We are Titus, Marissa, Avrie, Sebastian, and Judah! Thank you for taking the time to get to know our family through our profile. We are so excited to meet and get to know you as well, if you feel that you want to learn more about us!
We already respect and appreciate you so much. We are humbled and so thankful that you would consider choosing us to love, parent, and raise your child. “Thank you” doesn’t feel like enough to say, but those are the words 1,000 times over, that we’d like to express to you as you are making such a difficult decision.
We want you to know that we have been praying for you— that God will be with you, guide you, and give you peace.
Expectant mothers who choose to make an adoption plan may qualify for some level of financial assistance during their pregnancy. However, each person's situation and specific needs are different. Your adoption social worker can help you determine what level of assistance you qualify for and deserve. Many expectant mothers qualify for financial assistance to cover basic pregnancy and living expenses, including but not limited to - transportation reimbursement, utility assistance for phone, water, and electricity/gas, maternity clothing and supplements, etc.
It won't cost you anything. If you choose to place your baby for adoption, all of your medical and legal fees will be covered and you may be eligible for financial assistance with other pregnancy-related expenses.
Yes. Even if you don’t know the identity of the birth father, you can still choose to make an adoption plan. However, every adoption situation is different. The adoption social worker you’re assigned to will get to know you and your story first, and then guide you through the process accordingly.
You can make an adoption plan at any point in your pregnancy, even after the baby has been born. But, it's important to start the process as early in your pregnancy as possible. Connecting with those resources will allow you to gain access to important medical services, including prenatal care, to help ensure a healthy pregnancy.
One aspect of your adoption plan is the "Hospital Plan" an outline of how you'd like your hospital stay and delivery to go. You can craft this on your own or with the help of your adoption social worker. But everything is up to you. You’ll be able to choose who comes to the hospital with you, who is in the room with you during delivery, and how much time you’d like to spend with the baby before signing the final papers.
As part of your adoption plan, you'll determine whether or not you’d like to have an open or closed adoption or something in between. Open adoptions may include phone calls, messaging (via social media, email, or text), and/or periodic visits each year. Closed adoptions may include no contact at all or annual updates provided to the birth parent(s) by the adoptive family. Each post-adoption relationship is different and can vary based on what an expectant mother chooses in her adoption plan.
One of my favorite Christmas traditions is simply going and getting the Christmas tree! I don't know what it is about it but I love the whole evening! Picking out the tree, playing Christmas music as we decorate it with lights and ornaments, and stopping randomly to just dance to the music together. It all just feels so cozy 🥰
Judah LOVED his first camping trip! We saw so many cool animals and hiked on a ton of trails! Judah LOVED the tent and thought it was so funny that we got to sleep in it. We try to go to this same camp ground every year because we all love it so much!
What do you do when your Michigan grandparents come to visit? You spend the weekend at the beach of course! We got to stay at a lovely beach house with Titus' parents this weekend. They come to visit us here in Florida every year and it is always a treat! We played games, chatted, the older guys played pickle ball, we made sand castles, ate good food, and enjoyed the nice warm gulf. We also had two SPECTACULAR sunsets! While they were here we also celebrated Avrie and Judah's November birthdays (they're 19 and 2 now!)! I brought party decor and cake ingredients with us so we had their birthday party right there at the beach! The rest of the family all came out to celebrate and the boys enjoyed cake and opening presents!
We had such a fun Halloween! We got to go to our church's trunk or treat which I went to when I was a child and I plan to take my children to every year as well. They had so many cute trunks, some big bounce houses/slides, and food trucks! Judah was a puppy this year and was all smiles as he ran around and did all the festivities!
We've been busy the past week. My Mom and I took my youngest boy Judah to Disney World for a couple nights and then when we came back all of us stayed out at the beach for 3 nights! It's our annual tradition for my brother to come into town with his family for a beach family reunion. All the cousins have a blast together. We go to the beach, fish, play in the sand, go to the pool, and play games.
