We enjoy exploring new places, learning about people and animals, and spending time outdoors.

When we travel, we like to go to museums, zoos, and aquariums. Recently, we took a trip to Washington, D.C. to see different monuments and blooming cherry blossoms. The scenery was magical and it was such a cool feeling to be in a place with so much history to it. We cannot wait to share that same sense of wonder with a child, whether it be someplace new or even in our own backyard.

We also enjoy going to concerts and sporting events. There is just something about the communal experience of listening to good music together or rooting for a favorite team that really feeds the soul. Laura and Miguel would love to include a child in that shared feeling of joy and community.

We also like to visit the beach and go on hikes that are close to home. We also like to take daily walks with our dog, Franklin. Laura likes to dance Zumba, read, and watch rom-coms. Miguel likes to watch football, play piano, and do projects around the house or on his car.

Our rescue dog, Franklin D. Woofsevelt, is one of our life's biggest blessings. Franklin has been part of our family since 2016, when we lived in San Diego. Franklin is such a precious soul who lives his life based on his steadfast principles of: never pass up a snack; cuddle whenever you can; and ride or die for his woofpack ... Frank doesn't care where you're going, he just want to go, too.

Miguel never had a dog, or really any pets when he was growing up. While Laura did have pets, each pet has unique personalities and needs, so having Franklin has been a fun and new experience for both of us. Franklin is important to us because he brings a kind of companionship and affection that only pets seem capable of.

Franklin loves meeting new friends and family. We really hope to introduce Franklin to a child one day, and to teach this child how to be a loving and kind soul towards animals.

One of our favorite family traditions is visiting our family and friends at Christmas time. We love things like driving around to see the Christmas lights with friends and their children. Laura also likes to take her nieces for last-minute shopping and to see all the Christmas decorations. Miguel loves to help his parents with fixing broken things and other small handy-man tasks while he's home. Since both families live very close to each other, we are able to easily split time with both families.

Laura's family usually gathers to make a big batch of tamales and other special holiday treats. The recipes Laura's family uses have been passed down in her family for many generations. Laura and her family cannot wait to share these traditions with a child. Miguel loves to watch football with his Dad and Father-in-Law and eat lots of good food with family.

We also love going out to dinner on Friday nights and enjoying the city we get to live in!

Last year, we moved to a beautiful small town in North Carolina because of Miguel's job. There are a lot of family-friendly events held in our area. Some of our favorites so far have been Fourth of July festivals, Christmas parades, and free concerts. We also like to explore nearby beaches and hiking trails.

Our house is two stories, with a small porch out front and a big grassy yard in the back. Laura's favorite space is next to the bench swing where she is growing blueberries and raspberries. Inside, Miguel loves the living room because it is where we like to relax together with books, video games, or one of our favorite TV shows. There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms. We use the rooms for exercise, games, guests, and working.

Every day we take our dog, Franklin, on a walk throughout our neighborhood. We pass by the children's park, bikes and scooters left on lawns, chalk drawings on the sidewalks, and geese that live by our ponds. Franklin also loves to keep our backyard safe from trespassing bunnies so that we can enjoy the sun and gardening in peace. We truly live in small town America and are appreciative of how nice and welcoming everyone has been to us.

We currently live on the East Coast because of Miguel's work. However, all of our extended family lives in California. We really love visiting family and are very blessed that both sides of our family live very close to each other. Miguel has a big family, and Laura has a really big family.

One thing we really enjoy is Christmas time when we travel home and split our time with families. We spend every Christmas Eve with Miguel's side where we gather with aunts, uncles, and cousins. We have a big Christmas Eve dinner, open gifts, and video call family in Peru.

Then we spend Christmas Day with Laura's family. We get together with Laura's immediate family and her godparents' family. We play a White Elephants gift exchange game and eat another big meal! Laura's family also has a tradition of making tamales for Christmas. Laura, her mom, sisters, nieces, and friends spend all day making hundreds of tamales to share with friends and family.

We cannot wait to move closer to our families so we can enjoy precious time with our loved ones and bring the child into our big loving family!

We can't imagine the stress of all the decisions you are facing right now. Please know that whatever situation you are in and regardless of the reason for your choices, we will never judge you. Our names are Laura and Miguel. And we are so thankful for the chance to share with you our story and hopes of providing a loving family to your child.

We met in 2008, a few weeks before Miguel graduated college. Laura thought we were going to have a short summer romance. Especially since Miguel was going to leave for military training soon. But we fell in love and stayed together despite the distance. Our regular visits, phone calls, and care packages got us through the many moves and even a few deployments. In 2015, we got engaged on Valentine's Day and married later that year. We recently celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary and life together is still full of surprises!

For many years, we have dreamt of sharing lots of outdoor adventures and exploring different parts of the country with a child. Growing up, we both had many family outings where we'd pile together in the car to get to the beach or some other place near the water or in the mountains. Thanks to Miguel's military service, we have continued a similar tradition and have visited many hiking trails and beaches across the country. So far, one of our favorite beaches in California was actually within walking distance of the house we lived in at the time. We often took walks there with our dog, Franklin, who literally loves long walks on the beach!

Laura absolutely loves to read. Last Christmas, Miguel saw Laura reading the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See to her grand-niece. Laura used silly voices and there were lots of giggles. Watching her really reaffirmed Miguel's love for Laura, and just how good of a mom Miguel knows she will be. Almost every time we talk about what we'll be like as parents, Laura slips in how she can't wait to read to a child. Laura especially looks forward to sharing her favorite series of Harry Potter and Anne of Green Gables.

Miguel cannot wait to do all sorts of 'Dad' things with this child. Some activities that embody being a dad for Miguel are helping a child with homework, teaching them life skills, and being best football buds watching games all season. While Miguel is 100% open and committed to exposing this child to the birth parent's NFL team of choice, their first jersey will definitely be from the 49ers. Laura loves and admires Miguel for his fearlessness in learning new skills and his dependability in sticking with it even if something is hard. Whether it's teaching himself to play piano, installing new flooring, or fixing our cars, his desire to learn and teach is something she really admires about him.

Another big part of being a parent as we see it, is to help this child learn and grow. We both love to learn about history and animals, and go to a lot of museums and zoos in the places we visit and live. We also love going to concerts, sporting events, and just being able to have these fun experiences in this life. We really hope and pray to be able to share positive growth and instill confidence and love in a child.

Again, we cannot imagine the stress of this decision on you. Life certainly has its twists and turns, and growing our family hasn't happened the way we had first thought it would. That said, we are incredibly excited at this opportunity for adoption. Our greatest dream is to welcome a child into our little family and to share our unconditional love with them. As this little one grows, we absolutely would love to send birth parents letters and pictures. We will never judge birth parents and will be forever grateful for this gift if you choose us.

Miguel & Laura