Mike & Elexa

Go Team!

At Hoover Dam

Hi! First things first: Thank you.

Thank you for having the courage to make an adoption plan for your child. Your

choice is really admirable.

And thanks for giving us the chance to share a little of our lives with you. We

hope this profile gives you a little insight into who we are as a family. And we

hope that through these pages, you’ll get a glimpse into our lives and see our desire

to provide a secure and loving home for your child. We are grateful to you for

considering us as parents for your child.

Mike and Elexa

Hitting the trails!

Beach time

Vacation adventures

We met 15 years ago through a mutual friend and hit it off immediately. We had a

blast on our first date -- would you believe it was a motocross event? -- and knew

right away that we had something special. We dated for just under two years,

enjoying getting to know each other, and married in the fall of 1998. We’ve been

living life to the fullest together ever since.

When we aren’t working hard together to grow our family bicycle business, we stay

active in our free time:

• Camping with our daughter, Anya

• Spending time at our pool with friends and family

• Knocking out home improvement projects together

• Traveling as much as we can in between

We’re first in line for tickets to our nieces’ recitals and can be heard cheering the

loudest at our nephew’s football games.

We both firmly believe that laughter is the best medicine and get a kick out

of ourselves on a regular basis. Our motto is “there’s nothing like a good laugh to

lighten things up!” We love life and can’t wait to share it with the newest member

of our family.

About Us

Cave hiking

Cycling in Spain

What a great daddy

Mike and his bike

My Husband, MikeMike is a one-of-a kind, and that’s why I love him! He’s the most generous man I have

ever met, and never thinks twice about helping out a neighbor or friend in need. The

word “no” or “it can’t be done” is not in his vocabulary! And, squeezing every bit of

living out of life is his top priority. He challenges me every day to take leaps of faith

and I joke frequently that we are a perfect pair because while he’s hitting the gas,

I’m pumping the brakes!

He’s a successful business owner of three local bicycle shops and loves encouraging

other young entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. He loves to take Anya to the shop

and since she loves all things bikes, it’s a dream day for her! Maybe she’s got a future

in the business -- her dad will be a great mentor!

Mike loves to stay active: riding bicycles, hiking and tackling projects around the house

- with Anya regularly in tow! He does not enjoy idly sitting around

and is always looking for a fun time, from a Saturday night at

the derby to challenging our nieces and nephews to a game of

backyard wiffle ball. I love watching him squeeze all the zest

out of life, putting his love and enthusiasm into everything he’s

involved with -- especially his family.

Mommy hugs

Good times!Smiles

Elexa is my best friend -- I can’t think of a better way to describe her! I was

attracted to her the first time we met because of her warm and outgoing personality.

She’s never met a stranger and is always up for some fun! Her adventurous side comes

out when she’s hitting the mountain bike trails with her girlfriends or planning an exotic

vacation for our family. She loves to travel and enjoys sharing these adventures with

our daughter, Anya. Her first priority each day is Anya and she is constantly looking

for new ways to help her explore her world in a safe, fun way. She loves to take her

on a hike with our dog Titus; talking and jabbering with her the whole way or to music classes; singing and

dancing right along with Anya!

To Elexa, every occasion merits a celebration and a chance to play hostess, whether it’s a holiday, a

nephew’s birthday or a great day at the bike shop. It’s not unusual for me to come home from work to an

impromptu dinner party with a few friends! Our home is always full of family and friends enjoying the fun-

loving and supportive atmosphere that she fosters and shares so freely.

Very generous with her time, she’s always looking for the chance to support the people she loves from

walking a friend’s dog after the birth of her first child to cooking up half a dozen frozen meals to stock her

Granny’s fridge.

She plays an integral role in the management and success of our family business and you’ll never hear her

complain about getting her hands dirty when the task calls for it, like when I’m working on one of my projects

or Anya’s literally digging in the dirt!

My Wife, Elexa

Hiking with Anya

Little princessPeek-a-boo

Egg hunting

Our 17-month-old daughter, Anya, reminds us every day what a blessing she is in our

lives. She has a great sense of humor and likes to make people laugh - sneaking up

on Daddy to “scare” him when he’s not looking and making funny faces at Mommy when

she’s cooking dinner. She loves to play with bubbles, color beautiful pictures for the

refrigerator and sort things...yes, sort things! Legos, rocks, balls, whatever! She

loves to put them all together, mix them up and sort them out again! Go figure!

She’s a very laid-back toddler who enjoys new people and new experiences. We love

to travel with her, and she just goes right along with the plan. She’s very flexible,

and as accommodating of our family travel as we could hope for. Anya is an avid

backpacker, singing and humming along from inside the kiddie backpack we carry her in while we do the hiking!

