You can say that we live where most people vacation, but we cannot pick just one spot. We have different favorite spots for different reasons. First, we love Disney World because of the feeling of being a kid again. The joy of spending time with the family and enjoying all the traditional rides. We also love the food and attention to detail. Being so close to Disney, we cannot wait to take our child to experience the magic and see the wonder through their young eyes.

Second, we love the National Parks for the beauty and the gift this country has given to the world in preserving nature. From the crisp air at Yosemite, the vastness of the Grand Canyon or the majesty of the Grand Tetons, the parks allow us to commune with nature and help us appreciate a world that is a stark contrast to the technology and business of everyday life.

And lastly, we love Paris. It’s a city that is literally made up of Art and History. Both of us studied history in college. Brian majored in history and Erich minored in it. As a city with so much beauty, history and stories, there is so much to love about it and we look forward to showing it to our child.

Our most memorable moment was when we got married in 2014. At the time, it was not legal for us to get married in our home state, but we decided it was the right time for us to make the commitment. We traveled to California to get married, visit friends and also enjoy a few national parks on the West Coast.

We were married in a beautiful court house in San Francisco. Although we made a commitment to each other a long time before, the moments saying our vows out loud before others was a moment we will never forget. The ceremony was simple but beautiful. As the officiant declared that we were now married, a woman observing from the balcony started clapping. We could literally feel our hearts burst from the joy of the moment and the love around us. It was a beautiful sign of us committing to each other and acceptance from a random stranger.

Our promise to you is to love your child unconditionally. We want to help mold, teach, nurture and provide guidance from childhood to adolescence. Our promise is to keep you informed of all the progress made (good and bad) if that is what you would like. The child has birth parents and adoptive parents and we want the child have a sense of where they came from and that they are loved. Our promise is to provide a well-balanced education and opportunities to go to experience other cultures and the world around us including sporting events, theater, cultural events, and the arts. Our promise to you is that the child will be able to travel and see the world and learn to respect all cultures. Our promise is to accept the child for all that they are and let them know all the possibilities this world has to offer. We've both been fortunate enough to have so many amazing opportunities and experiences and we want to share that with the child and more.

We are very fortunate that our families are extremely close and we have created a big blended family. Erich's mother lives three minutes away and Brian's parent's live 25 minutes away. Both families like to vacation together, celebrate birthdays and celebrate the holidays together. With our blended families and travels, we have incorporated different cultural foods into our traditions. When we get together the time is usually spent at Brian's sister's pool (we do live in Florida after all), playing games or just talking and enjoying each other's company. Our hope is that this child will feel at home with his/her grandparents/uncles/aunts/cousins. Erich's mother is so excited to help cook, teach and shower her future grandchild with hugs and lots of love. The child's cousins are looking forward to playing video games, board games and taking a "big brother/sister" role.

We think what makes our family great is that we have a little bit of everything. We have people who are loud and lively, but we also have people that are very quiet and reserved. We have a perfect complement of those that love to cook and those that just love to eat. We have well rounded family members that read, travel, are informed and want to contribute to our community and to society.

We have lived in the same house for 11 years. Our home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms; however, we spend most of our time in the living room watching TV or spending time with our family. Our home is in a beautiful quiet neighborhood. We have a golf course, city parks, and even a giant historic swimming pool all within walking distance. We are fortunate to be in the middle of everything, yet have the privacy of a small area. We are near movie theaters, restaurants, hospitals, and gardens. We are only about 20 minutes from the ocean and we spent our childhood summer vacations enjoying the beach.

Our neighborhood also has plenty of children for the child to play with and great schools for them to attend. What we love about our neighborhood is that there is always something to do. Our city has so much to offer such as art festivals, farmers markets, libraries, and carnivals and holiday activities. Our favorite time of the year is Christmas time. We love to light up the entire outside of the house with colorful Christmas lights and decorate the whole house (every room) in the spirit of the holidays. We go all out and each room with a specific theme (like the Nightmare before Christmas, Nutcrackers and Disney characters).

Thank you for taking the time to consider us. We understand this is a difficult decision and we want you to feel as comfortable as possible in this process. It is a huge decision and we hope that we can put your worries at ease. We promise that your child will be cared for, nurtured, protected, and most importantly loved.

Here is a little about us so you can get to know us better. While we went to the same university and had many of the same friends, we did not meet until a few years later (through a mutual friend). We immediately felt a connection between one another. Two days later we started dating…that was 17 years ago (we’ve been married for 6 of them). We are both bankers that live in a beautiful and quiet neighborhood near a lot of parks and great schools, but most importantly near both our families.

We both come from a diverse background including Cuban, German, and Irish ancestry on Brian’s side and Cuban, English, Scottish, and Costa Rican ancestry on Erich’s side. Brian tends to be the quiet and reserved one of us with a love of movies, baking, travel, and superheroes and looks forward to sharing those passions with a child. Erich is the easy-going fun loving one of us. Humor and laughter are a part of how he embraces life and he will do whatever he can to bring a smile and a laugh to his friends and family. He loves to read, exercise, meditate and to watch or listen to anything Oprah related.

Disney and the holidays are near and dear to both of our hearts and we are incredibly excited to sharing a lot of the traditions that we both grew up with. Some of our favorite and most treasured memories are going to Disney with our two nieces during the holidays and experiencing it through their eyes. Travel has been a big part of our lives since we met and we’ve been lucky enough to be able to do it with our families. We believe traveling is important in raising awareness and respect of other races and cultures in children. We’ve been blessed to be able to see many amazing places and look forward to showing the world to a child.

We are incredibly excited to grow our family through adoption. Being a same sex couple, adoption was not an option a few years ago where we live. We are fortunate that times have changed and society is more accepting. We are eager to embrace the process and bring a child into our lives. Our families are incredibly supportive and excited about our decision to adopt. Erich has two adopted cousins and the family is eager for more.

As parents, we want to instill values of giving back to society, having manners, and respect for everyone. We want the child to have a wonderful education with great teachers and the ability to study whatever he/she chooses. For us, getting an education, is not just about learning from text books but applying hands on learning and how to take care of themselves and appreciate the things they have.

We know adoption is an emotionally complicated and a changing process for everyone. We know those feelings may change over time and are open to whatever role you choose to play. We are happy to stay in contact with you and send you regular email updates & pictures. We believe that honesty is very important and want to be open with your child as to where they came from and the love that went behind the decision. We know this is not an easy decision and we have a great respect for the courage & love you are showing in this. Thank you again for taking the time to learn about us.

Sincerely,

Brian & Erich