Since we love to travel so much, it's hard to pick a single favorite spot, but so far Alaska has been our favorite place to visit. A few years ago; we got the chance to view this extremely amazing state from its varying landscape of mountains to glaciers. It is such a calm and peaceful place with such a unique culture. We were able to hike a mountain, flyover in a helicopter and dogsled on a glacier, eat tiny donuts, and whale watch from a park bench. While doing all of those things we learned more and more about the people that live there and the history that shaped their way of life.

We love to travel! Our goal is to always visit someplace new and take in as much as we can while we are there. It is our dream to see as much of the world as time and money allow. We look forward to sharing our travels with a child and cannot wait to have new adventures as a family!

We love taking long walks around our neighborhood. Amanda's parents are nearby, so we'll actually walk over to visit when the weather is nice. We love to play games or just sit and chat in their sunroom.

At home in the evenings we both enjoy watching stand-up comedians, sitcoms and movies together: of course, with a large bowl of freshly popped popcorn!

We also enjoy cooking. Our house is always full of delicious smells; either from Paul's amazing meals or Amanda trying out a new baking recipe for everyone to try.

We try to visit the nearby zoo or aquarium, just a few hours away, at least once a year.

There is also a yearly week-long fall festival we like to visit where we'll snack on funnel cakes or kettle corn while we walk through the various booths and vendors. Of course, for the kids, there are carnival rides, games, and other activities to enjoy.

Individually, Paul likes trying out the latest video games with his coworkers and friends, and is taking some self-taught guitar lessons during his free-time. Amanda is a member of our church's choir and helps organize functions for our congregation.

We are very interested in learning your child's ethnic and cultural heritage so that we can be sure to add new traditions and influences into their life. We love to travel and therefore cannot wait to have a new travel companion to learn and discover new cultures and traditions. Places we visit and people we meet around the world will help us and your child to become acquainted with different points of view. Paul loves learning about historical places and cultural history by watching documentaries and reading, which helps to bring in new world views and cultural points of view. Both Paul and Amanda have several different ethnicities represented in their families that they see and visit often, including: Hispanic, African-American, and Filipino. Learning about one's culture, we feel, is just as important as encouraging the growth of one's individuality. We also consider incorporating different cultures into our lives as a blessing that helps us to see different points of view that we or others may not have the opportunities of seeing for themselves.

Kentucky is our home and we love all the advantages of our community. Our town, although part of a larger city, has several summer and fall activities of its own, including a farmers market, fall festival, outdoor-movies and fireworks. Not only are we near schools, community centers, and several parks with playgrounds; we also have great ice cream options!

We have a three bedroom ranch style house with one and a half bathrooms. We did most of the work to renovate the basement creating an amazing area for family movie-time, games, and recreation.

The street we live on has a mixture of both younger and elderly couples. The younger couples either have small children or are still growing their family, while the elderly couples have grandkids that visit frequently. Over the years of living in the neighborhood, we have discovered that it is great for taking long walks. We enjoy that our neighborhood is very quiet, making it the perfect place to learn to ride bikes and climb trees. Our backdoor opens up to a spacious fenced-in yard with more than enough room for a swing set, outdoor games, and family gatherings. Paul and Amanda are often found grilling in the backyard at all times of the year; we have also built a patio area and our very own garden boxes where we love to grow fresh vegetables. Next to our patio we have a firepit where we love to make s'mores, one of Amanda's favorites!

Both of us come from large, close-knit families. On the Holiday's we get together with parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, and siblings to celebrate and enjoy catching up on each other's lives. We will typically go to Paul's parents, who live in a rural area, to get away from the city for a day or two and to swim in their pool. Paul often talks about growing up with his brother and three sisters and how they would build forts, ride bikes and make paths through the woods. We have a yearly family reunion with Paul's side of the family where we enjoy playing volleyball, softball and other games.

Amanda's parents live down the street from us and we see them a couple times a week. They are excited to be new grandparents and are overjoyed to spend time with their grandchildren; they have also offered to help with child care if needed. Amanda has one older brother who is married and recently became a first-time father. Amanda and her brother work together, so they see each other almost daily. However, they are still sure to celebrate every birthday and holiday with the family. Amanda's extended side of the family has Christmas in northern Indiana every year. Some yearly activities we enjoy together are walking around our town's fall festival and visiting the aquarium just a few hours away; in fact we just had a blast taking our niece and Paul's sister for the day.

Hi There! We cannot tell you how absolutely thrilled we are that you are considering us to raise your child. We know that there has been a lot of care taken and prudent consideration to get this far. You are an amazing person to care for and carry a child for months to then make the dream of a family come true for a couple. The sacrifice that you are making to grow and bring life into this world is one of the biggest sacrifices and physically draining things a person can do. In our eyes you are brave and selfless and we support you in your challenging decisions. One of the best ways we feel we can thank you for this blessing is to promise to share updates and pictures with you. It is important to us that you have pictures and updates so that you have a continued feeling of comfort in knowing this child is cared for, loved, and encouraged to become their own person. Another way we feel we can thank you is by promising that we will love this child and care for them like all children deserve. In addition to our love and support, our family and friends will be there along the way to offer theirs as well. Just as we were shown encouragement and love from our families throughout our lives, there is no doubt in our minds this child will be loved unconditionally.

For some background, we met around 15 years ago. While we knew very early on in our relationship that we wanted to get married, we took our time and made it through college before finally (as Amanda would say) getting married. We are in a very loving and committed relationship and we love to share new experiences with each other. We have also been able to share that love and enthusiasm for life with our nieces and nephews but cannot wait to share that passion and love everyday with a child. As a married couple of seven years and counting, we feel it is important to be able to share our life-experiences, traditions, and energy with a child. There is not only excitement around watching a child learn and grow when they are young, but also in witnessing and encouraging their personality and individualism as they grow into adults. We are excited to be the people in this child's life that believes in and supports their hopes, dreams, and aspirations.

We started our marriage knowing we wanted children but did not know the journey we would take to have a family. Since we have been unable to have children of our own, adoption is the only path we see as the way to grow our family. Although it was not our original plan, we know we will still love this child with all of our being. It is impossible to know the outcome of adoption, but regardless, we will continue to love and support each other unconditionally. We pray every day that we will be blessed with a child to love, teach, and support.

It is important to us that you know we care for both this child's well-being as well as yours. As you continue throughout your journey, not only do we hope you find the support we are able to offer helpful and encouraging, but also that you know you are not alone. You can always ask for pictures and updates whenever needed or just because you want them. Again, we cannot thank you enough for all the time and consideration you have given to helping us grow our family.

Paul & Amanda