We love to travel, and have been to many places together, including Las Vegas, New York, Rhode Island, Chicago, California, Florida, St. Lucia, Antigua, South Carolina and Ireland to name a few. Our favorite vacation spots are Newport, Rhode Island in the summer and Burlington, Vermont in the fall/winter.

Newport is a beautiful and charming seaside town with a lot to offer. We especially love taking classes from local artists (we took a glass blowing class last year and made Christmas ornaments), going out on the water or to the beaches, dining out and just walking around and shopping. They have amazing fudge and popcorn shops and we always take a bunch home to share and enjoy and for some time.

We love going to Vermont in the fall to see the foliage and the winter when there is always a lot of snow. We've been going since 2011. The last 6 years we've always stayed at the same place, the Essex Inn, which is a culinary school as well as hotel. We take cooking classes and always dress up one night to dine in their nice restaurant. We also go to downtown Burlington, which is an eclectic city that always has a lot happening.

Our favorite all-time vacation spot is probably St. Lucia where we spent our honeymoon. Neither of us had ever visited such a nice resort in such an incredible location (and the reason for the trip made it incomparably special).

We understand the importance of having open and honest conversations about adoption. We genuinely want our child to know that they are loved and cherished, and that the adoption was a beautiful and intentional decision that we made as a family. When discussing this, we would explain to our child that adoption means that they were chosen by us to be a part of our family. While we may not share the same biological genes, our love and bond are just as strong as any other family. We would explain that their birthmother made the difficult decision to give them up for adoption because they wanted the best life possible for them. During our first conversation about adoption and the others that follow, we would make sure that our child knows that their adoption story is a part of their identity, and that they can be proud of it. We will celebrate their adoption day every year and make sure that they know how special and loved they are. We would let our child know that it’s okay to have questions or feelings about their adoption, and that we are always here to listen and support them. We will encourage them to learn more about their birth family and culture, and we will support any decisions they make to connect with them. It would also be a priority to let our child know that they are loved unconditionally and that we will always be there for them.

Our dog Murphy is our best friend. He is 12 years old, and we've had him since he was a puppy. He is definitely a "people dog," when we take him to a dog park he'd rather go up to each of the people there and play with them than play with the other dogs. He's a source of joy for us on a daily basis. He loves to lay on our laps, sleep with us, follow us around, bring us his toys to play with, etc. No matter what we are doing, he is involved!

When we've had hard times, like when Mike's father and brother passed away or through our fertility struggles, it would have been easy to just curl up on the couch and let it get the best of us. However, we weren't able to because we had Murphy to take care of. He made us get outside and take walks, go to the dog park, and not lose track of time during those difficult times. He's also a great snuggle buddy and knows when we need to just curl up on the couch together.

While caring for a child is obviously different, I think he has helped us continue to push to become parents, because we love taking care of him so much.

We are very close to both sides of our family. We love having family dinners and going to the movies with Mike's sister, his mother and her husband.

Kelly's parents and her brother's family (his wife and 2 children), live in the same town in MA about 3 hours away and Kelly's sister's family (her husband and 2 children) live in NY, also about 3 hours away. We see them all once a month and talk to them all the time. We are always FaceTiming with her nieces and nephews and staying connected daily via a big text group with everyone.

Kelly is her niece Harper's godmother & talks to her multiple times a week. When Kelly's nephew was born at 25 weeks, she moved up to live with her sister so she could take care of Harper and so that her sister and husband could be at the hospital with the newborn Charlie. Mike joined her sometimes and they spent quality time with Harper, potty training her and doing crafts.

We live within 3 hours of all of our family members and also live in the same neighborhood as a few of Mike's cousins and aunt, and we see them all the time, going out on boats and having dinner.

We love living in Connecticut. We live on the water, near a beach with a playground, water park and mini-golf course within walking distance. There are lots of low-traffic streets that children are always out playing on and we can't wait for the day that our child will join in the fun! We also have a swimming pool in our complex, and since Kelly was a swim instructor, she can't wait to teach her child to swim here.