A lot of people have been checking in after Florida was hit by its second hurricane in two weeks. Helene didn't affect us as much but this one was much closer. Thankfully, our home is built with hurricanes in mind and it's not in a flood zone. We all made it through safely and the older boys are AGAIN happy for some extra days off of school 🥰 Hurricane days are Florida kids' equivalent to snow days! We lost some palm branches and the power was out for a very little bit but it's back on now and we had no damage. Praising God! Here's a photo of Judah during our morning walk trying to pick up a coconut that fell during the storm 😊
We are very grateful that our house didn't have any damage from the recent hurricane. We actually had a good couple of stay-at-home days together as a family because the older boys were off of work and school so we got extra hang out time together! Some surrounding neighborhoods did have some flooding but our neighborhood is fine. Praising God for that while praying for all those who have been so strongly affected. Also, Titus and I try to go to a marriage conference once a year and it got cancelled this year due to the hotel having some flooding. But we already had the time off and Judah was already looking forward to having a grandma and grandpa weekend so we still decided to go to Tampa for a couple nights. We enjoyed visiting a couple nature parks, exploring an aquarium, eating good food, scootering along the bay, and just catching up on life together. Many of our conversations together are still focused on growing our family. We really long for and look forward to the day where we get to welcome another baby into our family!
A question I get asked SO often is how do the older boys do with Judah? And I always grin a bit because if they ever saw them interact for even a second they would know instantly that Judah ADORES his big "bubbas". And his big brothers adore him right back! They make him laugh and include him and give him so much attention that it never ceases to amaze me. They are the best, most responsible teenage boys and Judah loves to copy anything he sees them do. I love that he's growing up with not just his mommy and daddy but also two other built in role-models. It's so nice to have so many young adults and adults in one house because we can really always be giving the little one/s the attention they long for. I can't wait for another little boy or girl to get to experience the same attention/love!
We had a wonderful 2024 family reunion! We got to stay on Houghton Lake and spend a lot of quality time together! All 23 grandkids/cousins were there this time (plus an aunt that's due any day with another cousin/grandbaby) and they all had SO much fun on the boat, in the water, in the sandbox, on the swings, playing with toys, and being together! These reunions are truly every child's dream come true! I love that they have so many cousins. It's so fun watching them all play to their hearts content! And so nice for all of us adults to get to spend time together and catch up on life! They all know of our dream to adopt one more child and are so excited to welcome another child into the family!
One of our favorite traditions is going on a family vacation every summer! This year we decided to go to Kentucky and see the Ark Encounter and do some fishing/hiking. We had a GREAT time! We stayed for a week and enjoying being outdoors with each other. We stayed at a really cool airbnb that had a huge pond that the older boys caught SO many fish in. We also went on a different hiking trail every day. One of our favorite hikes was at the Red River Gorge where they had a HUGE rock you could jump off of into the water. We can't wait to share this tradition with another child one day!
We had an awesome week with cousins this week! We got to go to Chuck E Cheese, the beach twice, the children's museum, a splash pad, and visit at our own house and grandmas house. The three boys (our Judah is 18 months and their boys are 1 year old and 3 years old) all had SO much fun together! The boys kept hugging each other and they shared much laughter!
We took a new family photo at family night last night because these boys look so much older every day! We love family night. We get together with Marissa's parents once a week at their house or at a park for dinner and to catch up. It's always a bright spot in our week!
We got to go to Clearwater for our five year anniversary. It was only a two night trip but it was a great time of connecting, planning, dreaming, and celebrating 5 years of marriage. The sunrises were gorgeous and the coffee was delicious. We truly feel like the better our marriage is the better our kids will thrive. A picture of a heathy marriage is something we hope and work to always offer to our children. And this trip was a great way to model that. They also didn't complain one bit about getting to spend two nights away from mom and dad with their grandma and grandpa (who may spoil them a bit) 😂
Easter weekend fell on my husband's birthday weekend this year! So our weekend was full of celebrations! Titus' birthday was on Saturday so our youngest son and I took him a birthday lunch at work and made him cookies. Then on Sunday we went to church and celebrated our Risen Savior Jesus! After church, we went home for naps and food prep. Then we joined Marissa's parents for an egg hunt, early dinner, and dessert. On Monday we had family over for Titus' birthday party. Birthday parties are always fun in our family. Titus picked pizza/cheese puffs for dinner and a strawberry shortcake truffle this year for his dessert! He also got a new bow and arrow which he and the older boys enjoyed playing with in the back yard.
