About Us | hope

Thank you for taking the time to get to know us just a little bit. We have a huge amount of respect and appreciation for what the birth parent(s) are considering, and we think that it takes a special person to recognize what’s best for their child. We are excited about the opportunity God has given us to adopt. We have been parents before, although under very unique circumstances. We have had two biological daughters, Sawyer and Adelyse, who unfortunately now reside in Heaven. With empty arms we pray that God hears our cries and blesses us with an adopted child/children, as well as a healthy biological child.

We were a match made in internet heaven. We began dating in February 2009, after meeting on Match.com. We spoke for weeks on the phone, before embarking on our first date –– a Valentine’s Day hike through an outdoor sculture park near our hometowns in Upstate New York. We fell in love almost immediately. Our friends joked that we should do promotional work for the online dating company; our connection was that strong.

Less than a year into dating, we decided to move together to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. As northerners, we enjoyed our four years of sunny, laidback South Carolina living. Brian attended Coastal Carolina University and Holly taught Special Education (ESE) at South Conway Elementary School. In 2012, we got married and Brian received his teaching degree. The following summer, we decided to move to Tampa Bay to be closer to family. Holly’s two sisters live in St. Petersburg and her grandmother lives in Venice. Brian’s grandparents live in Wesley Chapel and his aunt, uncle, and cousins live in Seminole. We found teaching jobs immediately and in November 2013, we purchased a house in Apollo Beach. The space was lovely, but it didn’t meet our needs as a growing family, so we set off on a quest to find a peaceful place in the country, something more in line with our rural upbringings. We love the serenity our new house has to offer, but we look forward to filling the space with love and a lot of laughter.

We're both easygoing, humorous people who enjoy spending time with family and friends. Holly does most of the cooking, and we take pleasure in eating dinner together each night and talking about our days. When we dine out we usually enjoy eating ethnic food; our favorites include Thai and Mexican. We are both elementary school teachers at two different Hillsborough County schools. Brian teaches second grade and Holly teaches art. Family traditions and holidays are important to us and we look forward to hosting our silly annual Thanksgiving celebration with family and friends.

We have two friendly dogs: Owen, our personable 8-year-old pug and Olive, our gentle 7 -year -old bullmastiff.