We have a variety of interests and hobbies. We enjoy watching movies, going to escape rooms with family or friends, board and card game nights with family, exploring new places, and cheering on our favorite sports teams.

Zach is an avid runner, participating in a marathon each of the past 5 years, as well as many shorter races throughout the year. Michelle occasionally runs shorter races with him and can always be found on the sideline cheering him on when not actively participating in the race herself. Zach also loves the game of disc golf and participates in a disc golf league, picking up a round with Michelle now and then, too. Zach enjoys cooking and is a sandwich and pizza connoisseur.

Michelle enjoys reading, going for walks, snuggling with the family pets, and spending time outside. She also enjoys going to festivals, line dancing, and going to paint night events. Through the years, she has sporadically done volunteer work for events at the school where she works or within the community.

We can't wait to share our favorite hobbies and adventures with a child!

Zach About Michelle: Michelle is the heart of the home; funny, outgoing, and always ready with a great story to tell. As a school psychologist, she is not only a hard worker but is also deeply passionate, dedicating herself to helping kids grow and succeed. Michelle balances her career and family with ease, making sure everything runs smoothly while keeping everyone laughing. With her strong presence and love for family, she is the kind of person who brings warmth, wisdom, and energy into every room she enters.

Michelle About Zach: Zach is quiet and introverted when outside of the home setting, but funny and more talkative when at home. I love that he is very determined and works super hard to improve himself when he sets his mind on doing something. Zach is even-tempered and does not anger easily. He is genuine, trustworthy, loving, and patient. Zach also has an endearing child-like love of Christmas that will be wonderful to share with his own children someday.

We absolutely love pets and we have our own little menagerie of them. When we moved in together, we combined Zach's dog (Moxon, Australian Cattle Dog/Border Collie mix) and Michelle's dog (Keaton, Shih Tzu) and 2 cats (Boo and Sesame) into one happy little family. Over the past year and a half, two litters of kittens have unexpectedly been born in our yard to stray neighborhood cats. We captured the kittens that we could, with a plan of fostering them until we could find good homes for them. Through this experience, we have learned that we are not capable of fostering kittens without falling head over heels in love with them. As such, we now have 4 additional young kitties (Spooky, Matty, Simon, and Tazzy) in our family for a total of 8 pets. Our friends and family joke that we have our own little zoo and while we certainly have more pets currently than we ever anticipated having, we honestly wouldn't have it any other way. Not only do our fur babies entertain us with their silly little shenanigans, but they also provide a sense of calm after a busy day and they provide world-class snuggles that we can't imagine our lives without.

We live in the countryside outside of a mid-size town in rural Pennsylvania. We live in a three-bedroom split-entry home with a finished basement and a sunroom. Michelle's favorite room of the house is the sunroom, where on a warm, sunny day she can relax and read a good book while snuggling with the kitties and looking out over a flower bed of daffodils and tulips. Zach's favorite area is the finished basement, where he can watch a good movie or catch a football game. Our yard is close to two acres, giving us plenty of room for a child to run and play, kick a soccer ball, throw a frisbee, or build a fort in the woods. Our yard is bordered on two sides by fields, with the neighbor cows occasionally coming up to the fence for a visit. On the other two sides, we have kind and helpful neighbors.

While we live in the country, we are a quick 10-minute drive from the closest town. Although our town has a quaint, small-town feel, it has many exciting things to do, ranging from various annual festivals (Apple Festival, Ice Cream Festival, etc.); to an aquatic center with multiple pools, water slides, and a splash pad for the little ones; to multiple parks, playgrounds, and even an amusement center (with go carts, mini-golf, arcades, and laser tag). There are so many fun opportunities in the area and we can't wait to share these opportunities with a child.

Laughter, stories, love, and games ... that's what it's like when surrounded by our families. We both come from close-knit families who are in contact regularly despite living approximately 2.5 hours apart. There is never a boring moment when we are together, and we cherish all of those times.

Zach's family consists of his parents, older brother and wife, younger brother, two nieces and two nephews. We typically see them a few times per year and enjoy visiting for Christmas and other big occasions. Zach talks and texts with his parents and brothers nearly daily. We also love having the opportunity to visit with his aunts, uncles, and cousins at family events.

Michelle's family consists of her parents, older brother and fiancé, niece, nephew, and soon-to-be step-nephew. Despite the distance, we see Michelle's family on a regular basis throughout the year. In addition to visiting for major holidays, we visit many other times throughout the year and often travel together, along with Michelle's aunt and uncle and various other extended family members and friends.

Our families are both elated that we are pursuing adoption in order to expand our family. Michelle's parents and Zach's mom are very involved in sporting and other school events of their current grandchildren and they look forward to expanding their "grammy" and "pappy" role to include more children. Zach and Michelle's siblings, nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins are also all thrilled to welcome a new member to the family.

We want to express our deepest gratitude that you are taking the time to review our profile. We can't even imagine the range of emotions that you are likely feeling as you consider options and make these big decisions. Please know that while we pray every night that God will match us with a little one who is an incredible fit for our family, we also pray for you to have the guidance and support needed to process through these challenging decisions and emotions and to make decisions that are best for you and your child. Please know that we are fully committed to loving and supporting a child the same way that we would if it were our own biological child.

The two of us first met in 2020 in the midst of the pandemic. Due to the unique circumstances of that period of time, we had to get creative in order to have our first several dates in settings that hadn't been closed down…going for a walk in a park, going to a drive-in movie, etc. In 2022, we moved in together, joining our pets into a blended pet family. Then, in 2023, we said "I do" in a wonderful little wedding with our closest family and friends. Bringing a baby (or babies, if twins) into our family seems to be the best next step in our journey; however, over the past few years we have struggled with fertility issues, experiencing multiple miscarriages as well as an ectopic pregnancy. While these fertility issues have certainly been a challenging experience, we are ready to move beyond our own efforts of trying to have a biological child and to invest ourselves fully into raising a child through adoption.

To us, being a parent means sharing in life activities…both the positive and the not-so-positive with the little ones that we are raising. It means surrounding them with unconditional love and supporting them through everything that life has to offer. Being a parent means teaching a child how to grow into the best version of themselves that they can be; and delighting in all of the accomplishments that they achieve.

We are eager to share existing holiday traditions with a little one and to create new traditions within our own home over time. We look forward to watching a little ones' eyes light up when they walk downstairs on Christmas morning, or watching them run barefoot at the edge of the ocean when they visit the beach each summer. We are so excited to watch the world and all that it has to offer unfold through the eyes of a little one.

If you would happen to choose us to raise your child, we are willing to stay in contact with you by sending photos and letters with updates as the child grows. We understand the importance of the child knowing his or her biological background, as well as the peace of mind that receiving these kinds of updates may provide for you when making a decision of this nature. For this reason, we plan to be very open and honest with the child regarding his or her adoption background. If you are interested, we are also willing to bring the child to meet you at some point.

We know that this is most likely one of the biggest decisions that you have had to contemplate in your life, so please know that we are thinking of you and hoping that you are able to sort through all of the associated emotions. If talking with us by phone or virtually would be helpful in your decision-making process, we are certainly willing to do that.

Thank you for your time and consideration ... it really means the world to us.

Sincerely,

Zach & Michelle