Ryan & May
Hello!
Ryan and May may here. We want to thank you for taking the time to stop and read our story. We wish this was under different circumstances, but please know we appreciate you and are praying for you as you decide your next steps. We hope this page brings to life who we are and offer a glimpse into our lives.
We've known for a while that adoption was going to be part of how we grow our family. Life, however, doesn't always work out as we plan. We had intended on having biological children prior to adopting, but our path unfolded a bit differently. In our journey, we experienced the profound loss of our son, Ian Allen, when he was just two months old, due to a genetic disorder we were unaware we carried at the time. Our hearts broke, and we truly empathize with others who experience loss. While no one's loss is the same or can be fully understood, the feeling of grief can be felt through our own experiences. Over the years, with our Heavenly Father guiding our path, we've learned how to walk through our grief, and even sit in it, at different times.
We pray for your path, that the Lord is lighting your way and giving you direction in the steps ahead. We are honored by the time you're spending reading through our page and those of other potential families. We know this is a difficult decision, and above all, we want the best for your precious child and for you. Knowing the feelings of loss ourselves, we will be there to walk with you through this. Please know that your precious child will be loved and cherished throughout their life, and you will be a forever part of their growing up. We pray with you as you decide who your child's forever family will be.
Sending you our love and prayers,
Ryan and May
Married since 2009
Reside in Virginia
Ryan’s Occupation: Ryan is an electrical engineer and small business owner of an electrical control panel company.
May’s Occupation: May is a clinical pharmacy specialist working at our local hospital.
About Us:
We both grew up in the Midwest, Ryan from Northern Wisconsin and May from Iowa. We met in college at University of Wisconsin-Platteville. We moved to Virginia in 2010 during our second year of marriage when May received orders from the Navy. When May's time in service was completed in 2014, we felt God asking us to stay in Virginia, so we did and have made Virginia our home state. At least once a year, we plan a visit back to the Midwest to visit with family.
Over the years, we have learned that we share quality time as our love language and have found that we truly enjoy spending time together whether cooking, cleaning, traveling or just sitting on our deck at night. With this recognition, we have learned that being present in the moment is critical to keeping any relationship healthy. Together, we are both introverts but are always down for an adventure. We will jump at the opportunity for a "why not" moment and try something new. We have found that spontaneity keeps us young and loving life. After losing our son, we have found that life is too short to not experience the world God has set before us. We together enjoy traveling, camping, hiking, running, mountain biking, and taking motorcycle trips.
We've known for a while that adoption would be part of how we grow our family. After losing our son, Ian, in 2012 to a genetic disorder that we were unaware we were carriers of at the time, we decided our next steps to growing our family was through adoption. May grew up with adoption as a large part of her family's story. May is one of eight children. Her and her older brother are biological children of her parents prior to them adopting six additional children through international, kinship, and foster care adoptions.
Above all, we hope to raise our child to love the Lord with all their heart, mind, and soul and to share that love with others building a Christ-like mindset that speaks without words. We passionately desire to include our child in all that we do in life. Travelling, growing, building relationships and community, and sharing the love of Jesus with others.
About Ryan (From May’s Perspective):
Ryan is caring and kind. He's devoted and adventurous and loves spending his free time outdoors whether that is on his mountain bike, hiking, walking, running, or on his motorcycle. As a child, his core memories are completing chores on his family's farm or spending time in the woods. He has served our church since 2011 on the tech team and has led the team of volunteers on a weekly basis to ensure church service runs with excellence. Ryan is a doer and has a tremendous work ethic with amazing troubleshooting skills. He finds fulfillment in finding a way to a solution that seems impossible. Above all, he leads our family with integrity and honesty, seeking the Lord first in prayer for His guidance before making decisions for our family or business. He is a silent servant who does not seek praise from others, but people naturally gravitate to him and his leadership. I am so proud and thankful I get to do life with him.
About May (From Ryan’s Perspective):
May is an eternal optimist and tackles life with enthusiasm. She continuously works to find good in people and situations. She is always down for an adventure, whether trying a new restaurant or enjoying a good concert even if she's never heard of the band before. During our travels, May is my favorite navigator and co-pilot. If the GPS is down, you'll find her pulling out the map. When she is not at work or helping her mom who lives locally, she can be found caring for her house plants, working in her vegetable garden, crocheting a gift for someone, or reading a book. May also serves at our church on the tech team from 2011 until present day. She concurrently served for eleven years in the children's ministry until 2021 when she transitioned onto the tech team full-time to co-lead the team with me.
10 Quick Facts:
1. We are part of our local church that we have called family since 2010. It is full of young families and children that meet on Saturday nights, which frees up our Sundays to experience a true day of rest.
2. We love to travel both domestic and abroad and we cannot wait to experience different cultures and parts of the world with our child in hopes to instill a mind of curiosity and wonder; Some places we've travelled together: Iceland, Canada (Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Ontario), Spain x2, Portugal, Morocco, most of the states (missing Hawaii, Alaska, and a few NE states) and the Bahamas
3. We both love to cook and find enjoyment spending time cooking our meals together along with stretching our palates by trying authentic and diverse restaurants whether locally or during our travels. Over the years, May is convinced that Ryan has become the main chef and she transitioned to being the sous chef and she is not mad about it, but Ryan believes, she makes the best cinnamon rolls.
4. A favorite family tradition we have is that we rarely end a road trip, of any kind, without stopping for ice cream. Ryan always has a place in mind wherever we go. It is not unheard of for us to try ice cream twice in one day from two different shops while on a trip.
5. In the last few years, we've gotten interested in watching downhill mountain biking championships on YouTube. We even went to a couple of races in West Virginia to watch and plan to attend more in the future.
6. Thanks to Ryan's Wisconsin roots, we always have no less than ten different types of cheeses on hand in the refrigerator. May, who grew up on Kraft single slices, has grown to love cheese over the years, which Ryan is thankful.
7. Since 2012, we have lived in our home in the quiet part of the neighborhood, which is in walking distance of grocery stores, restaurants, coffee shops, and a local college campus as well as a large park and museum that has a five-mile walking trail. We enjoy ending our day either at the trail or walking around our neighborhood.
8. One day we plan to get a dog that will grow up with our child. Both of us had family dogs growing up and after we were married, we had two standard poodles, Bell and Cesar. Both passed away in 2022.
9. We are open to discussing potential names for our child with you as the birth parent(s) and we'd be happy to consider a family name if that's important to you.
10. We are hoping for an open adoption but flexible in what the birth family is comfortable with and depending on the season of life they are experiencing. This could include photos, videos, emails, phone calls, letters, and visits. Happy to include the big and little moments of life.
