Austin & Shannon Kate
Hello!
As you look through our profile to get to know us a little bit, please know that we are praying for you. This is surely an overwhelming season, and our prayer for you is that the Lord would meet you where you are, and assure you of his deep, abiding love for you. You are not alone, and you are treasured beyond measure by the God of the universe. One thing we’ve learned through our journey of trying to grow our family, is that life doesn’t happen by accident, and the fact that you are here, and that the child you are carrying is growing, means that God has intentionally sustained you up to this moment. You aren’t here by chance, God is up to something, and he is near to you, even now.
We are honored that you are considering us to be a part of your story, and we hope that as you peek into our story so far, that you get a good sense of who we are. We met and fell in love while in college in 2020. We got married in 2022, and have been building a life full of friends, and a home full of plants and thrifted treasures ever since.
We love Jesus, and we endeavor to honor him with every area of our lives. We hope to raise our children to love him too, and to know with unshakeable certainty that they are loved by him. In 2024, we started to try growing our family. We quickly became pregnant, but lost our first baby in the first trimester. Over the following year and a half we grieved the loss of four babies who we can’t wait to hold for the first time in heaven. The Lord has grown our heart for adoption and our empathy for you. We know something about the pain of having to say goodbye to a child you love. We hope that throughout this process we’ll be able to walk alongside one another and care for each other in the grief and joy of this journey.
Praying for God’s peace and comfort,
Shannon Kate & Austin
Married since 2022
Reside in Virginia
Austin’s Occupation: Campus Ministry Staff
Shannon Kate’s Occupation: Children’s Ministry Director
About Us:
We met in college through a mutual friend while both being leaders in the campus ministry Cru. After a failed (very) brief attempt at dating shortly after meeting, we developed a real friendship over our shared experience as counselors at a Christian sports camp for kids. After coincidentally moving into neighboring apartments in the Fall of 2020, Shannon Kate realized she was interested in dating Austin again. She began using their shared parking lot and time on Cru’s leadership team to spend time with Austin and make her intentions known. After taking wayyy longer than he should have to pick up on her hints (and with the help of a gentle nudge from Shannon Kate’s friend), Austin finally asked her out. Thus began a year of star gazing, board game playing, dessert baking, and memory making as we dated! We got married in the Spring of 2022, only 6 days after Shannon Kate graduated from college!
About Shannon Kate, by Austin:
Shannon Kate has a positive outlook on the world and others that leads her to always see the best in other people. Life is more full when she is around. She is full of fun, laughs, and love in a way that people are naturally drawn to her. She turns every ordinary activity into a memorable adventure. Chores are accompanied by music and dancing and common conversations are full of cheek to cheek smiles and deep laughter. As a natural entertainer, she is often at the center of conversation in social gatherings and the middle of the dance floor at parties and weddings.
Shannon Kate loves hospitality. We are frequently hosting friends and family, and she makes sure all the lamps are on so the house feels cozy and everyone has whatever they need to feel at home.
Shannon Kate cares deeply for the people she loves and is extremely protective of them. She goes out of her way to do things to show her support and love for others. Knowing Shannon Kate is like having your own personal cheerleader and defense attorney at the same time; she will always be there encouraging you and will defend you to the death. She will make sure that you know that she loves you deeply and will go to whatever means necessary on your behalf.
About Austin, by Shannon Kate:
Austin is my favorite person in the world, and I can’t wait to watch him become a dad! Austin is one of the most selfless people that I know. He gives of himself to serve and love the people around him in everyday acts of thoughtfulness. Early in our relationship I fell in love with his ability to lead with humility. He is a natural leader and is calm and steady in a crisis, yet he isn’t in your face about being in charge. He doesn’t dominate or need to be the center of attention. He just quietly steps in to serve or take action where help is needed.
Austin is also super goofy with the people he is close to. He makes up the most creative and ridiculous nicknames for his little cousins and for our dog when she’s being silly. He’s always making up absurd reasons to tickle me or waiting to jump scare me by saying ‘boo’ as he comes around a corner. He loves to make others laugh, even if it means making himself look silly!
More than anything, Austin is the most like Jesus of any man I’ve ever met. He lays down his desires to put me first, and I know he will do the same for our kids. He never lets anger sit, and is quick to apologize and forgive. He will be the most incredible dad, and parenting with him will be the adventure of our lives!
10 Quick Facts:
1. Our friends are part of our family, and they can’t wait to be aunties and uncles to our kids! Our house is the hangout house and we love having a close community that we get to do life alongside!
2. We have a dog, Poppy, and a cat, Azalea, who are about the same size (Poppy is an adorably small dog) who love to play and chase each other around our house
3. Austin is the second of 3 brothers, and Shannon Kate is the second of 4 siblings (two sisters, and a younger brother). We have always dreamed of having a big family and a home full of life!
4. We both work in ministry helping kids and college students grow and walk out their faith. We love that we get to be a part of each others’ ministry as Austin volunteers with the Children's Ministry and Shannon Kate volunteers with his campus ministry leading a Bible study
5. We have over 60 houseplants in our home, and Shannon Kate is always looking for space to fit just one more!
6. We root for rival teams in the NFL, SK is a Cowboys fan and Austin cheers for the Commanders. Football is a big deal in our home, and we love having friends over for games
7. We love board games and card games, and most of our date nights involve pulling out one board game or another. Our favorite games right now are Wingspan and Golf (the card game)
8. Austin proposed to Shannon Kate with a “string ring” because the ring was late and she was getting antsy! The real ring arrived the next day, but we’ve kept the string ring as a memento of our fun engagement story
9. Shannon Kate worked part-time on a vegetable farm for about two years after college and is passionate about how food brings people together
10. Our child will be the first grandchild on both sides of the family, and will definitely be spoiled by the grandparents
