Kayleigh & Sean In West Virginia

We met in June of 2016 and started dating shortly after a great first date! We knew fairly quickly that there was an indescribable connection between us. Over the winter holidays in 2017, we vacationed with Sean’s family in Pennsylvania where we enjoyed a beautiful snowstorm that turned his town into a winter wonderland. Sean knew this was the perfect time to propose and we were engaged by New Year’s Eve. We planned for our wedding at the beach near where we first met in the fall of 2018, but Hurricane Florence had other plans. So nine days before our wedding, we pivoted and replanned the entire event at a new and safer location. Our friends and family were a huge help and we would have not been able to pull off such a beautiful day without them.

Sean is a pilot in the West Virginia Air National Guard, flying the C-130J “Super Hercules”. Flying planes has always been a passion of his, and now he gets to live his dream while also protecting his country. Kayleigh works from home as a school curriculum consultant. Her hours are flexible which is helpful when taking care of our dogs or doing household chores throughout the day. She loves getting to service the needs of schools and teachers across the country. Customer service is a very fulfilling job that fits her personality perfectly.

We currently have a family of three small Pomeranians. We acquired our first Pom, Chicken Nugget, while living in North Carolina and our second, Muffin, in Phoenix. They had a litter of puppies while we lived in Texas. We kept the runt of the litter, Peanut, and re-homed the rest to friends and family.

In our free time, we love playing board games, walking our three Pomeranians, exploring new locations and enjoying quality time together. We also love to host cookouts and themed parties for our friends and family. We enjoy the outdoors, including going on hikes, having picnics or lounging in a hammock listening to the ocean. We are very excited to share all these experiences and adventures with the new addition to our family.

We recently moved to Charleston, West Virginia. We live in a three-bedroom condo in a community on top of a mountain overlooking the downtown area. It is a quiet neighborhood with children’s playgrounds, dog parks, hiking trails and a restaurant with gorgeous sunset views of the mountains and city.

We have easy access to the city area, where we can do all our shopping and dining along with access to the many natural parks and attractions throughout the state. In the upcoming summer, we plan to go white water rafting, kayaking, hiking and explore the many gorgeous natural parks and areas throughout the state.

Before Kayleigh married Sean, she was Kayleigh Troutman from Troutman, North Carolina. Yes, her last name was also the name of the town she grew up in! She is an only child, but had many cousins and neighbors that were just as close as a family around her at all times. Most of her family still live within the Troutman area, which makes going home such an enjoyable experience. Her grandmother is one of six, so she has very close relationships with all her great aunts, uncles and first cousins. Growing up, they would get together every Sunday for lunch to share a meal and fellowship. To this day, they still have a family dinner where everyone gathers at Kayleigh's grandmother’s house on the first Sunday of the month.

She was very close with both her parents growing up. Her dad worked up to two jobs full-time so her mom could stay home with her. They attended all of her sporting events and extracurricular activities when able and were supportive of her pursuing a variety of experiences. They would take vacations each summer to the beach or the mountains and some years were able to make special trips to Disney World.

Sean was born in Colorado. He is the oldest of three children, with 1 younger brother and 1 younger sister. We all grew up together in a military family, with both his parents having served in the US Air Force. His father was a career fighter pilot and his mother worked in administration. Due to the nature of the military, there were periods where his mother or father would have to be gone for extended periods of time, however they never lacked for love or affection. When they were all together, they would take numerous trips during the summers and holidays. Some of the highlights were trips to Virginia Beach, Disneyland, Universal Studios or to visit family in Louisiana and Pennsylvania.

After leaving the military, Sean's parents relocated to Meadville, Pennsylvania, a small town north of Pittsburgh. His dad worked as a high school math teacher in a neighboring town, while his mom worked part-time with special needs children at the same high school Sean and his siblings attended.

Since we have been married, we have started a few of our own family traditions we’re excited to share with our new addition. Each summer, we take a trip to somewhere that has a beach or a new landscape to explore. When October comes, we watch a fun Halloween-themed movie each night, carve pumpkins and decorate the house. In November, we like to watch all the Harry Potter movies and make our own themed snacks and drinks from the series. We also host a Friendsgiving every year to celebrate the cherished friends we have made along our journey. In December, we love watching holiday movies, baking different kinds of desserts and sweets to share with our families and friends and then driving around the neighborhood with hot cocoa to look for holiday lights.

We know in our hearts we are meant to have a family. We have struggled trying to grow our family, and we have so much love to give so we are so thankful to have the opportunity to be considered for adoptions to become parents to a child who needs a loving and caring home.