a father, his role has changed

over the years from tickles, shoulder rides, and blanket forts, to taking them

to concerts, ballgames and out to breakfast. He just built a potato cannon

with Hagan this weekend, and he builds Legos with them, pulls the kids on

sleds in the snow, patiently teaches them how to swim, builds sandboxes

and enjoys terrorizing them with beard tickles! I am so thankful to have him

by my side!

Movie:GOONIES

Childhood Activity:CAMPING

Place: HOME

Ice cream:BANANA SPLIT

about me

What Kristin loves most...

Brandonmeet

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE

THINGS:

KIDSmeet our

Hagan is our oldest. He is 12 years old with brown hair and brown eyes. His signature style is his Mohawk haircut. Ha! Hagan’s first love is computers...with books as a close second! He loves to game and program! He dreams of the day when he can design his own games. He also enjoys sharp shooting, building things, and science. Hagan is strong-willed, compassionate, loving and generous…he always has a hug ready, comforts his sisters when they get hurt, and is always offering to hold a door or help me with just about anything. Hagan is sweet and gentle with his sisters, Kollyns, our littlest, absolutely adores him! He chases her and drags her around on a blanket, he gives her rides on the lawn tractor and bounces her on her little inflatable pony. He is such a tenderhearted young man.

HAGAN 12 years oldmeet

Morgan is 11 years old with thick wavy brown hair and blue eyes. She is quiet and imaginative, yet full of spirit. She loves reading, playing with animals, watching shows about animals and playing outside. She has always enjoyed playing in any kind of water, but her favorite thing by far, is spending time with friends. Morgan is a precious tender-hearted girl with an amazing talent as an artist- especially when it comes to drawing animals. She is caring, compassionate, thoughtful, sassy, and responsible. Her dream job is to be a vet!

MORGAN 11 years oldour

Blythe is our third gift from God and is 9 years old with wavy light brown hair and light blue eyes. She is mellow, cheerful and snuggly. She likes to be cozy and watch TV or think. She also enjoys music and singing, biking, running and crafting/sewing. Blythe’s name means “Full of Joy”, and that really sums up her personality! She is gentle, humble, creative, talkative and works as slow as molasses in the winter! Ha! If Blythe could accomplish anything she wanted, it would be to run in the Olympics someday.

BLYTHE 9 years oldhere’s

Our sweetheart Kollyns, is 17 months old with brown hair and blue eyes. She is very smart and has such a fun personality! If I were to describe Kollyns in three words, they would be: intelligent, adorable, and hilarious! She lives life with a bounce in her step making everything look fun whether she is dancing to music, playing with her toys, or just walking across the room! One of her favorite things in life is our cat Ruby. She asks to go outside and pet Ruby several times a day and runs to get the cat treats any chance she gets. Kollyns also loves to bake with me. She has a little apron and when she sees me get the mixer out, she says “chair”, which is my cue to go get a dining room chair for her to stand on while she helps me bake. Kollyns has a picture of her genetic parents on her night stand and she asks me to pray for them at bedtime often (which of course I am glad to do!). She is such a special treasure!

KOLLYNS 17 months oldintroducing

OUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY IS CHRISTMAS! We have many family

traditions that we cherish during this time. Every year when we decorate

for Christmas, we go out as a family and find a branch. We then paint

it white and put in a planter like it was a little tree. We tie candy canes

on each branch with red ribbons and place a little card in the pot that

explains the legend of the candy cane. The tree is called the “Candy

Cane Tree” and the kids eat the candy canes off of it throughout the

Christmas season. Another tradition we have is Christmas pajamas.

On Christmas Eve, each kiddo gets a package to open with a new pair

of p.j.’s in it. They all get to wear their new pajamas that evening, when

we drive around looking at Christmas lights. This tradition involves

drinking hot cocoa too! Ha! A third Christmas Eve tradition is that

the kids fill decorated boxes with hay for the wisemen’s camels to

eat. The story is, that the wisemen come visit baby Jesus very early

on Christmas morning and need hay for their camels (wink!). On

Christmas morning the hay is gone and the wisemen have left gold

chocolate coins in the kid’s boxes to thank them. Homemade pizzas a

puzzle to put together throughout the day are more of the things we

all look forward to on Christmas Day!

ON VALENTINES, WE HAVE A BIG FAMILY VALENTINE PARTY. We

decorate the dining room with special red, white and pink decoration

and play valentine bingo, eat dessert (usually sugar cookies or cake

balls that the kids helped me make), open gifts and play games. We

have been enjoying this tradition since the kids were toddlers!

