Adoption touched our lives in the most wonderful way, blessing us with our children and making parenthood possible. We were unable to have children and grow our family on our own. Thankfully, because of adoption, we have our two delightful boys who we cherish and celebrate every single day. We love that adoption is the foundation of our family and are so grateful to have built it in this beautiful manner. Adoption gave us the children we could only dream of and the greatest appreciation for parenthood.

Nine years ago, we were blessed with the adoption of our oldest son, Landon. Two years later, we experienced the gift of adoption once again when we adopted Hudson. We feel very fortunate that all our children will share this unique bond of adoption between them. We hope this strong connection brings them even closer throughout their lives.

We talk openly and often about adoption in our home. Our children are confident about their identities, know their adoption stories, and love their birth mothers and their "first hometown." We tell our boys all the time that they have twice as many loving parents as most other children they know. There will never be a surprise to how we became a family nor will they ever doubt that the decision their birth mother made was one of courage and selfless, unconditional love. We know in our hearts we are meant to adopt again and cannot wait to share our hearts and home with this child.

We love spending time as a family and cherish quality time together every day.

Ken works four days a week. His Thursdays off became "Dude's Day" in our home as he and the boys always head out for an adventure! Amy works from home and makes her own schedule which offers great flexibility to volunteer in the children's classes and attend all their activities.

We enjoy cooking and trying new recipes. Ken is the grill-master and can be found grilling or smoking salmon, pizza, steaks and more! Amy enjoys baking the birthday cakes and making numerous other sweet or savory creations.

Whenever the weather is nice you'll find us outdoors enjoying our yard, our community or our beautiful state. We bike, hike and walk together often. We love being in nature and find peace in the beauty of it. Much of our free time revolves around our boys' interests and activities. During spring and fall we are cheering on Landon at Little League and Flag Football and taking Hudson to the farm for riding lessons. Both boys love swimming so pool time is a top priority throughout the summer. We spend many weekends there, meeting friends and sometimes ordering pizza for a fun lunch. During the winter we are inside more often, playing games, reading books and watching movies together.

Traveling is a priority and we take a couple vacations every year. We head to the lake every summer as well as explore beautiful new places and cultures.

We strive to raise our children to embrace diversity, be inclusive and grow up in an environment that is accepting of other cultures. We both grew up in diverse areas and being inclusive is part of who we are. Our neighborhood is filled with families from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. Our children attend school and are friends with children of many races. We also have friends in our community who adopted children of different racial backgrounds.

Our youngest son is a quarter African American. We embrace his ethnic background by reading books to them about African American role models, heroes and famous individuals as well as from other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. We want all our children to know and appreciate their heritage, embrace who they are and where they are from, have the confidence to stand up for themselves and for what is right, and to be accepting of others.

If we are blessed with a child who is biracial or of a different ethnicity than us, we will incorporate their race and culture into our family. We will educate and immerse ourselves in their culture so we can best support our child and our interracial family. We will ensure they have role models in their life with similar backgrounds and appearance. We will foster relationships with individuals who can share stories, culture, foods and music of their heritage with us.

Our home is a fun place to be! There is always something happening, music playing and laughter that can be heard. There are impromptu art projects in the sunroom, forts being built in the family room, a game of catch being played in the yard or a backyard camp out with the fire pit and s'mores.

We live in a four-bedroom home in a newer suburban community in Virginia, an hour outside of Washington, DC. We are close enough to enjoy the diversity, arts and culture of the city, the National Zoo and Smithsonian museums yet have a safe, family-friendly neighborhood feel. Our community holds many events for families, including 5K races, an Easter Egg Hunt, 4th of July Festival, a Fall Fest and a neighborhood camp out.

We walk all over our neighborhood, to the Farmers Market on Sundays, and the shops at the Town Center. We love walking and biking through the miles of paths stopping at parks, tot-lots or one of the four community pools.

The schools are highly rated and the elementary, middle and high school are all located within our neighborhood. Our community is home to many young families like ours and our children are fortunate to have numerous friends living within walking distance of our home.

We are fortunate to have an amazing support network in our extended family and close friends. We value those relationships and make it a priority to spend time together.

Amy's mom recently retired and is eager to be present in the lives of her grandchildren. She often joins us on vacations and stays with us a few days every week to get plenty of Grandma-time.

We both have one sister and feel that having siblings is a true gift in life. Amy's sister owns a piano studio and comes to visit most weekends. Ken's sister and her husband live only 30 minutes away with their two children. We get together often so the cousins can play together and develop lasting relationships.

In addition to having family nearby, we have a wonderful group of close friends with their own young children in our area. These friends are like family, they support us and love our children. Our families are growing up together and we gather frequently whether it's for a cookout or a vacation. Our children are on some of the same sports teams and sometimes in the same classes.

Thank you for taking time to learn about our family. We are both honored and humbled that you are considering us and so happy to share our story with you!

We met as teenagers and became instant friends. Our friendship only grew from there and we are thankful we've been married to our best friend for nearly 20 years. We have supported each other through life's challenges and cheered each other on during our triumphs.

Once we became parents, we put our all into our children, just as we would for your child. They are the most important aspect of our lives and our "why" in life. Landon is an outgoing, inquisitive nine year old who loves helping others. He is a natural athlete and excels at all the sports he plays. Hudson is an optimistic, empathetic seven year old who loves animals, art and music. Both boys are thrilled and ready to be big brothers!

We are both fortunate to be in professions we love. Ken's career as a veterinarian is his passion and allows him to use his natural gifts on a daily basis. He has a big heart, is smart and nurturing, loyal and honest, a great communicator and teacher. He has a fantastic sense of humor and is humble for all his accomplishments. Amy's career combines her enjoyment of building relationships with her desire to help others. She's the most loving person you will ever meet. She is positive, caring and patient, easy to talk to and brings out the best in everyone. She works from home and welcomes our children home after school every day.

We strive to raise our children to become the best humans they can be. We want to instill values in our children that we live by every day; to respect themselves and others, to be generous in their lives, to cherish their relationships, contribute to their community, be kind, empathetic individuals and have a good sense of humor. Education is important to us and your child will be encouraged through the highest level of education they desire. We believe learning is a lifelong endeavor and know experiences outside the classroom are a significant part of life.

Your child's well-being will become our life's work. We will do everything to ensure they grow up happy, loved, secure and confident. We will raise them in a way that honors the courageous and loving decision you made for them, with ample opportunities, enriching experiences, and wholehearted support. We promise to love your child unconditionally and completely and are committed to bringing them up with the encouragement and resources to enrich their lives, find their passions and thrive. Our home is a loving one where family comes first, traditions are frequent and fun and we enjoy the moment, celebrating anything good that happens.

We love the open relationships we have with each of our children's birth mothers and hope to foster a special relationship with you. We know how important these connections are and will do everything to make this a positive relationship that brings you joy. We are happy to share all the amazing firsts (and everything in between) through texts, emails, letters and phone calls and would enjoy planning future visits.

We truly believe we were led to this path that will cross with yours. We are ready for this journey with open hearts and open arms and are excited to get to know you. Thank you for considering us. If chosen, we will always be grateful to you for your trust and faith in us.

With love,

Ken & Amy