Our lifestyle is centered around family. In the short term, John travels often for his work in oil and gas. When he is home, he does not have to work for weeks at a time which allows him to fully immerse himself in being a father and husband. When he is gone, Diana and Max have the support of her family, who live locally. During this time, we thrive on routine and stability. Max knows so many people love him and he gets to see them all the time. He also loves to FaceTime with his dada every day, though his favorite thing may be to play with the animal filters. Our whole family spends a lot of time together and relies on each other for support. Outside of the steady day to day, we are always looking for our next big adventure. Having a child has changed the types of trips we take in the short term, but we love travel just the same.

We live a full life and enjoy many hobbies. As a family, we love to travel, go hiking, biking, and visit museums and the zoo. Max also enjoys weekly gymnastics and soccer. Our area offers so much to do, and we take advantage of it all. We also recently travelled to Arizona to see grandma and took a family trip to Disney World. We can see signs of the little adventurer Max will become. He seems to thrive when he travels, and we look forward to many more adventures with our children in the future!

Diana is passionate about music and has enjoyed playing saxophone in local bands. Currently, her biggest fan is Max, for whom she likes to play popular children's songs on guitar and piano. Diana also likes to garden in the spring and summer, and often brings in caterpillars so Max can watch them turn to butterflies. While Diana loves to try new things in the kitchen, John loves to cook for the family on the grill. John is also a "gear head" who is currently working on restoring his first car. He also enjoys going fast on the racetrack at high performance driving events. When we have free time together, we like to go dirt bike riding! It is a wonderful way to enjoy nature. We hope someday our children will be nature lovers like we are, whether it is through gardening, hiking, or even adventure sports.

We believe cultural diversity is something that should be celebrated and embraced. Diana, who has a biracial brother, knows firsthand that being raised with siblings of other races can feel perfectly natural to a child. We also understand that a child of color may not share the same experiences as a white child, and when necessary, we will advocate for your child to ensure they are given every opportunity they deserve. We will not put on blinders to our racial and cultural differences, but will welcome open conversations and ensure your child feels comfortable learning about their heritage. We will ensure your child will have many role models of all races.

We live just outside of a major city in a very progressive area of Virginia. We absolutely love our home and neighborhood. We have three playgrounds within two blocks from our home, and love to go walking and biking around the area. We love our neighbors, many of whom have young children who give the neighborhood a lot of energy. Our area has excellent, diverse schools, and many of the neighborhood kids walk or bike to school. We also love that we are a short walk from many restaurants, groceries, and public transportation (Max loves to ride the train!). On weekends, we often go hiking or visit museums nearby. It is fun to see his eyes light up when looking at dinosaur bones or modern art!

Our home is 100 years old, but was expanded and renovated recently, so it has a lot of old charm mixed with modern convenience. It is four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, with a bonus family room where we spend a lot of time and Max can spread out his trains. Our favorite area is the backyard, where we can play with Max, Diana grows her pollinator garden, John grills, and the family can spend time together.

We have a small and very tight-knit family. It has been so wonderful to watch the entire family get closer with the arrival of our son, and everyone is so excited to welcome another child to the family! Your child will not just be closely loved by only two people, but by so many people eager to welcome them home.

Diana's dad and stepmom live less than 15 minutes away so we see them very frequently, and never miss out on Sunday family dinner. Grandad (aka Dida) loves to play with Max at the playground and take him on hikes in the backpack. Diana's sister, Aunt Zeki, lives less than an hour away and her schedule as a nurse allows her to come stay with us for several days at a time and go on trips. We have loved having our family so close because it has provided such a strong support network during COVID.

John's sister and her husband live in Louisiana, but love to visit and send fun books for Max. Diana's mom frequently visits from Arizona, but plans to move to Virginia soon. When she visits, she loves to read to Max and bake with him. We also were able to visit her in Arizona, which Max completely enjoyed.

We also have three kitties- Mister, Ranger, and Gus! They have shown so much patience with our son, and bring the house so much joy.

Thank you for allowing us the chance share a little about ourselves. While we cannot imagine the difficult decision you have before you, we hope you feel supported and empowered to make the choice that is right for you.

Our relationship began in 2012 and we married in 2015. In the years since we married, we have returned to school, changed careers, moved across country, sold and purchased homes, experienced the death of John's father, and the birth of our son. It has not always been easy, but our commitment to each other remains unwavering. We were brought together by our shared values - family, honesty, kindness, humility, and a love of learning. However, our personality differences are what make us the best team. John is the epitome of calm and patient. Diana is spirited and persistent. We push one another beyond our comfort zones. We think this balance allows us to confidently take on new challenges while knowing we will always have each other's backs.

We have always known we wanted to grow our family through adoption. However, we were very excited to welcome our son, Max, in early 2020. Diana had a difficult pregnancy and when Max born he was taken from her arms to the NICU. As new parents, we juggled our newborn and the COVID pandemic, and Diana struggled with postpartum depression. Max is worth every struggle, but this experience has given us empathy for how difficult pregnancy and being parents can be, even in the best of circumstances. We understand how hard it is. Through difficult times, we are so thankful to have such an incredible support network of friends and family nearby. While John's work leads him to travel often, it has brought our family even closer.

We look forward to sharing our life with another child and offering them a life full of experiences. We will raise them to value learning and empathy. We will give them opportunities to explore their interests and we will also share our passions with them. Your child will be surrounded with love, role models, music, and they will be challenged to push themselves and grow. Our love of travel is also something we are so eager to share. When we were on our honeymoon on a safari in Africa, we spoke of how excited we were to bring our future children back to experience this. We also are excited for our son to be a brother and hope he can be as close with your child as we are to our siblings. We strongly believe as we spend time together as a family that there is someone missing, and we cannot wait to fill that gap.

If you wish, we will always provide you a window into your child's life. We will happily send letters and photos, and tell you of their experiences. If you choose, we are open to arranging meetings so that your relationship with eachother can be tangible. We will always be transparent about how we were blessed to become your child's parents, and your child will know you love them.

Thank you for allowing us the chance to share our story with you. We understand the magnitude of your decision. Please know there are so many people eager to love your child.

John & Diana