To us, being parents is about adding a unique kind of love to our lives. When you are in an adult relationship with no children, you can love each other deeply but there is another dimension to love that only a child can give you. Caring for another person who can't take care of themselves, when you have the resources and ability to do so, can be an opportunity to share your beliefs, ideas, and aspirations with someone who will carry them forward into the world in ways you could never dream of. Some of our core values as a family involve equality, social justice, environmental stewardship, and generosity. We hope to instill in a child that joins our family a sense of fairness, morality, and public service to ensure they make the world a better place than they found it.

We are parents to two beautiful children and have learned through parenting Bobby and Isabel that our love expands every time our family expands. Seeing them grow up, being a part of their accomplishments, helping them learn new skills, and guiding them through life's challenges gives us deep satisfaction and joy.

Becky About Dave: Dave is a caring, thoughtful, intelligent person driven to tackle the big problems through his work as a data scientist. He is a loving father and kind partner in all things. I admire how hard a worker Dave is and how he brings passion to his work and home life. He is an engaged and active father and member of the community. I particularly love that, when Dave doesn't know something, he dives right into learning and will read books, articles, and anything he can get his hands on. His booming laugh is infectious and he is a great listener. I adore his love of travel and exploring new cultures.

Dave About Becky: Becky is best described as a natural-born humanitarian. She is generous, caring, goofy, fun, and cares about everyone deeply, whether she has known them for decades or just met them. I love that she is a dedicated and loving mother, a great teammate (in marriage as well as at work!), and one of the kindest people you'll ever meet. Becky is passionate about making the lives of everyone she meets better, be it by donating her possessions to neighbors in need or showing others the best ways to achieve their goals ethically and in a way that benefits others in addition to themselves. Knowing and loving her has made me into the best version of myself possible.

We are fortunate to live in a very diverse community. We have friends and neighbors that represent a broad range of cultures and nationalities. With Washington, DC being a major city within driving distance of our home, we have friends that are diplomats from foreign countries, friends that have lived all over the world and settled here, and friends that have lived here all their life. The local elementary school is one of the most diverse in our state and the parks near our home are filled with a wide assortment of cultures, with children and parents speaking many different languages while playing with our children or hanging out with us on a picnic blanket. We regularly observe other families in the area performing sunset tea rituals or celebrating national holidays for countries besides our own. Some of our best friends in the area are an interracial couple that hail from Madagascar and Kazakhstan. Any child that joins our family from a culture different than our own will find many people in their life that represent their birth culture and we will strive to expose them to their cultural heritage as often as possible, be that through what we cook at home or the museums we visit on the weekends. We are eager to both make a new child in our family feel part of our family and part of a larger community that shares their background and our values.

We own a four-bedroom home in Virginia near a large city in a planned community, shared with more than a thousand families. Our house has exciting things happening in it at all times of the year, from family charades to movie nights to playdates with princesses, pirates, unicorns, ninjas, and pets in tow. Given the size of our community, there are families of every shape, from new parents to parents with all their children in high school - and everything in between! There is a small park right in front of our house and two more large city parks within walking distance. There is a daycare a few blocks from us and the elementary school is even closer. There are playgrounds for children as young as 2 years old and as old as 12 in the parks.

We have a cafe in our community that is a popular gathering spot for neighbors and their children after school and a public library within walking distance, along with our community's gym and outdoor pool. In addition to all the nearby attractions, our community is famous for its Halloween celebrations: every year, the small parks throughout the neighborhood are converted into small haunted houses and neighbors go all-out to make it a fun experience for everyone. We even setup candy chutes from our elevated front door to the park in front so kids could have some fun while getting their treats. It's a wonderful place to live and raise a family!

Family is extremely important to us. Our parents and step-parents are all very eager (and experienced) grandparents. Becky's parents and step-parents live in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and Dave's parents live in Ohio. While we are separated by physical distance, we visit them every year for different holidays and family reunions. Becky has a sister (one of three in total) that lives close by and is very involved in our lives, having moved to be closer to us after she finished school.

Besides the usual holiday traditions, both of our families have fun ways to celebrate events and build new memories together. Becky's family has a fun tradition wherein they celebrate St. Patrick's Day with McDonald's Shamrock Shakes! Dave's family is strongly tied to their local church that his great-grandfather helped to build, celebrating most Christmases and family weddings there. We have talked to both our families a great deal about our adoption plans and they are extremely supportive, with all the grandparents looking forward to adding a new child to their lives. An addition to our family will be welcomed with open arms by many.

Thank you for looking at our profile and learning more about us. We understand that you are in the middle of an incredibly difficult decision right now, but we want you to know that we will give your child a safe, stable, and happy home with a family that laughs a lot and is full of love for one another.

We have always dreamed of expanding our family through adoption. We have been married for almost 9 years and have been talking about adoption as a means to grow our family since before even then! While we have been blessed with two beautiful children, our hearts are still full of love and we are excited about the prospect of adding a new child to our family. We have spoken to our children about the prospect of having a new baby brother or sister and they are beyond excited about it. They have such big hearts, with Isabel already being a wonderful older sister, and we know they will be wonderful siblings to your child.

As parents, we are committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for your child to grow and thrive. We are dedicated to supporting their needs and helping them reach their full potential. We will do everything in our power to ensure that your child has every opportunity to succeed in life and be happy. We believe strongly in the power of education and the importance of exposing our family to as many diverse perspectives as possible, something reflected in our participation in the Unitarian Universalist church. We achieve this exposure through travel as a family (we are currently saving up for an international vacation with all the kids in the next few years), an expansive and diverse friend group, and by taking advantage of the many cultural events and celebrations in our region.

As a family, we have a strong support system and a close-knit community. Our extended family and friends are excited about the prospect of welcoming a new member into the fold and are looking forward to supporting us through the adoption process. We have great schools, fun community events, and many neighborhood children that our children will grow up with and likely count as life-long friends. As part of planning for our adoption journey, it has become even more clear than before how loved and supported we are, with many friends and family members offering to sacrifice their time and energy to help us adopt a child. It has made us realize how truly fortunate we are.

We understand that this is a difficult and emotional decision, and we want you to know that we will always honor and respect your wishes. We believe that an adopted child's knowledge of their birth story and heritage are critical to understanding themselves and making their childhood as joyful as it can be. As such, we are interested in a fully open adoption with regular physical visits, phone calls, and other forms of communication as appropriate. We are open to communication and are happy to share regular letters and pictures with you. We currently utilize photo-sharing apps with our extended family to make them aware of our children's lives without sacrificing their privacy and will continue to do so for any child we adopt. We want your child to know you as much as you are comfortable doing so.

We hope that you will consider us as potential adoptive parents for your child. We will be honored to raise your child as our own and provide them with the love, support, and opportunities they deserve.

Sincerely,

Dave & Becky