Our home is open-concept, with our kitchen, dining room and living room all connected and open. Just outside our kitchen, we grow flowers as well as vegetables and herbs in a cute little garden. Upstairs we have two large bedrooms, as well as a porch off of the main bedroom. Our dog loves to sit out there and watch the world go by and it's our favorite spot as well. We love that our backyard is the ocean, and there are boats docked right there. We can kayak over to our favorite little cafe on the beach.

We live in an area of Connecticut that is incredibly diverse and we genuinely love that. Being inclusive and accepting of everyone is at the core of how we always envisioned raising a child. Our town has a lot of great programs for children, including summer camps and sports teams, that we think a child would love and would greatly benefit from.

Both of our families have been extremely supportive with us adopting a child. They would be happy for us if we were to be lucky enough to be blessed with a child & would make an incredible extended family.

To a special person,

It is hard to write to someone you don’t know yet about a child that hasn't been born yet. But we now share a special bond with you, as we each take a step forward in this incredible process. We are writing to you through the bond of this unique experience, with open hearts and the deepest respect and admiration for the difficult decision that you have made.

We wanted to thank you for taking the time to read about us. We are Kelly and Mike. We met in 2006 as co-workers at a cultural exchange company. We became friends pretty quickly. We soon began dating, which led to us getting married 7 years later in 2013! We have built a nice life together with our little dog Murphy, living in a cute coastal town. We are hardworking people with stable jobs and supportive family and friends. We have so much love for one another and a lot of love to share with our new family. As individuals, we love children and have always dreamt of becoming a mother and a father. As a couple, we have always dreamt of becoming parents. We have spent years preparing for this moment, both emotionally and practically - there is literally nothing else in our lives that we have spent longer preparing for. Anyone who knows us has always said we were meant to be parents. The first decade of our marriage has been full of wonderful times and very much full of challenging times and struggles. Family tragedy hit hard with the passing of Mike’s father and brother, as well as his aunt and grandmother. We then began our long struggle with fertility. We tried to have a child for many years, working with doctors through multiple procedures, miscarriages and disappointments. Adoption was something we always discussed, knowing that our desire to love and raise a child was the only thing that mattered, not the means in which we had that child. Through it all, we have persevered and have emerged as stronger people and a stronger couple.

We are so very excited to welcome a child into our home and community. We live in a family-friendly neighborhood with great schools and parks. We can’t wait to take our child to the local aquarium, beaches, and playgrounds. We have a close-knit group of friends and family members who have been very supportive of our journey, who will love and cherish our child. Our nieces and nephews can’t wait to meet their cousin and play with them.

We will always do what is best for the child, providing them with the best possible education. We want to give them the tools and resources they need to succeed in life and achieve their dreams, no matter what those are. In addition to providing a loving and supportive home, we are also committed to raising the child to be proud of their heritage and to respect and appreciate the diversity of others. We believe that our differences are what make us unique and special, and we are excited to teach them about different cultures and traditions.

Starting a family is something we have wanted for a very long time. As an avid reader, Kelly is looking forward to reading all her favorite children’s books to our child & Mike is excited to have someone to share his love of movies and sports with! We can’t wait to share our favorite traditions, such as decorating a Christmas tree & watching our favorite teams play. But most of all, we are so incredibly excited to share our love with a child & provide them with the support and guidance they need to grow & be happy and healthy. Adoption is a lifelong journey, and we are prepared to walk it with you every step of the way. We intend to stay in touch with you and keep you updated with emails, pictures and letters as much as you would like. We promise to always honor your decision and to keep you informed about the child's progress and milestones. We sincerely appreciate you considering us. We hope that this has helped you see that we are committed to providing a child with the love, support, and opportunities they need to thrive.

Thank you,

Mike & Kelly