Ryan & Rachel are a wonderful family in New York that are excited to build their family through adoption.
You can find out more about them by visiting their online profiile or blog
Rachel and Ryan
Kind, busy, reflective, committed
Lovers of late-night runs, thundering rainstorms, and divine desserts
Who feel grateful when enjoying Christmas dinner with family, frustrated when fertility treatments aren’t working, and content when holding hands on our balcony
Who need God, more sleep, and each other
Who look forward to Ryan walking across the stage with his dental diploma, Rachel singing lullabies to our babies, and our children making us laugh with their crazy antics
Residents of a funky upstairs apartment with colored walls and wood floors
Buffalo, NY
Thank you for taking the time to get to know our family better.
We would like to introduce ourselves by describing our lives—past, present, and future:
Life as it was…
For both of us, growing up was a flurry of fun with family. Rachel and her sisters put on original musical productions in the backyard (we still laugh at the video of “The Cowboy and the Prunes”), while Ryan and his brothers enjoyed spirited athletic competitions in their backyard (sometimes resulting in tears and broken bones). As we got older, Rachel’s family remained close through late-night talks on Mom’s bed after the girls all got home from outings with friends; Ryan’s family remained close through nightly dinners around the kitchen table where they would laugh and share together. Our families have always been, and will continue to be, our closest friends.
Our lives intersected when we were set-up on a “blind date” in 2004. After an outing to the local “Nickelcade,” we sat on a bean bag, sipping Jones sodas and talking about life. Rachel was immediately intrigued by Ryan because of his quiet kindness and cute blue eyes; Ryan was attracted to Rachel because of her contagious energy and her obvious drive to make a difference in the world.
We continued to get to know each other during long evening runs and hours spent studying at the college library. Throughout our year-long courtship, we encouraged each other to grow and seek new experiences, and we found that our personalities complement each other, as we share common core values but have different strengths and weaknesses.
On December 28, 2005, we were married in the Denver Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Because we both share a love for children and service, we decided to spend the first three months of our marriage living in an orphanage for persons with disabilities in El Salvador. The children have become such an important part of our lives that we have returned for a visit every summer since and also run a program that sends college-aged volunteers to live at the orphanage year-round.
Life as it is…
Every day, we wake up at 6:30 a.m. (after pushing the snooze button at least five times), and as Rachel scrambles to find something to wear to work, Ryan makes her a fruit smoothie for breakfast. After a quick hug and kiss, Rachel shouts something ridiculous like, “See ya—wouldn’t wanna be ya!” as she charges out the door. Then at the bottom of the stairs, she adds, “I love you, Babe!” Sometimes she calls him from her cell phone on her way to work, just so they can talk a bit longer.
During the day, Ryan, a senior in dental school, chats with patients, fills cavities, and tries to keep his grumpy professors happy; Rachel, a high school English teacher, attempts to remain sane while discussing The Catcher in the Rye with her juniors and editing 120 research papers between classes. Days are busy for both of us, and we look forward to dinnertime, when we reunite to talk over a hastily prepared meal.
We are happy. We love our lives, and we love being married.
Life as we hope it will be…
We dream of having a big, loud, and loving family, and we are excited about the changes that will occur in our lives when we become parents.
Rachel will be a stay-at-home mom, using her skills as a teacher to plan learning-based adventures for the family, such as a journey to camp by the Mississippi River after we’ve read Huckleberry Finn or a road trip to Washington D.C. after we’ve studied American history. She hopes to use her love of writing to capture family memories in journals, personal narratives, and memoirs.
Ryan will be a pediatric dentist and a devoted father. An avid athlete, he looks forward to bonding with his children during early-morning tennis matches or as he coaches their Little League teams. He hopes his children will find him pouring over the scriptures and other good books during quiet moments at home, just as he often found his own father studying at the kitchen table.
We both love to learn and serve, and we hope to pass these traits on to our children. We plan to continue our work with the orphanage in El Salvador, particularly because the orphanage residents do not have consistent access to dental care. Ryan hopes to provide annual treatments, while Rachel and our kids can assist him as well as teach classes on oral health.
Life is good, and we know that life will only get better as our family begins to grow. We excitedly await the adoption of our first child.
