Our lifestyle is best described as adventurous with a strong base. We enjoy exploring new places, trying new things, and meeting new people both near and far. While we enjoy distant exploration, we also dedicate time to our friends, family, and community where we live. We like to explore locally to discover and connect with the local culture--going to the local farmers market or local festival, trying a family-owned restaurant, participating in Veteran's Day parades, fruit picking, and exposing our son to new experiences. We enjoy being tourists in our own city. We also enjoy exploring further from home...different cultures, different countries, and learning about them through their history and people. We recently lived in Germany and enjoyed getting to know the Germans by visiting historic villages and participating in traditions like Octoberfest and Christmas Markets. We've also been fortunate to visit many other countries in Central America, Asia, and Europe. In Vietnam we visited a village, fished, and a family taught us how to prepare local meals; in Cambodia we volunteered and served lunch to school-children. As a family we recently visited Ireland where we enjoyed the countryside and listening to traditional music; in Poland we learned about their food origins and traditions; in Italy we loved everything...learning to cook and eating pasta; and in Greece we walked amongst ruins, relaxed on the beaches, and enjoyed stunning scenery. We love to travel and look forward to sharing our sense of wonder, excitement and adventure with another child!

Many of our family traditions center on the holidays, but not all. On Christmas Eve, Joe's family eats Raclette--a communal meal that they learned while living in Switzerland. We sit at the table and melt cheese in a Raclette machine in the middle of the table. The meal includes melted cheese, boiled potatoes, cocktail onions, and tiny pickles. It's really tasty and a great way for everyone to talk, eat, and laugh while cooking their own meal--it's like roasting marshmallows, but it's cheese. Both our families decorate sugar cookies right before Christmas, the cookies are shaped like Christmas trees, stars, and bells and the kids (and some adults) creatively decorate the cookies with colored frosting, sprinkles, red hots, and a bunch of other things. Both families also gather for a week's vacation over the summer, Sarah's typically at Holden Beach, North Carolina. We gather shells, walk on the beach, play in the waves, kayak, and look for ghost crabs at night. Families rotate cooking dinner each night and treat everyone to their special meal. As a couple we started hosting a "Friendsgiving" dinner. Joe cooks the turkey, Sarah cooks the sides, and our friends bring the desserts. We've continued these traditions with our own family as well as cooking Sunday brunch, weekend firepits, family hikes, and many others that we look forward to sharing with another child!

We both always wanted to be parents, we absolutely love being parents, and are looking forward to growing our family through adoption. We've both had such wonderful role models in our lives--our own parents, grandparents and brothers and sisters. We want to pass along this love, caring, and great childhood that we had on to our children. Being a parent means raising a child to be the best person they can be...teaching them independence, love, caring, providing them with opportunities, and allowing them to find and pursue their passion all while knowing and understanding that they are loved, cared for, and safe. As new parents we love seeing our son grow, nurturing him, sharing in his joy, and sharing our love with him. We look forward to teaching our new child about honesty, respect, doing the best they can, and above all, love. We look forward to raising them in a loving, supportive, and joyful atmosphere. We look forward to guiding them and watching them develop into their own person. We look forward to bringing this child into a welcoming, loving, and supportive extended family. We both long to share the love that we have for one another with a new member of our family!

We both come from very close and supportive families who love hanging out with one another. We get together often on holidays, special occasions, and other times just because we enjoy being together. Sarah’s siblings and their families live only a few hours away while Joe’s live a day's drive or quick flight away, which makes for many spontaneous family gatherings throughout the year.

