Howdy! It's so nice to "meet" you!

We're Shawn and Malena, and the little girl pictured is our daughter, Amelia.  Thank you for allowing us into this space and for taking the time to get to know us.

For us, we have always wanted to adopt. Because of Shawn's experience as an adopted child, we know firsthand the good that can come out of adoption, and we look forward to creating a loving environment for a child to join our growing family this way someday. We are grateful for the opportunity to introduce ourselves to you, and we would be honored to learn more about you.

About Us

If there is one thing you should know about us it's that we are an active and adventurous family that loves big and laughs often.

It is one of the greatest goals of our family to live authentically and we believe we do this best by rolling with the punches and understanding that life is messy. We love God, attend church weekly, and pray every day. We try to make everyone we come in contact with feel welcomed, included, and safe to be their best and most genuine selves.We show up for friends and family; long distances or near, we're there. We love to travel and always spend at least one week a year traveling somewhere we've never been together.

We have a great affection for the outdoors; whether that's jogging with our baby Amelia, walking the dog, hiking, camping, or just enjoying our backyard, we feel connected to life when we're outside. We also like to cook and find joy in learning new recipes and making mistakes together. Lastly, because of Shawn's job as a high school football coach, "Football season" is a real season for us, and we can often be found as a family under the Friday night lights.

Home sweet home!

Our home is our safe place because we've made it that way.

We moved together to Houston, Texas so it was important that our neighborhood, home and life here felt like something we built together. Our home is a 1960s craftsman that we have spent the last two years remodeling and making our own all on our own. We have four bedrooms welcome for anyone at any time and two bathrooms. We also have a garage and a great backyard! The kitchen is the epicenter of the house and where we often congregate together, with friends, or with family. Our living room and dining room are also openly connected with large windows for outside viewing.

Our city is a bustling area with plenty of things to do. We enjoy the access to parks, endless restaurants, and easy interstate access to see family. We also love that there are people from all kinds of backgrounds, great sporting events and concerts to attend, and limitless opportunities for young families.

Malena's Favorite Things

• Ice cream and chocolate

• Reading a good book

• Going on a run

• Riding my bike

• Roller-blading

• Fishing

• Yoga

• Dinner with friends

• The feeling of sun on my skin & water through my fingers

• Seeing a place I've never seen before

Shawn’s Favorite Things

• Cooking

• Working in and then enjoying my backyard

• Competing in sports

• Football and training athletes

• Reading and Learning

• Craft beer and good coffee

• Being outside - whether camping or simply sitting on a patio enjoying music

Thank you!

Should we have the opportunity to join you in loving this child, we promise to surround your child with all our love for the rest of his or her life. We will see your child as an individual with a unique personality, needs, and desires. We will raise him or her to know the unconditional love of Jesus, to find their worth in God, and help them develop their whole person whoever that may be and whatever that might look like.

We know we won't be perfect, but we will always be in it together. No matter what comes, our family will be first. Thank you again for letting us introduce ourselves, and we hope one day we might learn more about you, too.