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State We Live in: South Dakota
Our Religion: Christian
Stay At Home Parent: No
Our Age Preferences: Newborn-3 Months, 3 Months – 12 Months, 1 and 2 Years
Our Gender Preferences: Either Gender
Our Race Preferences: Any Race, African American, African American/Hispanic, Asian, Caucasian, Caucasian/African American, Caucasian/Asian, Caucasian/Hispanic, East Indian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Native American
Sibling Group: Yes
Yes, with oldest up to 2 years old.
Open to Twins: Yes
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Call or text Lifetime Adoption at 1-800-923-6784.
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We are excited you stopped by to get to know us! We have been married for 9 years and love trying new food, exploring the outdoors, traveling, and spending time with our church family and friends. In 2016, we were blessed to adopt our son, Kelton. Our home is one filled with love, laughter, fun, and of course lots of hugs. Being parents has been the greatest gift of our lives and we can’t wait to grow our family through adoption a second time!
ABOUT US
Every day we take time to disconnect from the world and focus on each other by cooking dinner together, family Bible study time, playing Uno or Mario Kart, and taking a walk in the neighborhood. We kick-off each weekend with snuggles, cartoons, and our favorite meal, breakfast. This meal is a feast and always includes eggs, bacon/sausage and other specialty sides (ranging from pancakes to our world-famous chili/potatoes). We spend the rest of the weekend exploring new hiking locations, swimming, fishing, and going to the park. During the summer, we take several overnight trips to the lake cabin, and make time for lots of sandcastle building. We look forward to welcoming our second child and sharing all our love with them. We are excited to see the special sibling relationship that will grow between them and our son!
MEET THAD
Thad is a genuine, smart, kind, and patient husband and dad. He loves the Lord and begins each day by reading his Bible and in prayer. Thad is an awesome dad and cares about being the best dad possible! He spends a lot of time with Kelton cheering him on during climbing club and teaching him to build things (most recently to build cutting boards). Kelton loves his dad because he is silly and supportive of Kelton’s ever changing interests. Thad also knows when Kelton or Erin need a good laugh and a hug and fills that need!
Thad is a very talented carpenter and recently finished building our home. In his spare time he enjoys helping with our church, going to the lake, hiking, biking, tinkering in his wood shop, movie night with Kelton and Erin, and stopping by one of the local adventure parks.
Thad is looking forward to sharing his love and silliness with our next child.
MEET ERIN
Erin has a very contagious laugh, and everyone is drawn to her outgoing nature! She is kind and compassionate, and an amazing mom and wife always putting our interests ahead of hers. Erin is a successful Senior Internal Audit Manager, mainly driven by her ability to work with anyone. Her job allows significant flexibility and she can work from home when needed and has most Friday afternoons off for family fun (hiking, biking, arcade, etc).
Erin is always up for an adventure, and can be found outside walking with neighborhood friends, jumping on the trampoline with Kelton, or finding a new hiking trail. Erin also enjoys being home playing games and trying new recipes.
Kelton loves his mom because every evening includes snuggles and a good book! Your child will grow up with lots of hugs, “I love you more,” and a laugh equally as loud as Erin’s. She is an incredible mom and excited for our adoption!
OUR FAITH, SON, AND FAMILY
Our faith is the most important thing to us, and we believe the challenges we have faced have only drawn us closer to God. We have been a part of our church for over six years, attend regularly, and have a large church family. Fun and laughter are always present at church events; we look forward to the annual family camp weekend which includes overnight tent camping, fellowship, campfires, lots of junk food, and inspiring messages. We pray that our children will seek a relationship with God. We believe that we are saved by grace alone through faith in the redemptive love of Christ on the cross.
Kelton has been the biggest blessing in our lives! He is kind, intelligent, determined, funny, a snuggler, and creative. He loves jumping on the trampoline (especially with water), hiking, biking, rock climbing, swimming, baking, reading, playing video games/coding, spending time with friends and his cousin. He is looking forward to being a big brother!
We are lucky to have Erin’s brother nearby, and his family jumps in anytime we need help. Erin’s brother is married with one daughter. We love our niece and look forward to our family trips to the lake cabin, family dinners, escape rooms, and visiting Erin’s parents in Texas (during the winter). In the summer, Erin’s parents are nearby, and we look forward to Erin’s mom’s pies (the best in the world), tubing the creek, and hot tubbing. They are all thrilled to be on this journey with us.
Thad’s mom also lives nearby, and because she is a member of our church, we get to see her at least every Wednesday and Sunday! Sunday afternoons are the best, as Thad’s mom usually comes out to spend the afternoon with us – barbecuing, watching a movie, or playing games.