We feel so blessed to live in Florida! We both love being outside so much and in Florida we can go for multiple walks a day all year round (and we DO)! One of our favorite places (besides our neighborhood) to walk is the Six Mile Cypress Slough. Almost the whole walk is a boardwalk through trees and beside ponds. We always see cool birds and animals. We've gone to this particular park regularly for six years now. In November of 2022 we adopted our precious son and he now shares our love of the park as well! It's such a blessing to get to introduce one of our favorite places to him and see him grow to love the outdoors as much as we do! We bring his tricycle and he likes to switch back and forth between walking and riding his trike.
We had so much fun this weekend. Every year we spend a weekend with my (Marissa's) parents and brother's family. My brother and his family couldn't come this year due to the hurricane and travel logistics. But we decided to still go with our boys and my parents. And we had a great time. We went to the beach, the pools, the tennis court, pickle ball court, and walked around the neighborhood. We also had so much fun trying all new food places. It was so nice to spend some quality family time! Now we are looking forward to Titus' family coming to Florida next month!
We are safe! Praise God! Our area got hit very hard by the hurricane, but our neighborhood is very well built and we sustained very little damage besides trees down in the neighborhood. Titus and I are both nurses so we stayed at the hospital throughout the storm taking care of patients. We ended up being there for 52 hours straight! My parents were awesome and had a sleepover with the boys while we were gone! We'll never forget the memories we all made. Because our house and vehicles are ok we are free to help others and have been busy helping pick up branches and shingles for others. Days I'm not working at the hospital, I have also been collecting clothing from my neighbors for our church to distribute. I have been blown away by how much our neighbors have donated. I've already taken over two trunk fulls! (See photo) I already loved our neighbors and neighborhood but this all has just solidified how great they are!! Also, so grateful for a church that's so involved in the community and already reaching out to those in need! As I drive around and see the detestation, I am so grateful for...
My scrapbooking buddies are a little more distracting than helpful but I love it! I'm finally working on my 2022 Scrapbook and it looks good so far. I'm finally caught up to June and enjoying re-living our summer vacation as I arrange and paste on all the photos. Feeling grateful for our family and hopeful for its growth one day ❤️
I love to bake! So it's no wonder I get excited at all the new recipes in each season! It seems like there is pumpkin spice and apple cider everywhere! Can't wait to eat these homemade pumpkin spice muffins and drink some warm apple cider while enjoying our family time together tonight!
Look at my little nephew! Isn't he just the cutest? My brother and sister in law just announced that they are expecting again!! I'm so excited because this means that between November and March we will have three new neices/nephews to love on (two of my other sisters in law are due in November and March)! And whenever the Lord blesses our family with a little one they will be SO surrounded with the MOST cousin love ❤️❤️❤️
You know how sometimes a verse just pops out likea little hidden gem? Well, this was the one for metoday. It never ceases to amaze me that a high, holy,and eternal God would care to come down andrevive a contrite and lowly me or us! Praising God for this today.
One of my patients bought me flowers this weekend and it made me smile! Reminded me that even the little things we do like smile at some one in the grocery store, pick up something they dropped, or hold the door for them, can make a difference! Small acts of selflessness can make an impact on someone else's day!
I love our backyard! It's probably one of my favorite parts of our house. We already had papaya, mango, banana, pineapple, and guava growing. But we added a cherry bush and grape vine today! Can't wait until it's time to go out there and start picking!
Just finished working a couple shifts! Titus and I love being nurses and wouldn't choose any other career for ourselves! Thought I'd share a photo I took at the height of the pandemic modeling full gear! One of our pastors asked if we'd share about our experiences being on the COVID floor on a podcast recently... it was a very interesting experience and WAY out of our comfort zone. Check it out here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/here-at-home/id1557553426?i=1000574964597
We had our Michigan summer family reunion this week (we do two Michigan reunions a year). What fun! One family wasn’t able to make it with their 5 children. But the other 15 cousins were all present and had a blast! I was trying to think of how to describe our reunions… Have you ever been to summer camp or to grandmas house for a week? Well these lake-side reunions are like all the good parts of both of those combined! There were board games, card games, group games, treasure box time with grandpa, good food/desserts with grandma, water balloon fights, puzzles, naps, walks to the park, rides on the four wheeler or golf cart, four square, boat rides, tubing, biking, chalk drawing, and much much more! The kids ages range from 16 years to 5 months old currently and two families also recently announced they are pregnant again! All the families (except ours) have 4-6 kids. So every cousin seems to have a playmate and there is so much happening all the time between all the different age appropriate playing going on! Titus is one of 7 boys and this is his family’s reunion. So all of...