Adoption is something that has always held a place in our family plan. As Marilyn is a childhood cancer survivor, the traditional way of building a family wasn't ever really an option for us. We went into our marriage knowing that when we decided to begin our family, it was our hope to have multiple children. We feel like there is so much value in growing up with siblings and that is something we truly wanted for our children.

We have one daughter, Clara, who is four years old. She is the bright spot in each day and leads with compassion in almost everything she does. We consider her to be the perfect mix of sass and sweetness. In her imaginative play, she often pretends that she has a brother or sister so its clearly on her mind. We can just picture her helping her younger sibling learn and grow with a reassuring sweetness that's all her own. We are certain she will greet her new sibling with open arms, full of snuggles and probably some kisses too.

After the science of fertility treatments gave us a miracle in conceiving Clara, her birth, unfortunately was pretty traumatic, and we decided that continuing building our family that way would not be the best option. We are excited to begin our adoption journey and add to the love in our family. We have so much love to share with our new child and look forward to seeing the connections between our children.

Marilyn About Nick: Nick is an amazingly easy-going person who can bring calm to the most stressful of situations. Marilyn loves that he is a committed husband and the type of person who would go out of his way to help anyone at any time. She respects that he is hard working and determined to succeed. He is also the best dad. Marilyn admires that he can go from the calm, comforting, disciplinarian, to the crown wearing, tea drinking, princess bestie that every four-year-old girl desires. She feels watching him as a father reconfirms why he is so easy to love.

Nick About Marilyn: Marilyn is the most dedicated, thoughtful, and intuitive person I have ever met. She cares deeply about her family and friends and maintains many positive and healthy relationships. Marilyn puts her whole heart into everything she does and strives to always do and be the best that she can. She spends time making informed decisions and is a strong communicator. She has an uncanny ability to read a situation and connect with how others are feeling. As a mother the love that Marilyn shows our daughter is unwavering and ever present.

Openness with our child is something that we value greatly, so we will continue to share that with our future children. We hope to foster an environment where they can speak openly and ask all questions including those about adoption. The importance of knowing where you come from is something we fully understand to be imperative in the growth of becoming a whole person.

It is our intention that our child always know how they came to be part of our family. Adoption is something we intend to share with them through stories and books from the very beginning. We know that what they will understand and want or need to know will change as they grow, but it will always be something we are willing to help explain to the best of our abilities.

In addition and more importantly than sharing their adoption story with them, we are prepared to listen to our child's questions and feelings as they grow.

We live in a rural community less than an hour from a large city in the Mid- Atlantic. Our community and neighborhood is full of young families with events for every holiday. They have egg hunts for Easter, Santa visits on his fire truck around Christmas and a 4th of July parade. Halloween is a huge holiday in our neighborhood and kicks off with a parade of all the youngest children dressed in their costumes.

There are numerous parks within a very short drive, as well as interactive farms for children, libraries, and pick-your own orchards. We also enjoy driving into nearby cities for baseball and football games, the zoo, aquarium, children's museums and amusement parks.

Our house has three levels with four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, a full finished basement, which looks more like an additional playground to be honest. Our favorite room is the family room because it has so many windows, including sunlights that make it bright and cheery. It's also the place we gather together most often. It's a cozy room with a fireplace and we watch movies, play board games, or even see a song and dance performed by Clara.

Our house is nestled in on a hill at the back of our neighborhood. There are plenty of trees and nature to explore throughout our property and we are always looking for new ways to add more natural brightness. We truly love the balance of so much nature and the convenience to a metropolitan area.

We feel so lucky to have supportive families. Marilyn has one older sister (Jessica), who is a single parent to her teenage son. She also has a younger brother (Stephen) who is newly married to his wife Lindsay and has an almost one year old daughter. Marilyn's entire family lives under thirty minutes away and we will often see each other for dinner during the week or meet up at her parents for Sunday dinner or to watch a sporting event. It's so fun to see the cousins laughing and playing together. Each summer the family takes a long weekend away to the lake to enjoy some horse races, massive ice cream cones, and a bit of down time. But it's the annual mini golf challenge that everyone raves about and ribs at each other over until next year. We can't wait to add another future competitor to the bunch.

Nick's parents live not too far away and will often make day trip just to visit or for special celebrations. We will also try to make it up to them a few times a year to visit. While there we love spending time outside. Walking around the reservoir or hiking nearby are a few of their favorites. In addition to our immediate families, we both come from large extended families made up of lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles. Both of our families enjoy big gatherings with great food.

Everyone is so excited to have another new member of the family.

We are so grateful that you've taken the time to read about our family as you navigate what we can only imagine to be a difficult time for you. Your selflessness and bravery as you make this important choice for your life and the life of your child, is truly admirable.

We have been together for almost eight years and married for a little over five, but have actually known each other for over a decade. We met through a mutual friend and our relationship grew from that of long distance acquaintances to the married couple we are today. Our relationship continues to change and grow in unimagined ways as we also grow as individuals, and together as a family. We believe that we each have qualities that create a special and important balance in our relationship. We stand strong in our values as a family, try to face each day with optimism, and understand that life is ever-changing which is what makes it so beautiful. We were both blessed with parents who demonstrated that life is a journey and it's better to travel it with someone who loves and supports you.

At a young age, Marilyn knew her ability to have children would be something that would lead to building a family in a non-traditional way. After our struggles with infertility, we faced a traumatic and premature birth with our daughter, who remained in the NICU for over two months post birth. While this was an incredibly difficult time, the lessons we learned only made us stronger parents. This enduring strength led us to the decision to continue to build our family through adoption.

We realize that this same kind of enduring strength might be what leads you here as well. At this time, all we can offer is a few sincere promises. But we do want to promise that we will include you in this child's life via letters, emails, and photos. We will always speak of our child's journey with respect and forever honor their place in this world. We will provide a stable environment as role models of acceptance, empathy, and respect for all. We intend to support and uphold traditions of the heritage and culture from which they come. This child will be loved beyond measure and showered with joy by us and everyone in our circle of family and friends. We will always lead with love and act with the child's best interest in mind. This, we can also promise.

We greatly appreciate that you've read this far and thank you for considering us to parent your child. We look forward to getting to know more about you and will be thinking of you with a gracious heart as you continue this journey.

Sincerely,

Nick & Marilyn