We have an active lifestyle that's built around exploration and time together in nature. We have a spacious home in New Hampshire that's within walking distance of a park. It has a big, fenced yard for playing and we spend our spring, summer and autumn here each year. In the winter, we make our annual Caribbean trip to Barbados for a few months, where we snorkel with sea turtles and go surfing on Christmas morning.

Three years ago we bought a camper van and have traveled cross-country every year since. It's a great way to explore national parks, visit friends and see new places. This year we camped in and visited national parks around the Northwest U.S., hiked in New Hampshire and went mountain biking in Arkansas.

As entrepreneurs, we've built our businesses to be both successful and flexible. We designed our businesses in a way that makes it easy to draw lines between work and non-work hours, because balance and sustainability is important for us.

With a child in our family, we're looking forward to cutting back on work hours and showing this child the beauty that surrounds us. We want to provide a child with the chance to play in nature, see new places and make new friends, while enjoying fresh air and a healthy environment full of love and wonder.

Children need lots of time, and we have that to give. We prioritize time in our lives. We run several successful businesses and the financial aspect of that effort makes our life more comfortable. But it is time that we value most.

When we look back at our own childhoods, the happiest moments were always the ones where our parents and extended family made time in their lives for us. Whether they were family trips or family meals, we felt the most loved when time was shared with us.

We use our time to form connections with the people we love, and connect with nature. We're so excited about adoption because both of us have the time—and want to give more—to a child.

One of our favorite family traditions is travel. It doesn't matter if we are traveling into the forests around our home in New Hampshire or visiting the Caribbean for a surf trip—we form relationships with friends, family and our environment when we plan a trip outside our home.

Connection, relaxation and finding time for playing in nature are the primary reasons we travel. We believe humans and nature are more closely connected than many of us realize. We're all energy and energy is all connected. A trip to nature keeps us grounded in that vision.

When Ryan was a kid, she would spend the summer with her mom and stepdad in Cape Cod, Mass. We would play at the beach and splash in the ocean.

Just like Ryan, ever since he can remember, Mike would spend time with family at the beach every year.

We've brought those aspects of peacefulness and connectedness from our childhood into our lives together. Our favorite activities and memories are when we're together—kayaking with seals, gazing at a mountaintop sunset or surfing on the ocean. Nature and connection provides us with a source of peacefulness and transcendence that's hard to find anywhere else.

Our home and the community we live in are very important to us. We have a beautiful, spacious home in New Hampshire, in a safe neighborhood that's within walking distance of a park. Our home has plenty of room, inside and out. It has two living rooms, an eat-in kitchen and two cozy bedrooms. We have a big, fenced yard for playing and we live within walking distance of downtown. We can also walk to a park with a playground, skating pond, tennis courts, ball park and splash pool. We can't wait to see your child laughing and playing in the colorful autumn leaves of New Hampshire, or walking along the green hiking trails that surround our community in the summer.

Our neighborhood is very family-oriented. Every summer our town hosts a music and food festival in the downtown area, where kids can draw on the streets with sidewalk chalk and listen to live music. We also have lots of nature nearby. We are looking forward to showing your child the ocean, the forests and the mountains of our beautiful corner of the world.

Our family is incredibly excited to welcome your child into our love and care. Our adoption will blend our extended families in a way that we've only dreamed of.

Ryan's younger brother and sister have been waiting to be an uncle and aunt for a long time. Ryan's brother jokes that he'll either be the "Guncle" or "Funcle" (gay uncle or fun uncle). Ryan's sister is expecting her own child, who will be your child's new cousin. Ryan's mom and stepdad are moving to New Hampshire to be closer to the family and Ryan's mom can't wait to spoil her new grandchildren.

Mike is an only child, but his mom and dad are ecstatic about being grandparents. They both want to be involved in the life of their grandchild and are ready to create new traditions for a growing family.

Hello,

Choosing to be a parent is something that we haven't taken lightly. We are humbled by the honor to be able to choose to be an adoptive parent. And we realize that your decision to engage in adoption, as a birth parent, is one of the hardest, most difficult choices you will ever make.

We want you to know how much love and support we have for you - and this intentional and thoughtful decision. We want you to know that you can be part of your child's life as much, or as little, as you want. We are here to be your child's consistent love, foundation and family. Your history and where you come from will forever be an important part of the story of our family, for the rest of our lives.

We have been together for 18 years and have been married for 11 years. We both have a love for nature and the outdoors, and consider ourselves lucky to have found one another. Our relationship is full of adventure and opportunities to learn about the world around us. We have made time in our lives to grow and become the people we are today.

Six years ago we first started talking about adoption. As we learned more about the process, we decided to wait until we were fully ready to create a loving and supportive environment for your child.

Three years ago, we started mentoring a new American refugee (and his family) through a local program. The experience opened the doors of our hearts. Through the process of getting to know this young man and mentor him as he enters his teenage years, we realized we were ready to get more serious about becoming parents ourselves. We have the time to shower a child with the love we have in our hearts.

Being parents is something we know we are meant to be. We cannot wait to be there for every moment of joy, growth, sadness and all the challenges and adventures before us. We are ready to grow as a family, together.

We want to know the value that comes with selflessness and the joy of seeing the world through the eyes of a young child. We want to share what we love in this world, and share the lessons we have learned through experience. We cherish the chance to shape the life of your child by instilling values like self-awareness, curiosity, grace, consistency, integrity and kindness. We hope that it will allow your child to overcome the challenges and stresses of our world - and in turn add similar values to others throughout your child's own journey.

Ryan is looking forward to seeing Mike grow through fatherhood. Mike's dedication to Ryan during our two decades together has been transformative. Together, we've grown as a couple, and Mike's self-awareness and tenderness are qualities that will shine even brighter during this new chapter.

Ryan is thoughtful, kind and humble. She has a drive for achievement that has brought abundance to our lives. Ryan is constantly exploring and learning, so she can better understand our planet and all that call it home. She will bring love and understanding, allowing this child to find their own path. Art and music are very important to Ryan, and we look forward to the backdrop and soundtrack that she develops throughout this journey. We can't wait for this child to add colors and sounds to this continuing work of art.

We will always honor you as the loving and deeply caring mother who has prioritized this child's life journey from the beginning.

Mike & Ryan