Weekdays after work usually include getting some exercise in, eating dinner together, and binge watching our favorites shows and movies. We typically cook together—Daniel is better at cooking, Jimmy is great at doing dishes—but we also like to explore the Houston restaurant scene with friends.

On weekends, we both love working in the yard. Jimmy is a lawn care fanatic. He is always outside fertilizing, watering, and generally babying his grass until it is a thick green carpet that feels great to walk on. He constantly mows, sometimes more than twice a week, even in the Texas summer heat! Daniel does not enjoy mowing, but he loves gardening and getting his hands into the soil. He built a series of raised beds so he can grow flowers, herbs, and vegetables to use in the house and kitchen.

We also play in a national softball league. In fact, that's actually how we originally met! We're at the fields most Sundays in spring and early summer, and we go to tournaments all over the country throughout the year.

On the artsy side, we're theater buffs! A couple of times a month we go to the theater to see plays and musicals. We'll often get together with friends beforehand and make a whole day of it—games, dinner, and maybe even a sing-along!

Jimmy About Daniel: Throughout the nearly 10 years Daniel and I have known each other, I am constantly reassured of how fortunate I am to have him in my life. His incredible patience and uncanny ability to understand things from other people's perspectives have made him the partner I have always needed. I went through some tough times with my family and I can't imagine tackling those days without his support, another quality of Daniel's that makes him special. He is supportive not just of me, but of everyone around him, propping people up and radiating positivity. He is so giving of his time and everyone knows that if they need help, Daniel will always drop what he is doing to be there for them—a quality that has deservedly earned him a supportive leadership position at work. Combine all that with his incredible talents in the kitchen, and I couldn't ask for anything more!

Daniel About Jimmy: Jimmy is a big, lovable kid at heart. He's so full of excitement and radiates childlike joy about little things that most people wouldn't even notice. Every time I look up from reading a book or cooking in the kitchen, he makes me smile because he's giggling about something the dogs did or some corny YouTube video he watched. I can't wait to go to Disney World with our child one day—I don't know which of them will be more excited! He's also incredibly open and free with his feelings and emotions. Jimmy's willingness to be vulnerable in our relationship has helped me to push through my natural reservedness to express and communicate my own insecurities and dreams. Jimmy fills my life with joy and helps make me a better person!

Being a same-sex couple has given us a different perspective on what it means to be parents than many people have. We are so fortunate to have Daniel's family and their love and support for us. They have been there for us through all of our ups and downs, come and stay with us when we've needed their help, and celebrate with us through exciting times and accomplishments.

Jimmy's family, however, isn't as present and supportive of our relationship. Those experiences have been teaching moments not just for Jimmy, but also Daniel as he supported Jimmy through some of the tough times he had. While we don't have much of a relationship with Jimmy's side of the family, it has shown us what family really means. Family is more than just our parents and grandparents or our siblings. Family are the people we surround ourselves with who love and care for us unconditionally and always put us before themselves. They are the people who are willing to sacrifice to ensure we succeed.

We can't wait to be parents that support and love our child unconditionally and to welcome their birth parents into our family. We are excited to watch them grow into the person they choose to become, whomever that may be. Every child should get the experience of family, no matter what that looks like. And with both adoptive and birth parents, our child will have twice as much love!

We live just outside of Houston, one of the largest cities in the US! We still live very close to downtown with all its great places to explore. There are lots of biking and walking trails along the bayous. The zoo is always adding new exhibits, and there are many other fun kid-friendly attractions like the aquarium and the space center. Houston also has great museums—the Museum of Natural Science is by far Daniel's favorite.

We recently moved from downtown to build our home in a new neighborhood in the suburbs! We knew we were planning on starting a family and wanted a little more space and to be in an area with good schools and a community in which our family could get involved. Our community hosts a lot of family activities every month where neighbors can get to know each other and kids can make new friends. Throughout our subdivision there are several playgrounds (complete with kid-sized zip lines!), a large pool and splash pad, a fishing pond, and even a small lake with kayaks and paddleboards. There's even a brand new elementary school within walking distance from our house that we often pass with our dogs. It's fun to imagine picking up a first grader and walking home together!

