We lead a casual lifestyle. We have fun in our own way and generally do our best to eat healthy and exercise, but we don't go to extremes. We enjoy going on long walks, hiking, driving to the mountains or the lake, talking, spending time together, or watching TV.

We are very blessed to have strong incomes, but we each grew up very modestly, so we each understand the value of time and money, and the importance of giving. We generally live by the principle of "others first" -- we tithe to our local church and we donate throughout the year to other organizations that we care about. We enjoy having the option to eat out if we want to, traveling internationally, and staying at nice hotels, but we don't indulge in any of those luxuries until after we've put others first. Giving is one of the central values in our relationship and it's a value we will instill in our children.

Our intention is to pursue private school education. Specifically, we have identified four Montessori schools in our area for early childhood education (through the 6th grade), and three private schools for upper school. Our motivation for a Montessori education is influenced by Kathleen's cousin's children--all six kids--who attended Montessori schools for their primary education, as well as friends who teach at Montessori schools in D.C. and New York. We believe in the science and philosophy of the Montessori method and have seen the significant academic advantage of children who are educated in the Montessori method. Our decision to pursue private school education is influenced by the significant academic, cultural, and athletic advantages offered by the three schools we're considering in our city. They are diverse, consistently ranked nationally in the math and sciences and athletics, and have a 90% or higher college acceptance rate. We have researched and understand the financial requirements necessary and have dedicated resources for our future children. In fact, Kathleen started a college savings fund several years ago.

We both grew up as minorities in our communities, and one of the most important lessons both of our parents taught us was to appreciate and love who we are and that we should love and appreciate others who are different from us. Of course, that doesn't mean being the only mixed kid in school (Thom), or being one of the few Asians (Kathleen) in the neighborhood was easy. But, we each learned a lot about healthy and unhealthy ways to manage challenges and difficult situations. We intend to explain and share cultural diversity through our own our cultural experiences and traditions, our love of international travel and ethnic foods, and through our close group of multi-cultural friends. We will also address cultural diversity through our decisions for books, toys, extracurricular activities, and through the education and schools we choose. We believe that the best we can do as parents is to protect our children from harm and equip them with tools (education and opportunity) to achieve their dreams.

We enjoy spending the holidays with our families, especially Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thom is particularly fond of road trips (especially with his best co-pilot, our dog Sarge), and Kathleen enjoys napping on car rides, so we both enjoy the driving! During the Thanksgiving holiday, we drive to Kathleen's parents and her brother meets us there. Along the way, we usually stop and spend a day or two with Thom's Aunts and Uncle. Once we arrive at Kathleen's parents, we enjoy a few days of watching football, eating plenty of food, playing board games, watching movies, walking on the beach, and just enjoying spending time together. Thom's sister's family lives only an hour from Kathleen's parents, so we also spend a few days with them during the Thanksgiving holiday. We enjoy playing with our niece and have created a tradition of doing a mini Christmas celebration with her.

When Christmastime arrives, we pack up and go on another road trip, this time visiting Thom's parents and his brother's family. Kathleen enjoys building gingerbread houses and decorating 'ugly Christmas sweater' cookies with nieces. Most of our time is spent hanging out, eating, playing games, laughing, and catching up. One of our niece's birthday is 12/24; Kathleen found an arcade/bowling alley/laser tag center that is open Christmas Eve every year and that day has become a fun tradition for everyone to celebrate the birthday. Kathleen is the reigning laser tag champion.

Our current neighborhood is a designated historic area and very diverse. We are less than three miles to the city, so we are just minutes away from multiple parks, open spaces, walking trails, a commuter train, professional football stadium and basketball arena, museums, and multiple cultural institutions. There is also hiking, kayaking, canoeing, farms, zoos, and other activities about a 30-minute drive from our home.

The city we live in is medium-sized but growing quickly because a lot of companies are moving here. And because we live so close to the center of the city, we're also close to all the major highways, so a trip to the mountains is a one-day roadtrip.

Our home is a four-story townhouse, so there's a lot of exercise everyday! What we love most about our home are the three balconies. So, even though we live in a townhome, we have a lot of outdoor space. Of course, our dog, Sarge, loves all the balconies (he's an expert sunbather!). We are excited to share our home and city with our child. Many of our immediate neighbors have babies and young children who are so excited to have more kids in the neighborhood.

Hello. We're Thom and Kathleen and we're a multi-racial family. Thom is Hispanic and Kathleen is Korean. Thom's father is Venezuelan and his mother is American. Between our families and extended families, languages, cultures, customs and traditions cross five continents and six countries.

We recently celebrated four years of marriage and in a few weeks, we will be celebrating 11 years of when we first met. It's amazing how long we've been together and how much we've grown together these past 11 years. We can't wait to see what our next 11 will bring, the next 11 after that, and the 11 thereafter. We'll be old and wrinkly. Your child, we hope, will be a vibrant and thriving adult who shares our love for life, our passion for giving, and embodies your hopes and dreams.

When people ask us about adoption, we don't have a clear answer, and we don't have one for you, either. It's a fire in Kathleen's heart that she's carried since she was a child. Her passion is shared by Thom, who knew before he knew Kathleen's last name, that Kathleen was going to adopt a child one day with or without him. At this time in our marriage, we have no biological children. We might someday. But, we're not pursuing adoption to fill a void. We are pursuing adoption because it's in our hearts.

So, what life plan do two strangers and a dog have for your child? We don't know. What we do know is this: We believe in the power of education. We love spending time with our families and friends. We love going on long walks and hikes. We love driving to the mountains and going to the beach. We love reading about different places...and then getting on a plane to experience it in person. We want to share all of this and more with your child. We hope that what we desire is the same as what you desire--to provide unending love, laughs, and giggles. To provide compassion. To be their rock and support. No matter the circumstance, to always begin and end each day with, "I love you."

We believe it's important for your child to know and understand that his/her adoption was an act of love and one way to be reminded of that love is to maintain a relationship with you, whether it's via phone, text, email, social media, or visits. With today's technology, there are so many creative ways to stay in touch--even our dog Sarge has his own Instagram account! And, while we are not the most tech-savvy people we know (we are probably the only people who don't know how to use TikTok or Snapchat), we are getting better at using social media and see that as an opportunity to stay in touch. We hope to keep you updated with milestones and memories throughout your child’s life so you always know that he or she is happy and thriving in our home.

Wherever you are in the adoption process, thank you for considering our family. We admire your strength in considering adoption and hope that our paths will meet some day. Wishing you peace and comfort during this time.

With love,

Thom & Kathleen