We have a semi-unique lifestyle but it's our normal, with Jon living his childhood dream as an Airline Pilot. Jon's career takes him away for a few days a week, which allows him to spend more time with us than if he worked a traditional schedule. It comes with a few perks, he's able to manipulate his schedule to be home for special occasions and be a hands-on dad and spouse without the burden of work-related stresses, as well as a flexible schedule that allows us as a family to travel more. In our son's 4 years of life, he has visited 10 states and collected 1 stamp on his passport. While Jon is away, Stephanie enjoys creating memorable events around each season for our son, like when she makes seasonal pancakes, draws a chalk holiday scene out front, handcrafts decorations, and DIY crafts.

When we're home together, we will have a wide range of music playing on our record player or a customized playlist that fits the mood of the day. When the weather is nice you'll likely find us outside, whether it's a bike ride, creating new games out back, or visiting various playgrounds. In the evenings we cook together or take turns cooking a delicious, wholesome meal, Holden enjoys being our sous chef. We eat as a family on our custom dining table built by Jon's best friend. At the end of the day, we unwind with a cup of tea and a good show.

Our life priorities are finding and doing what lights our souls up and living life true to our personal values. We strive to create a life that when reflected upon, we can smile because we lived by the golden rule and navigated it with purpose and intention. We want to feel accomplished by the connections we've formed, the footprint we've left, and the adventures we've taken. We view relationships as one of the most valuable things a person can have and just like plants sometimes they need extra nurturing to maintain. As a family, we believe in compassion and empathy, because we each have our own stories that aren't always in our control, but shape us nonetheless. We put more value into experiences than material things. We prioritize making our home warm and inviting, taking care of our bodies, and traveling to better understand the world around us. We pay attention to the sounds of leaves falling, waves crashing on a shoreline, the silence of a snowy day, and being able to soak up vitamin D outside in new places. We make it a priority to do our best to live our lives with gratitude for the littlest things that the universe has to offer.

Stephanie About Jon: Jon is the yin to my yang. In my areas of weakness, he shines. I love his desire to continue to go through life learning. Every day he strives to do his best to evolve and grow to be an even more attentive and present husband and father. Early into our relationship, I knew he provided a place where I felt safe and nurtured. He has the ability to see things in an objective light and has the courage to admit his mistakes. Jon is the person you want in your corner in times of chaos. Jon is always genuinely happy to be the first to celebrate victories and to give you a hug during unpleasant times. As soon as Jon pulls into the driveway from a work trip, he doesn't skip a beat, he's hands-on and steps right in.

Jon About Stephanie: Stephanie is the most thoughtful, caring, and empathetic soul that I've ever met. She lights up a room with her energy and has an uncanny ability to get strangers to pour their hearts out to her. I have tremendous respect for her sharp intellect and genuine drive to help others. When we first started dating she would often talk about volunteering at a shelter for homeless youth and how she would prepare meals for the homeless in her free time. I knew she must have one of the biggest hearts of anyone that I'd ever met. She keeps me on my toes and inspires me to be a better person.

We live in a big city with the feel of small-town charm. We live in a 3-bedroom home built in 1947 in Texas that is conveniently located within a 5-10 minute drive to the zoo, botanical gardens, parks, trail system, shops, and restaurants. We have some great neighbors that show up when you need a helping hand like setting up a meal train or welcoming you home with fireworks and yard signs. Our neighborhood hosts annual neighborhood Easter egg hunts. We can view the 4th of July fireworks from our doorstep, and visit Santa just a couple blocks away at the annual Christmas on the triangle. In our neighborhood, you'll often see kids riding bikes in groups, or playing a game of basketball. For the college sports fan, we are near a large university where you can see and hear fans cheering, and fireworks when the home team scores.

We have a large backyard with large old oak trees that provide shade in the summer and a home for curious squirrels. Our son can spend all day back there digging in his homemade "construction site", and spending time driving his little tikes truck, riding his bike, playing in his custom playhouse, and having water balloon/squirt gun fights. In the summer, we grow a vegetable and herb garden that we like to incorporate into our home-cooked meals. When the weather is nice, we enjoy grilling out with friends or watching an outdoor movie.

