Hello and welcome! We are Bradley & Tom. We live in Cohutta, Georgia, with our son, Riley. We are thrilled that you are getting a glimpse into our lives, and we are honored to share our family story with you! We hope learning more about us helps you get one step closer in making the best decision for you and your little one. We are so grateful for the time you are spending in getting a better picture of who we are.

We have decided to adopt for a second time because we feel that we just have so much more love to give within our family unit. We always said we would like to have a family with at least two or more children that come from adoption backgrounds so that as they grow up, they would have one another to relate to and rely on for sibling support.

We are very familiar with the adoption process since we adopted our son in 2017. We have an open adoption with our son’s birth family, which in turn, has developed into our own extended family. We love that we have an ongoing relationship with our son’s birth mother and family, and ideally, we would like a similar situation with the next child we adopt. We believe in family support, and we believe that our children should know where they come from.

We have been together since September 2007. We met on campus of the college we attended since we both majored in Education.

After our first few dates, we realized we had a similar outlook on life. We thought a lot about family and its importance in our lives, we realized each other’s passion for travel, and we both enjoyed the city life, even though we both grew up in rural areas.

We married in April 2016, both graduated with our Master’s degrees in Education, became teachers, traveled all along the east coast, adopted our beautiful son from birth, and do everything we can as parents to ensure our son becomes a fun, loving individual. We have both been teaching since 2012, and we have been parents since 2017.

Every day we make positive differences in the lives of our school children and our son at home. We can’t wait to do that for another little one!

Bradley is known for his optimism and great smile! Growing up, he was the oldest of seven cousins who all lived within 5 miles of each other, so he naturally became the nurturer and caretaker of the group. Caring for and loving on kids has always been second nature to him. He has always known that he wanted to become a teacher and father one day. He felt like his dream of teaching was much more attainable than becoming a father in a same-sex relationship, so he put all he had into his teaching career. Once he actually became a father, he couldn’t believe that it had finally happened!

Now that he is a father and is able to love on and be there for his son, he feels his wildest dreams have come true. He feels that adding another child into the family will make his family even more complete. Just knowing that this child would have their son as a big brother who consistently shows compassion and love for others makes Bradley giddy and feel even more at ease about becoming an adoptive father again.

There are no words that can express the love and respect I have for Bradley. Since the first day I met him, I knew that he was a caring and compassionate person who would do whatever he could to help anyone in need.

In the sixteen years that we have been together, I have seen Bradley demonstrate that caring nature. Even though we live hours away from his family, he visits them every month or two. He does that because he is a family man who loves spending time with them whenever possible. I have seen Bradley take charge of his own life by becoming a teacher and leading multiple teams within his school to accomplish big goals. I have seen Bradley love me and support me through thick and then. But the moment our son was born, I saw Bradley take his “caring nature” to a whole new level. He loves our son with all his heart and would do anything for him. I have truly never met a person that is as caring and loving as Bradley. He’s just the perfect husband and daddy!

Tom is known for his quick wit and desire to make everyone happy. Tom grew up in a small family of three siblings. He was the youngest of the three and the only boy. He learned to be independent and a go-getter when he wanted to accomplish his goals. Tom first obtained a Communications degree and worked in marketing, but he knew he wasn’t fulfilled by doing that. He went back to school and got a degree in Education. Tom loves children and wants to do everything he can to help each child reach his or her potential.

It was through this love of teaching and helping kids that Tom realized that he wanted to be a dad. Six years ago those dreams came true when Tom and Bradley’s first child was born. Now Tom, just like Bradley, wants to share their lives with another bundle of joy. They know their son would be an amazing big brother, and they can’t wait to see the day when that happens.

The moment I met Tom, I knew he was going to be a special person in my life. He instantly showed me his outstanding character when he told me about his challenging childhood and how that helped drive him to become the hardworking individual he is by attending graduate school to get his Master’s degree in Education.

That told me what kind of person he was right away. I knew then that he fit the bill of who I wanted in a life-long partner. Not only did he prove to be a person with high ambition, but over the years, he has shown me that he has just as much love as he does ambition. Tom has a very understanding and loving personality. There is a gentle nature about him, and he knows just when to reassure his loved ones, if they ever seem upset or doubt themselves. I love the stability Tom brings into our family, and I love that he loves our family so hard! God knew what He was doing when he gave me Tom.