OUR HOME IN SOUTH DAKOTA
We live in South Dakota in a five bedroom house with a large backyard for exploring. Our neighborhood is very safe and the perfect place for a child to make friends, with lots of neighbors with young children and frequent neighborhood parties. Every Christmas, we host a gingerbread house decorating party with all of the neighborhood children. Our home offers plenty of space for our family to grow, and we already have a room set aside for another child. On most days, you’ll find us cooking or baking away in the kitchen. We are always trying new recipes, and have mastered the best homemade vanilla ice cream. You will also find us bike riding through the neighborhood, having water gun fights and throwing water balloons, jumping on the trampoline, roasting marshmallows on the patio, and playing in the snow during the winter.
WE PROMISE
We promise to unconditionally love your child and provide lots of fun and laughter. We promise to teach Christian values, pray for them, and pray with them. Your child will be supported and loved by our large church family and friends!
We promise to be present, encourage your child to try new things, and support them as they discover their individuality.
Thank you for taking time to get know us! We want to assure you that whatever level of contact you want to have with us and your child, that we promise to respect you. We’d love to talk or answer any of your questions. Please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.
More About Thad
Education: High School Degree
Profession: Contractor
Stay-At-Home: No
Racial Background: Caucasian
His Favorites:
Favorite Food: Tacos, Steaks, Smash Burgers
Dessert: Cheesecake
Holiday Tradition: Teasing Erin about getting the tallest Christmas tree
Movie: Rocky
Season: Fall - changing leaves and cooler temperatures with lots of campfires
Family Activity: Spending Time At The Lake And Boating
Junk Food: Taco Doritos
More About Erin
Education: Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Arts
Profession: Internal Audit Manager
Stay-At-Home: No - flexibility to work from home part-time
Racial Background: Caucasian
Her Favorites:
Favorite Food: Prime Rib, Biscuits and Gravy, Ramen
Dessert: Angel Food Cake With Whipped Cream and Strawberries
Holiday Tradition: Christmas tree hunting for the perfect tree (not too tall)
Movie: Fun With Dick And Jane
Season: Summer - blooming flowers, no socks (sandals only), and swimming
Family Activity: Traveling And Experiencing New Places
Junk Food: Taco Johns - Potato Oles
Gallery
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More About Our Family
We live in the state of…
We live in the beautiful state of South Dakota, specifically the Black Hills area.
We are close to Custer State Park where you will find us exploring for geo caches (treasure hunting), building sandcastles or swimming at one of the lakes, and driving the wildlife loop to see buffalo, bighorn sheep, elk, or feeding the friendly donkeys.
Hiking and biking are very popular in the Black Hills, and we look forward to exploring many trails with our children.
During the winter, we frequently visit the many sledding hills and skating rinks (with a large hot chocolate thermos in hand). One of our favorite places to visit is the natural mineral hot springs pool that remains 87 degrees year-round.
Family Traditions
Some of our favorite family traditions include:
1. Annual Father’s Day camping trip - to celebrate Thad, includes lots of junk food, s’mores and campfires!
2. Annual Family Trip - each year we try to take one longer family trip (for two weeks) outside of South Dakota. Every other year this trip ends up in Texas to visit Erin’s parents and includes lots of beach and pool time! These trips involve lots of adventures and experiencing the culture of the area, visiting and trying new things.
3. Summer trip to the lake cabin - as often as we can during the summer we stay at the lake to boat and tube, fish, kayak across the other side, explore for wildflowers and read/nap in the hammocks.
4. Easter involves the dying of eggs and hiding hundreds of Easter eggs all over our large yard and in the house. We have to count them to make sure we find them all!
5. Christmas season begins the day after Thanksgiving, we decorate the entire house and put out our advent calendar. Prior to Christmas we host a gingerbread house decorating party at our home and include our church family and neighborhood friends.
Our Dogs
Charlie and Milo are probably the two most snuggly dogs! They look forward to movie nights where they can relax on the couch with us and our daily walk through the neighborhood to give lots of licks to all the neighborhood kiddos!
Our Special Interests
When we built our home, we specifically designed it to be open for hosting lots of gatherings. Erin enjoys decorating and has made the house feel warm and welcoming, and always sets up a kid activity (cookie decorating, perler beads, water balloons, etc). Thad makes the best BBQ, and we enjoy sharing our home with our family, church, and friends. Since Kelton has found an interest in baking, he generally makes the dessert and Erin makes the sides; it is a family effort! We are always looking for a reason to have families to our house!
In Closing
Thank you for getting to know us and considering adoption for your child. We are thankful God has called us to adoption again and are excited to share our love with many snuggles, silly story time, outdoor adventures, and family meals. We are open to sharing photos, letters, videos, and visits with you if you would like to do so in the future. We will respect you and your decisions. You can contact Lifetime and use our names if you'd like to learn more about us or contact us.