We love having fun and going on adventures, but we're also very laid back. Ryan teaches high school English and Chelsea is lucky to teach high school Science at the same school as him! We love planning interesting projects, field trips, and labs for our students, and we consider them each to be part of our extended family. Teaching also gives us summers and other school breaks off, which will be great when we are parents!

We're each other's best friend, and we love laughing, relaxing, and spending quality time together. When we're not teaching, we enjoy playing board games with friends, reading, playing records, bowling, visiting family, watching TV, and going for hikes and bike rides. We have a favorite picnic spot on a nearby mountain that we love visiting, and we always buy trail mix and other goodies before hiking up. Chelsea enjoys playing piano, making crafts, learning Spanish, cooking, and learning about animals. Ryan enjoys computer coding, listening to the radio, playing guitar, taking naps, spoiling our cats with treats, and exploring new musical genres. We are already envisioning how our child will fit into our lives, and we can't wait to include them on all of our adventures and cheer them on as they develop interests of their own!

We love learning! When we're not teaching in our classrooms, we're probably reading, exploring, or teaching ourselves new skills. We look forward to sharing books with our child every day, learning about nature on hikes together, and teaching them some of our favorite pastimes, like playing piano and guitar, computer coding, appreciating a variety of musical genres, cooking, and making crafts. We also look forward to helping them explore their own personal interests and favorite subjects. We teach our students the importance of having a growth mindset, so we will be our child's cheer team as they overcome challenges, reach their own personal goals, and practice the hobbies that they find rewarding. We will also use story time and games as opportunities to learn about character traits like honesty, responsibility, respect, and empathy for others.

We have already begun researching preschools, and we would love for our child to attend a Spanish-language immersion program. We know from personal experience that learning another language helps you appreciate other cultures, make friends, and open new doors in life.

We've been in love with Arizona for over a decade. Ryan grew up and studied English at college here. Chelsea originally moved here for a job in the education department at our local zoo where she taught children about animals. From beautiful desert hiking trails, to taco trucks, to a vibrant downtown music and theater scene, there is always something fun to do here!

We live with our three beloved cats in a three bedroom single family home in a very diverse and family-friendly neighborhood. We are directly connected to hundreds of miles of beautifully maintained hiking and biking trails, and we love seeing the horses, pigs, and goats on our walks past nearby ranches. The community center down the street from us has several pools and a splash park, which is perfect for beating the desert heat. There are also indoor and outdoor basketball courts, playgrounds, and a "children's club" center offering a variety of camps and after-school classes. Our neighborhood also takes decorating for Halloween and trick-or-treating very seriously. Last year we had a full mariachi band of kids come to play us a song in return for candy!

We enjoy listening to Ryan's record collection in the living room, inviting friends over for board games in the dining room, and computer coding and playing piano in the loft. Our new favorite room is the nursery-to-be; we've already wallpapered one of the walls with a whimsical scene of animals riding bikes across a tightrope!

Our families are adventurous, supportive, loud, silly, and great with kids! Ryan's parents, brother, and sister live in a city nearby so we are easily able to hang out and celebrate the holidays together. We recently welcomed a beautiful niece into the family, and we are so excited to shower her with love! When we all get together we love sharing childhood stories, swimming, and playing games like Yahtzee.

Chelsea's parents live in Michigan and her brother lives in Florida, but they visit several times a year and are a constant source of support. Her parents are so eager to finally become grandparents, and they are ready to spoil this child silly! They recently visited town, and we all attended a bear's birthday party at the zoo, worked on some tile mosaic art, played lots of board games, and explored some of the city's trails. Chelsea's mom is an expert when it comes to planning fun games, parties, and activities for children and her dad could win an Oscar for all of the silly voices he uses with kids during story times.

We also all enjoy getting together at the family cabin in the mountains, which is a great place to relax and "unplug" from technology for a bit. Recent family trips to Hawaii, Canada, Disneyland, Mackinac Island, Canyon Lake, Florida, and Mexico are also cherished memories.

Hello there! The idea that the birth mother of our future child might be reading this letter someday is incredibly emotional, surreal, and exciting to us. We haven't met you, and we can't assume what you are feeling, but we know that you care about your child and want the best for them. We respect your decisions and the journey you are on. If we are finally chosen, we will never lose our gratitude, and we vow to unconditionally provide a life full of love, fun, education, and opportunity for this child. This is not something we take lightly; it is a responsibility we look forward to making our top priority in life.

Anytime we think about growing our family, we can't help but get goofy grins on our faces, because this is something we have dreamed about for a long time. We've been in a loving relationship for eight years, and been happily married for three years. After a struggle with infertility, we both knew whole-heartedly that adoption was the right decision for us. As a couple, we have always supported each other through every joy and difficulty the world has thrown at us and we know that when life closes one door, there are always several others waiting to be opened. We view adoption as the ultimate door: the adventure of a lifetime!

We have been high school teachers together at the same school for eight years, which has given us the unique opportunity to get a sneak peek at how each of us will be as parents. Ryan sets high expectations for his students and works patiently with each of them to help them grow into curious, moral, and thoughtful young adults. Chelsea designs hands-on activities and games for her students, and she loves sharing weird and gross animal facts. We both try to get to know each of our students' interests, needs, and personalities so that we can provide them with personalized help. We're also known on campus for our top-notch spirit day costumes, and senses of humor. We have both had "fan art" drawn of us by our students, which is an honor we don't take lightly! The skills we have learned as teachers will undoubtedly come in handy as parents, and we each have unending confidence in each other.

As true nerds, we've also been reading every book we can get our hands on about adoption. We plan to use adoptive-positive language with our child, and we are already teaching our extended families this language so that our child always feels completely supported and included as a valued member of our fun-loving family.

We plan on being open and honest with our child about their adoption story right from the start. We have already been researching children's books and TV shows that discuss adoption positively, and we would like to make a scrapbook for our child that will hopefully include pictures of their birth family and us. We want this child to know that they are loved by many, many people and that their story and cultural heritage is valued by us. We also hope to encourage a positive relationship with the birth family through emails, texts/calls, and visits if that is something they feel comfortable with. Ryan, the IT guru, has already looked into creating a photo-sharing website so that we can easily share memories back and forth between our families.

We don't live in a mansion or wear designer clothing, but we are down to earth and our life is rich in love. One of Ryan's favorite phrases is, "Don't do it for the likes," so "bragging" about ourselves in this profile has been awkward for us at times. That being said, we tried to be as honest and authentic as possible.

We look forward to seeing our child's personality, interests, and goals emerge and we will do our best to encourage them to be themselves, work hard, practice kindness, appreciate nature, and follow their dreams. They will be the light of our lives; we promise you that!

With our deepest gratitude,

Ryan & Chelsea