She’s a little bit of a daredevil, too (yes, even at 17 months old)! As soon as she started walking, she was

off to the races! It’s headfirst down the slide for her and she gets mad if you try to spot her (which we do,

of course...when she’s not looking!). We joke sometimes that she’s already so much cooler than us -- what will

happen when she is a teenager?!?!

She adores all 15 of her cousins (with a couple of favorites, of course!) and is especially curious about the

new babies in the family. We’re very excited to bring into the family a sibling for Anya. We know that she will be

a wonderful big sister and will thoroughly enjoy having a brother or sister to share her life with.

Our daughter, Anya

Beach beauty

Family plays an important role in our day-to-day lives; we’re so fortunate to have lots of family living nearby! There’s not a

weekend that goes by when we don’t spend time with at least one or two family members. Frequently, we have everyone over to the

house for a cookout and pool party! Our extended family has welcomed our adopted daughter, Anya, with open hearts and arms.

Though Elexa’s parents divorced when she was very young, she maintains a close relationship today with both her mother, who

lives about 30 minutes from our house, and her father and stepmother who have been married for more than 30 years and live in

Memphis, Elexa’s hometown.

Mike’s mother and stepfather have been married for almost 40 years and live just 30 minutes away as well. Our parents raised

us to be hardworking, honest and caring individuals who love life. And that’s how we strive to live, reflected in the relationship

that we have today with each other and with our families.

Our Family

With Mike’s Family Vacation with Granny!Just the sisters

We’re close with all of our siblings…and there are quite a few! Elexa has three sisters and two brothers and is especially

close with her sisters since they live in the metro-Atlanta area. Dinners with Lauren and her husband, walks to the playground

with Addie and Anya’s cousins and tackling home improvement projects with Julie (and the assistance of her mad sewing skills)

regularly fill Elexa’s schedule. One person in Elexa’s life that definitely deserves an honorable mention is her 89 year old Granny.

She lives in a retirement community in the Blue Ridge Mountains about two hours from Atlanta. Elexa thoroughly enjoys not only

spending time with her, but helping Granny cross things off her bucket list!

Mike’s got a similarly big family: three brothers and two sisters. We enjoy heading out to his family’s farm for a visit with his

parents, sister and her three children. Mike’s family home is a wonderland for a child -- complete with mini-horses, goats and

chickens. His brother, Steve, and his wife and three children live about 30 minutes from our home and we spend lots of time with

them, especially at the lake during the summer!

Both of us enjoy spending time with our families and make it a priority in our lives to stay involved in everyone’s lives,

especially all our nieces and nephews. They all love Anya -- seeing them all play together (regardless of age differences) is so

much fun itself!

Fun with nieces& nephews Family Time!

Titus is the dog of the year! (At least that’s what our friends

say.) He’s our seven-year-old German Shepherd who loves to

travel in the car and gets really excited to see where each outing

will take him (usually, to the grocery store…booooring). Gently

wrestling with Anya and playing catch with her are two of his favorite

activities. He frequently goes to work with Mike and plays the role of “resident shop

dog.” He loves to interact with all the customers that come into the store, especially

with the kids -- playing hide and seek among the clothing racks. He gets really

excited when we have a pool party because he loves to swim with the

kids (even though we don’t let him because he’s just too hairy)!

He has graduated from multiple dog training classes and is well-

socialized and obedient. He’s a wonderful buddy for Anya - always

patient and tolerant of her toddler antics (like when she treats him like

a beanbag). We are confident that he would gladly help us welcome

another child into our home with lots of wet kisses!

Our Dog, Titus

We live in a great little area -- just outside of Atlanta - in a

brick ranch that was built in 1974 on a private street with just

four other homes. Our lot is spacious and open with plenty of

room to run and play. Next door to our home is a 15-acre nature

preserve that features a small outdoor amphitheater, pavilion

and bonfire pit -- perfect for everything from daily explorations

to family reunions. We also live just a couple of miles away from

a National Forest Recreation Area complete with miles of trails

for hiking and biking, a river for fishing and kayaking, and multiple

play areas for children.

Home and Community

Home sweet home

Summer fun!

Taking in the view

Our Promise to You We welcome the opportunity to nurture your child and provide the loving foundation your child

needs for a happy, productive life. We look forward to learning from your child, seeing the

world through a child’s eyes -- with imagination and creativity. As parents, we seek to

inspire our children to pursue their dreams and live a passionate life.

We know that there’s just so much you can learn about people through a couple of printed

pages. But we hope that you feel you’ve gotten to know us better. Please know we

appreciate the opportunity to share our family with you. And we hope you’ll consider doing

the same with us.

We appreciate your consideration of us as the adoptive parents of your child and will be

honored if you place your trust in us. May you have peace of mind and heart as you make

this decision.