Both families try to spend a week together over the summer--Sarah's family at the beach in North Carolina and Joe's family usually in Illinois or the coast of South Carolina. We usually hang out...talk, catch up, play ball, Scrabble, or Family Feud, and eat! Both our families enjoy cooking; when we're all together we rotate the cooking between families to give our parents a break. One of our favorite meals to cook is "bait-in-the-bucket" (what Sarah's family calls it) or low-country boil (what Joe's family calls it). Two names, same meal...it's shrimp, polish sausage, potatoes, and corn on the cob boiled in a huge pot with onions and lots of Old Bay Seasoning. Sarah's family adds crab legs! Once done, we dump the ingredients onto a newspaper-covered table for all to eat family style (forks optional!). The kitchen is a busy place filled with life and lots of conversation. Our families are very excited to welcome another child amongst us, to wrap this child in love, and to raise this child among loving, fun, joyful, and caring cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents.

We live in a beautiful single-family historical home on a U.S. military base in North Carolina. Our community is very supportive where everyone is part of an extended military family and always willing to help. It's a wonderful place to raise a family. Our neighborhood is safe, full of energy, and full of families with children of all ages. Children are always outside playing and coming over to play with our son. Our neighborhood has sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, playgrounds, a dog park, pool, golf course, library, and even a church. Sarah often takes Thaddues to the playground and Joe frequently takes Thaddeus for neighborhood bike rides. As a family we attend the neighborhood church. Our neighborhood has a little something for everyone.

The military base hosts many festivals and events throughout the year as does the city in which we live. On base, our favorites are the Christmas tree lighting festival and the 4th of July celebration where a portion of the base becomes a fair with bouncy houses, face painting, rides, food trucks, and music. Downtown, our favorites include minor league baseball games where our son loves playing with other kids in the outfield playground and art walks, where he likes climbing on and examining local art pieces.

We feel so fortunate that the base and the city host so many family-friendly events that we enjoy attending. We love our community and look forward to continuing to experience all it has to offer with another child!

We are truly honored and thankful that you have taken the time to consider us. We cannot even begin to imagine how difficult this decision is for you but what we know is that you are a courageous, selfless person who loves their child so much that you are willing to do what you feel is best for your child. We would like for you to know that you are not alone and, although we have not met, we think about you and your baby each day. We hope we get to meet you and your child one day and that we continue to walk side by side, together as a family.

This past November we celebrated our seven-year anniversary. We have much to be thankful for including that we are both blessed with very loving and supportive families and friends. Our hearts are bursting with love as we anxiously wait to share our love with another child. Several years ago, we tried to have children--at first naturally and then through IVF but were told our chances of conceiving were unlikely. We were initially heartbroken but then gradually turned our focus to something we always talked about--adoption.

After adopting our son, Thaddeus, in 2020, experiencing how much we love and treasure him, and seeing our families welcome him with unqualified love, we know we want to bring another child into our family. Without adoption, we would still be childless and have a hole in our lives--we are ever-thankful for the opportunity that adoption provides and that you are considering us to raise this child. We're excited to welcome you and your baby into our life.

We have an unwavering and deep love for one another. Our marriage is based on love, honesty, and trust and we look forward to welcoming your child into that environment as well as into a loving and supportive extended family. We plan to raise this child much as we were raised, in a loving, supportive, and joy-filled atmosphere. We want to help this child experience the same great childhood that we had as children. We want to teach your child independence and character, love, and caring. We want to provide them opportunities to find and pursue their passions all while knowing that they are loved, cared for, and safe. We look forward to teaching your child about honesty, respect, and doing their best. Overall, we look forward to guiding them and watching them develop into their own person.

We will always be open and honest with your child about how our family came to be. We will make sure your child knows that you love them completely, that you always will, and that your brave decision was based on love. As time passes, we are happy to share letters and pictures of your child's growth and joy with you.

We are committed to loving, raising, and protecting this child. We love to travel, explore, and experience the world--your child will share those opportunities. Since we were recently stationed in Germany with the U.S. Army, we had a wonderful opportunity to travel and explore ...now we are so happy to be living in the U.S. closer to friends and family. Your child will be part of a loving and supportive, big, extended family. We can't wait! We, along with our families and friends, are waiting with open arms to welcome you and your child into our family. We know that you face a very difficult and trying decision...our thoughts and prayers are with you.

We look forward to meeting you and know that you will always be a part of our family.

Joseph & Sarah