As an interracial couple, we have a lot of sensitivity about and appreciation for cultural differences. Vinesh is Indian-Singaporean and works for the United Nations and Anthony's work focuses on advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion. We have both traveled the world and lived in other countries (for example, Vinesh grew up in Singapore and Anthony was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ghana), and between us we have learned seven languages, including Spanish and French. We have a deep respect for the diversity of humanity, and an awareness of the historical and ongoing injustices and challenges faced by diverse communities in the United States and around the world. We will love and advocate for our children, regardless of their race and background, and we will teach them that who they are is something to be celebrated and embraced. We have actively cultivated a large and diverse community of friends with people of all backgrounds in our inner circle, and we are committed to ensuring our children have a diversity of positive role models, including people with similar racial/ethnic backgrounds as them. Additionally, since we live in a diverse and welcoming community, our children will grow up with a wide diversity of friends, and will learn to value people for who they are on the inside.

In the height of the Covid-19 pandemic we were really intentional about continuing to stay healthy, contribute to our community, and build our friendships. In addition to organizing family video calls, we led outdoor workout sessions with our neighbors, delivered food to elderly or disabled people who were unable to leave their homes or afford groceries, baked countless muffins and brought them to our friends, and hosted movie nights in our backyard. During this period Vinesh also really leaned into his love of cooking, and he experimented with and perfected a lot of delicious meals. Anthony doubled down on his love of music; he practiced the piano every day and eventually wrote a children's musical. We also made a lot of funny videos for our nieces and nephews of us singing with hand puppets.

In more normal circumstances, we love traveling (we've each been to over 50 countries), especially when it means we can visit our friends and family around the world. We also love hosting large gatherings of friends and family for big meals and wholesome game nights. We love building and nurturing our community, and we are proud that our home has become the "go to" gathering spot for our family and friends.

In 2006 Anthony traveled to Singapore to visit a friend from college. She told Anthony that he had to meet her friend from high school, Vinesh, and she introduced us and set us up on a date. We had both recently come out of the closet and had never been on a date before, so we were really nervous. We met up for dinner at Vinesh's house and immediately liked each other. As we talked we realized that we had similar life experiences and values, our personalities clicked, and - before we knew it - we were each other's first kiss. On that first date we shared what we were hoping to find in a partner, and what we wanted for our lives, and we actually spoke about how we both wanted to one day build a family through adoption. Since Vinesh lived in Singapore and Anthony lived in the United States we decided to stay friends, stay in touch, and hope that we would find an opportunity to reunite. When Vinesh moved to North America (first for graduate school and later for work) we rekindled our budding relationship, started dating, and eventually got engaged and married. 16 years after meeting, Vinesh is still Anthony's favorite thing in the world, and Anthony is still Vinesh's favorite thing in the world.

We live in a cozy, diverse, and family-friendly neighborhood in the nation’s capital. There is a great school and playground two blocks away, and within a 15 minute walk there is an amazing zoo and gorgeous parks and nature trails. Our city is brimming with culture and excitement, with world-class museums, historical landmarks, and weekly festivals celebrating different cultures and communities from around the world.

We own a large, four-bedroom home to accommodate a growing family, and we decorated it with lots of photographs of our big family, colorful drawings made by our nieces and nephews, and keepsakes we've acquired from our travels around the world. There's plenty of space for us to work from home and host family visitors.

We have lovely neighbors who trade baked goods with us, and a big group of friends (many of whom have young children) who live nearby and who come over regularly for meals and epic game nights. We love to host outdoor movie nights in our backyard, and we recently performed a children's musical in our front yard.

We believe it "takes a village" to raise a family, and we have been very intentional about making sure that our "village" is filled with caring and good-natured people from a diversity of backgrounds.

We are lucky to have large and supportive families, with lots of nieces and nephews who are very excited to welcome a new cousin. When we get together, the kids consider us the "fun uncles" because we always bring activities and games to play. One of the things the kids most look forward to is playing a competitive crafting game that we made up. Family gatherings always feature a sing-along, with Anthony playing the piano or guitar, and Vinesh distributing handheld instruments for everyone to play.

Both of our mothers create community through food. A true Italian, Anthony's mom enjoys teaching her grandchildren how to make pasta by hand. Vinesh's mom is a professional chef who ran restaurants, did cooking shows on TV, and has written cookbooks. They both love gathering their family and friends around the dining table, sharing stories, and creating memories - especially for holidays like Christmas and Diwali (a major Indian festival).

That love for creating community has been passed down to us and we enjoy hosting our friends and family (including Vinesh's cousins, who live down the street) for brunches and dinners at our home. It's a team effort with Vinesh leading on the cooking, and Anthony leading on the set-up and clean-up.

Our family and friends know our hopes and dreams for building a family through adoption, and everyone is wildly excited and supportive. When we do adopt we know the child will be showered with unconditional love and support.

Hello, and thank you for the opportunity to share a bit about us. We know this is an important decision for you and we want to thank you for considering adoption.

We hope to get to know you better soon. But for now, here is a little bit about us:

In terms of our approach to adoption and parenting, there is so much that we hope to share with you, but we'd like to start by making several promises:

We consider ourselves to be very blessed and ready - individually and as a couple, emotionally and financially - for the joys and challenges of parenthood. We have so much love to give.

Thank you again for considering adoption, and for considering us.

With love and respect,

Anthony & Vinesh