We love spending time with our family and friends. Just about every weekend you can find us going to the lake or the pool, going to ball games, going to cookouts, or going to family gatherings. We have a great group of friends, most of whom have kids so we are always doing something enjoyable. We might be spending the weekend at a friend's lake cabin, visiting friends in Colorado, or just cooking out on a Saturday afternoon watching some baseball.

We also love to travel. Whether we are traveling by ourselves or with a group we always have a good time. We try and enjoy the local cultures, whether international or domestic. We enjoy going to the beaches of Mexico, skiing in Colorado, and taking road trips all over this great country. We recently took a long road trip all the way from Texas to Minnesota with some friends and we laughed and had a good time the entire way. In the Fall we spend a lot of time keeping up with our favorite football teams, especially the Texas A&M Aggies. We love getting together with friends to watch the games and we try and travel to at least one away game each season to see new places and experiences the different atmospheres.

AJ About Tara: Tara is my best friend and I can't imagine spending my life with anyone else. We have such a great time together, always making each other laugh and supporting each other when we're down. She is a great homemaker and without her I would be lost. I know that she is going to provide that same love and care to a child and I can't wait to see her as a mom. I love watching her interact with our nieces, taking care of them when they need it, making them laugh when they need it, but also keeping them in line when they need it. She is a hard worker and I know she will work hard to provide a child with loving home and joyful life.

Tara About AJ: AJ is one of the greatest men I know and my best friend. AJ is a patient, kind, and loving person who always puts family first. His loyalty to friends and family makes me respect him even more. He is a selfless man, that lives to please the ones he cares for most. His patience never ceases to amaze me and he always thinks through a situation and finds a possible solution. AJ is a hard worker and takes providing for me very seriously and is ready to provide for our new little one as well. He absolutely adores children. He is a kid at heart and enjoys playing as much as the kids do. There isn't a child that doesn't light up when AJ is in the room. He is truly a favorite playmate of many of our friends kids and our nieces and nephews.

We both have plenty of great family traditions that we cannot wait to continue with a child. Some of the bigger traditions include a family Easter egg hunt, weenie roast and hay ride, and Christmas games. For Easter we gather with lots of family members and everyone brings their eggs for hunting. The adults usually hide a couple hundred eggs and all the kids can't wait to start the hunt. We usually end with the adults having to go back and find the eggs the kids gave up on!

In late October we get together on a Friday or Saturday night with family and friends and have a weenie roast and hay ride. We have a bonfire and roast hot dogs, make s'mores, and maybe listen to a high school football game on the radio. This tradition has been going on for over 50 years and we look forward to it every year.

At Christmas time one of our many family gatherings includes Tara's extended family mixing it up and playing games and having a gift exchange. We might play charades to determine who opens the next gift, or maybe holiday movie trivia to determine who swaps with who. No matter what we do we always have a good time celebrating the holiday and visiting with family.

We are currently living in a wonderful apartment in the heart of the cultural district. We love all the nearby amenities, however, it is our plan to ultimately move back to the suburbs to raise a child. We both grew up in the suburbs and we want to provide this child with the room to play and grow and the support that smaller communities can provide. We will be purchasing a home that is a short drive from grandparents, siblings, and other extended family so we will have plenty of opportunity to make memories with family and friends.

Our apartment is walking distance to tons of restaurants, museums, convention centers, and just a few minutes drive from the zoo, parks, shopping, and many more great amenities.

We love decorating our home for the holidays and enjoy being able to host friends and family for special occasions, game nights, or just to visit.

We both come from large extended families and enjoy spending time with them every chance we get. Tara is an only child and AJ has a younger sister. We have 2 nieces that are ages 3 and 6 and love playing games and swimming with them. We both have several cousins close to our age and those cousins have young kids ranging in age from newborn to 8 years old.

AJ's parents live just a short drive away. They are very excited to share their love with this child. Tara's parents are retired and they bought a travel trailer to enjoy their free time. They are currently in Arizona volunteering in a national park and they intend to move back home to enjoy being grandparents.

The majority of our extended family lives in the area so we get together for every holiday or special event you can think of. Tara's family loves getting together at Christmas time to exchange gifts and play cards, charades, and other fun games. AJ has an uncle with a lake house and the family enjoys getting together at the lake to go boating, fishing, having fish fries, and playing games.

Our entire family is so supportive and they are looking forward to creating memories with this child.

Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us a little bit. We understand that the decision before you is not an easy one, but we want to assure you that we will provide your child with a loving, fun, and stable home. We know that the decisions and emotions you are going through are stressful and we want to give you comfort that we will be able to provide the happy life you want for your child.

A few years into our marriage we decided to start our family but we were faced with challenges, faced with having to grieve a loss, and faced with the hard reality that being able to start our own family naturally was not in the cards for us. Although those were very hard times, facing those struggles together only strengthened our relationship and we are ready to start this next journey together.

We want you to know that your child would be coming to a stable home, with lots of love and laughter. We have been together for 18 years and recently celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary. Our families are so excited for us and they can't wait to start creating new memories as a family. We have a couple of nieces, several cousins with children, and most of our friends have children so we have a strong network to lean on and plenty of playmates for your child. We spend lots of time with family and friends celebrating special occasions or just getting together to visit and have fun. We also love travelling and can't wait to experience travelling with a child and seeing their joy when they experience new things.

Growing up we both had so many experiences that we have fond memories of and we can't wait to create memories like them with a child. We remember the family road trips, camping in the mountains, weekends at the lake, holiday fun, and many more experiences that we are so anxious to share with a child. Having fun is important but we also recognize the value in a good education and strong work ethic which is why we plan to provide this child with great educational opportunities and be strong role models that he or she can look up to.

We want you to know that we are open to sharing pictures and letters so you can see how loved and happy your child is. We will be open and honest with the child about their adoption, providing them as much information about you as we can. We will let them know how much we respect you and that it was your great love for them that allowed us the opportunity to bring them into our family and love and care for them.

It is hard to put into words the excitement we feel when we think about bringing a child into our family, but we know we are ready. We know your decision is not an easy one, but we are grateful that you are considering us and we admire your strength and love for your child.

Sincerely,

AJ & Tara