Blake About Chad: I love that Chad is adventurous and enthusiastic while always remaining calm and upbeat. Whether traveling abroad or trying a new recipe at home, he approaches new experiences with an open mind and willingness to learn. His humor and easygoing nature puts people at ease, and he is often the first one to suggest an outing or lead a group in a game. Chad is also an expert at engaging with kids thanks to the years he taught middle school. At most family gatherings he is surrounded by our nieces and nephews. I know Chad's optimistic and engaged approach to his life will make him an excellent parent.

Chad About Blake: Everything Blake does, he approaches with thoughtfulness and integrity. Blake is artistic, a good listener, and above all, an excellent planner. He looks for opportunities to celebrate our neighbors, friends, and family, and support them when they're down - bringing them a warm meal and an empathetic ear. These virtues cause people to trust Blake, whether it's neighbors looking to him as a community leader, or multiple friends asking him to officiate their weddings. Since I began dating Blake, I've heard people tell him that he'd make a great dad, and I know it's true. He loves engaging with kids, creating new games, and is the first one to jump up when a child needs anything. Blake draws joy from making others happy, and I know this will make him an amazing dad.

We have always selected to live in diverse communities where we experience and engage in multiple cultures. We are dedicated to raising a child in a similarly diverse setting and introducing them to a range of cultural opportunities. If our future child's race or ethnicity differs from our own, we will make every effort to ensure that the child sees themselves represented, not only in their school and greater community, but also in their books, toys, games, and our travels. We recognize the importance of regular, open discussion with a child to better understand their experience with race and ethnicity, and help guide them as they grow older. Regardless of our child's background, we are committed to fostering a more just and welcoming community wherever we live.

We live in a historic neighborhood near the downtown of a mid-sized city in Virginia. We chose the area where we live because of the beautiful old buildings, local businesses, and tree-lined streets. There are always fun activities and events to check out nearby, from street fairs to community potlucks. The folks who live around us come from a range of races, ages, and backgrounds. Our community of neighbors is close-knit; we know everyone on our block by name and enjoy seeing one another.

Our quirky, 120 year old home has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. Since purchasing our house in 2017, we've renovated nearly every space to create a comfortable retreat where we can relax or entertain friends and family. Although we live in a city, we have a sizable backyard with a patio, large hydrangea and camellia bushes, and a vegetable garden that we tend year-round.

Our house sits a block away from a high-performing public school. We can also walk to several parks with sports fields, playgrounds, and nature trails.

We enjoy close relationships with our families and love spending time together. Chad's retired mom lives a few blocks from us and Blake's retired parents also have a condo in our city. All of our parents are healthy and active. Some of our favorite activities to do as a group include hiking and visiting museums. Our parents are thrilled at the prospect of having another grandchild nearby and look forward to playing an active role in their life.

We each have older sisters who have families with children. Chad's sister and her family live less than two hours away. We love getting together with them on the weekends to go on family picnics and play games with our young nieces.

Blake's sister and her family live in New Zealand and we see them about once a year - either in the US, Europe or in their country. It's always fun to explore new places with our nephews and we can't wait to take a child on trips to New Zealand with us!

We also have more extended family we visit throughout the year. In the warmer months, we enjoy visiting Chad's family in New England. They have been going to the same beautiful beach in Rhode Island for generations and we're excited to make that special place a part of a child's life.

Most of Blake's extended family is in New Orleans and Alabama. We have lots of fun taking road trips across the South each year to visit his family and explore new places.

Thank you for taking the time to review our profile and consider us as adoptive parents for your child. We hope this letter helps to show you who we are and how we would care for a child. We began dating while at college in 2009 and got married in 2015. Over our thirteen years together, we have built a loving relationship rooted in commitment to one another, dedication to our families, and our mutual enthusiasm for new experiences. We knew soon after we got married that we wanted a child and adoption always seemed like the natural path for us.

We both come from close-knit and supportive families. Over our years together, our parents, siblings, and extended families have merged into a cohesive and loving group. We see each other frequently, enjoy holidays and vacations as a group, and rely on each other when we need help. Our families are, without exception, wholeheartedly enthusiastic about our decision to further grow the family through adoption. A future child in our home will have the benefit of devoted, warm, and creative grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins both nearby and abroad.

While we spent the first half of our relationship living in several places across the Northeast and Midwest, we ultimately decided in 2015 to make our home in a Mid-Atlantic city that we both always loved. Our neighborhood is a culturally diverse and sometimes quirky community, with easy access to nature trails, parks, restaurants, and high-quality schools. The area where we live is growing fast and most of our neighbors and nearby friends have young children. It's typical on any given day for us to run into neighbor's children making chalk drawings on the sidewalks and playing at the nearby park. We love having friends and their children over to our home for events and look forward to bringing our own child into this community.

We are fortunate to have developed careers that allow us to help others while providing us with stability and adjustable schedules. We each have options of working from home or going into the office, along with ample flexibility to work around a child's schedule. When a child comes into our home, we both plan to take a few months off to build a deep connection with them. After that, Blake may move to a part-time work schedule and the child will attend a high-quality nearby daycare a couple days a week. Between our flexible work schedules, nearby retired grandparents, and a well-regarded daycare with an immersive curriculum in our neighborhood, we are confident that a child in our home would have significant nourishment and engagement.

Should you choose to entrust us to care for your child, we will do everything in our power to honor that decision by ensuring they live a life filled with support, comfort, and unconditional love. They will be welcomed into a large network of kind and generous family, friends, and neighbors. We will provide a stable foundation and the educational opportunities so that they can grow into their own interests and passions. Above everything else, we will ensure their safety and health at all times.

We understand that this is a deeply personal decision, and would welcome any level of contact you felt comfortable with over time - whether that looks like regular or occasional written and photo updates, video or phone calls, or time together. As fathers, we will always be completely honest with a child about the adoption process and speak lovingly about your selfless decision. We would welcome the opportunity for a child to maintain a strong and meaningful connection with you over their life, and would look forward to building a healthy relationship with you based in mutual respect and communication.

Thank you for taking the time to read our profile and getting to know us. We hope to get to know you too. We wish you strength and serenity as you make this decision.

Chad & Blake