We are an interracial couple – Chris is white and Liz is biracial (African American and white). We both grew up in metropolitan regions, where we were exposed to a diversity of cultures and role models since childhood. Our personal friend group is comprised of people from many different ethnicities and religions, including other married couples that are also interracial. Growing up, Liz was strongly influenced by her grandfather, a prominent African American journalist and government official. Hearing his stories of strength, resilience, and achievement particularly allowed Liz to respect, value, and celebrate diversity. As a couple, we celebrate diversity in all forms. When we got married and started talking about having a family, we chose to live in an area with religious, racial, and cultural diversity where our children would have friends from many different backgrounds and would be embraced and included for who they are.

Liz About Chris: Chris's immeasurable support, love, humor, and wisdom make him one-of-a-kind. He is extremely hardworking and driven, but always puts family first. He is patient, level-headed, and a great listener. Chris is adventurous and active—he loves to hike, camp, and kayak, and I recently cheered him on as he finished an ultramarathon across the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi River! I love imagining him teaching our child to ride a bike or swim. I just know he is going to be an incredible father.

Chris About Liz: I love watching Liz interact with people. She brings her authenticity and attention to everyone she meets, and you can't help but notice her kindness and friendliness. She is truly a joy to be around! And for the people close to her, there isn't anything she wouldn't do. With the care she has for those around her, it's so easy to picture her as the wonderful mom she's going to be. It's like it's a part of her nature to make the world around her a better place. I love to picture her reading to our child before bed or comforting them through a teenage heartbreak. I know she will bring her radiant love to every situation, and I can't wait to see those same qualities instilled in our children.

We love to make and honor traditions big and small. One of our favorites is Christmas-in-July. It's an opportunity for us to host our extended families during a relaxed time of year, where we playfully recreate Christmas by putting on our favorite Christmas jammies, decorating the house, and spending quality time together. Other traditions stem from our shared hobbies. Every so often, we turn our garage into a little art studio and paint a blank canvas together. We've found that it's a nice way to relax and connect while doing something fun. But our favorite family tradition is Friday make-your-own-pizza night. We love to try out different flavors and toppings – including trying eclectic new toppings we've just discovered. We look forward to it all week and it just feels like home. We look forward to the silly pizza combinations our children might invent!

We live in Virginia, just a few miles outside of Washington, D.C. Our location allows us to enjoy all the city has to offer— national monuments, museums, restaurants, and cultural festivals—while also providing the serenity of quiet, tree-lined streets and nearby parks and trails. We live in a multi-cultural, multi-generational neighborhood with good schools and a caring community around us. Our neighbors have become like our second family. We take turns hosting cookouts, pool parties, and game nights. Our broader community has family-friendly activities throughout the year. One of our favorites is the annual Fourth of July parade/cookout where local homemade floats pass throughout our neighborhood and right by our house.

Our home is in a wonderful school district and we live less than 2 blocks away from our local elementary school. There is a bike/walking path at the corner of our street that leads to a large playground, creek, dog park, and basketball courts.

Our newly-built, single-family home has 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms with a fenced backyard that gives us plenty of room to entertain and play with our dog. The kitchen—Chris's absolute favorite room in the house—opens up to a family room where we spend a lot of time relaxing and catching up. We also have a 'bonus' living room that we plan to turn into a dedicated playroom.

We are lucky to have an amazing group of family and friends close by. Liz was born and raised in Washington, D.C., and her parents are a big part of our lives. We love hosting them for potluck-style brunch on the weekends, where they share family recipes and shower our pets with love and affection. Liz is the middle of 3 children and her sister and brother each have families with young kids. Although they both are a plane ride away, we FaceTime regularly, host them for holidays, and travel together during summer vacation.

Chris grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, which is a short 2-hour drive from where we live. He has 5 siblings and 9 nieces and nephews so we visit frequently for birthdays and graduations. Chris considers his step-brother to be his best friend; they are only 8 months apart (and share the same name!) and have been each other's rock since childhood. Chris's mom is caring and compassionate and in our unbiased opinion, she makes the best spaghetti and meatballs in the world! Chris's dad is a retired General Contractor and generously helps us with renovation projects around the house.

We also have a large friend group in our area that we love like family. We take turns hosting dinners and game nights, and have amassed quite a large game collection! When the weather is nice, we bring out the giant-sized Connect 4 and Jenga games to the patio while barbecuing.

It seems like an impossible task trying to describe why we would be worthy of this most precious gift. A gift that would fulfill our lifelong dream of building a family. While words will never fully express how thankful we would be, we will try our best with this letter. Please know that we would be grateful to you every day for the rest of our lives.

We've been fortunate in our lives and are thankful for the opportunities we've had to grow personally and as a family. We've taken the time to build fulfilling careers and we live in a wonderful home surrounded by an incredible support system of family and friends. Our marriage is filled with love, laughter, admiration, and adoration for one another. Despite it all, though, we know our family and our lives are not yet complete.

We have always wanted to be parents and raise children together. We knew that adoption was a part of that plan whether we had biological children or not. We started trying to expand our family immediately after getting married, and after a number of losses, we got news that we'd be unlikely to conceive. As we've gotten further into our adoption journey, we've uncovered more friends and more family whose lives have also been touched by adoption. We feel fortunate to have had this network of experienced friends and family to help guide us along the way. We truly feel like this is the right path for us.

We're committed to raising children with love and support and giving them the opportunity to shine as their best and happiest self. We want to raise their curiosity and fill them with wonder. Their baby books and scrapbooks will highlight their unique and beautiful life story. Our families are so excited to see the joy this journey brings us. They are fully supportive and can't wait to create new memories with our growing family whether that is through travel, our love for experiencing and cooking different foods and cultures, music, playing games, sports, and just helping them learn to embrace the world around them.

Understanding that this is a difficult decision, we have a flexible adoption plan. We welcome any contact you would like to have with us and would be happy to share letters, photos, texts, and updates of your child's growth and progress throughout life. We're similarly committed to you as we know you'll always be a part of your child's story. We are also open to annual in-person visits and we hope to get a chance to meet you one day and share in stories together. Your role, sacrifices, and selfless choice will always be honored in our home, and we promise to make that known to your child.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for considering us. We are grateful for this opportunity, and we assure you that we will approach parenthood with boundless unconditional love, devotion, and an unwavering commitment to the child's happiness and well-being.

Sincerely,

Chris & Liz