Hi, we are Alec and Kelcey, and before we share our story with you, we simply want to say, thank you. Thank you for your strength, hope, and selflessness in exploring how to provide the best future for your baby. We want you to know that a child adopted into our family doesn't replace their first family. The kiddo that we adopt will be one who learns to laugh and cry and take adventures and live in our home AND knows the unimaginable love of their first family. We are so grateful to be able to share God’s love through this family extension of adoption!

We met as college students in San Diego in August of 2007 where we both were on campus early for some training as ministry leaders. When Alec asked Kelcey to the zoo on their first date, we both knew it was something special. After many more zoo dates, ministry adventures, and three years of dating, we got married. 

After two advanced degrees and a move to Kansas City and back, we decided to start trying to expand our family. We experienced unexplained infertility and therefore turned to adoption. We welcomed our first son, Caleb, into our home in December of 2018 through adoption. We then became foster parents in late 2020 and moved to Denver in 2021 for Alec to become a librarian.

Though many of our dreams had been fulfilled, we still felt a part of our family was missing. Now that we are settled here, we are excited to expand our family once again through another adoption.

Alec loves legos, learning, and life itself. Never one to meet a stranger, he can make anyone feel like they belong. Alec’s sense of humor keeps me, and our friends, from taking life too seriously. He cares deeply for everyone in his life; so much so that I often have to stop him from buying another book or puzzle for Caleb or our nieces and nephews. 

While I roll my eyes as Alec describes details from a soccer game or the latest animal he wants as a pet, I secretly love how passionate he is about all sorts of things, big and small. His attitude towards life brings positive vibes for all those he comes across. Anytime we take a little trip and know we will be away from Caleb for the night, he asks me, “Do you miss Caleb? I miss him.” Alec is already a great dad planning all the games and adventures for us and has already started a list of what we want to do as a family of 4, not just 3!

Kelcey enjoys writing, all things Disney, and being outside, whether on a hike or just soaking up the sun. Her heart lies in working with children and over the past fifteen years that I’ve known her, she has taught Sunday School, middle schoolers with special needs, preschoolers and cooking and nutrition classes for kids, adults and seniors. Connecting with kids comes naturally to Kelcey as evidenced in how our friends’ daughter is devastated when they come over and Kelcey isn’t home. 

If I had to choose just one phrase to describe Kelcey it would be: she helps people make their lives better. We have fun together playing games (even when she beats me), discussing deep and silly things in the same conversation and cuddling on the couch while watching reruns of tv shows. Kelcey is a great mom, sharing her curiosity about all sorts of things and empathy for the world around her with Caleb. I know that she already has special Mommy and me moments planned for our new son or daughter!

We own a split-level, colonial-style home in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. We’re just a few miles from the public library, which we visit weekly, several playgrounds, and both of the schools where we work. Downstairs is the envy of kids of all ages – a giant play area lined with bins of LEGO, a play kitchen, and mini table perfect for art projects. The hardwood floors throughout provide the perfect base for Friday night pizza picnics and a train track foundation. 

Outside, the quiet sidewalks are perfect for a walk after work and our backyard is full of raised beds for a garden and our cat, Bella, to wander around in. You can often find us sledding down front yard snow hills, running through sprinklers, drawing with chalk, or jumping in leaf piles as the seasons change. We love that our area of town allows for an escape to the mountains or drive downtown to the zoo or science museum for lots of new adventures to take as a family.

Three and a half years ago, we got a phone call that would change our lives as we learned our son’s birth mom had chosen us to be the family in which she wanted to raise our little bug. Caleb is full of curiosity, loves learning about language, and is always on the move. While shy when first entering a situation, Caleb soon has everyone smiling and part of his pretend universe. He’s told us he wants a brother AND a sister and has not stopped talking about, or praying for, our foster son even though he was with us for just six months in 2020. 

Caleb is a whiz at making videos to send to his tummy mommy. We keep in consistent contact with her, both through in-person visits as well as pictures. We love being able to share this connection with his family so that Caleb understands how deeply he is loved by all his parents and can ask questions freely about his adoption. We welcome the opportunity to have a similar relationship with you too! However, regardless of how involved you would like to be, any kids in our home will always know the love of all their family, blood and name.

Both of us grew up in big families where holidays were loud, joyous occasions with 30+ people crammed into a house with enough food for 60+ people! We are still close with not only both of our parents and siblings, but extended family as well. Some of our most favorite memories with our extended families include camping trips, holiday celebrations, and always lots of silliness.

We lived with Kelcey’s sister, her husband, and her parents for six months and came out of that time more connected than ever. And her youngest sister, Nicki, is just 30 minutes away in Centennial and expecting their first son in April of 2022; we are so excited for cousins to be close in both age and proximity! Kelcey’s parents live just 20 minutes away and we spend time with them almost every weekend, usually doing something active, but always laughing. And although Alec’s brothers and parents are back in Southern California, we FaceTime regularly and get to spend time together in person a few times a year.

Nine o’clock on a Saturday. Morning that is! You might find us watching a soccer game on tv or in-person or a hike just 20 minutes down the road getting our Vitamin D. Or we might choose to spend the day working on our newest LEGO set, reading a book on our couch, or creating a make-believe world with construction paper, glue, and paint. Adventures can be found in all sorts of places, not just outside, after all.

For those times we get longer than just a couple days, you may not be able to get a hold of us as there is limited cell phone service in the National Parks. We have a bucket list of places across the U.S. that we want to visit and explore, ideally with our extended family. 

Now, nearly 12 years after we said “I do,” we find ourselves here, writing to you, trying to share a little glimpse of who we are, how we love and why we live. And it’s hard. We mess up, with each other, with our friends, with strangers. And yet, we forgive. We judge, we overanalyze, we assume. And yet, we forgive. It’s tough being vulnerable, but it’s how the God of the universe entered into relationship with us and so we press through. We can’t promise to be perfect parents or that the little one we adopt will always be happy or that we won’t have to apologize. But we can promise to forgive, ask for forgiveness when needed, and offer grace and second chances. And we can promise to provide opportunities for learning, space for questions, and room for mistakes. So, although we are older, more worn around the edges, maybe a little wiser and a little less starry-eyed than when we first met, we find hope and joy in this expansion of our family through adoption.