Craig and Carrie

We want to begin by simply saying: thank you. Thank you for even considering us. The choice you are facing is deeply personal and undoubtedly complex, and we hold immense respect and admiration for your strength and selflessness. If you’re reading this, please know that we already hold space in our hearts for you and the life you are carrying, with empathy and gratitude.

We are Carrie and Craig, partners in life for 18 years, best friends, and now hoping with open hearts to become parents. We met as teenagers working behind the counter at a Baskin Robbins and quickly became inseparable. While Carrie pursued her psychology degree and Craig joined the Navy as a nuclear reactor supervisor, our paths stayed intertwined. Marriage brought us across the country and around the world, and we’ve never let go of our shared love for adventure and each other.

Carrie is a warm, compassionate, and deeply grounded person. She’s outdoorsy and energetic. She is someone who lights up on a hiking trail or doing anything active outside, but she’s also the kind of friend who’s always there with a listening ear or a comforting shoulder. She currently works helping government employees move overseas, and although her family lives far away, she prioritizes time with them and stays close.

Craig is a thoughtful, principled person with a deep well of care for others. He’s the kind of guy who’s always contemplating life’s bigger questions and then cracking a well-timed joke to keep things light. After earning a degree that combines his technical Navy background with finance, he now manages several data centers in northern Virginia. He brings intentionality to everything he does, especially relationships.

Together, we’ve built a life rooted in empathy, laughter, and shared values. We believe that being human is a complex, beautiful, and sometimes messy journey and our home reflects that. It’s cozy and lived-in, full of warmth and character, and there’s already a nursery room in the works, complete with a baby blanket and a sweet painting Carrie made for the future little one.

We live just outside Washington, DC, in a relaxed townhome community with nearby wooded trails and parks. While this may be a temporary home, the heart of our household is constant: we eat dinner together every night, go on long evening walks, and are laughing all the time. Our weekends are often spent exploring the outdoors, hosting movie nights, hanging out with close friends or traveling around the country in hopes of experiencing something new.

We also share our home with our incredibly affectionate and goofy cat, Odie. He’s full of personality and loves a good snuggle. We recently said goodbye to our beloved golden retriever, Todd, who was with us for 11 wonderful years. He was our first “baby,” and we still carry his memory closely.

Family means everything to us. Carrie is very close with her parents, her brother Jamie, and her sisters, Ellen and Emily. Her parents, brother, and oldest sister live in Nashville, and her other sister lives in Atlanta with her husband. We have five wonderful nieces and nephews who we adore and visit as often as possible. We love showing up for their milestones. Our oldest niece just graduated high school, and our youngest nephew recently finished his baseball season with a championship win. We were there to celebrate both moments and would not have missed them for anything.

On Craig’s side, his family is more spread out, but just as important. His dad, grandmother, and uncle live in Ohio, and his sister and her husband are in Tennessee. He is also close with his aunt and uncle, Troy and Krissy, in Florida, who are loving, fun, and incredibly supportive. Their two college age kids are excited for a new baby cousin to join the family.

Carrie’s cousins on her mom’s side are some of our best friends. Even though they live in Colorado, we make time to be together, and we know they will be a positive and meaningful influence in our child’s life.

We are lucky to have such a close and loving family. Our siblings, cousins, nieces, and nephews are all excited to welcome another child into the family. Carrie’s parents are thrilled to become grandparents again, and Craig’s dad is especially excited to become a grandfather for the first time. From the very beginning, this child will be surrounded by support, encouragement, and love.

Carrie and I both deeply value our roots and the importance of family, and we plan to move back to Tennessee soon after we welcome a child. We want to be closer to the people we love and raise our family in a community that feels like home.

Our deepest hope is to create a future for a child where they feel safe, unconditionally loved, and empowered to grow into the most authentic version of themselves. We want them to know laughter, to develop strong values, and to feel both challenged and supported as they grow. We are especially passionate about raising a child to understand and embrace the complexities of life, to have empathy for themselves and for others, and to feel pride in their own unique story, including their adoption and the incredible person who brought them into the world.

We would be honored to support whatever relationship you feel comfortable with, whether that means continued connection or simply keeping your presence and story alive in the heart of this child.

Thank you again for considering us. We don’t take your courage or your trust lightly, and we hope you can feel the love and intention behind these words. No matter where your path leads, we wish you peace, clarity, and strength in the journey ahead.

With love and respect,

Carrie & Craig