Andrea & Scott In Arizona

We were introduced by a mutual friend. At the start of our relationship, we were just friends. Over time, our relationship grew so we decided to take the next step and start dating. We have been together ever since. In March of 2010, we were married. After two miscarriages paired with a lot of waiting, hoping and praying our son Zayne was born in October of 2015. He has been an enormous blessing to us. His name means God's gracious gift.

Zayne is an intelligent, inquisitive, helpful, outgoing, sweet, cuddly and friendly little boy. He is a free-spirited child who has always marched the beat of his own drum. He has a fun and silly personality. He loves dinosaurs, cuddle buddies (stuffed animals), puzzles, Uno, board games, video games, books, reading, coloring, swimming, animals, building toys, movies, music, school and the YMCA. Once a week, he attends ninja class. He is eager to have a sibling and is very gentle, helpful and caring when interacting with younger children.

In our free time, we like spending time together as a family watching shows or movies, gaming, playing in the back yard, barbequing or cooking together and swimming. Occasionally, we will go out for a family meal or go to places like the lake, camping, mini golf, pizza, arcades, bowling, carnivals or festivals and the like for fun as well as to help create special family memories for our son. We attend church regularly and Zayne attends children’s ministry. Andrea’s mom from the Midwest usually comes down a few times a year and we enjoy spending time with her and her husband. When we are able, we like to go on vacations which usually include seeing family and/or friends.

Andrea supervises and teaches at a Head Start site which contains children ages 1-5. She has been in the Early Childhood profession for 16 years and has worked her way up in the program from Teacher Aid to Teacher to Site Supervisor. In her free time, Andrea is a Mary Kay Independent Consultant. She enjoys reading, spending time outdoors, swimming, listening to music, making memories with her family and spending time with friends and family.

Scott currently works for Walmart as a truck driver. He is an Arizona native. At the age of 20, Scott attended truck driving school. He also attended Universal Technical Institute in Avondale, AZ as well as the International Technician Education Program in a suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Scott enjoys fishing, welding, canning, making yogurt, tinkering with cars/ engines, woodworking, listening to music as well as talk show radio and spending time outdoors.

We live in a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bathroom house located in a diverse, family-friendly neighborhood. Downstairs is our kitchen, dining room, living room and a den that we made into a playroom. Upstairs the nursery is all set up and decorated in a safari animal theme. It is ready and waiting for a little bundle of joy. All the bedrooms are located upstairs along with a loft area and laundry room. Our back yard is paved and has a strip of turf just right for outdoor activities. There is a park and gated swimming pool located in the center of the community. The community is placed in a loop with a sidewalk around it perfect for walking or taking a bike ride. Right next door to our community is the charter school that our son attends. It contains pre-school through eighth grade.

Andrea's mom usually visits two to three times a year. Her and her husband have recently bought a park model home here in Arizona only fifteen to twenty minutes away from where we live. They plan to spend at least two to three months there each year. When possible, we also enjoy spending time with Andrea's sister and her family and her brother as well. Between her sister and her brother, she has three nephews and a niece. Her grandmother lives in Minnesota, and she has many cousins.

Scott takes our son to visit his uncle a couple hours away from us every two to three months. Andrea will tag along if her work schedule allows. Scott's mother and some cousins live in Pennsylvania, and he has some other cousins here in Arizona. Family and close friends are an important part of our lives. We try to keep in touch and spend time with them whenever possible. There is always an open invitation for friends and family to come visit.

We enjoy spending time together and celebrating holidays such as Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Thanksgiving, etc. Most holidays are spent with just our little family, but occasionally with friends as well. As a family of three, we have made our own little holiday traditions, such as singing happy birthday to Jesus on Christmas, an egg hunt in the backyard on Easter morning and trick-or-treating in the neighborhood on Halloween. We attend church regularly and our son attends children’s ministry.

After years of trying unsuccessfully to have a second child, we decided that adoption was the best option for us to complete our family. We believe that God has opened doors, guided us and blessed us on our adoption journey.