We love exploring: New York, Seattle, Louisville, London, Scotland, and can't forget Disney World. One of our favorite vacation spots is Mackinac Island, which we try to visit every year. Cars aren’t allowed on the island, so the only way to get around is by horse or bicycle. We love all the great coffee shops and art galleries, and the views of the lakeshore are gorgeous. There are playgrounds, beaches, and parks perfect for family picnics.

If we're looking to stay a little closer to home, we enjoy day trips and weekend getaways to Madison or Chicago. Madison has great walking trails and fun books shops to wander through. The capitol building and children's museum are awesome places to visit with kids. Plus the farmers' market on the square has the best cheese curds and pastries. We also love to visit Chicago several times a year. There are so many great comic and entertainment conventions that would be a blast for kids -especially if they like superheroes. But our favorite time to visit is during the Christmas season. The Lincoln Park Zoo lights and Christkindlmarket are must-sees!

Whether it's books on our shelves or the tales we craft for our own amusement, we both love stories. These could be daring adventures, futuristic fantasies, or found family narratives. Whether children are adopted or born into a family, each has a unique beginning to their story that we can't wait to share with them. And birth parents each have a unique story too. If there are traditions or hobbies important to you that you feel comfortable sharing with us, these would be wonderful things to be able to share with children.

It's important for kids to have this piece of their heritage from early on, presented in a way that's age-appropriate. Growing up is hard enough, and we want our kids to have all the tools available to understand themselves and where they came from. We want our children to be able to celebrate their stories and feel comfortable in their own skin.

Ryan is an engineer by trade, but his passion is in the arts. He enjoys sketching characters, inking landscapes, and painting models. He's also a skilled woodworker and has built several pieces of furniture for our home. Ryan loves music. We try to attend several live concerts and musicals every year. Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King are two of our favorites. Ryan plays guitar and is teaching himself to play the tenor saxophone. He sings in church and also performs with our local Christmas Messiah choir. We can't wait to share this love of music with a child.

Morgan also loves to spend her time creating. She likes to draw, crochet, sew, and has designed costumes for church events, Halloween, and conventions. Morgan brings that creativity to the kitchen as well, baking unique treats like macaroons and croissants as well as decorating fantastic fondant cakes. Some of her favorites were a super hero themed birthday cake and a Monsters Inc cake. She can't wait to make memories baking cookies and making Sunday morning cinnamon rolls together. But Morgan's true passion is in storytelling. She writes science fiction and fantasy tales and also posts reviews for books. Because of her love of reading and writing, she's helped several indie authors edit and market their novels. She looks forward to snuggling up with kids for story time.

Both Ryan and Morgan also love being involved in their local church and community. They have helped run several events as part of the Community Life team, including ice cream socials, concerts, and blood drives. Morgan is also a member of Church Council.

Morgan's family lives about an hour away but we're very close, visiting several times a month for family dinners, bonfires, and the yearly fireman's picnic. Morgan has one brother who works as a civil engineer and his wife is an accountant. They recently welcomed their first child, a baby girl, to the family. We love getting together for cookouts and during deer hunting season. Morgan's parents enjoy traveling and we've vacationed with them in Mackinac Island and Florida. Morgan's mom is retired and excited to spend time with grandkids, baking and working on craft projects. Morgan's dad makes generators for a living. He also owns farmland where he enjoys spending time with the animals and working on construction projects.

Ryan has one sister, who lives about an hour away as well, and works for a medical journal. She has traveled all over the world, including living in Japan and Korea for a period of time. We talk on the phone regularly and love discussing costume design, books, and life’s complexities. We've also gone to several comic and entertainment conventions together. Ryan's dad recently passed away, but he loved planes and visited Wisconsin in the summer to see air shows with Ryan. We hope to continue that same tradition with our children. Ryan's mom is retired. She and her husband enjoy craft shows and seeing live musical performances. Ryan's mom loves to sing and used to play viola in a local orchestra. Although she lives in Michigan, Ryan's mom is eager to visit regularly and make memories with grandchildren.

We live in a medium sized suburb with great schools, within walking distance of four parks, the public library, and several great coffee shops and restaurants. The German bier stube and the custard shop are our favorites. During warmer months, we visit the farmers market every weekend and love listening to live music in the park. We also spend a lot of time running and biking on local trails. Our house is across from a wildlife space that's home to cranes, ducks, and turkeys and is a favorite fishing spot for neighborhood kids and families. We've even had to chase away a stubborn deer who tried to eat our apple trees!

Our home is a space to create, learn, and grow. We both love art, so we built a crafting studio and a workshop space in our basement. We have a personal library filled with books for all ages and a warm fireplace. There is also a cozy reading nook upstairs, perfect for bedtime stories and lazy winter days. Our house has three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and a phenomenal kitchen that's perfect for baking cookies as a family. Ryan added a screen porch to the front of our house, and it's a great place to relax and draw or write. We also have a large yard with a garden, patio, and plenty of open space for our dog and future kids to play.

We're so excited to see what the future holds for us as a family. Both of us hope with all our hearts that a child is part of that future. Thank you for taking the time to consider us and learn more about our hopes and dreams for what lies ahead.

We met online (an interesting experience to say the least) and quickly realized we'd found something special in each other. Both of us were taking jujitsu classes at the time and shared a love for comics and travel. Even in the large internet dating pool, it wasn't often you find people with so many of the same quirky interests. We both shared a love of books, rock music, musicals, Halloween, and Disney movies. For our first date, we went for a walking tour then out for ice cream. Ten years later, we still enjoy taking long walks to the local ice cream shop together. We've been married for eight years now and hope for many happy years (and more ice cream) to come.

Ryan is a civil engineer by trade and works as a project manager for the state, organizing timelines and guiding teams as they develop road construction plans for highways and freeway systems. Although his work was previously office-based, the past year has opened up a lot of flexibility and opportunities to work from home so Ryan can dedicate more time to family. When not working, Ryan loves to cook (one of the many things Morgan loves about him), typically has one art project or another he's working on, and always makes sure our home is filled with music.

Morgan earned her doctorate degree in pharmacy and currently works as a supervisor for a long-term care pharmacy. Her position allows her to be off most weekends and holidays and home in time for dinner. Plus, Morgan's medical background ensures she's well prepared for dealing with scraped knees and other boo boos. Morgan looks forward to sharing her love of reading, writing, and crafting with children. She will always make sure our kids have the greatest bedtime stories and best homemade Halloween costumes in the neighborhood.

We have always wanted to be parents. After several years of trying to have a biological child, we came to terms with the reality that it wasn't in the cards for us. In 2017 we adopted a furry child, Ink. Ink is a black lab mix with a heart of gold and love for people food. Even though Ink filled our home with joy (and fur), we still wanted to see our family grow even more. We knew that adoption was the best choice for us. We can't wait to welcome a child into our family and share our sense of adventure, love for learning, and joy of life with them.

Our home is such a creative, exciting, and nurturing space. We look forward to welcoming a child into our family to not only be a part that, but also to be a source of joy and inspiration as they find their own voice and passions. We hope to have the opportunity to show you a piece of our lives as well if you choose our home for your child. We'd love to send yearly letters and photos, so you can see your child growing up happy, active, and healthy. If you are interested, we are open to a future visit and exchanging emails or other social media contacts.

You have so many big decisions ahead of you, but just know that you are in our hearts and our prayers. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our quirky home and considering us to be a part of your child’s life.

Sincerely,

Ryan & Morgan