Are you facing an unplanned pregnancy?
Are you facing an unplanned pregnancy?
Considering adoption?
If you’re considering adoption, you’re in the right place. We help many expectant parents like you every year.
Explore waiting families
Daniel and Alisha
Dear Expecting Parent(s), We have so much respect for the brave and loving choice you are making by considering adoption for your child. We would be honored to be considered as a family for your child. It is our hope with this letter to show what life with our family would be like for your baby. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to introduce our family to you. About Us Alisha was invited to Dan’s church (by a family member) one beautiful Sunday morning in November 2010. Alisha was seated in a pew near Dan, where we struck up a conversation very easily after the service. The next week, we went on a spontaneous lunch date and never looked back. We found out we had a lot in common and knew from that day forward that we were meant for each other. As our relationship progressed, we became soul mates and best friends. God blessed us with marriage two years later in the church where we met. One of the great things about us as a couple is that we have a lot in common and share the same values. But we also respect our differences and interests. Dan’s interests are bicycling, landscaping, woodworking, model trains and coin collecting. Alisha’s interests are crafts, cooking, gardening, boating and fishing. We both enjoy church activities, picnics, farm festivals, daytrips, vacations, community activities, and sporting events (Steelers, Penguins, Pirates). We also enjoy traveling together, as well as going out to share special times with friends and family. Dan graduated from college with a degree in Accounting and works as an Accountant at a manufacturing company. Alisha graduated from college with a degree in nursing and works at a hospital as an Intensive Care Nurse. After being married for about a year, we decided we wanted to start a family. Unfortunately, after trying on our own for quite some time and multiple fertility treatments, having children on our own was not successful. After much thought and consideration, we were called to the adoption process and found our way to Bethany Christian Services. Our Home and Neighborhood We live in a family friendly neighborhood close to parks, fitness activities, schools, church, and stores. We have family and friends living nearby who are excited to welcome a new member into our lives. Our church community is like a family. We have strong ties in our church community, which is about a ten minute drive from our home. We live in a single family home with a deck overlooking a nice sized back yard where there is plenty of space for a child to play. Our nursery is completely setup with a crib, changing table, and dresser, with a beautiful view of the back yard. We have a spacious kitchen, where we really enjoy cooking as a family. Our Values Our family values include setting a good example for children through our daily actions, including God in our daily lives through prayer, and attending church on Sundays. We intend on providing a child with a good education, team sports and activities, a safe neighborhood, holiday family get-togethers, fun child friendly events (zoo and science center), vacations and, when the child is older, continuing education towards a career path. Our Promise Thank you again for taking the time to learn about our family and for considering us as a family for your baby. We plan to be very open with your child about how he or she came to be part of our family and that this was made possible because of your courageous and selfless decision. Know that we are for open adoption and for you being updated on the child’s milestones and that your child will grow up with lots of love and support from us as parents and our extended family. Should your heart steer you in our direction for an adoptive family, may you find comfort in knowing that your baby will live with laughter and love. With heartfelt blessings, Dan and Alisha
Read MoreMichael and Dana
Hello Friend, Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. We can only imagine that this may be one of the greatest challenges you have faced and we respect your courage in exploring adoption for your baby. We believe that this story has a happy ending. Our story is pretty simple. Dana and her brother were both adopted into a loving family and she has always believed that adoption would be part of growing her family. Michael loves being a dad and definitely wants to pour his life and love into more little ones. We have one little boy, Jack, who is so excited to be a big brother. We would love to talk with you about your story and explore together the level of openness you would want with our family. If you'd like to learn more about us, our values, and passions we've done our best in the following pages to give you a glimpse into our life. We have been praying and preparing for this time and sincerely hope we have the opportunity to get to know you and explore the next chapter of this story together. - Michael & Dana
Read MoreFrancesco and Rossella
We are both from Southern Italy, Francesco from Puglia and Rossella from Basilicata. We met during our college years, while Francesco was studying Agriculture and Rossella Chemistry. We started dating and we felt at home with each other. After getting married, we lived for three years in Bari, a city along the Adriatic Coast where many of our friends lived. After our first year of marriage, we discovered that having children would be difficult for us and Francesco asked Rossella: "All this love that we have and want to give where will it finally go?" This deep question became crucial for us. We were both working at the University when Francesco received a job offering from a University in Florida. We decided to move to the USA without imagining what was awaiting us, and a beautiful adventure began. We lived for three years in Florida where Francesco worked as a horticulture research scientist and Rossella as an elementary and middle school Montessori teacher. Then we moved again when Francesco became a professor in Central Pennsylvania and Rossella started working as a secondary school teacher. We are very grateful for these years of marriage in which we had a very rich life and met many friends from all around the world. Among them, we encountered some families that had welcomed children through adoption, and looking at their experience full of love, we started thinking about adopting. Francesco's question, "All this love that we have and want to give where will go in the end?" became a prophecy and a foretelling of our desire to adopt a child.
