We will give your baby everything that we had growing up; a loving home, a supportive extended family, an education, and many wonderful experiences. We can't wait to share our love, our lives, and our traditions with a child. We will be forever grateful to you if you choose us and will speak positively about you always.

Mike Marla Job Description Instructor Flight Engineer on Air Force C-130's Hospital Microbiologist Education BS in Aeronautical Science BS in Medical Technology with a Specialty in Microbiology Favorites Family Activity Fishing Trip Family Activity Bike Riding Food BBQ Food Mexican Hobby Scuba Diving Hobby Scrapbooking Memory with Spouse Horseback Riding in the Jungle of Belize Memory with Spouse Honeymoon in Belize Type of Music Alternative Type of Music Rock/Pop Children None

Mike spent 2 years with "Angel Flight", an organization that allows private pilots to volunteer their time and resources to provide transportation to patients who need treatment, but cannot afford a plane ticket or are too sick to fly commercially. He had to stop for a while, but intends to get involved again soon. He has also worked with a charity group to remodel schools in an area in need of help during one of his many work-related human resources training classes. He always finds volunteering fun and personally rewarding and lends a helping hand as often as he can!

Marla has spent 3 ½ years volunteering her time at a nearby children's hospital. She spends most of this time rocking infants and playing with toddlers. Most of these children are scared and some are withdrawn and just need a non-threatening person to give them hugs and comfort. She provides educational play and interaction with the children who have been in the hospital long-term.

Marla also offers comfort to the parents by giving them a chance to get something to eat or stepping out to call a family member. Just knowing that someone is there who can hold and comfort their child instead of leaving him in his bed with only the busy nurses to watch him can relieve some of the stress on already tired and wary parents. Marla really enjoys her time with the babies and feels it is the most fulfilling thing she has ever done.

We live in "The Natural State" of Arkansas where there are many nature trails, parks, and outdoor activities. When we discover new places, we mark those on our list of places to share with people. When Mike's family and friends visit from out of state, we really like to show off all of the great things there are to do here. We also sometimes take our bikes with us and ride them in the many parks in our area.

In the summer months, we spend several weekends at the lake with our family. There is plenty of room on the houseboat for everyone. Our nieces have grown up with summers at the lake and they both are on the swim team because of their great love of swimming.

We had so much fun on our honeymoon in Belize, that we have made it a tradition to take a vacation each year to somewhere new. Each year we have fun deciding on a vacation spot and making plans. We have been to St. Louis, Virginia, Colonial Williamsburg, the Smokey Mountains, Houston and Galveston, Florida, and Alabama. When we travel, we visit museums, zoos, aquariums, botanical gardens, and of course the local entertainments like Disney World, Six Flags, Busch Gardens, and the Kennedy Space Center.

We truly enjoy spending time together and can't wait to share with a child the wonderful things that this state and this great country have to offer.

Mike and Josie

We feel that pets are an important part of growing up. A pet can be the best playmate a child ever had. It instills friendship and responsibility and is just great fun to have a pet. Having a pet can also help teach discipline and caring for another being.

We both have had several pets growing up and think that pets are such a great part of childhood that we could never deny a child a pet. Marla is partial to cats and Mike prefers dogs. Mike's favorite pet was a dog named Old Red. Marla's favorite childhood pet was a cat named Barney.

We now have one cat named Josie, who was rescued from a shelter ten years ago. Josie is eleven years old, now, and really enjoys sleeping most of the time. She does have spurts of energy where she likes to play with her toys. Her favorite thing is to "hunt" for her treats that we hide for her. She can never resist a warm lap and a scratch under the chin.

Mike is itching to get a dog, again. He would love to take a dog running with him. We just have not been able to agree on one, yet.