BIRTHDAYS ARE ALSO A BIG DEAL! We love to have parties for the

kids. It’s just a fun way to make memories and get the adults to act like

kids! Ha! We let the kids pick a theme and type of cake and then Kristin

decorates and creates games and we have the whole family over to

participate. Usually Brandon’s parents even come from Texas to join

us. The kids look forward to their turn all year long. On their actual

Birthday morning, Brandon takes the morning off work, we have a

“donut party” and the birthday child gets to open one small gift as we

all enjoy donuts together. This is a special way of remembering the

day God blessed our lives with their arrival!

TraditionsA FEW OF OUR

BRANDON AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT ADOPTION SINCE WE FIRST MARRIED. I began dreaming of adoption when I was a little girl. I would pretend my dolls were adopted. As we began to discuss what we wanted our family to look like, adoption was an important part of the conversation. After nine years of marriage and three biological children, we felt God stirring us to adopt. Many years went by with that dream unfulfilled but in 2018 our Kollyns was born to us through embryo adoption! She is amazing and our relationship with her genetic parents is open and warm and wonderful! We talk on email and exchange gifts and notes/pictures and updates. We are so grateful for Kollyns and can’t imagine our lives without her in it!! God once again laid adoption on our hearts this year. Oh! how we look forward to adding this anticipated and already loved child to our family! Each kiddo adds something wonderful and special and makes our family that much more fun. We can’t wait to see what this new little one will add and we look forward to nurturing their unique interests and talents that God has blessed them with! Our kids are excited as well.

OUR KIDS ARE EXCITED AS WELL...Hagan is looking forward to driving him/her around on the tractor. The older kids play chase and hide and seek with their little sister now. Hagan especially is just precious with her. I know they will be wonderful big brothers and sisters to another baby! Kollyns also LOVES babies! She has a new baby cousin right now and she just loves on him and wants to hold him on her lap every chance she gets. She would be thrilled to have a little brother or sister especially one that shares adoption in common with her.

The empty seat at our table

As a family, we each enjoy different things, so we try to do a little of each. The important thing is that we do them TOGETHER! Of course we have normal days of work, school, cleaning the house and making meals,

but our goal each day is to spend quality time together and to maximize that time to teach, train and love

on our kids as we follow Jesus. We want to give you a glimpse into the kinds of things we do together and

what life looks like for our family…

TUESDAYS WITH NANA – Ever since the older kids were

tiny, we have spent Tuesdays with my mom (Kristin’s). Some

Tuesdays, we stay home and play games. I make a big pot of

hot cocoa and we just hang out. Other Tuesdays, we go to a

state park, children’s museum, the zoo, the water park, or just

grab lunch out while we run errands together. No matter what

we do, we all look forward to Tuesdays!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT FAMILY NIGHT – We have had a “Family

Night” every week for about 7 years now. We love it! After

dinner we pop popcorn or I will make a special dessert and we

let the kids choose a game or a movie. Once in a while we will

go to the city pool for the evening or out to dinner together.

We enjoy the laughter and togetherness it creates and can’t

wait to see how this tradition will continue to grow as the kids

get older.

FRIDAY NIGHT DATE NIGHT – When Brandon and I began to

have children, my parents offered to watch the kiddos while

we went out on Friday nights. They have continued to offer

this to us ever since!!! We look forward to this time together

as a couple to talk and connect. We believe a strong marriage

makes a strong family!

SUMMER FUN (MUD AND WATER) – Summer time is full of

messy fun! The kids play in the sandbox, swimming pool, swing

on the tree swings and play in the grass for hours. When it’s

hot, we spend our days in the water until our toes and fingers

look like raisins. The girls like to spray the trampoline with the

sprinkler and act silly. We love playing in the pool, slipping on

the slip-n-slide, hanging water balloon fights, playing at the

lake, or just spraying each other while we wash the car.

CAMPING AND HIKING – Camping is a blast! Brandon and

I both grew up camping with our families. It is wonderful to

us that we get to enjoy this with our kids now. We have some

standard foods like: hot dogs, S’mores and pancakes over the

fire. We also have a tradition of hanging up some colored lights

around the campsite to make it fun. Hiking, fishing, swimming,

riding our bikes, kayaking and just playing games create lots

of good memories. Camping is a good way to enjoy God’s

creation and there is nothing like the smell of campfire smoke!

SPECIAL TIME – Special time is a tradition that started when

Kristin was a kid and we have continued it with our kids. Every

month a different child gets a special outing all by themselves

with either mom or dad. Whichever kiddo’s turn it is, gets

to choose where we go to eat and what activities we do

together. Sometimes it’s a concert or a movie and sometimes

it’s spending the evening at a bookstore reading, getting a

pedicure or shopping at the mall.