Read MoreTyler and Lauren
It is not easy to compress all of the experiences in our lives and the love we have to give in one short summary, but here is a bit of relevant information about ourselves: we both work in a high school, Tyler as an English teacher and coach and Lauren as a school counselor and leader of cultural exchange trips overseas (previously a world language teacher). We both come from mid-sized, worldly, active, and loving families who are very much personal, positive parts of our daily lives. We have two intelligent, kind, beautiful, energetic, and humorous daughters, and they bring light and life to our lives each and every day: Quinn, our thirteen-year-old, is with us for shared parenting time (our daughter from Tyler’s previous marriage); and Brielle, our five year-old, was welcomed into our family through adoption. As for Lauren’s life journey leading to this letter, she has known since her teenage years that she is medically unable to bear children. Because of that, we have always known that adoption was in our future, and we have embraced that reality. Our goal has been to create a family that has the similarly beautiful energy, love, and sibling relationships that both of us experienced while growing up. We are very fortunate to have a positive relationship with Brielle’s birth family as well, and that only adds to the love that encompasses our family and our children. Overall, we consider ourselves kind, down-to-earth, active, generous, religious, open-minded, and humorous (we think?) individuals. We love to travel, love to learn, and love to experience and immerse ourselves in other cultures. Above all, we love to watch our daughters grow, and we love to nurture and help others. We certainly are incredibly excited to do the same with another beloved child in our lives.
Read MoreDale and Julie
We can't wait to hear the pitter patter of little feet in our home again!!! We feel that it is important for you to know why we are adopting. After trying for several years to start a family, we found out that we would not be able to have biological children. We knew exactly what we would do and we were excited about it! We would adopt!!! We love being parents and we can’t wait to cuddle another baby again!! We feel so blessed to have been able to adopt our two amazing children as infants - Jaxon (10) and Britta (7). We admire the strength that our children's birth mothers had when they lovingly and selflessly placed their children in our arms. We know it was the hardest decision they have ever made and we are forever grateful to them. We communicate with Jaxon and Britta's birth families in many different ways (phone calls, texts, blogs, letters, and visits) based on what works best for them. We are very open about adoption with our children and remind them often how loved they are by their birth families. Julie created "My Adoption Story" photo books with the story of their births and pictures of their birth family that they regularly read together. We've included a bunch of pictures so that you can get to know us better. Please feel free to ask us anything!
Read MoreJoshua and Lyndsay
Hello, We are Josh and Lyndsay and we thank you for taking the time to take a peak into our lives, family and friends. Thank you for considering your choices. We are so excited to be adopting again and bringing another child into our home and creating a bigger family! We hope our story will help you in making your choice. Please know that no matter what family you choose, we wish you and your child all the best. We hope you can get a sense of who we are by looking through our profile. We look forward to meeting you.
Read MoreBrian and Cherish
We are absolutely honored and humbled that you are including our family in your decision making process. We understand that this decision is one of the biggest ones that you will ever make, and we want to let you know about our family, the love, and the encouragement that your child will receive when they become part of our family. We are Brian and Cherish, and our twin daughters Lindsey and Chelsea, who are in high school. Cherish also has an adult son, Tyler, who lives about 45 minutes away from us with his young family. Brian owns a marketing company and Cherish is a substitute teacher; she is enrolled in a Graduate program to earn her Masters Degree in Elementary Education. Volunteerism is important to us. Cherish has served on the board of the local Twins Club, Brian has served as a mentor at the local high school in their Small Business Incubator program, and runs the Trailmates program that Lindsey and Chelsea are in. Additionally, five years ago, we founded our own nonprofit, the Basket Brigade of Suburban Chicago where we pack and deliver complete Thanksgiving meals to local area families-in-need.
Read MoreChristopher and Shaunna
This year marks 15 years together and 11 years married for us. While starting the family that we have always wanted hasn’t gone as expected, we aren’t giving up. Instead, we are taking a different path and are hoping to add to our family via adoption. We look forward to seeing where this new path leads and are excited at the possibility that it will lead to you.
