Firstly, we would like you to know how much we appreciate your decision to donate your embryo/s, allowing people, including us, the opportunity to create or expand our families. We understand how difficult a decision that must have been, and we are so grateful that you’ve chosen that path.

A little about us and our journey that brought us to Embryo Solution. Mom-To-Be (MTB) and Dad-To-Be (DTB) were previously married/divorced when we met, and married later in life. MTB had a miscarriage early in her first marriage and did not go on to have any children, by choice, as she was not comfortable bringing a child into the world with her now ex-spouse. DTB married and had two children early in his life, followed by a vasectomy, when they decided that their family was complete.

Before marrying, we decided we wanted to try to expand our family with children. We discussed and concluded that, although we are a bit older, we live an active lifestyle, are in an even better place to raise children emotionally and financially, and have much more life experience to offer now. Having drawn on our past experiences in marriages, we have built ours based on communication, affection, and trust, and we feel we would be an excellent example for our future children. Knowing that we had an uphill battle with our ages and circumstances, we started researching our realistic options, where we discovered embryo adoption. Adopting a child that was already born was always an option for us, but MTB, having never carried a child before, has had this strong urge to do so and have that extra bonding experience. After learning that there are frozen embryos already created that are ready to be adopted, carried, and brought into loving families, we felt this was the direction we were meant to go, rather than the nearly impossible path of trying to create a new life on our own. After consulting with our doctor, it was confirmed that MTB’s chances of conceiving via her own eggs were indeed basically zero. At that point, the decision was easy, so here we are, looking for a family who has graciously decided to donate their embryo so we can create our own family.

A little more about us, where we came from, and where we are now. DTB grew up in small-town America, which didn’t offer much culture. However, after college and 9/11, he felt a strong calling to join the military. He served as an Air Force officer for 23.5 years, recently retired from the military, and now works as a contractor for the Air Force in the Occupational Safety and Health space, allowing him to work from home or at the office. Getting new assignments and moving every few years was not easy, but it allowed him and his kids to meet people from all walks of life across the country, something he hadn’t had before. DTB’s children are about to turn 21 and 18. They both live in another state with their mother and join us for vacations, events, and holidays when their schedules allow. His almost 21-year-old son is in college with the aspiration of becoming an airline mechanic. His almost 18-year-old daughter is about to graduate from high school this spring, with college credits, and plans to attend college to pursue a law degree. Technology has made it so much easier to stay close to them.

MTB grew up near a large city, where she was exposed to diverse cultures from an early age. She is very much a people person, which led her to work in hospitality for most of her adult life, including restaurants in a major US city, where she met and interacted with people from all around the world, including coworkers. She is very into the arts and loves taking photographs to capture every moment (as you’ll see in the collection of photos we’ve chosen. It was hard to narrow it down). Making personalized items like shirts or ornaments with her Cricut is something she also really enjoys. MTB has always loved kids from a young age. She was the neighborhood babysitter, which led to her becoming a summer nanny for a family with three boys under 8 when she was just 13. During summer camp, she was the “big sister” to the littles, guiding and looking over them. As an adult, she has been known as the “fun Aunt” and the one whom younger kids always know they can go to. She is currently a homemaker, which allows her to be home with future children until they reach school age.

We met organically, doing something we both enjoy, at the right time and place in each of our lives. We each purchased a Jeep in our first marriages, eventually divorced, and ended up living in the same state. We both joined the same Jeep Wrangler Club, where we go off-road, volunteer, and have fellowship. DTB is a club trail guide, and we met on MTB’s first trail ride. Having mutual friends in the club made it easy to get to know one another. During our courtship, DTB’s final assignment had us leave that area and brought us to DC, where DTB was stationed at the Pentagon. This didn’t stop us from seeing our friends, who are like family, at our Jeep Club gatherings. We road tripped back numerous times to go on trail rides and volunteer in events that our Club hosts. During one of those events, we got engaged around the campfire with all of our Jeep friends, who had become family. We decided to elope by self-officiating our own marriage in Washington, D.C., in front of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, 2 years to the minute after we met, on the exact spot we sat to watch the July 4th fireworks our first summer in DC. We chose to get married, just the 2 of us, as our families and friends are spread across the country. While we are already married, we would love to plan a future “family wedding” where we renew our vows and celebrate becoming one big blended family with our current and future child/ren, along with all of our extended family and friends.

