Mandy In Montana

I am an Account Services manager for a boot company. I work with stores all over the US who sell our boots, and I really enjoy my job! One of my brothers and one of my best friends work with me which makes it that much more enjoyable.

Right after high school, I joined a Christian missions organization and spent a total of about 11 years working with them off and on. Through that organization I’ve been able to experience different cultures, and I’ve spent a lot of time in Asia. I lived in Thailand full time from 2017 until 2019, and that country will always have a piece of my heart. I volunteered with a child sponsorship program there where people from North America sponsored students so that they could go to school. Some of our students came from remote hilltribe villages where without the help of sponsors a lot of children had to finish their education by the time they reached middle school so that they could work in the fields. This is a critical time where some children are trafficked. It was a very eye opening experience for me, and I am so thankful for my time there! I was also able to teach English while living there, and that was a lot of fun!

In my free time, I love to read and take my dog on walks. I also love to travel and spend time with my family. I have one dog, Charlie, who is three years old. She’s a German Shephard and very spoiled! She gets so excited to go on walks, rides in the car and when anyone throws the ball for her. She loves people but can be scared of other animals – mostly ones that are smaller than her which can be pretty funny sometimes. My sister has two cats and Charlie won’t go inside her house unless she’s dragged in there.

I live in the beautiful state of Montana! I am blessed to share a home with my parents who are so excited for another grandchild to be added to the family. We live out in the country on about 20 acres, so there is lots of space to run around. Even though I live in the country, I’m not too far from town and there are great schools very close to me. Montana is full of beautiful hiking trails, and I enjoy taking advantage whenever the weather is nice. We are in a university town, and there are a number of big ski resorts within 30 minutes of my home, so we have lots of people coming from all over to visit.

I am the oldest of 5 with 2 sisters and 2 brothers. My parents have been married for over 40 years. My parents were foster parents for 10 years, so we always had extra siblings around when I was a teenager. Except for my youngest sister, who lives in California, everyone lives within 10 minutes to an hour’s drive from each other. One of my sisters has two teenage sons. Her youngest was in a horrible car accident last summer and spent the next 3 months in the hospital recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury. I think we’ve always been pretty close, but that brought us all closer for sure. We all get together for every holiday, with Christmas being the biggest celebration.

I love to meet my friends for dinner or go to a concert – my favorite genre is Country, and I was able to go to a few fun ones in the last couple of years! I still have the same group of girlfriends from high school and we live fairly close to each other. I’m also super close to a few friends from when I was in missions and we try to get together at least once per year. We’re pretty spread out, but it’s fun to meet up with them in different locations. This past February we met up in Cancun and had such a fun time!

In my free time, I love to read and listen to podcasts. I also love to be outdoors...at least when the weather is nice! I take my dog on walks as often as I can, and during the summer we love to go on hikes. I attend a women’s fitness class bright and early 5 mornings a week and really enjoy the comradery and the way it challenges me.

Another thing I love to do is travel and experience different cultures. Thanks to my time in missions, I’ve been to quite a few Asian countries. I’ve also been able to go to England a couple of times and I went to Paris with my mom last summer. My sister and I are planning a trip to Italy for her 40th birthday. I think my favorite country I’ve visited so far is Australia.

I have always wanted to be a mom, and I’ve also always wanted to adopt. I feel settled in my life right now after traveling and living in different places far from my family. Recently, I felt a strong sense that now is the time to pursue adoption, and I’m very excited to see what’s next!