BEAD JAR – There is a jar in our pantry that is called the “Bead

Jar.” When the kids do something that is praiseworthy they get

to add a bead or two to the jar. When the jar is full, the kids get

to decide how we celebrate. We have gone bowling, out to a

movie, mini golfing, on a family bike ride to an ice cream shop,

out to pizza, etc. Time together is such a treasure and we want

our kids to grow up feeling seen and heard and appreciated.

OUR CIRCLE OF SUPPORT

We are surrounded by wonderful friends, neighbors and

family that have been and will continue to be such a support

and help to us.

BRANDON’S PARENTS ARE SUPER STEADY AND

DEPENDABLE. They still live in the town and home that he

grew up in. They are a few hours away, but within driving

distance, and we see them regularly. Brandon’s mother,

Carol, is full of wisdom as a retired child therapist and his

dad, Jim is super handy as a retired engineer. They have

been a big support to us throughout our entire marriage!

Brandon also has a brother that lives very close to their

parents along with his wife Erin and their two boys, Ben (12)

and Brady (10). It has been a lot of fun to watch our kids

grow up together.

Brandon’sFamily

MY PARENTS LIVE RIGHT NEXT TO US, AND ARE AN

ALMOST DAILY PART OF OUR LIVES. My mom, Patty is a

retired teacher and my dad, Gary still works as a remodeler.

We get together with family in the area on holidays and

for BBQs and Birthday celebrations. My older brother, Greg,

lives in Colorado with his wife, Whitney, and their three

kids: Chesney (7), Clancy (4) and Emory (10 months). They

love outdoor activities and teach their kids to ski as soon as

they can walk! My younger brother, Ben, lives very close to

us and is a family practice doctor. His wife, Rachel, stays at

home with their three boys: Garrett (4), Luke (2) and Caleb

(4 months). Each of these special relationships as well as our

many wonderful friends bring support and encouragement

hat have been a great blessing to us as we see our kids play

together and grow up together. We are surrounded by loving people who share our respect for adoption and understand that families don’t have to match.

Kristin’sFamily

Brandon and I both grew up with very supportive parents that encouraged and

supported our education. Our desire is to follow in those footsteps. We are

dedicated to homeschooling and believe it gives them great opportunities for

their future. We use a homeschooling system called Classical Conversations

(CC). Our CC community meets one day a week in a classroom style setting.

We do the rest of our studies at home all week long. We all enjoy the

opportunity to see our friends on CC days. On a typical CC day, we meet

from 8:30- 3:00. The kids split into classes according to their ages and they

are introduced to the new memory work for the week. They learn songs

to help them memorize information and they practice public speaking by

presenting on different topics. They also read aloud the papers they wrote the

week before. They learn Latin, study geography, English, writing, history, do

science experiments, art projects and math drills. Everybody’s favorite part is

lunch, when they get to play with friends and chat about the week. CC gives

us structure, encouragement, and friendships! CC makes learning fun and

provides us with the opportunity to do things like field trips, class projects

and science fairs. Brandon’s parents are also a big part of ensuring a quality

education for the kids as they have started a college fund for each child when

they were born and will continue to do this for each and every child that

enters our family. We hope this will be a blessing to them one day should they

desire to go to college. We will encourage and support them as they chase

their dreams.

BRANDON AND I LONG FOR GOD’S LOVE TO BE THE DEFINING CHARACTERISTIC

OF THIS FAMILY. Regular fellowship with fellow Christians is important to us. We are

a part of non-denominational church just a few miles from our home. However, we

feel that the Biblical instruction of our kids at home is also extremely important to us.

We long for our kids to see us live our what we teach them with love and grace and

respect for others. We also make it a priority to look for opportunities to serve others

together through things like: helping at the children’s home, buying supplies for the

local crisis pregnancy center and gleaning for the local food banks.

FamilyValues

WE HAVE TWO CATS: Zuzu is our male kitty. He was found when he was just 6 weeks old and was very sick. Zuzu needed lots of medical care, but he was strong and pulled through! Then, when he was just a year old, he was kicked by a horse! This caused him to lose his tail, but he is an overcomer and his new style looks good on him. Ruby is our female cat. We brought her home from the shelter after a visit there this last summer. She is super cuddly and doesn’t know a stranger!

OUR TWO DOGS ARE JOSIE AND DIXIE: Josie was a stray that showed up when we were building our forever home . We fed her and gave her a dog house on our unfinished front porch. She never left. Not long after we moved in, she had a litter of 14 puppies!!! The kids were thrilled out of their minds! All of the puppies survived and we found each a loving home. The kids wanted to keep one puppy, so we let them choose. They chose Dixie! Josie and Dixie are both gentle, humble girls. They love the kids and think that anyone who comes to our house must be there to visit them too. Ha!

PetsOUREducationHOW WE VIEW

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