Aside from her family, Wendy's greatest passion is ballet. As early as first grade, she has memories of using recess to teach friends dances. She feels pretty lucky that this playground game has turned into a career that allows her to express her creativity. In addition to teaching ballet classes to people of all ages, Wendy loves to create performances. She'll create the choreography and even sew costumes, build props and paint scenery. What Wendy loves most is seeing her students grow up. As a dance teacher, she's loved and nurtured many children that don't share her DNA.

Joe is passionate about exploration. His earliest exploratory memory was hiking up a mountain with friends looking for hidden caves and various wildlife. After moving from Korea to the United States, Joe's passion for exploration manifested into traveling. Travel became an outlet to meet new people and learn their culture and rich history. One of Joe's favorite recent memories was spending time with friends in Argentina, where he spent the day exploring new foods, experiencing a world-class Tango performance, then capping that off with a walk through La Boca, a colorful neighborhood bursting with arts and live street music.

We admire each other's unshakeable love and devotion to family.

Wendy can be shy and loves how Joe can strike up a conversation with anyone, anytime. Some people miss out on life because they are too worried about what others think. Not Joe. Wendy loves his spontaneity and ability to surprise her after all these years. Wendy loves that Joe is also a great planner. She has a sense of safety knowing that he has mapped out their future- right through retirement.

Joe feels that Wendy is the glue that brings their family together. He loves her infectious laugh and she has a warmth that makes you want to be around her all the time. Wendy's ability to take a regular, mundane task and create a storyline or game around it for everyone's enjoyment continually amazes Joe. One of his favorite memories is a game she made up to put away laundry with our son. "Sock Match" is essentially Go-Fish, but it transforms a fairly dull chore into a competitive, interactive game our son loves to play.

Joe makes Wendy feel safe; Wendy stretches Joe's imagination. Together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

We have a creative 6-year-old son named Noen who is as invested in this journey as Joe and Wendy. At age four we brought up the subject with him that we were ready to bring another child into the family and he was immediately on board. His desire grows every day. Let's face it, he has baby fever.

Noen attends a Montessori kindergarten. His teacher brought to our attention that he chooses to interact with preschoolers during combined activities. On the way home, Wendy asked Noen about this and he told her that he was practicing being an older brother. One morning at breakfast we were talking to Noen about what he might experience as a big brother, not just the great things, but preparing him for the smelly diapers and such. When we mentioned that a younger sibling might even do something like knock down a Lego tower, he interrupted us and said, "Oh that won't be a problem." We asked him why. "Because I plan to take the first year of being a big brother off from playing. I have a lot to learn and I need to focus on that."

We live in a large, diverse, Midwestern city, a few blocks from the beach. We get the best of both city life and beach life and walk to several different parks. Our son Noen definitely has a favorite—it's the one with the giant twisty slide and the water feature. Can you blame him?

Our local park district offers endless programming for families. Some of Noen's favorite activities have been swimming & music classes. Being in a city gives us access to playgroups and walking distance errands including church, school and the grocery store. We also love attending our block party and neighborhood arts festival where families share in meals and activities. Walking gives us a chance to keep in touch with our neighbors, catch fireflies, find wild bunnies and stay connected with our community. In summer, we take a walk after dinner to find live music. Creativity and culture are all around us. Our neighborhood is a haven for artists, immigrants and refugees. More than 80 languages are spoken in homes here. We are committed to raising children where they can make friends from all walks of life.

We also enjoy family time at home. Our home features 4 bedrooms and 2 playrooms (one is almost completely dedicated to our son's Lego obsession). We love to be together playing games or making crafts. Our backyard features swings and a soon-to-be-built playhouse with an 8 foot slide and a look-out tower. We can't wait to share this space with another little explorer.

Our childhoods took place thousands of miles apart, but our family celebrations are essentially the same: a homemade meal followed by board games. Wendy's three older sisters have many children; Joe has two brothers and innumerable cousins, so holidays and celebrations are always large events.

Wendy's favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Her mother makes the whole meal herself—and pie is her specialty. Every year there are at least seven pies, but Wendy only has eyes for chocolate. For many generations, Joe's family has played Yut after meals. Two teams compete by throwing wooden sticks: winning is the result of both strategy and luck.

Both families support our choice to pursue adoption. Wendy grew up playing with her sister's foster children (her sisters were teenagers when she was born) and her niece is currently raising a daughter through adoption. Joe's father is a pastor, so Joe grew up with a role model that loved & cared for others as if they were his own family.

Joe's parents live nearby. Our son can pop over to see how their garden is growing or visit the arcade. Wendy's mother and sisters are the next state over. Her father is deceased, so Wendy's mom will come for visits and stay for about a week. These "sleep overs" are filled with activities, but our son's favorite is when he and Grandma cuddle up for bedtime stories. In between visits, they like to play Sorry or Dominos over zoom. Near or far, the family bond remains strong.

Thank you for reading our profile. We realize you have many options when it comes to best care for your child, and we are grateful that you're willing to take time to get to know us.

One morning, Joe was pulling our son Noen in his wagon on our route to church. Noen was laying on his side playing with matchbox cars and narrating his game aloud to himself. At one point we turned to each other and shared a look over Noen's head, our eyes wide and mouths a little open.

We share this look often. It's our secret way of saying, "Can you believe we're doing THIS…right NOW?" These simple, ordinary moments were not guaranteed when we decided to have children. They energize us and affirm how blessed we are.

Our relationship started 19 years ago while out with friends. We dated for two years and married in 2006. We live comfortably with our six-year-old son, Noen, in a large, diverse, Midwestern city.

Perhaps you're curious about why we waited so long before having our son, and why we are choosing adoption now.

We always dreamed of having a family and were thrilled when Wendy became pregnant in 2009. Unfortunately, that pregnancy led to a miscarriage, followed by five more miscarriages before Noen was born.

Wendy has a rare autoimmune disorder that only manifests with pregnancy. Through targeted treatments, we were able to bring our healthy boy into this world. Wendy could seek the same treatment with a high probability of a healthy pregnancy that would allow us to continue growing our family. However, the physical and emotional toll of these treatments takes away quality time with our son we're unwilling to compromise.

Our past losses have helped us learn to live in the moment and not take anything for granted. We're not perfect parents—no one is—but we are strong because of, not in spite of, our journey to parenthood. We are committed to doing what's in the best interest of our family. We want our children to grow up understanding they do not have to be perfect to deserve our love.

Our strength also comes from shared values—which includes embracing what makes us unique.

Joe works as the director of human resources for a global real estate company. Wendy teaches ballet to students ranging in age from 3 through adult. Joe works from home, and because our work schedules are flexible and have little overlap, we can be present in caring for our son. Wendy also takes off summers, freeing up time to share adventures like traveling, zoos and theme parks.

Our Christian faith shapes and guides our parental approach. We are committed to fostering a loving, warm and accepting home that nurtures kindness. We also like to have fun. Family dinner is often followed by a family glow stick dance party in the backyard. Any child in our home will be loved and valued by us regardless of race, sexual orientation or whether they choose our faith practice.

We commit to sharing pictures and letters with you as the child grows. Should you desire a deeper relationship, we are open to more frequent contact, including visits. We also understand that this relationship may look different from year to year, and we will be flexible and understanding. We will also share what we know of you with the child- beginning early in their life and frequently. We want this child to understand that adoption is an act of selfless love and courage on your part.

Sincerely,

Joe & Wendy