We relocated back to the state where our Jeep club and DTB's family are also. Our house has room for a growing family and is located in a rural area with 6 acres among corn/soy fields and cattle farms, yet it's just 8-10 minutes from towns and 30-45 minutes to larger cities that offer a variety of cultures. Nearby, there are many trail systems where we hike together. Our location also allows for easy travel, be it by plane, train, or automobile. We are currently looking forward to a trip to Europe this fall, where DTB will be sent for a work trip. We are fortunate to have the ability and financial resources to allow MTB to join and extend the work trip to visit Düsseldorf, Germany, and Amsterdam for an anniversary trip. We’ve opted to take a train instead of an extra flight as we love traveling by train, relaxing, and taking in the sights. We have taken Amtrak numerous times, including the overnight Auto Train from VA to FL. Road trips are often taken, and usually include a stop at a Buc-ees. We’ve been to ones in 5 different states and have even stopped at 4 locations in one day. We also enjoy camping, especially during Jeep events, when the weather allows. We can't wait to share our love of travel and the outdoors with our future children!

Both MTD and DTB come from large, blended families where everyone is accepted as family, not step, not half, just family. Our future adopted child/ren, while not biologically related, will be accepted as family. No less than, no different than anyone else. DTB’s parents and siblings live within driving distance, including numerous young nephews/nieces that our child/ren will grow up with. MTB’s parents and siblings live a bit further away, but that allows us to travel and see/explore other parts of the country. Our local Jeep “family” consists of friends of various ages and from different walks of life. Some have children of their own, while others have grandchildren, which will offer our future children “aunts/uncles/cousins” of all ages. There are also past and present military “family” who live nearby and will offer the same family dynamics.

We look forward to sharing our values and traditions with our children, along with creating new ones as a family. Early on, we decided on household rules and values based on our past experiences. They include open communication, along with helping others when having a difficult time doing so, honesty, even if you're in the wrong, kindness always, as you never know what someone is going through, mutual respect, patience, accountability, and owning the wrongdoing with an apology, and generosity, especially in the way of volunteering. A few quotes we love are “Do the right thing, even if no one notices, and be proud of that effort!” and “We love because He first loved us.” Things we do in our household are family mealtime with no phones, family game nights/movie nights/outings like mini golf, sitting around the campfire out back just chatting, and volunteering our time or money when we’re able. Birthdays are a big deal, no matter your age! We’ve got family recipes we’d love to pass down, including Yorkshire Pudding and rice and beans. Holidays are also a big deal in our house, decorating inside and out. MTB loves making homemade costumes for Halloween because her mother made all of her costumes as a kid. She hopes to be able to do the same for her child/ren. Christmas is all about decorating with about 40 blow molds outside and cutting down the largest tree that will fit in our home. The tree gets decorated with ornaments we have collected during our travels or purchased to represent a highlight from that year. Fall brings apple picking and visiting local farms. Spring is when we put out our hummingbird feeders to enjoy their presence all summer.

Along with everything we’ve mentioned, MTB envisions snuggling as a family reading bedtime stories, singing and dancing around the house at random times and having a little one to be mommy’s little helper around the house, cleaning, gardening, taking care of indoor plants, cooking and baking (she loved doing all these activities with her own mom and grandmother as a kid herself! As a home maker now, those moments with them, instilled pride in ownership as an adult). She was active in sports, dance, and choir as a child and would love to share her passion for these activities with her child/ren. One of the many reasons MTB fell for DTB was the way he talked about his children, the love he had for them, and the way he interacted with other people's younger children. DTB is a great role model in that he is a true gentleman (they exist, not just in the movies!) He has taught his other children and would love to show his future child/ren how a man should respect and treat a lady, including holding doors, getting and carrying umbrellas, facing the door while seated in a restaurant, and walking on the dangerous side of the sidewalks. He also loves being silly with his children and has collected quite the arsenal of “dad jokes” that he’d enjoy having laughs with another child! His love of classic 80s and 90s movies and TV is something he also looks forward to sharing with more children. Family outings are great, but one-on-one child/parent “dates” are something we’d love to do, too. Together, we’d like to demonstrate how a couple who genuinely love each other should respect and take care of one another, and be a united team in our marriage and as parents.

From,

a very excited Mom and Dad to be!