We are fortunate to have family nearby, Jon's mom, stepdad, sister, nephew, and niece live a short drive away by the lake where we can fish or go out on a boat. Jon's mom loves to bake, at Christmas she bakes a variety of treats that are enjoyed by all. Stephanie's brother lives a few hours away, and makes regular visits—uncle and Holden are best friends! Stephanie's parents reside in sunny San Diego in a beach community. Stephanie's mom spreads her love through food; whether it's authentic Vietnamese food or any cuisine imaginable. She loves to host and makes excess food to ensure everyone leaves with a full belly. They make regular visits for extended amounts of time, and we do the same. Jon's dad and stepmom, aunts, uncles, and cousins live in rural Virginia, where we get to enjoy large family dinners whether it be by the pool with sunset views over a lush landscape or by the lake. Jon's dad lives on a small farm, that is home to a variety of birds, and rabbits, and has a lovely vegetable garden. We feel lucky to have supportive family and great friends across the country to visit that expose us to different landscapes, and offer a variety of different activities to do. Our family and friends are supportive and encouraging of completing our family through adoption.

We are excited by the possibility of getting to know you. We hope our profile helps paint a picture of who we are as a family. We can't express our gratitude enough that you're considering trusting us to provide a stable and loving home for this baby and you becoming an extension of our family. We've been able to grow together, travel, laugh, support, and celebrate each other for 8 years, recently celebrating 5 years of marriage.

In our second year of marriage, we learned the true meaning of "in sickness and in health". After having our son, Stephanie experienced life-threatening post-delivery complications. Those complications led to a 9-month recovery including multiple surgeries, hospital stays, and weekly home health care visits. Although Stephanie has a clean bill of health now, if we were to be able to conceive, it would lead to a high-risk delivery. While she was in the ICU, a Doctor mentioned that surrogacy would be the best option to grow our family. Stephanie's response was that she always wanted to adopt. We've always envisioned being a family of four. Life threw us a major curve ball, we never envisioned entering parenthood where our son went home before his mother, but it taught strength, perseverance, gratitude, and made our marriage grow even stronger. It made us no strangers to a non-traditional entrance to parenting. We are ready to welcome another child to our family adventures!

We've daydreamed of a home with a crowded table, filled with sounds of chatter, and the echoes of siblings giggling and bickering throughout the halls. We aspire to foster an environment that when our children reflect they think of the fun, traditions, and values that they want to pass down to their future families. We want each child to feel treasured and equally loved by catering to their unique personalities with special family activities and personalized dates with us. Stephanie looks forward to another set of hands covered in paint during crafts, another stocking to hang at Christmas, a cozy morning with the 4 of us, eating breakfast in bed, and a family movie on. Jon is excited to go on hikes in the woods and the joys of a full backseat on road trips. He's excited to share his enjoyment in camping under the stars, mountain biking, and skiing down snowy slopes.

We know we don't know you, but we're eager, excited, and maybe a little bit nervous to have the pleasure of getting to know you. With your discretion, we hope to learn more about you, the stories that make you who you are, and your wishes for this baby's life. We hope to be an open book for you and answer any questions you have about us. We don't take lightly how difficult a choice this is. We view it as extremely selfless, thoughtful, and quite possibly the largest decision of your life. We understand it's a whirlwind of emotions that can change by the minute. We hope that we can do whatever we can to provide comfort and support to you, earn your trust, and provide you with peace in your decision.

We hope to build a relationship with you in whatever way you're comfortable with because you will always be this child's very first home and be a huge part of this child's narrative and the reason we were able to complete our puzzle. We not only want to be able to share some stories about you and your family with this child, but we hope that you will be able to share some too. We realize some things will only be able to be explained by you, the shared quirks, mannerisms, where his/her looks come from amongst other things. We hope to maintain a healthy relationship, whether that be emails, FaceTime dates, or in-person visits. We understand life can throw curve balls, and what that looks like can change throughout the seasons of life but we hope to have open dialogue with each other and be along for the ride. We hope to always show our appreciation, thank you for considering us.

Jon & Stephanie