Kirstin & David In Missouri

We both grew up in the St. Louis area with pretty standard immediate families including a mom, a dad, and siblings. We originally met when David’s family moved to Kirstin’s area and we went to the same middle school. Senior year we were in the same biology class and were lab partners. This is when we really got to know each other, but it didn’t start out the best. Kirstin would frequently get frustrated with David going off to socialize with others in the class while she was left to do most of the work. She started taking to calling him a lab monkey to her friends and family and the nickname stuck.

We both ended up going to the same college, Southeast Missouri State University, straight out of high school along with some other friends. Since only David had a car and was willing, he became the chauffeur between home and college, bringing us closer together. Eventually, David admitted to Kirstin that he had a crush on her. She did not immediately share the feeling but over time began noticing that she was texting him a lot and spending a lot of time with him. In February of our freshman year of college, Kirstin agreed to give David a chance and the rest is history. We got engaged our senior year and married a year and a half later.

We now live close to both of our families and were lucky enough to buy a home we love at the right time before the housing market went crazy. Kirstin is a teacher and is currently working for a fully online school which has been a challenge, but she is enjoying it. David is a clinical laboratory scientist, which means he runs blood tests and such for a hospital. We have a mixed-breed dog named Ozzie who is spoiled beyond words. In our free time, we like to play board games, go to sporting events, watch TV, read, and spend time with family and friends. When there is a long weekend and over the summer, we like to travel around the Midwest.

We live in the suburbs of St. Louis. There is a lot of diversity in the area and in the schools. We have a split-level home with 3 bedrooms (one which will become the nursery), 2 bathrooms, and two living spaces on different levels. We also have a good-sized, fenced in, flat yard with some shade trees. Our neighborhood hosts a block party every summer where everyone brings something to eat, we play games, and the fire department sets up the hose for the kids to play in.

We live about 2 miles from our parents' houses and where we grew up, so we are very familiar with the area. We live within walking distance of the local elementary school, one of the best in the St. Louis area. We also live within walking distance of a great park that was just updated and a duck pond with a walking path where we take our dog for walks. There is also a nearby community center with a pool, basketball courts, and other activities. Being so close to St. Louis, we also have access to many museums, historic sites, sporting events, theaters, and parks.

David grew up with a mom, dad, and two younger brothers. His youngest brother is currently 16. Because of the large age gap, David has helped to care for his brother, especially when he still lived at home. Unfortunately, shortly before we got married, David's father passed away. Because of this, both of us had to step up to help his mother with his younger brothers. David's maternal grandparents also passed away before we were married, so his aunt, Mary Carol who he calls Cece, and uncle, Larry, have played a major role in his life and our life. We spend most holidays with Cece and Larry in addition to David's immediate family.

Kirstin grew up with a mom, dad, and little sister. Growing up, the sisters were close and played together a lot. Her mom came from a fairly large family so there were always many cousins to play with and lots of aunts and uncles to ask for help. Her father came from a smaller family, but that just meant she got more individual attention. A couple of years ago, Kirstin's paternal grandma, Memaw, passed away. She feels very lucky to still have three living grandparents. Her paternal grandpa, Papaw, is very excited that we have decided to adopt because that is how he and Memaw created their family with their two children. We are also excited to be following in his footsteps. We get to see Papaw on most holidays in addition to spending time with Kirstin's immediate family.

While our families are very different, they are both very loving in their own ways. Living so close to our families has provided us with a lot of support as we married, bought a house, and got a dog. We are so thankful to have such supportive and loving families. Our families often will do activities together as well, which is great. David has Italian heritage through his father that is honored every year with a Christmas lasagna. Kirstin has a strong German background, and her mother was a German teacher, so she was raised with a lot of German traditions like having candles on the Christmas tree. (Don’t worry, we don’t light them!) We are looking forward to continuing our family traditions while also creating new ones with our own family.

We decided to pursue adoption because we have both always wanted to be parents. We have so much love and excitement about the world to share with a little one and we can’t imagine life without being able to contribute to the next generation.