Our Story
Hi! We're Tyler and Mackenzie.
We met in 2024 and were intentional about getting to know one another from day one. Through countless conversations, long-distance travel, and a lot of prayer, our relationship grew into something we both knew was built to last. We were married in May 2026, and like so many couples, we've spent countless hours dreaming about our future—the traditions we'll create, the adventures we'll share, and most of all, the family we hope to build.
Our path to parenthood, however, looks a little different.
Mackenzie was born with a rare condition called MRKH syndrome, which means she was born without a uterus. While she has healthy ovaries and is able to create embryos through IVF, she cannot carry a pregnancy herself. We have always known that if we wanted to have biological children, our journey would involve both IVF and a gestational surrogate.
Although we've known this would be part of our story, that doesn't make it any easier. The emotional, physical, and financial challenges of infertility can feel overwhelming at times. Between IVF treatments, medications, embryo creation, legal expenses, surrogate compensation, medical care, insurance, and travel, the cost of bringing one baby into the world can exceed $150,000.
We've broken our journey into two major milestones.
Creating our embryos through IVF. Our first fundraising goal is $20,000, which will help cover the IVF process and allow us to create and safely freeze embryos as we prepare for the next chapter.
Partnering with a compassionate gestational carrier who will help bring our baby into the world. This stage includes medical procedures, legal agreements, insurance, travel, and surrogate-related expenses. It is, by far, the largest financial hurdle, bringing our overall fundraising goal to $200,000. We've set this goal to account for the many variables and expenses that can arise throughout the surrogacy journey.
Even knowing the road ahead, we never questioned whether becoming parents was worth pursuing.
We believe that every child is a gift from God, and we feel incredibly hopeful about the family we're praying for. While we wish this journey were simpler, we've also seen God's faithfulness through the people who have encouraged us, prayed for us, and walked alongside us.
This puzzle fundraiser represents the very first pieces of our journey. Every puzzle piece purchased helps us move one step closer to reaching our IVF goal and, ultimately, to holding our baby in our arms.
Whether you're able to give financially, pray for us, purchase a puzzle piece, or simply share our story, you are making a difference. Thank you for taking the time to learn about our journey and for considering being a part of it. We are deeply grateful for your support, your encouragement, and your prayers.
With love,
Tyler & Mackenzie