Nights that we are home during the week we like to cook, get weekly chores out of the way and then spend time with our furry brood. During the summer we love to take Buddy on evening walks within our neighborhood or explore new areas of our city. Weekly during the summer, Sue will play tennis or pickle ball with her BFF, Kim.

On weekends we will either hang around town with friends or take road trips with Buddy to see family. We really enjoy road trips and love to sing along off-key (not on purpose) to playlists. We are already dreaming about our first vacation as a family to the western U.S. and its gorgeous national parks.

Occasionally we hang out with our friends separately on weekends because we like to remind ourselves we are individuals. Dan enjoys going on camping trips with his best friend, Nick. Several times a year they get together for canoeing, hiking and fishing fun. Nick brings his kids now that they are older, and Dan cannot wait to do the same! Sue likes taking road trips with her friends on the weekends Dan goes camping. They have traveled to many places for random reasons like it has a trampoline park (SO FUN!) or IKEA. Sue enjoys painting and crafting even though her talents lie in more scientific endeavors. She hopes to instill an appreciation of art within our future children.

You may notice, we are white. We want you to know how very committed we are to overcoming our predominately white background to provide a culturally rich childhood for our future transracial child. We researched this topic thoroughly and went to seminars before choosing this adoption path to ensure we understood all the responsibilities involved in raising a transracial child to have a positive and informed racial identity as well as a happy childhood in general.

Furthermore, we are fortunate to have family and friends of color in our lives to help answer questions we simply don't have the background or experiences to answer. One of which is Dan's former step father, Yemi (they are still very close). He is a British-born Nigerian who is now an American citizen and is over the moon excited for us to a adopt a child. He is willing to help out in any way he can.

Our city is a bit on the large side and we are fortunate to live in a naturally diverse area. There are many cultural community events going on throughout the year. We have also researched several transracial family camps within our state and neighboring states that are fun summer getaways where families have fun while learning more about the child's transracial culture and provide seminars on things like hair care.

Our neighborhood is established and has so many beautiful trees canopying the streets and sidewalks. There is a diversity of young families living on our street. The neighborhood has three parks, a community pool, and our future child's elementary and middle schools all within a short walking distance. We love walking through all the surrounding neighborhoods on our evening walks with Buddy.

Our home is a three bedroom, two bath, one-story ranch with a large fenced in yard containing trees Dan has planted. Our basement has an additional finished play area and craft room (Sue loves glitter and thangs!). The room next to ours is being converted into a nursery with our nephew's gently-used baby crib. He informed us he is a big boy and his future cousin can have it. Don't worry, the crib has a secured netted canopy to keep sleepy kitties away from baby! The nursery is decorated in rainbows since we may be surprised by the baby's gender. To be safe, we picked ALL the colors! The inspiration was a cloth balloon wall hanging Sue had in her room growing up that always makes her happy just looking at. The balloons are hanging in the nursery.

Our other favorite room is our game/dining room. We spend many fun nights with friends and family at our table playing card or board games. We can't wait to play games with our future child!

We relocated to our current city to be closer to friends and family and to be there for our parents as they get older. We both have siblings - Dan has a sister and Sue has three brothers - yeah, she was a major tomboy! Everyone in our extended families are so very excited we will be starting a family. They are very supportive of our plans not only to adopt, but to adopt transracially. Both Grammy and Nana are very excited to have another grandchild to spoil!

Dan's extended family lives two hours away and we see them throughout the year. Our nephew Nolan is 5 and he is soooooo excited to get a little cousin to play with and teach them the proper rules to his bouncey house!

Sue's mom lives 45 minutes away and we see her several times a month to chat and help her with chores. All Sue's siblings live within 6 hours of us and we get together for major holidays and parties in the summer. Sue has two nephews who are 13 (Jack) and 16 (Ben) and we see them as often as their social lives allow!

Finally, there is our amazing group of friends who are like family including Sue's BFF of 23 years, Kim, who is more like a sister. Kim and many other friends live in the same city we do and we get together weekly to play board games, have cookouts, paint/craft or go to the occasional movie.

Thank you for reading this far and considering adoption. We can't begin to understand what you are going through but we want you to know we are completely committed to this process and to the birth mother that chooses us. It is a scary thing to put the amount of trust you are considering putting into adoptive parents, people you barely know, to raise your child. You are so brave and have our undying admiration for your ability to make so many difficult choices during such an emotional time. Please understand, no matter how much we joke or kid around, this gift that you will be entrusting to us will be taken very seriously and will be the highest priority in our lives. When chosen, we will cherish that decision always, until our dying day.

In the most simplistic way, we describe our relationship as a good ol' fashion rom-com. We had an adorable meet at work (ask us about it, its lengthy and word count limitations don't do it justice) we fell head over heels in love with each other and some people initially thought we were rushing to move in together and get engaged so fast. Spoiler alert! A decade later and eight blissful years of marriage so far, we wouldn't have done anything differently. Along the way, we shared interests that broadened our minds, had some fights that helped us understand each other better, and dealt with some sad moments that deepened our bonds to one another. However, most importantly, we shared a montage of laughs that helped us celebrate in times of joy and cope in time of sorrow.

We think fun, laughter and affection are the best foundation for both a relationship and a family. We have been through enough in life to know if you can at least laugh a little, find small joys in the worst times, and cuddle the ones you love, it's like saying - We know there is a light at the end of this tunnel and we, like Gloria Gaynor, Will Survive! There is so much to get across in so few words so we wanted you to know how we approach life. Your child's life would be filled with laughter. We would savor the good times and teach them to be thankful for every moment the people (and animals!) in their life are happy and healthy. We would also teach them that the way to weather the hard times is to share your burdens with loved ones and leave your heart open to love, levity and laughter. It, along with antibiotics, is the best medicine.

Along with love and laughter, there are so many things we would want to share with this child. We want to share our passion for topics like science and art as well as our love for family, animals, the outdoors and road trips. We would always emphasize the importance of school; however, we would nurture all of the child's interests. We know there are many amazing abilities that cannot be measured by tests.

Enough about us, let's talk about you - we can't wait to meet you! If you choose us, we look forward to having open communication with you throughout this process and in the future. We truly believe it is best for the child's well-being and identity if we keep in touch. We would also want you to know, anytime you want, that your child is happy and healthy in the life you chose for them. We will send you yearly pictures and letters as well as more frequent updates electronically if you wish. Are you a texter? Cause Sue is! We are also open to a visit before the baby is born to spend time with you as well as future visits that we all agree upon in regards to a schedule and location(s).

We want to be there for you during this journey and ease your worries about your child's future. With all of us wanting the best for this child, they will have an amazing start in life.

Yours Truly,

Dan & Sue