Together, we share a passion for traveling. Since the time we got together, we have taken several trips along the southeast region of the U.S., as well as New York and Washington D.C. We have even been on a couple of cruises together, including a Western Caribbean cruise and an Eastern Caribbean cruise. Of course, we take our son along on most of the trips to expose him to a diverse world beyond our hometown.

Bradley: I like to focus on healthy habits for myself and my family. I am the one who always encourages outdoor activities such as hiking, biking, or playing at the park. I want to be a good role model for my son, Riley, when it comes to staying healthy. I also enjoy cooking healthy (and some not-so-healthy) meals for my family. To me, cooking is just another way of showing my love for my family. I also enjoy being crafty and making art projects with Riley, and I always love to play a nice musical tune on the piano whenever anyone is willing to listen!

Tom: I like to spend a lot of my time being productive outdoors. Riley and I can regularly be found mowing, trimming hedges, planting new flowers, etc. Other things that I like to do are fish, hike, and play ball with Riley just to name a few.

Riley is a sweet and smart six-year-old that gets along with anyone he meets. He’s never met a stranger. He loves school, soccer, and mother nature. He’s learning so many new things at school and always has new things to tell us about what he has learned. He just finished his first soccer season and loved it. And he NEVER passes up the chance to inspect critters and love on animals. He loves his cat, dogs, and even bearded dragon!

We live in a very established neighborhood in a rural area of North Georgia, which is about 30 minutes south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. We love our location because downtown Chattanooga is not too far away, and we are just an hour and a half from the city of Atlanta. So even though, our home is in a rural area, we love that we can be a part of the city atmosphere as well.

Our almost 3,000 square foot home is part of our pride and joy! We always express how grateful we are for where we live because neither one of us ever lived in a house as nice as what we live in now. It is the perfect place for our child and any future child because it has a fun wooded backyard with a trampoline, firepit, and swing set and a big front yard to ride a bike or kick around a ball. Another highlight of our home is that it’s at the end of a cul-de-sac, so we feel perfectly at ease to let our son play outside without the worry of any traffic coming through.

The great thing about our community and neighborhood is that they provide all kinds of activities for families to be involved in.

Events like these include Easter egg hunts at the neighborhood park, swimming pool parties at the neighborhood swimming pool, 4th of July parade and fireworks show, football tailgating parties at the neighborhood clubhouse, and even Christmas caroling throughout the neighborhood.

We share our home with three furry friends, Maggie, Eliza and Sophia. Maggie is a Shih-Tzu/Yorkie mix and has been with us since 2015. She loves to play outside and loves anyone she meets! Eliza is the newest addition to our family. We found her in a parking lot as a small kitten and brought her home. She is a very sweet cat! Sophia is our oldest dog and is a Chihuahua/Rat Terrier mix. She loves to relax and stay indoors.

We both have loving and caring families who are so supportive of us adopting for the second time! Bradley has a large family, who lives near Nashville, Tennessee. Even though Bradley and Tom do not live in the same town as Bradley’s family, they still see one another very frequently. If Bradley and Tom aren’t driving to Nashville to visit his parents and younger brother, his parents (and sometimes his brother) are driving to Georgia to visit Bradley and Tom. This occurs about once or twice every month. Bradley’s family has always been very close and tight knit, and a few hours drive to one another will definitely not break their strong bond.

Tom’s family is much smaller, but they are close. After the death of one of Tom’s sisters, he grew closer to his only other surviving sister. They both live about 30 minutes from one another. Tom is also very close to his mom. Tom texts and calls her daily. She also visits often. When one of them is trying to make a big decision about something, they always confide in the other. They are each other’s rock.

Open adoption is something we truly believe in because we know deep down in our hearts that it is what’s best for the child that is involved. We believe the child should know where he or she comes from, and they should have some form of association with their birth family, no matter how open or semi-open it looks. We said the same thing when we adopted our son through our first adoption process, and now we keep in touch with his birth family as often as possible. In fact, they have already attended some of our son’s birthday parties, soccer games, and other get-togethers. Sometimes, we even try to just go out to dinner on an occasional evening, especially if time has passed without seeing one another for a while. We would definitely want the same type of situation with the next child we adopt.

Sharing our life and our story with you has both been a privilege and a blessing. When we think of all the possibilities that could come from this, we are just filled with excitement and wonder. Nothing would make us happier than to have our family grow even more than it already has. We just want to reiterate how much love your child would have in his or her life with us. May you find comfort and strength as you make the decision that is best for you and your little one.