Family & Home

We currently live in a quiet suburb, with good neighbors and plenty of yard space.  One of our favorite features of our home is the porch swing on our wrap around porch.  We also love that our community is a quieter small town, tucked on the outskirts of a larger city.  This gives us such a sweet feeling of neighborly closeness while also providing us the amenities of living in a larger town.  It’s like having the best of both worlds. 

As pastors with The Salvation Army, we are transferred to new locations every few years.  Because we both grew up moving often, this is something that we are very used to and actually enjoy.  We love the opportunity to experience new cities and states, learn new cultures, and meet new people.  We are incredibly fortunate that everywhere we move, our work provides us with a nice house in a good neighborhood, with good schools nearby.  

We have learned that our home is less about where we live and more about who we are with.  In our house, family time is a priority.  We enjoy movie nights, music, and game nights together.  Dinner is always eaten together.  And we create space and time for creative pursuits, like practicing a musical instrument, knitting a new project, or working on a painting. 
We have two pets: Belle and Buttercup.  Belle is our charcoal lab.  She is the sweetest dog in the world; and her top priorities in life are to care for her family, make new friends, and eat.  Buttercup is our cat.  She is still young, and she is full of curiosity and energy.  She loves to play, and her favorite buddy of all time is Belle.  The two play together just like siblings.  Buttercup loves to cuddle with Sarah, especially in the evenings.  

Jason and Sarah both come from tight knit immediate families of four.  Jason’s immediate family is spread wide geographically, but they are still close at heart.  His brother and sister-in-law live in Tennessee, while his parents live in Alaska.  Despite the physical distances, this family makes it a point to get together for all of the important moments and stay in touch regularly through phone calls and texts.  Jason’s dad served 22 years in the Marine Corps, after which both parents became Salvation Army pastors.  Some of their favorite memories as a family include Jason and his brother performing in various theater performances and long family road trips.

Sarah’s immediate family is a little closer geographically.  Sarah’s parents have served as pastors in The Salvation Army, serving in various parts of the United States and in Latin America.  Sarah and her sister were raised bilingual and with an assortment of cultural influences as a result of the various places in which they have lived as a family.  As a family, we love to spend Christmas together and still make it a point to do so every year.  We love to travel, play board games, and experience new things.

Both of our families have always been safe places to learn and grow.  They continue to be sources of encouragement and support.  And everyone is incredibly excited about growing the family through this adoption process.  It is such a gift to be a part of this family, and we look forward to sharing that gift.