Julie’s Family at Deep Creek on a Hike

We are both fortunate in that our extended families all live in the area; we are close with them and we get together often.

Julie: My family is quite large, as I'm the youngest of eight children. With all the in-laws, nieces and nephews, it's quite a party every time there's a gathering and we do get together often. One thing that is unique is how close everyone in the family feels. We grew up in a very loving, spiritual household and the bonds that formed in childhood still exist. We are each other's best friends and lean on one another in difficult times. We are also so close because we all share a very goofy sense of humor and just really enjoy being around one another. One of Julie's nephews plays in a band and recently the family took a limo downtown to go see him play. While it was a great time seeing him play in the competition, just being together and being crazy in the limo was the most fun of all.

Juan’s Extended Family

Juan: While my immediate family is not so large, I am the youngest of three siblings, we have many aunts, uncles, and cousins who live in the area and we see them often. My family is originally from Ecuador; my parents moved to the U.S. in 1959. As is typical in many Latin families, our gatherings revolve around good food and strong family ties. Whenever we go to Viba and Papi's house (my parents), we can expect some of our favorite Latin dishes. We also get together at a local park in the warm weather for family cookouts and outdoor games, which is a tradition we love. While many of my family members live in the U.S., there are still many relatives back in Ecuador. I have visited with them a few times and look forward to returning to South America with my family for a visit.

Both of our families are very supportive and excited about our adoption plan and can't wait to share their love with another baby in the family.

Our Home

We live in a single-family home in a relatively new planned community in Maryland, in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. We have an excellent school district, with a brand new elementary school and an award winning high school. While our kids go to a local Catholic school, they will go to the public high school located across the road from our neighborhood. Our neighborhood has many playground areas and a beautiful community pool with a separate lap/training pool for the swim team. Another pool is being built right around the corner from our home and is scheduled to be completed in 2009. Our neighborhood also has a community center that holds certain annual events and a social committee to plan new events. Some annual events are summer concerts at the pool, crab feasts, Halloween parties and Christmas and holiday parties for the kids.

Enjoying a Carriage Ride Downtown

Our town is also very supportive and enthusiastic about sports and there are two community leagues for children for every sport imaginable. The families who live on our street are all young couples with children ranging in age from infants to teens. It is a very supportive community and we get together with our neighbors often. We also love that we are so close to everything - the cities of Washington, DC and Baltimore, where we love to go and play, local lakes, mountains, historic sites and amusement parks are all within a 1 to 2 hour drive. While we are close to the big cities, we also love our own downtown area, which feels like an historic small town. Our downtown area offers carriage rides, holiday events like the Santa parade and 4th of July fireworks and concerts in the park and many great restaurants, shops and cultural events. We love where we live and we love that we are located so close to our families.