We have an amazing daughter that we adopted in 2021. Nothing prepared us for the call we received to hop on a plane in less than 24 hours to meet the birth mother and our daughter. We continue to communicate with the birth mom and share pictures and updates. We also understand that each birth mom is different and give grace for any preference for continued communication.

We believe that communication and openness are vital to the enduring success of our relationship. We carry this value into many of our relationships; work, friends, and family. We would want to share as much as you are comfortable allowing. We want children in our family to know and understand the importance of adoption and the magnitude of love that surrounds the process from every angle. It is important that a child understands the different ways a family can grow and find strength together. We are and will remain open and honest with a child about adoption, the process, and the blessings that it presents. We have several close friends and family members that have adopted, are in the midst of the adoption process, or were adopted. We have and would continue to seek their advice and guidance every step of the way. We are grateful for another opportunity to adopt and do not simply embrace it, but instead cherish it as part of God's plan for us and our dreams of growing our loving family.

We believe life should be a fun adventure. Even a day at home can be an adventure. When we bought our home, we quickly began the usual tasks of cleaning, fixing, and unpacking. Since the backyard was huge and a bit neglected, we put off raking leaves until the last weekend possible. Near the end of an exhausting weekend spent raking the seemingly endless field of leaves we discovered a flagstone path that had been buried for years under a thick mulch. Following the trail, it led to a perfect area for a garden. The chore of raking would have been boring to most couples, but we came to love spending time working together to make our house a home. We have spent the past few years learning to garden and this spring our daughter planted her own hand selected flowers.

For adventures further from home, we often spend weekends on road trips to visit friends or exploring one of Tennessee's hiking trails. We try to take one international trip a year. On our most recent journey we traveled to Scotland with our daughter. Prior to each trip we make an agenda to try and experience as much of the culture as time allows. We have been lucky to find friendly locals to show us things like how coffee beans are picked and how to make a tasty local dish.

We have very different backgrounds, which creates an amazing life together. Sibyl is African American, born and raised in the city, Andy's family descended from Western Europe and was born and raised in the suburbs. Before meeting Andy, Sibyl could often be found traveling the world. She loved visiting Ghana and the Philippines with her family and rarely turned down a trip abroad even if it meant working an extra part time job to pay for her travel. Sibyl visited a few major cities in the U.S., but rarely traveled in the states. Before meeting Sibyl, Andy traveled around the U.S., often enjoying wandering family vacations and visiting friends who had settled in new cities and states dotting the map. In doing so he learned to appreciating the amazing patchwork of cultures within the U.S. Though he ventured abroad a few times, he was mostly 'saving' those treks for later in life. As a married couple, we have taken the best of our individual experiences and are open to and appreciate every cultural opportunity in the U.S. and abroad.

Sibyl is an advocate for cultural diversity and equality, and volunteers for various nonprofits supporting initiatives such as social justice and representation, primarily in healthcare and education. We know the importance of representation and make it a priority to choose activities and communities that support our beliefs. We are proactive in seeking out opportunities where we are able to contribute and learn more about others.

We live in an amazing, family friendly neighborhood with an active community organization. This organization coordinates lots of events, such as an annual dragon parade and ice cream social, a weekly summer music concert series, and a December horse and buggy ride through the neighborhood to view holiday lights. Our block has a lot of children of various ages. We get stopped regularly by families that just want to say "hello" or who want to set a play-date with our daughter. Our neighborhood schools are walking distance from our street. There is an adorable park with swings, slides, a cool giant sculpture mosaic of a dragon, plus tennis courts and basketball courts, and lots of green space for picnics and relaxing on beautiful days.

We live in a historic neighborhood with charming homes, just a half-mile away from a top university. Our home is a lovely three-bedroom with four bathrooms, and we are in the final stage of completing a new playroom and fourth bedroom. Our front yard has rose bushes lining the front porch. We have a huge backyard and a flagstone walking path that leads to a hidden garden on the side of our home. Our favorite room is probably the front porch or the screened in back deck. On a nice night we have dinner on the back deck. When it rains, it's nice to sit on the porch or deck with only the sounds of nature around us.

Sibyl has two nieces and a nephew (all under 9) that we love to spend time with when visiting. Of course, we do a lot of crafts, singing, and dancing with them. During a recent visit we brought a new board game called "Outfoxed" and spent an entire afternoon playing it with the kids. We even modified the rules a bit so everyone could enjoy it more. We also love joining in on games, puzzles and outdoor family activities like soccer, bubbles, and scootering when we visit.

Both sides of our family are quite unique. Sibyl's mother is from the Philippines and her father is from Ghana. Visiting her family is always packed with different types of food and tons of stories about every place in the world imaginable, especially West Africa and Asia. Andy's parents were high school sweethearts and love to share stories about how they met and grew up in their home town.

Our families are so excited and supportive of our decision to seek adoption. They all look forward to welcoming this child and showering them with love and affection. We are fortunate to have family both within driving distance and around the country which creates a lot of opportunities for fun weekend visits and more adventurous family getaways.

We met at work in 2012 and quickly became friends, then best friends, then husband and wife. We have been married six years and continue to grow as a couple. Throughout the 10 years we have known each other, we traveled the country and chose the city that we felt would be ideal to begin our family. Family has always been our top priority and that is something that will never change. When we decided to buy a house, we purposely chose a city between our immediate family on both sides because we knew as we sought to turn that house into a home and expand our family we wanted our parents and siblings to be an integral part of raising a child. Our families visit often and our daughter is close to her cousins.

When we began our home search a few years ago we focused on diverse and safe neighborhoods, with strong school systems, and a strong sense of community. We walked through the neighborhood, the local schools, and the parks trying to get a sense of whether the neighborhood fit our values and our plan to grow our family. We bought our house because we knew, cliche as it might sound, it was perfect. It offered everything we wanted: a wonderful home, a neighborhood full of families, children, friendly dogs and, most importantly, daily joy. Although we have lived here only a few years we have become friends with a number of families. Many of the children know us and our daughter and love to come by for play dates or because they want to join us when they see our family playing with bubbles or chalk in the front yard.

Our home and neighborhood are only a part of our lives. Within our home there is love, compassion for others, and a belief that every person deserves to be treated with respect. We work to ensure that we always step back and appreciate life. We know that we have been uniquely blessed and we do our best never to lose sight of it and the special responsibility it places on us to give back.

Although we love to travel it is also important to take time and appreciate the little things closer to home. We have tried to provide a snapshot of our authentic selves and our family lives so that you see who we are and can feel the love that radiates from our hearts.

We are so excited to grow our family. Since we were engaged we discussed adoption. We know that we have been blessed before through adoption and that when we have the opportunity we will open our family again and share our lives, experiences, and blessings. We have had so much fun seeing the various milestones with our daughter, first steps, first words, successful potty training and even teaching ABCs and 123s. It would be an absolute dream come true to experience these firsts again.

As time passes, we are open to providing you with letters and pictures, if you desire. We would be happy to share your child's growth and experiences. Most importantly, please know that your child will be loved by us, our daughter, and our families. We are committed to ensuring a wonderful and practical education, but we believe no education is complete without exposure to the world through travel and the arts. Everyone has a gift and a talent to share with the world and we believe that this should be explored and nurtured. Your child will know their background and history, they will hear positive reflections of you, always. We know that you are facing a difficult decision and we hope you know how much we respect you and your journey.

We are so excited that you are taking the time to read our message and consider us. We thank you and hope you know that whatever decision you make we want the best for you and your child, now and always.

Sincerely,

Andy & Sibyl