Meet J and E! They are adopting! It’s been a long road with much heartache. But to arrive here is thrilling! Something I don’t want missed is the joy this sweet couple has in midst of their hardships. They have a peace that can’t be put into words. They know the Prince of Peace is holding their hearts and their future in His hands. They are here on the blog to share their love and lives through pictures that they will share with a future birth mom, along with their story, as they are considered and eventually chosen for adoption. What an emotional session, and a beautiful treasure I was given through meeting J & E and being a small part of this journey.
Here’s more about their story!
How long have you been married?
We have been married since 2016, but have been in a relationship since 2010. We met when we were both undergraduates in college at a university in Long Island, NY; I was 19 and E was 20.
Have you always lived in Colorado?
We both were born and raised in New York. E grew up in Long Island and I was raised in Queens. Our families are both in New York. We moved to Colorado in January 2023. Back in 2017 when we decided to explore the USA, Colorado was our first state to visit in our new adventures, and we fell in love. Since then, we have prayed for God to provide us with the opportunity to leave New York and create a new life out here in the mountains. God answered our prayers in Fall 2022 when E was presented with the chance to transfer his role to Colorado. Through continued prayer and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we finalized our decision right before the holidays of that year and drove cross country to Colorado. With a year under our belts, we can firmly say we made the right decision. We have built a strong community of fellow believers out here in Colorado, which has truly made our transition here so much easier and smoother. We are now hoping to purchase a home.
What do you enjoy doing together?
We feel that we are best friends, and truly find joy in simply being together. From the big and the small, as long as we get to do it together, we are happy. We have fun on hiking adventures, where we get to really connect (there really is no better place to talk for hours then on a very long hike). We also enjoy watching scary movies, whether at home or going to the movie theatre. We find true value in community and friendship, and we both enjoy spending time with really good friends. We also love food! We enjoy going out to eat or trying new recipes.
Tell me about some of your favorite travels.
Prior to getting married in 2016, we enjoyed traveling to warm, paradise-like countries. We went to Mexico, Costa Rica, and the Maldives. All beautiful memories we will cherish. Since 2017 when we started family planning, we made the decision to stick with our travels to the USA. Since then, we have visited numerous states (21 in total so far). We have found such joy in seeing our country and appreciating the beauty of God’s creation. On almost all of our travels, we have done hikes. For both E and I, our most favorite travel experience was when we visited Maui, Hawaii. Being able to go on gorgeous hikes during the day, and then wrap up our day on a stunning beach was something we loved the most. We hope to one day go back to Hawaii.
Tell me more about the adoption journey.
We started trying to conceive in 2017. After about a year of trying, we made the tough decision we thought we never would have to make, and that was to seek out medical attention. We were told by doctors that we were experiencing what is called “unexplained infertility.” There appeared to be no medical reason as to why we could not conceive a child on our own…in our hearts, we knew that there was a reason bigger than us. So, through prayer and with the guidance of our medical team, we made the decision to pursue IUI and the IVF. However, all of those medical interventions did not work. Through much loss and grief, we made the decision after our last round of IVF, to no longer go the route of medical intervention. In 2022, we began to explore the possibility of adoption, as we felt that God put on our hearts that we were to be parents one day. So, after much discussion and continued prayer, we began to engage in the adoption process back when we were still living in NY. However, when we were presented with the opportunity to move to Colorado, we chose to put adoption on the ‘shelf,’ and focus on our move. Once we felt settled here in Colorado, we asked God to give us a faith-based adoption agency that had a good reputation and would make this process as smooth as it could be. God answered our prayers and since the summer of 2023, we have been working with Hope’s Promise. We are excited to be on this journey and are trusting God’s plan for our lives and the life of the child that He will gift us with.
J & E, many congratulations in advance for such a glorious celebration! Enjoy your sneak peek…and I can’t wait to meet your baby (girl?) when she gets here.
-Jamie
Parker, Colorado Family Photographer
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