I was invited to attend a women’s exercise class at Robb’s church (I was attending a different church at the time).  The pastor’s wife met and started talking with me after the class and before long, had visions of introducing me to Robb, who was an elder at the church.  I was generally pretty cautious about dating, but I really appreciated the things that the pastor’s wife had said about Robb… specifically, about him being a very Godly and humble man.  Robb and I met after Sunday school a week or two later and went out on our first date soon after.

Initially, I liked Robb but was concerned that he might be a little too goofy for me.  Robb’s first impression of me was also good, but he wondered if I might be a little too serious for him.  In time, I came to see that Robb had a serious side, and Robb came to see that I had a goofy side.  We shared a lot of other things in common, too, of course.  Most importantly for us, we shared a common faith in Jesus Christ.  

Our early dates included a trip to the museum, a “banjo club” performance, a movie, Bible study discussions at Panera Bread, and get-togethers with friends. We dated for about a year before getting engaged and were married four months later.

Pictured is the bean bag chair in our daughter’s bedroom.  Can you spot our dog, Sully, amongst her stuffed animals??  We couldn’t resist including a photo of him, as he has certainly been part of our lives together since we adopted him two years ago!  :o). Sully is curious but very gentle when babies visit our house.

Saturday mornings in our family are generally relaxed and give us all a chance to sleep in a little and have breakfast together.  The rest of the day is usually a combination of family time (either at home or out) and projects around the house.  “Family time” might include a family movie night, going for a hike, walk or bike ride, or going to a local festival.  On Sundays, we go to Sunday school and church in the morning, followed by lunch and time at home in the afternoon and evening.  Robb works regular hours during the week, and we usually have dinner together as a family in the evenings.  

Alaina and our daughter often have memberships to some combination of the zoo, museums and parks.  A typical week will include a visit to one of these, kindergarten, piano and dance lessons, but importantly, time at home to play, too.  We think it’s important to give kids opportunities to develop interests outside of school, but too many activities and too much rushing around is not good for anyone!  We can see the benefit in trying, as best we can, not to “over-schedule” our days.  

Robb and Alaina make an effort to plan visits with their parents each week (making for lots of quality grandparent time).  They also do their best to make time for friends and outreach.  For example, on Thursday nights, Alaina meets with a small group of women for Bible study.  Robb and Alaina also enjoy practicing hospitality by having friends, family, church family and neighbors over their house for dinner as much as possible.  

In the evenings, Robb and Alaina typically put their daughter to bed together. Bedtime always includes a short reading and prayer.  

Robb grew up in the suburbs with his mom, dad, and older sister.  He is an uncle to two nieces.  Robb works for a chemical company.  On his way to and from work, he enjoys listening to audio books.  In his spare time, Robb is as comfortable attending a musical theater performance as he is going for a hike or working around the house in his Carhartts.  He loves “fatty foods” like pizza and nachos, but he also enjoys a big salad.  He is very handy around the house and in the kitchen. 

From Alaina’s perspective…

Everyone who meets Robb loves him!  Robb is a loving husband, father, and son.  He has a great sense of humor and loves to get our daughter involved with “Daddy jobs” like shoveling snow, using a screwdriver, and trips to Home Depot (he lets her get the cart with the steering wheel so she can pretend to drive).  He is extremely creative and imaginative.  

Above all, Robb is a man of integrity who seeks to know and follow the Lord in all things.

Like Robb, Alaina grew up in the suburbs with her mom, dad, and older sister (she is the baby in her family by 12 years!).  She is an aunt to two nieces and two nephews.  Alaina went to law school and worked for a law firm when Robb met her.  Although she enjoyed working, Alaina is thankful that she is now able to stay at home full-time with their daughter.  

Alaina loves decorating for the holidays, watching movies (especially romantic comedies), musical theater, dancing, traveling to new places and practicing her Spanish (although she is rusty!).  Her favorite foods are pasta and ice cream.   

Some of Alaina’s favorite activities with her daughter are going on outings, doing art/crafts, and snuggling together with a good book.   

From Robb’s perspective…

Alaina is classy but also has a fun side.  She is an impressive wife and mother. She has much more than average patience and is very calm and rarely shows that she is upset.  She is very dedicated to raising our daughter, and I am thankful that I have her to help me.  I never worry about what our daughter is learning or doing while I am at work, I have complete trust that it is something enriching.

I am impressed with the faith of my wife.  It is solid and unquestioning with a total reliance on the promises of Jesus.  I find that encouraging and strive to emulate her on that front in many ways.

Robb and Alaina both grew up in loving and closeknit households.  We are thankful to still be able to see our immediate families on a regular basis (we see our parents, pictured here, every week).  Robb’s sister and family live out of town, but we all try our best to stay in touch in between visits through group texts, letters and packages.  Many of our extended family members are local, and we see them (including some younger cousins) for holidays and birthdays.  

We have taken a few family vacations since having our daughter.  The first was to the Ark Encounter in Kentucky and the Cincinnati Zoo.  This past summer, we traveled to the beach to visit Robb’s sister and family, and in May, we were able to go to Walt Disney World.

We live in a two-story, four-bedroom home in the suburbs.  Our neighborhood is close to lots of restaurants and shops, and also a bike trail.  We enjoy taking walks around the neighborhood as a family.  We are also fortunate to have both a front porch and back deck to enjoy.  We recently added a firepit to the backyard and have been enjoying cooking s’mores and mountain pies around the fire.  We turned our finished basement into a playroom for our daughter.  Our backyard has a playground with attached playhouse where our daughter enjoys playing and hosting friends for lunch.

Our daughter is five years old, almost six.  She is a creative, thoughtful and sweet little girl who loves to learn and play.  She is very mature for her age and a big helper around the house.  She is generally very shy, but her best friend brings her out of her shell.

Lately, our daughter is all about dogs… whether it’s our dog Sully, her Paw Patrol figures (we perform lots of rescue missions!) or her collection of stuffed animal dogs.  Other favorite pastimes include reading books, playing games, doing crafts, and visiting local attractions (zoo, amusement parks, museums, and playgrounds).  She also takes dance lessons and piano lessons.

We are so thankful to be able to send her to a Christian school where in addition to academics, she can learn more about God and the types of things that we’re trying to instill at home.   

We think that protecting children from having too much of an online presence is a good thing.  However, we are happy to share more about our daughter (including better pictures) offline.