Our Adoption Experience

We began this journey many years ago—before we were even married. The idea of adoption, providing a loving home and family for a child, is something we’ve both felt deeply called to pursue. Ashley spoke about it early in our relationship, and it has always remained close to our hearts.

While we originally planned to start a biological family first and explore adoption later, life has its own way of unfolding—and sometimes brings unexpected challenges. We initially looked into the adoption process in 2020, but as we all know, the world changed dramatically that year. After many conversations and prayers, we realized it wasn’t the right time for our family.

Between 2020 and 2022, we went through several moves. Today, we are grateful to be settled much closer to family, which has allowed us to spend more time with our siblings, nieces, and nephews—strengthening our sense of community and support.

As our 10-year anniversary approached in 2024, Ashley and I found ourselves once again thinking and talking about adoption. We explored several adoption agencies and processes, but we kept feeling drawn back to one agency in particular—highly recommended by a close family friend. Although this agency has some of the lowest costs and fees in the state, the overall journey of adoption remains quite expensive.

In March 2024, we were invited to submit our application for the Waiting Children Program, which focuses on the adoption of children currently in the foster care system. Ashley and I were overjoyed at the thought of adopting siblings—offering them a forever home together. Sibling groups often face a much lower placement rate compared to single children, and we felt a strong calling to help change that.

Just a month later, in April 2024, we were returning from our 10-year anniversary vacation in the Dominican Republic with our closest friends. We were actually sitting in the Baltimore airport when we finally gained access to Wi-Fi again. What great news awaited us—we had been accepted into the program and were ready to begin the long journey!

The remainder of 2024 involved a lot of waiting, adoption education classes, marriage mentoring (coincidentally, the same program we completed before getting married), and, of course… more waiting.

Earlier this year, we began the Home Study process, which evaluates every aspect of your life: family, finances, home, background, and marriage. A social worker from the agency conducts the study, which is then approved by the state. Although we expected this to take several months, we were pleasantly surprised when our agency worker shared she was nearly finished by the end of our second visit.

Now that we have an approved home study, we’ve spent the last four months exploring adoption opportunities. This phase also involves a lot of waiting and discerning as we continue to learn more.

As we grow closer to the reality and possibility of opening our home to kiddos, we have begun adjusting our everyday lives. Ashley and I both work from home and had been using both spare bedrooms as offices. This meant we needed to invest ahead of time in our home—finishing part of our basement to create two offices and a den area. Additional upgrades and improvements were necessary to accommodate multiple children and to pass the fire inspection and home study requirements.

During this waiting period, we have also explored opportunities to adopt children from outside Ohio, which will require additional approvals and travel. Most states require multiple visits both to the children’s state and within our own. Needless to say, it looks like 2025 will be a very busy year.

We deeply appreciate all the love, support, kind and encouraging words, and prayers as we continue on this journey. Though we have kept our process relatively private until now, many have asked about our progress, how adoption works, our agency, and how they can support us. We are excited to share our story here!!

--Brad & Ashley

Learn more about our adoption Puzzle!

To offset a small portion of the costs in bringing children home, we’ve created a unique fundraiser featuring a 500-piece puzzle. Each piece represents a $10 donation—and a meaningful part of the love and support from our incredible community.

When you sponsor a piece, we’ll write your name on the back and keep you updated as the puzzle comes together. Once completed, it will be framed and displayed in our home as a lasting reminder of everyone who helped build our family.

Here’s how you can sponsor puzzle pieces:

• PayPal: @bradandashley
• Venmo: @Brad-Bovey or @Ashley-Bovey-1
• Cash App: $BoveysAdoption
• Cash or Check: Contact us directly—we’d love to connect!
  • E-mail contact: bovey91@gmail.com

Thank you for helping us complete this picture of love and family. 🧡