Jimmy grew up in Michigan, and his family all still live up north in Michigan and Indiana. Daniel's family all live in central and east Texas just a couple hours away.

Daniel's dad works a community garden plot, and his mom cooks the fresh produce he brings home. They volunteer at their library and love supporting their local theater group. She also makes the best cookies, especially shortbread—Jimmy's favorite. They travel regularly and are planning a future trip with us to Egypt!

We have three young nephews in Texas who always argue about whose turn it is to come stay with us. We play a lot of chase and hide-and-go-seek when we see them, and they love to play with our three dogs.

Our family visits us several times a year, and there's always lots of cooking and LOTS of coffee! We have a bunch of holiday traditions. Every Thanksgiving, Jimmy and Daniel's mom put up the Christmas tree together—apparently, Daniel and his dad don't do it right. On Christmas mornings we have our annual holiday breakfast quiche, and Christmas dinner wouldn't be complete without homemade buttermilk and pecan pies! We can't wait to share these family traditions with a child.

Daniel's mom was so excited when we told her we were adopting, she immediately started making plans to move in for a while to help when the baby comes. She has been decorating our guest room—including bringing her own favorite mattress!

Thank you so much for taking the time to learn more about us! We feel truly honored that you would consider us to be adoptive parents of your baby. We cannot imagine the emotions you are experiencing and how difficult this choice is. But please know that we want to provide your child with a lifetime of love, nurturing, and stability as part of our family.

We met in 2013 through our local LGBT softball league. Jimmy and his roommate were looking to meet new people, so they came out to a softball practice that Daniel was running. There was an immediate connection, and after a couple of weeks Daniel asked Jimmy out. He wanted to make the date different and memorable, so Daniel surprised Jimmy with a trip to an unusual setting—the National Funeral History Museum! It must have worked because we've been together for ten years and married for almost seven. And now we're beyond excited to start a family!

Jimmy is an anesthesia provider at several surgery centers across Houston and has worked in all kinds of specialties, including pediatrics! He loves being the one to comfort children when they're scared on the way to their procedures and again when they wake up afterwards. Daniel is a chemical engineer and works in research and development. At work, he spends a lot of time in the lab building and running chemical reactors. Both of his parents are retired high school math teachers, and Daniel inherited their ability to patiently help and explain complicated topics to others. Sometimes Jimmy thinks Daniel should have been a teacher too.

We both grew up in very different families, and it has been an adventure mixing our backgrounds and traditions into a new, unique blend of our own. On Christmas mornings, we eat quiche and banana bread and watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation like Daniel's family does; and on New Year's, just like Jimmy's family, we have Reuben sandwiches and watch Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Jimmy introduced Daniel to family trips to Disney World, and Daniel introduced Jimmy to exploring Cape Cod in the summers. Daniel has strong memories of cooking with his mother and gardening with his father that he's excited to pass on to a child. Jimmy remembers playing piano with his mom, remodeling his childhood home with his dad, and golfing on Sundays with his whole family. We can't wait to share all of these experiences and traditions with a child and then watch as they build off of them and develop into their own unique individual with their own sense of identity—including their adoption story.

As your child grows into their own person, we are excited to send pictures and written letters every year to share updates with you. We are also open to emails, phone/video calls, and future visits, if these are things you are interested in. We believe it is important for your child to know their adoption story, and we are committed to being open and honest about you and your role in helping us become a family.

We understand that this is a difficult decision that is filled with uncertainty. But one thing you can be sure of is that your child will be loved deeply with all our heart. Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us, and we look forward to meeting and getting to know you too. We would be honored to welcome your child into our home and hearts and to begin this journey with you.

Jimmy & Daniel