Read MoreAshley and Jake
Hello! Let us introduce ourselves; we are Jake and Ashley. We met online in 2012 and quickly realized that we were meant to be together. After dating for a few months, we became engaged and married later that year. In December we’ll celebrate our 10-year anniversary! We always knew we wanted children, but the Lord had different plans for our family. During our infertility journey, we felt called to became foster parents, and opened our license in 2021. We’ve been blessed to care for and walk alongside 3 littles and their families, and while it has had its challenges, we wouldn’t trade it for the world. We love watching children grow, learn and live their lives to the fullest, and hope and pray to be able to experience these things with our own children one day. We love spending time with family and friends, having birthday parties, family dinners, vacations, celebrating all the holidays and creating new traditions. The Christmas season is our absolute favorite, and we love the childlike magic in the air that time of year. A lot of our time is spent outside in the backyard or garden, and we love to explore zoos, parks, farms, and aquariums. It is our dream to raise a child to know the true meaning of family, unconditional love, pure joy, absolute safety, and the Lord’s grace. We are humbled and truly honored that you are taking the time to look at our profile and learn a bit about our family. We pray that you find comfort and peace not only in all upcoming decisions but throughout your life as well. We look forward to walking alongside you during this journey and can't wait to meet you! Thank you for your time and consideration. God Bless!
Read MoreKevin and Lorraine
Hello! We feel so honored that you are taking the time to look at our profile and hope it will give you a realistic look into our lives. Having children has always been a dream of ours and we are eager to be parents. Infertility has been an unexpected chapter of our lives but we believe God has led us to adoption for a reason. We have so much love to give and can't wait to share that with children of our own. We want you to know that if we are fortunate enough to be chosen as adoptive parents, your child will have a life filled with unconditional love, laughter, and support, not only from us, but also our wonderful friends and family. With Love, Kevin and Lorraine
Read MoreDaniel and Leona
Dear Friend, We are excited to share a little about our life with you and look forward to meeting you. We are praying that you feel God's presence as you go through life's journey, both now and in the future. Welcome to our family profile.
Read MoreJamie
Hi. My name is Jamie. The only words I can think of is Thank You. I feel love for you and will pray for you always. You are a Brave person to possibly place your child for Adoption. The decision you are going to make is not easy. I am looking to share my love, life, family and everything else with a child joining my family, and friends. I have been thinking about adoption for years. I have a huge support system behind me that is encouraging me. I will be a single mother but I have so much love, kindness and patience to give. I want to share with children my blessings and adventures. I would encourage them to be the "more" that they could be, have, and enjoy. May God guide you in your decision, give you the grace through the process and comfort you through your future steps.
Read MoreFAQs about adoption
Can I choose the family for my child?
Yes! You can review our online profiles of families who would like to adopt a child and learn all about their personalities and interests. If you decide to place your child for adoption, you’ll be able to meet with the adoptive families you like best.
Are there different kinds of adoption?
You will provide input into the type of relationship you desire between yourself, your child, and the adoptive parents. You can guide the level of communication and contact you have with your child and their adoptive family.
How can I find out my rights as a parent?
You always have the right to explore your options in a safe environment. And you have the right to have all your questions answered honestly and completely. You have these rights, no matter where you are in your pregnancy.
If I’m using drugs, can Bethany still help me?
Yes. Our counselors will help you consider the best options for you and your baby.
My child is already born. Can I still make an adoption plan
In many cases, you can still place your child for adoption after he or she is born.
Finding peace through open adoption
“Bethany made my adoption journey the best choice for me and those I care for. Three different families have become one because of the love and respect that we share—and I’ve found my place as a birth mom in each one of them.”
- Tamara
"When I was pregnant and pursuing an adoption plan, people told me I needed to ask forgiveness for “abandoning my child.” They wanted me to feel ashamed, but Bethany helped take the sting out of their words by reassuring me I had no reason to feel shame. Now my vision is to keep telling this story so other birth moms know they’re not alone.”
- Gloria
“Ten years ago, I was pregnant for the first time, and I was in jail. Making an adoption plan for my son didn’t mean I loved him any less; I just didn’t want my child to end up in the system. My life circumstances wouldn’t mean a life sentence for him.”
- Tamara
"When I found out I was pregnant with twins at age 18, I didn’t know where to turn. I thought, ‘How am I going to become the mom I want to be?’ Bethany helped provide care for my boys while I found a stable job. Today, my boys are thriving in my home.”
- Brijon
“Today, I am substance-free. I’m married with two biological children and two stepchildren. And I still have thoughts and emotions to process about that difficult time in my life, including my decision to make an adoption plan. That’s an experience most people just don’t understand."
- Gloria
Have questions?
Do you want to make an adoption plan or learn about your other options? Fill out a contact form or speak to a Bethany counselor at 1.800.BETHANY