Erickson Expeditions

                                                                         (LeAnne's Family-Christmas 2021)  Family is a large part of our lives and a huge reason we continue on our adoption journey. Our biggest desire in adopting and growing our family is giving a child the love of family we were both blessed to experience. Growing up in a large family definitely had its challenges, but I would not change it for the world. Even though we all have busy lives, we make getting together a priority. I have especially enjoyed watching our nieces and nephews grow over the years and how close they have all become. My youngest sister has even started a tradition of hosting "cousins camp" each Summer. The past couple Summers all 17 kids, ages 18 to 4, spend a few days at her home in Northeast Arkansas. She even has individual shirts made with their birth order. The kids enjoy swimming, playing games and just getting away spending time with one another. My parents even go up, helping

 Last Fall Matthew and I embarked on a journey through part of the Appalachian Trail. To say I had no idea what we were in for would be a gross understatement. We definitely had some funny stores to tell when we returned from our eight mile hike. Let's just say my new motto is "There is no such thing as too much water.". I know there are avid hikers out there where this would be absolutely nothing, and we met some of them! For these novices, this hike was a test of our physical abilities, mental strength, and at times our marriage, LOL! This hike was, for me, an adventure of a life time.  Thinking back on this hike is a great metaphor for our adoption journey. As mentioned previously, I was diagnosed with Turner's Syndrome which is a chromosomal disorder in which a female is born with only one X chromosome leading to infertility, among other symptoms. Due to my diagnosis of infertility, Matthew and I knew as soon as we were married we wanted to work toward adoption on

My name is Matthew, I go by Matt, I am 38 years old and my career is repairing electronic musical instruments, mostly keyboards. I grew up in Central  Arkansas and am an only child. I was raised in our local church and was there every time the doors were  open. Growing up I always enjoyed when family would come from out of town and I was able to spend time with my two cousins at the lake. We always had a pool and so my Summers were spent playing in the water with friends. At age 15 I started playing the keyboard for our church services and I have been involved in church  music in three other churches since then. I went to a local Christian school and after graduating high  school I went to our local Technical College where I studied history and world religions. In 2008 I was able to follow my passion for music and started  working with a local musical repair technician. I worked with him for the past 15 years until he retired last year. Now I am  the only one in Arkansas doing this kin

  Get ready to learn all you ever wanted to know about me and more!!         Starting with the obvious, my name is LeAnne, I am 33 years old and work as the clinic manager for a family practice office. I grew up in a large family with six siblings, three older bothers an older sister and then a younger sister and brother. I was born in Southeast Missouri and lived there until my family moved to Northeast Arkansas when I was seven. We then moved to Central Arkansas, where I currently live, when I was 11 years old. My dad is a Baptist minister so faith and family where large parts of my upbringing. Growing up in a large family, we had fun organizing our own softball or kickball games and getting to take family vacations. I always enjoyed traveling back to Missouri; spending time on my Grandpa's farm, playing with cousins and even catching a Cardinals game here and there. One of our most adventurous vacations was the Summer before I went into the fourth grade. My parents loaded us all

 Throwing it way back for this one to our very first picture together! Matthew and I were introduced the Spring of 2010 and started dating shortly there after. I was quickly swept away by Matthew’s skills in music, photography and a host of many other talents. Matthew says he was drawn to my smile and upbeat/positive attitude. As we were dating, we quickly realized we both had a deep commitment to faith and love of family. We desired to start our own family one day. Due to my diagnosis of Turner’s Syndrome, more on that at a later time, we knew adoption would be apart of our story. After dating for almost 5 months, Matthew took me hiking in one of our local state parks. As we were driving around going to our hiking destination, Matthew wanted to pull off at this over look, but there was a wedding and so we had to drive on. I remember wondering why he was so frustrated the wedding was happening at that exact location. Little did I know that was the spot he planned to purpose! We drove o

Welcome to our blog, we are Matthew and LeAnne Erickson. We have been married 11 years and live in Central Arkansas with our three dogs. We have Lady, our 12 year old Pekingese/Pomeranian mix; Maisie, our 7 year old Scottish Terrier; and Dolly, our 3 month old Goldendoodle. Keep following our blog for more on each of them! Our desire through this blog is that our heart for adoption will shine as you read and follow our journey. Our adoption journey could not be described any better than an expedition, navigating many ups and downs, twist and turns over the past three plus years. We invite you to join us for the ride! Please leave comments, questions, anything you would like— just be nice :)