At home, we love listening to music, playing with our 3 dogs, tending gardens, cooking, and unwinding with a TV show or the occasional movie. We mostly eat organic homemade meals, so a lot of our evening revolves around the kitchen and food. Good thing we enjoy cooking! We prepare our dinner together while discussing our day and future plans. Music plays in the background, and Liz even makes up silly songs to sing to the dogs while they hang out in the kitchen with us. We do go out to eat 1-2 times a week to try new restaurants or spend time with family or friends. After dinner, we shift to the living room where we enjoy more quality time with the dogs while watching a little comedy or sci-fi.

Aside from our annual vacation, we relax in the mountains and nature on weekends, usually hiking, sometimes snowboarding. We haven't tried skiing, but Liz is hopeful the kid will want to try it one day and they can learn together. We are always amazed at a chance wildlife spotting, and look forward to sharing the beauty of nature with a kid.

Rich enjoys learning new tools, taking on house projects, and rollerblading. Liz wants to share her love of reading with a child. She also crochets and sews. She is excited to make Halloween costumes for a little one, and looks forward to finding out what they want to be.

We're huge animal lovers! Pets have always been a big part of our lives. Both of us grew up with dogs. Liz enjoyed a variety of different types of pets growing up. Her parents used to volunteer for the ASPCA, often welcoming additional doggies into their home.

Right now, we have three amazing dogs. Ruckus is our little buddy. He is a 17-year-old Italian Greyhound. He used to love playing chase with our friends' kids when he was young. Today he still enjoys a little playtime between his long naps. Then there's Sir Dunkin, our super friendly 13-year-old Border Collie/Whippet mix. He's the most loving dog and makes friends with everyone. Lastly, we have Nibbler, our silly 3-year-old Chihuahua/Pug mix. He's super sweet, full of energy, and always ready for some gentle wrestling.

We truly enjoy spending time with our dogs. They fill our home with love and laughter, and we would love to share that joy with a little one in the future!

Our community is among the most diverse in Colorado. We love trying and eating food from a variety of different places, so we are fortunate to live close to the city where there are restaurants serving up everything from Ethiopian to El Salvadorian. It's fun to try recipes from different places at home too!

A child should have the opportunity to make friends with children of various cultural backgrounds, and we believe that would happen naturally through school and extra-curricular activities in our community. It is a core belief in our home that all people are worthy of respect and dignity, so we feel a child would learn early that a person's differences are what make them special and unique.

If we get the opportunity to raise a child of a different background, we would want to ask the birth mother what she most wants passed on from her culture. We would educate ourselves about that child's heritage so we can incorporate new cultural traditions in our family. We would want to embrace and celebrate the child's heritage and ensure they know they are special! We want our child to be confident and proud of who they are!

We live in a peaceful suburb of Denver, Colorado. We've done our best to create a nice, quiet, cozy vibe in our split-level home. Our backyard is one of our favorite spots with organic garden beds and plenty of room for dogs and kids to play. The back gate opens to a small neighborhood park with a playground and plenty of open space. Recently, we've been helping our neighbors set up a community garden and compost area there!

Everything needed is close. A library, neighborhood pool, larger park, and elementary school are all within walking distance. The library hosts many activities for young children, and there is an annual ice cream social at the pool. We are fortunate and lucky to be in a top-rated school district.

The city is close, so we can catch concerts, events, and try out different restaurants whenever we want. The mountains are close enough to easily head out for weekend hiking or snowboarding, and the occasional longer stay. We are excited to enjoy local adventures like the aquarium, zoo, museums and local theme and water parks with a child, and also look forward to sharing the beauty of nature with them!

Rich's parents and siblings all live within a 15-20 minute radius, so we see them often, gathering for birthday and holiday celebrations. Birthdays usually involve going out to a nice restaurant for dinner, while holidays are more focused on home cooked meals. Everyone enjoys Rich's mom's homemade noodles at Thanksgiving dinner. Rich enjoys rollerblading with his brother, and occasionally, Rich's father and/or siblings will join us snowboarding.

Sadly, Liz's father has passed away, but his spirit remains in our hearts. Liz's mom, brother and his wife, and their son (our nephew) live about an hour south. We don't see them quite as often, but we do visit multiple times each year. Something unique and neat about Liz's family is that her grandparents on her father's side are remembered for being the first black teachers in Iowa. The elementary school where Liz's grandmother taught recently named the school library after her in honor of this.

We both have family members whose work schedules mean working overnights and random overtime, which always leads to enjoying two Christmases. During the holidays, family and friends always look forward to Liz's homemade peanut brittle, a tradition handed down from her grandma on her mom's side.

Other activities we enjoy with family and friends are hiking, game nights, and video games.

Our family and friends have all been supportive and helpful in our adoption journey, and we know they will welcome any child with love.

We are Elizabeth (Liz) and Richard (Rich). Sometimes, friends and family call us by our celebrity couple name, Lizard.

We are married and have been together for 20 years. Life is not perfect, but we live our best one by always remaining committed to each other through the highs, lows, and curve balls. We have hiked to mountain tops and explored beaches, endured the loss of family and friends, and confronted the unforeseen together. Disagreements are few and far between, short lived, and fade into nothing as soon as we remember that loving each other is what is really important in this world.

Our lives mostly center around preparing and cooking meals together in the kitchen, and getting out to appreciate nature. Tending our pepper and squash gardens helps us do both! We do quite a bit of hiking during the warmer months, and still get to snowboard occasionally in the winter. Game nights, dinner with family and friends, and going to concerts are pretty regular activities. We love vacationing places we have never been to take in new sights and experiences, and enjoy local food wherever we go! We just wish we could share it all with a little one.

We are unable to have a child of own. However, we still have an abundance of love and joy to share, and parenting feels like the next natural step in our lives. We would love to have the opportunity, and be so lucky, to see a child grow and thrive.

Our home is a place where curiosity, being yourself, and seeking your own truth is valued and encouraged. Our role as parents would be to provide support and guidance, not dictate hard rules. Everyone has their strengths. We want to help a child discover theirs so they can go forth in the world with peace and confidence in themselves.

A child should know where they come from. We don't yet know your heritage or culture, but we value and embrace diversity and inclusion. We would be so curious and interested to know what you value and what you would want passed on to your child. We would be so proud to share your story in a way that connects them, whether it's cooking a traditional recipe at home, or a trip to the home of their ancestors.

It is only right that you be included in your child's journey. We will happily, willingly, and emphatically share photos and letters. We are more than willing to develop whatever level of contact is most amenable for all of us, whether it be phone calls, texts, emails, or possibly even visits.

No decision has been made lightly in our journey, and this one is no different. None of us has arrived here easily, so we understand the gravity of the choice you are facing. We face it with you, and admire your strength and courage.

Our minds, arms, and hearts are open. We are so humbled and honored to open our home as well. Thank you for your time and consideration of us at this most difficult crossroads.

Peace and love,

Rich & Liz