What matters most to us is our time together! We prioritize being a family and love nothing more than to spend our days together. Natalie is a stay at-home parent who manages our small business. Beau has a flexible work schedule that optimizes his family time. This extends to time spent with our extended families and friends turned family.

We travel as often as we can, with Birdie in tow. We are an incredibly active family who enjoys hiking, surfing, skiing and spending time outdoors. We love adventure and try to seek out new experiences everywhere we go. Birdie is the most excellent travel companion and completed her first international trip to Ireland when she was one years old. We play traditional Irish sports called Hurling and Camogie, and love to travel to tournaments with our friends and their children.

We own and run a small real estate business where we buy and renovate homes in our area. We are passionate about reinvesting in our own community. We are an active family who loves being together as much as possible.

Natalie About Beau: Beau is undoubtedly the most loving person I know. I tell him that when I first met him his energy hummed, that I had never before met someone with that much happiness and love for life. His positive energy was catching. As we've weathered the hard stuff in the past ten years we've been together, I've had the privilege to see what real love looks like. It's not all butterflies but hard work, compromise and yes sometimes cleaning the kitchen sink. He has stood strong when I could not, he is safe and where he is, is my home. Not only is he a dedicated partner but a wonderful, consistent and fun Daddy. Watching him parent Birdie is the best thing ever.

Beau About Natalie: Natalie is the most solid person I know. She loves hard and has big feelings about everything. I was first attracted to her drive and independence. I always told her that she did not need someone to take care of her but I wanted to take care of her. We work hard to co-parent effectively. We probably over communicate since we are partners in every aspect of our lives. She is always crafting new adventures for our family. Natalie is a gentle, patient and silly Mom. She makes sure our daughter is always our priority. She manages our busy lives, with a big smile.

While our love can serve as a strong foundation, we know that it is not enough. We want to emphasize that we commit to growing and learning how to parent a child whose race is not our own. We will support our children in understanding and developing their racial and cultural identity.

We believe that your child's culture and heritage is of upmost importance. We will do everything in our power to make sure they feel celebrated, strong and important. While we cannot predict every obstacle in parenthood, we can prepare and advocate for your child in the best way possible.

The most important thing we've learned as parents, is to ask for help when you need it. Our community and neighborhood offer diversity. We take steps to offer Birdie diversity in our lives, travel, literature and friendships.

While we have been a part of this community for quite some time we've been in our current home four years now. We fully renovated it ourselves. It is a spacious three- bedroom, brick ranch full of light. We love our outdoor space and how near we are to the lake.

Our neighborhood is one of the oldest in this area, with large 100-year-old trees. It has winding paths throughout that encircle the lake, perfect for exploring and bike riding. It is the perfect mixture of established and young families. We live within miles of beaches, playgrounds and parks. We are minutes away from historic districts and national parks. There is a community pool and basketball courts within walking distance.

We have had the unique pleasure of being a part of our community since early childhood. We have established a strong network of support.

A majority of our families live within miles of our home. They are absolutely wonderful. Both sets of grandparents are beyond excited to have another baby join our family. Everyone in our lives is supportive and excited about our adoption plans.

Natalie's parents, Lolly and Pop, have a playground and swimming pool. Their home is full of songs and snacks. Lolly loves decorating and celebrating all the holidays in special ways. They are retired and adore spending time with their grandchildren.

Natalie's brother and sister in-law, live locally. We followed them to this neighborhood! Their three children; Reagan, Tanner and Camden are Birdie's built-in besties.

Beau's mom and dad, Nana and Pa, live on a large piece of land and have an expansive garden. They spend countless hours loving on and chasing Birdie around their backyard. They encourage our daughter to learn through exploration. She loves to help them maintain their garden and care for all their animals.

Beau's brother Arin, and partner Aunt AJ live in the mountains, only hours away. We see them often, hiking their property and building tree swings.

Hi! We are so thankful you are here reading this open letter.

While we know we cannot fully shine through in this letter or our photos, we want you to know that we are happy. We are fully committed to each other, our lives and our children. Our goal is for our family to feel safe and loved. We love adventure and value creativity. Our love story is approaching a decade, and it's founded in honesty, laughter and grit.

We met many years ago in high school, but our love happened years later. While we knew little about each other then but when our paths crossed later in life we instantly knew it was something special. We said "I love you" after a month together and haven't looked back. Our ninth wedding anniversary is this October.

Becoming parents was a difficult journey for us. While we became quickly and joyfully pregnant, our first daughter, Piper Kai, was stillborn. Then our daughter, Birdie Kai, had a rough start to life, born prematurely, needing emergency medical care. Both of our girls suffered, separate but similar difficulties with their umbilical cords. Our medical team said we were 1/10,000, like lightning striking the same person twice. When they lifted our Bird above that curtain our whole lives changed. We knew we would do anything and everything to make sure we stood strong as she navigates this life. She is actual magic and our favorite part of every day.

We are called again and again to add another baby to our home. We talked about adoption, driving home from the beach, on our second date. We are ready to expand our little family through adoption. Our entire family and all of our friends are so excited and supportive. Birdie is telling everyone how she will get to be a big sister.

We know what love is and also that it isn't always enough. In order to cultivate a life together and to parent our daughter in a way that's deserving we've remained determined and dedicated. Marriage and parenting isn't all rainbows, it's effort, compromise and asking for help when you need it.

Our home extends beyond our walls. It's in our families, friendships and our community. It's beautiful and we commit ourselves to making sure you become a part of our home. That you and your family are a part of our dialogue. We are committed to staying in touch with letters and pictures and open to creating a plan together. We don't have all the answers, but we will continue to educate ourselves to make the best decisions we can for our children.

We cannot or will not pretend to know the difficult and complex emotions you are holding on this journey, we hope to join you and wrap you up in our hearts. Our respect for you has no bounds. Thank you again and again for reading this, we would love to speak with you.

With love and gratitude,

Beau & Natalie