Mitchell & Ashley In Mississippi

We are Mitchell and Ashley. We met at church and have been married for 18 years. We live in a small town that is close to a large city, and we enjoy having access to both country and city life.

Mitchell was a 4th/5th grade teacher for 12 years but now serves the entire school district as the Director of Transportation. He enjoys his job and loves interacting with the bus drivers and students on each campus.

Ashley has been teaching for 18 years. She has taught almost every grade from kindergarten through 5th grade. Currently, she teaches preschool and kindergarten special education classes for developmentally-delayed students. She thrives on building relationships with students and parents. She especially loves seeing growth in her students when they reach milestones throughout the year.

In our free time, we like to spend time on hobbies and projects at our home. We raise honeybees and grow unique plants like loofah and popcorn. We have our own Tea Party business where we help plan and host tea parties for birthdays, special events, etc. We really enjoy traveling, and we use our camper any chance we get. We love trying new things and visiting new places. A large amount of our trips have been because we saw a documentary about it on television and wanted to go. Spending time with the people we love is also important to us and we make sure we make time for family and friends to join us on our adventures Which has led us to visit many historical and even haunted locations. In our down time we enjoy watching football, historical documentaries, and true crime mysteries.

Our additional family members have four legs. Conway is a two-year-old Mini Australian Shepherd and Honey is a one-year-old Bassett Hound. They both love to snuggle and run around the backyard. They are great with children and love being around people. Both Conway and Honey are big furry babies.

We live in the country, but right on the edge of a large city. It really is the best of both worlds! In our community we get the opportunity to spread out on our 5 acres and enjoy the land. When it is time to run errands, go on a little adventure, or even visit the doctor, we are just 12 minutes away. We have access to a community play area, outdoor activities, and we are close to family and friends.

In town, we can easily access an award-winning zoo, splashpad, several parks, museums, children’s programs, the theatre, college sports and a diverse community of shops, art, restaurants and opportunities. We are very fortunate to be able to provide a very rich cultural and educational environment for our future family to grow in.

We believe that family is both biological and chosen. Both of us have our parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, and uncles in our lives and we cherish spending time with them! We also consider some of our long-term friends to be family. These people are included in our everyday life and celebrations as well.

Spending time with our family and friends is important to us and a normal activity for us each week. We make time each year to visit our friends who live in nearby states, and enjoy exploring the sites while we make these trips.

Birthdays and holidays are special times in our family. We set aside time for friends and family celebrations of birthdays each year. Also, on Thanksgiving and Christmas each person also has a special task they perform to make the day wonderful. Mitchell is in charge of smoking the turkey, while Ashley cooks casseroles. Time spent with family on these special days is paramount to the strength of our family ties.

We raise honeybees and grow unique plants like loofah and popcorn. Mitchell likes to spend time outdoors, fishing and hunting, are probably his two favorite hobbies. Ashley could spend all day searching through antique stores and flea markets for the perfect teapot or china pattern. We wouldn’t consider ourselves foodies, but Ashley loves to prepare a proper high tea to enjoy, while Mitchell loves taking time to smoke different meats on the barbecue. In all, we have so many activities and hobbies that we cannot wait to share with a child, and we look forward to seeing and encouraging the hobbies and interests they develop.

We have always known since before we were married that if we were to become parents, it would be adoptive parents. It has always been our “Plan A.” As we grew in our marriage, we both felt, individually, a desire and readiness to move forward with the adoption process. When we communicated that to each other, we knew the time was right. We are ready to share the love we have to give with a child in our home.