Josh is incredibly kind to everyone in his life, and shows that you deserve kindness - this isn't a quality you can learn, it just is innately Josh. He is the most generous person with his time, love, care, and thoughtfulness, and does it with ease. You can tell he was lovingly raised, with a happy family. When Josh lets his extrovert side out, he lights up a room. His silly voices and antics when playing with his little brother are amazing. Marissa admires Josh's endless patience, and level-headedness. He is who you want in a stressful situation, and these qualities are going to make him an excellent father.

Marissa has an unending well of love. She is selfless, and thinks about others a thousand times before thinking about herself. Marisa has an effortless way with children, they all flock to her for her creative games, imaginative play, and high energy. She is really smart, an avid reader with a huge love of learning. Marissa is adventurous, we have taken so many fun trips together. She is also an excellent planner, and loves to host our friends and families for everything from big parties to just cooking brunch with a few friends.

Just two hours away in the little town of Lewes, Delaware, Josh's family owns a beach house. This place has become a second home for us, and our favorite spot to vacation. The house is in a quiet neighborhood on the bay, with a large community pool. We have big crab feasts on the back porch, and the dining room table always has a puzzle laid out. There is a big kitchen to cook dinners together, and a spacious living room for all of us to watch sporting events. The house is filled with games from all the kids over the years.

It is a child-friendly area, Josh spent all his summers there with his family, something we want to continue with our children. Within short walking distance is the state park for hiking, biking, and of course the beach. Josh grew up boogey boarding, finding sand crabs, making sandcastles, and eating hot dogs from the beach stand. As he got older, they went crabbing, fishing, and kayaking. When we go now, we do a lot of the same activities! We have also have a lot fun playing pickleball.

We love to travel, we are very lucky to have flexible jobs with generous vacation days. This past year, we have traveled to Dubai and Germany to visit friends, we also traveled around Europe, and went to Los Angeles to visit Josh's sister and her husband. We took a family vacation to Orlando, and then spent time just ourselves on the beach. Since we both work from home, we can pack up with our cats, and go to the family beach house that is only a couple hours drive away. We love to go to our favorite restaurants, walk through the state park, and play minigolf.

At home, we play lots of board games, cards, and do crosswords together. Marissa loves to cook, and Josh likes to eat all the new recipes Marissa tries. Marissa's sister Sydnie is an avid rock climber, and we have really enjoyed getting into that sport with her. We both have artistic sides, Josh paints while Marissa does crafts and home remodeling projects. Marissa also loves filling the house with new plants, swapping cuttings with friends and neighbors. We love living so close to DC to try new restaurants, attend concerts, or visit museum events.

We are incredibly blessed that we have a lot of family that live nearby, and we have weekly family dinners either at a restaurant or someone's house. Josh's parents are divorced and remarried, so the extended family is big! Between birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays, there is a lot to celebrate, and we never miss an opportunity to do so as a family. The family genuinely enjoys spending time with each other, catching up, playing cards, or board games, and finding new fun things to do. We have traveled together from tropical vacations to Disney World, and have done a lot of fun things close to home like escape rooms and musicals.

Josh's little brother was adopted seven years ago, and it is really important to us that we have a close relationship with him. We have been to every school play, birthday party, and every year we wake up at 5 AM on Christmas morning to open presents with him. Josh's brother loves the playground next to our house, playing with our cats, and when we take him rock climbing.

Our family is so, so excited to meet our future child. When we told them were starting the adoption process there were a lot of happy tears and volunteers to help us however we needed. Our child is going to immediately be loved by a lot of people and will be the first grandchild on both sides!

Maryland - We live in a Maryland suburb of Washington, DC, our county is both the most diverse and one of the best public-school systems in the country. Our neighborhood is very social, with annual yard sales, block parties, Halloween parades, live music, and weekly food trucks. Everyone in our neighborhood is always willing to lend a helpful hand, and we watch out for each other. There are a lot of young families with children who are supportive of growing families, passing down clothes and toys. We are a short walk to three playgrounds, a basketball court, and tennis courts. We are so lucky that many of our close friends also bought houses in our neighborhood, so we get to see them often.

We own a single-family home with a big tree in the front yard — perfect for hanging a tire swing in the future! Our backyard is a certified wildlife preserve, with lots of trees, flowers, and a covered back porch. On the first floor, we have one bedroom we currently use as a guestroom, which we are so excited to turn into our future child's room! We have another bedroom we use as office because we both work from home full-time, bathroom, living room, dining room, kitchen, and sunroom on the first floor. Upstairs is the primary bedroom and bathroom, with a room we plan to use as a nursery. In the basement, we have a family room, a bedroom, and bathroom.

Genuinely, and wholeheartedly, thank you for considering our profile. We have loved each other for almost 10 years, and we are so excited to share our love and expand our family. We know, without a doubt, that we are emotionally and financially ready to support and give our child a wonderful life.

Josh’s brother was adopted as an infant (seven now), and he thinks Josh is the coolest older brother ever. Whether we are rock climbing, at the playground, or reading a bedtime story, he is just so happy to spend time with us, and the feeling is mutual. We have loved watching him grow up so far, and he is truly a blessing. Adoption has already brought an endless source of love and joy to our family. When Marissa put herself through graduate school, she nannied for a family with two kids – and by the end she was taking care of their four children! She is incredibly comfortable with the hectic and spontaneous lifestyle of childhood, all without any screen time. We want you to know that in addition to our practical experience with Liam and nannying, we have done our research, and we plan to use gentle-parenting methods.

Family is a key part of our lives. Weekly dinners, vacations, all the special moments big and small, our child will grow up knowing that they are infinitely loved by their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Recently, Josh’s dad retired and is excited to have playdates with our child and Liam. Our family is so supportive of our adoption journey. No matter what in life, our child will have the security and love of our family.

We live in a single-family home, and our friends all bought houses in our neighborhood! Our child is going to have a lot of people who will immediately love and support them. We both work from our home, with generous family leave and flexible schedules. In our free time, we play lawn games in the backyard, host brunch on the porch, play board games, cards, and rotate hosting dinners with friends. There is a beautiful trail in our neighborhood, where we like to take long walks, that has several playgrounds, and leads to a botanical garden. Recently we’ve been wondering, will our child love this slide, these swings, will they love the playhouse in the rose garden? We love to hike though new areas. Josh grew up hiking with his family all over the country and even cleared new trails, will our child love to camp?

Marissa went to school in Florida for a degree in marine science, will our child also love splashing through the gentle ocean waves, learning the names of the fish, and laughing through the rides at Disney World? Marissa volunteered for the aquarium, will our child want to learn how to SCUBA or snorkel? We both enjoy the ocean and beaches. Josh’s family has a beach house, where he spent summers with his siblings and cousins. We want to extend this family tradition to the next generation! From the ocean, to the nearby state park, to arcades, minigolf, and of course lots of ice cream stands, we know our child is going to have amazing summer memories.

We want to share our love of travel with our child, we have been to over a dozen countries together! We already have a list of best places to travel with children, and we want to instill a love of trying new things. As our child grows and we get to discover what brings them joy, of course we are happy to send letters and pictures to you, to keep you updated. If you want, we are also open to emails and future visits. We will always speak highly of you, with empathy and understanding.

Overall, we want to provide our child with a safe, happy, full, and fun life filled with travel to new places, hiking new mountains, trying new foods, and all the soft surprising moments in between. We have so much love to share, and we are so excited to welcome a child in our home, in our life, and in our family.

Sincerely,

Josh & Marissa