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David & Marla are hopeful adoptive parents from Ohio waiting to adopt a baby.

If you are pregnant and considering placing your child for adoption, please read the following Dear Birthmother Letter.

Our Story When my husband and I met and were discussing what we envisioned our lives to be, we always said we wanted three or four children. As we struggled to conceive our son, Ethan, we were ecstatic when we became pregnant! We loved the name Ethan for a boy and Laurel for a girl. Upon his arrival, we knew we could use Laurel when we had our girl. That has been six years and now here we are at this juncture of our lives – waiting upon the miracle that God has promised us through our faith in him.

David and Marla Marla
I grew up on a farm, with great parents and an older brother and sister. Family was and still is very important to me. My parents, Gary and Neva, are absolutely awesome! While growing up, the three of us children were expected to be respectful, considerate of others, and work hard at whatever we did.
Our grain farm is near the very little town of Roselm, Ohio – population – 10! My father and brother still farm our ground, and I still enjoy helping Dad whenever he needs it. A couple years ago, I hauled grain to the elevator for Dad since Mom was working at Eaton, a factory in a nearby town. As a teenager, I would haul grain to town and work the fields for my Dad. I would mow the yard, work outside for Mom, and practically spend every bit of the summer outside doing something related to the farm. These things helped me realize how hard my parents worked to provide for us. I never received anything without having to work for it. We would be up early and stay up late helping Dad get the wagons to the barn for the night or help Dad bring the machinery home. This great foundation has instilled in me all the things I am working hard to see that Ethan understands.
In High School, I was involved with National Honor Society, youth group at our church, band, volleyball, basketball, and track. These things required a lot of time and effort, and they are the partial reason why I have been successful and determined today. The other reason I am these things today is because of my family and friends. My friends were self motivated as well and worked hard at everything they did.
After high school, I received a track scholarship to attend Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. There, I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Education in 1994 and also played on the volleyball team as well as competing in the long jump and triple jump on the track team.
I began my teaching career at my alma mater, Wayne Trace in Haviland, Ohio. I began teaching 4th grade in 1995 and now teach 7th and 8th grade. I have coached volleyball and track – two of my passions – motivating young adults to work hard and have fun while doing it. I received my Master’s Degree in Education in 2001.

David
I grew up on a grain farm as well, but we also had livestock on our farm. My two brothers, one now deceased, and my sister helped our father out as well. His firm discipline rubbed off on us as we all have high expectations of our own children.
I spent most of my summers working in the fields with my Dad and grandfather. Since we had livestock, we had to bail hay and straw to feed them. Many hot days were spent out on a tractor and wagon gathering the bales to feed our sheep, cows, and pigs.
Besides helping my dad, I had 4 – H projects to do as well as FFA (Future Farmers of America) projects. We would also spend most of the summer evenings at the local ballpark. Mom would spend at least four nights at the ballpark watching me and my brothers and sister. Our summers also included camping with our great friends, the Arns.
In high school, I was involved in FFA, basketball, and baseball. After a knee injury, I spent most of my time cheering for my teammates. In FFA, my Junior year, I earned my State Farmer’s Degree – a prestigious award for high school students.
After high school, I attended The Ohio State University. After attending for one year, I came back home as my grandfather passed away from cancer resulting in my father needing help on the family farm. For a 19 year old helping run a farm of over 1300 acres was not an easy task. The job requires MANY early hours and late nights. Many think being a farmer does not require much knowledge or work but in actuality it does. I have to know how to drive and operate many different types of machinery, combine the right amounts of chemical to spray on our crops, and have a good business sense to make sure our finances are correct.

Along Comes Ethan David and I have known each other since being teenagers. My aunt and uncle were/are good friends with David’s parents, and so having a huge crush on David, I begged to go with my cousins every time they would be together. At the end of my college years, we began dating and then married on August 3, 1996.
We always had the conversation about how many children we were going to have – three or four never foreseeing we would have difficulties getting pregnant. We tried without any intervention from my gynecologist thinking like everyone else that having a baby is an easy task. Quickly did we learn that getting pregnant is not easy! We took fertility medication to help with this process without any help. With God’s help, we got pregnant for Ethan on our own.
Ethan is a super little boy. He is seven years old, healthy, and fun to be around. He LOVES farming with his dad and with his own little machinery, playing sports, and reading books. He is in first grade at Lincolnview Elementary. He has always wanted a playmate and hopes to have a sibling very soon.

Family and Friends As a family, we do many things together. In the winter, we snowmobile and attend our local high schools’ basketball games. In the spring and fall, we help David with planting and harvesting the crops. In the summer, we are very busy! Ethan plays baseball with his buddies at Middle Point, the town where the Lincolnview District plays their games. We also swim in our family pool. Our pool is busy with neighbor kids and nephews and nieces. Also, in the summer, we take our family vacation. Many of our vacations are at Myrtle Beach with our family and friends. For New Year’s Eve, we go to Castaway Bay, an indoor water park, at Sandusky, Ohio. We go with my cousin and his family and friends from church.