Rachel is American and Tim grew up in England. People often assume that we met online since we are from different countries and are surprised when they hear of our meant-to-be chance meeting.

Tim was road tripping across the USA with his best friend in 2007. During one of his stops in Florida he met Rachel who was out celebrating one of her best friend's birthday. We hung out together briefly and got to know each other that evening and exchanged contact information as Tim was due to continue his travels the very next day. Throughout the duration of his trip we stayed in touch.

Tim returned home to England, and just three weeks later booked another trip to Florida to spend more time with Rachel. Our families thought that we were a little crazy and thought it would be much easier to date someone from the same country, but you can't choose who you fall in love with. Thirteen years later we could not be happier and are so excited to grow our family!

It's fair to say that we are each other's best friends and we truly value the one-on-one time that we spend together. There are several hobbies that we enjoy together and we both have a few of our own individual activities.

Gardening is something that we both love, we have a big yard and enjoy getting creative together out there. When we need a break from getting our hands dirty, but still want to enjoy the outdoors, Tim will fire up the grill while we play boules or toss the ball with our dogs and have a few friends over. We cherish our evening walks and our dogs love to feel like the bosses of the neighborhood. When it gets too hot, as it often does in Florida, we enjoy doing puzzles and board games inside or cuddling up on the couch for a movie night. We both enjoy cooking and have recently been getting weekly meal kits and turning cooking dinner into mini date nights.

Individually, Tim is very active and enjoys physical hobbies like golfing, fishing, and running. Rachel is more artistic and enjoys crafting, doing nails, makeup, and interior design.

We are completely open to becoming a transracial family and it's something that we will both take very seriously. We are currently educating ourselves on the challenges of transracial adoption and make it a point to read as much as possible on the topic. We will first and foremost make sure to instill in our child that our differences are what make us strong, beautiful, and unique. Differences should never be feared, only embraced and proudly expressed. We promise to create an environment in which our child feels safe in expressing all the things that make them the unique individual that they are. One way we will do this is to ensure that our child has toys and role models that look like them. Rachel has an extensive library of children's books that explore racial diversity from her time working with children. Tim works in a racially diverse environment with several mixed race families. These relationships will be vital in ensuring that our child grows up around not only individuals that look like them, but families that look like theirs. We live in a diverse and accepting community and we believe that will help foster a safe and loving environment for our child to grow in.

Our city is incredibly supportive of families of all ages, with activities such as art and children museums, nature reserves, botanical gardens, and several beautiful lakes. Annual events throughout the summer and for every holiday make our city an ideal place to raise a child. We live in a safe and quiet neighborhood with families and kids of all ages. Our dogs, Frankie and Millie, have made friends with many children around the neighborhood on our evening walks.

Our house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a big fenced in back yard and right across the street from a lake. Rachel's favorite room in the house is her crafting room where she is able to engage in many of her favorite hobbies. Tim's favorite area is the living room where he enjoys watching summer thunderstorms and evening sunsets over the lake.

Just a short walk from our house is a neighborhood playground and numerous other exciting parks just a quick drive away. We can't wait to enjoy lake activities with our child, like canoeing, fishing, or watching the local water ski team. Community pools, tennis courts, and youth friendly golf courses are also right around the corner from our neighborhood.

Rachel's family consists of her mother, several aunts and uncles and an army of cousins. Unfortunately, Rachel has lost her sister and father which has understandably led to a very close bond with her mother. The majority of Rachel's family lives in our city so we get to spend time with them regularly. We have several family gatherings throughout the year like Easter and Thanksgiving. Everyone brings a signature dish and we play outdoor games with all of the little cousins. Rachel's mom comes over to our house at least 4 times a week and they enjoy doing home improvement projects, manicures and shopping trips together.

Tim's entire family lives in England where we visit them around every 18 months. Tim's older brother regularly visits us in Florida, in fact he'll be moving here permanently as he is engaged to a girl from Florida. We are so excited for Tim to have a bit of family stateside. Tim's parents come to Florida about once a year and they love to help us in the garden and unearth new treasures from our local antique stores. Tim's uncle and his family also vacation in Florida every summer so we always make a point to spend a couple of days with them at the beach.

Despite there being an ocean between us our families are especially close. Both of our parents have enjoyed long marriages of over 40 years and we're positive that one day we'll be able to say the same.

We are so incredibly grateful that you're taking the time to review our profile. We can't imagine the wave of emotions you must be experiencing regarding this monumental decision. You are doing something completely selfless and from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. Without brave women like you, people like us would probably never experience having a child. We have an enormous amount of love in our hearts for you and we will be praying daily for you and the baby.

While we of course have never been in your shoes, we have so much empathy for you and the challenges you have and will undoubtedly face. Our top priority throughout this journey will be to support you. If you decide that we are the family you desire for your child, we promise to never let either of you down. We would always respect your feelings on how much contact you would want to maintain with us throughout your child's life. It would be our honor to send you regular letters, pictures, and videos. Rachel loves chatting on the phone and calls would always be welcome. We would also be open to ongoing visits. It would honestly be up to you and we would respect whatever level of contact your heart desires.

If we are the parents you choose for your child, please know that would be the greatest blessing and most important responsibility of our lives. We will devote ourselves entirely to this baby and provide them with every opportunity you dream for them. Your child would grow up knowing all the best things about you and how much you love them. They will be loved fiercely everyday of their life.

We have been together for thirteen years and married for nearly twelve. We have experienced loss and heartache together and strengthened our bond over the years. Our relationship has been tested and every time we have proven that our bond is unbreakable.

Rachel has her master's degree in counseling. After graduating, she began working with children with special needs, primarily those on the autism spectrum. She did behavior therapy for a few years and learned many valuable parenting skills during that time. For the last two years, she has worked as a school counselor at a small nonprofit school for children with special needs. Being a stay-at-home mom is important to Rachel, so together we made the decision that she would step away from her position at the school. She's so excited for her new role as a full-time mom and is ready to devote herself completely to our child.

Tim works as a warehouse supervisor for a food distribution company. Tim's company supports his continual pursuit for growth through professional development courses and mentorship programs. Tim has been acknowledged for his hard work and dedication by winning his company's top award four years in a row. On the fourth one, he was also named Person of the Year and awarded with an all expenses paid week-long trip to Hawaii for the two of us.

We have a big extended family local to us that we are very close with and our child will grow up with lots of little cousins to play with. We live in a family friendly community with loads of functions throughout the year catered to children. Living in Florida, our child will get to experience the wonder of the outdoors and grow up on the beach, just like Rachel did. We can't wait to take our child on regular holidays to England, where Tim grew up, and introduce them to the culture over there. They will have a whole family waiting for them in England every time they visit.

We want to thank you again for allowing us to share our story with you. Rest easy in the fact that whatever choice you make for your child will be the right one.

Sincerely,

Tim & Rachel