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Hello from the beautiful Tar Heel state of North Carolina! We have always prayed that God would bless us to raise kindhearted, humble and loving children. It is a huge honor to be considered as adoptive parents for your child. As a family we’re pretty laid-back and up for doing anything together, including trips to the beach, mountains, Disney or Universal Studios. We love spending time with our close extended family and attending our church which has an amazing children’s program. Our backgrounds in teaching and nursing have been helpful as we have grown as parents. We love the simple things in life, like quality time together and making sure others know they matter. It’s important to us to teach our children kindness, love, humility toward others, and to make the most of each day.
We’d love to get to know you through this process and promise to honor our commitment to and connection with you, always. We’re open to discussing the kind of openness you’d like to have as your child grows up, if you want an open adoption. We want your child to know about you, their heritage, and the things that matter to you. We truly appreciate you for taking the time to get to know a little about us and our hopes of expanding our family. May God comfort, guide and protect you as you make plans for your child’s future.
Our Story
We met through Sherrill’s cousin, who taught at the same school with Ray when he moved to North Carolina. After Sherrill visited the school one day, her cousin played matchmaker and set us up on our first date. We’ve been happily doing life together ever since!
We enjoy:
• Cooking dinner together (our favorites are BBQ chicken, pasta, or pork chops!)
• Playing games (we love Uno, Monopoly, and Heads Up)
• Visiting museums or the zoo
• Trying new restaurants
• Volunteering at church
• Spontaneous weekend getaways
Meet Sherrill
Ray says: Sherrill has a big heart and a humble spirit. She enjoys putting others before herself and loves to laugh. I know she loves her work as a nurse because she gets to help and love on people during their greatest time of need. Sherrill would do anything for others, especially her family, and is always there for our son. She has so much love to give as we grow our family!
Sherrill likes:
• Talking with her sisters
• Watching movies with a cozy blanket and a snack
• Going for walks
• Cooking new recipes
• Shopping
Fun Fact: Sherrill has 5 sisters and 5 nieces and ALL of their names start with “Sh.”
Meet Ray
Sherrill says: Ray truly enjoys spending time with our son. He’s hard-working, helpful, and honest. His work as an IT Trainer is fulfilling for him because he can help others learn something new that is useful in their day-to-day work. Ray is always up for anything he can do as a family, whether it’s going to the store, playing games, taking a weekend getaway, or visiting relatives. He’s a great dad who our son looks up to.
Ray likes:
• Exercising and working out
• Playing video games
• Reading or researching
• Watching movies or TV
Fun Fact: Ray likes to collect and learn about men’s colognes.
Our Family
Our son, Jacob, is 14 years old and into video games, like Minecraft and Fortnite, playing soccer, cooking, and playing outside with friends. He is smart, caring, and great with babies and children. Jacob will be a loving and helpful big brother!
We come from big families! Our parents love making memories with their grandchildren. Most of Sherrill’s family lives in North Carolina, with one sister in Texas. Ray’s family lives in Indiana and we take turns visiting each other. Because Ray’s father was adopted, it’s especially sweet to see adoption through his immediate family.
Traditions our family loves:
• Homemade holiday potlucks
• Family shopping trip on the Friday after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve party with games
• Mountain cabin trips in Tennessee with Ray’s family
Our Home in North Carolina
We live between the beach and the mountains, which is great because we love going to both! We’re close to great restaurants, tourist attractions, shopping, minor league baseball, and museums. We’ve just moved into a newly built 4-bedroom home that has lots of living space and a nice backyard with trees behind it. Our neighborhood is quiet and has a community pool. We love raising our son here and know it will be a great place to grow our family!
Our Dog: Lucy is our sweet dog who loves to play and be included in everything we do.
Our Promise
We like the idea of open adoption and will be happy to share updates and planned visits, if you want an ongoing connection. We will honor our commitment to you and your child.
As parents, we promise to:
• Praise positive behavior and help our children grow or learn when they make mistakes.
• Provide a peaceful home where we treat each other with kindness and respect.
• Encourage our children in their education and offer opportunities to pursue goals and further learning.
• Teach our children to love God and love others.
• Honestly answer questions about how our family came together through adoption, always speaking of you with love and gratitude.
Thank you for considering us as a family for your child. We hope to talk and learn more about you! To learn more about us, please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.
With love, Ray & Sherrill
More About Ray
Education: Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education
Profession: IT Trainer
Stay-At-Home: No, but I work from home 2 days a week
Racial Background: Caucasian
His Favorites:
Color: Blue
Type of Music: 90's Alternative & Grunge
Movie or TV Show: Seinfeld
Food: BBQ
Season: Autumn
Game: The card game, Euchre
Place Visited: Biltmore Estate
More About Sherrill
Education: Bachelor's Degree in Nursing & Political Science
Profession: Registered Nurse
Stay-At-Home: No, but I am able to work from home 3 days a week
Racial Background: American Indian
Her Favorites:
Color: Pink
Type of Music: Mostly Country, R&B, Christian, Oldies, and 80's or 90's
Movie or TV Show: Life
Food: Seafood
Season: Fall
Game: Monopoly Deal
Place Visited: Biltmore Estate
More About Our Family
Things Our Family Loves to do Together
• Explore North Carolina
• Board games before bedtime
• Watch movies or funny YouTube videos
• After-school snacks at Chick-fil-a
• Go to church and the church functions, like ice cream socials, Christmas Festival of Lights, & Trunk-or-Treat
• Attend professional sporting events
• Play soccer
Our Thoughts on Being Parents
• Having patience is key. Taking that extra 5 seconds before speaking or reacting will make a huge difference for everyone in the family.
• Every child is unique and develops at their own pace.
• Every child deserves love and a safe home where he or she can thrive.
Why We Want to Adopt
We have always wanted to raise a family and have children to love, provide for, teach, and give back to. We've always agreed raising our children would be our priority. After we had our son, we were told that we could not have any more children. Through it all, we continued to pray our family would grow again. We asked for God's direction and were led to adoption. We're excited about bringing another child into our lives this way! The day that we adopt will be a day we have prayed for a very long time.
Plans for Childcare
Our jobs give us flexibility to to make time for our family's needs, and also to work from home part-time. We're also able to take a few months off from work after we adopt. When our parental leave is over, we'll have an in-home nanny who will help with the baby while we're working.
In Closing
We're truly thankful for your time to consider us as possible adoptive parents for your child. If you have questions or want to talk, we'd love to hear from you! Our whole family is excited to embrace and welcome the child we adopt. We'd enjoy getting to know you and the type of relationship you'd like to have after the adoption. You would always hold a special place in our family! We'd be honored and excited to share our lives with your child.