We are a very active couple. We love spending time outside enjoying nature and seeing the sites in surrounding areas. Most weekends we visit loved ones and check out places together. Some of our favorites are the Ferry Market in San Francisco, a year-round outdoor/indoor farmer's market right next to the water. We also love going to Golden Gate Park to see the many gardens and museums. Taking in the scenery at Monterey Bay is another favorite past time. We enjoy having potlucks with good food, friends and family and Keith is especially a great cook!

There is plenty to do in our town as well. There are many educational centers near us including an art center offering children's classes in drawing, watercolor, textiles, and more. There is also an international center that offers cultural programming like cooking classes, dance, and language classes for kids and families. The city pools offer swimming lessons to children of different ages year-round with indoor and outdoor pools and there are several different summer camps for children too. We would love for our child to join in any of these experiences that might be of interest.

We would be thrilled to adopt a child of any race/ethnicity. In our personal and professional work, we strive to support communities of color and those who are underrepresented/underserved. We realize as a Caucasian couple that we will always be learning and filling in knowledge gaps in understanding disparities, discrimination and oppression. We have been actively seeking out educational opportunities for much of our personal and professional lives and have formed lifelong friendships with individuals and communities outside of our racial/cultural makeup. We have also received training in transracial adoption and we regularly read books/articles surrounding ourselves with support groups so that we in turn can better support and serve communities of color as their friends and neighbors. Rebecca has a master's degree in African Studies and took a number of classes in African American Studies (arts, literature, music) as an undergraduate student.

Adoption has absolutely always been our first choice in starting a family and it has been our lifelong dream to be parents. We continue to educate ourselves on the supportive role we can provide in maintaining a meaningful and loving lifelong relationship with our child's biological parents which is unique to adoption. Together for 16 years and married for the last 5 years, we have talked for years about growing our family specifically through adoption. We have so much love to give and are so excited to have a child.

Having stepped into a primary caregiving role parenting an infant for close to the first 11 months of her life until her family was able to care for her, we are familiar with life's struggles and are passionate about helping others and making positive change in this world. In the days following the baby's birth, we stayed with the baby at the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for two weeks, always by her side. Devoted to her, we advocated for her needs to be met. In our home the baby immediately became the center of our world. She thrived and in time overcame her medical conditions. We loved taking care of her every need and were overjoyed helping her meet milestones every step of the way witnessing her becoming the incredibly smart social butterfly she is. We read and sang to her in different languages from the very beginning and took her on many adventures with friends and family across California. A few highlights include visiting beaches, aquariums, botanical gardens and forest preserves. We would love to provide a lifetime of that same love and support for our child.

Originally from the Midwest, we live in a mid-size California city that is also a university campus town. We are so fortunate to live within a one-hour radius of major cities; the ocean and beaches; redwoods; mountains; rivers and more. Located near the heart of the downtown (only a few blocks away), we love walking or biking to community events; the farmers market; cultural festivals; and campus family-friendly programs. We live near a local library, elementary school and park with tennis courts, city pools, bike paths (one of which leads to a nice pond), and soccer fields. There are annual arts and culture events like the Juneteenth Celebration celebrating African American history and campus Powwow celebrating Native American heritage.

Our neighborhood is very family friendly, multicultural, inter-generational, welcoming and inclusive. We live close by friends with young children and often go to parks to hang out together with no shortage of nature to explore!

Our home has two spacious bedrooms with plenty of natural light, large picture windows and closet storage, one bath and a nice porch. We live in a quiet neighborhood with many trees and beautiful surrounding gardens and green spaces. We have two sweet cuddly pets: a Pomeranian named Gilbert and a cat named Beatrice. They love napping and lounging in the sunshine and are very sociable. We enjoy sitting outside in the evenings and taking in the stars and cricket sounds.

We enjoy spending quality time with friends, family and their children, including cooking; relaxing at home or at potlucks; playing games; watching movies; going to community events; and spending time at the beach, botanical gardens and forest preserves.

Much of our family lives in Chicago and in Central Illinois and we travel home regularly for holiday celebrations. We call daily to check in on loved ones and hear the latest news from back home. We are especially close to our niece who is now 16. Any chance we get, we love to spend time with her visiting museums, going out for ice cream, going to the community pool, helping with homework, spending time at the library, playing volleyball or soccer, and watching movies. We also took her on her first plane trip to New York City visiting Central Park, the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island and many other places. She also spent two summers with us going to a history camp where Rebecca worked.

We have a wonderful extended family of friends and their children right here in sunny California and feel very at home in this state. We regularly visit friends in Northern and Southern California with plenty of new sites to see.

Our family is unique in that they love to travel and learn about other cultures. Our family enjoys bringing international friends together, trying new foods and celebrating togetherness. We are fortunate to have warm and welcoming loved ones who are very excited and supportive of our adoption plan. We truly have a wonderful network of loving, caring friends and family.

We sincerely thank you for reading this letter. We understand this is a difficult time as you consider many paths for you and your child. We respect you, are thinking of you and wishing you all the best this world has to offer.

We have absolutely always wanted to grow our family specifically through adoption as our first choice. We have talked about adoption since we first began dating and have sought to educate ourselves on meeting the particular needs of our child and their biological parents in an open or semi/open adoption. We are an incredibly fun loving, adventurous, spirited, and warm-hearted couple. We love meeting new people and cherish our relationships with family members and long-time friends. It has been our lifelong dream to provide a loving, joyful and supportive home for a child, cheering them on every step of the way.

Having been together for 16 years, we love and care deeply for each other. We met at a local coffee shop in Keith's hometown where Rebecca worked at the time and the conversations kept flowing with us always challenging each other to grow and expand our world view. We have since traveled the globe together (Spain, Morocco, Greece, Italy and more), worked many jobs, put ourselves through graduate school, and settled into our careers all while navigating life's many ups and downs.

We both work at a university. Rebecca does environmental education outreach working with students and community members putting on family friendly programs throughout the year for all age groups. Keith specializes in community development helping maintain resources and wealth within communities. We are very fortunate to have flexible work schedules with generous time off, benefits and opportunities to work from home. Rebecca will also work part-time so that she can spend more time with our child. We have a close-knit community of family and friends we can rely on to provide support as well.

We talk daily about the state of the world and how we can make positive change and advocate for others. Working in university positions, we are very fortunate to have a racially/ethnically diverse group of friends and colleagues. We value community, education, honesty, respect and open communication. We would love to be able to share these qualities with our child.

We greatly admire your considering the best path for you and your child. Should you choose adoption, we would honor and celebrate your role and you would always be welcome. Depending on your wishes, we would welcome you like family. Based on your preferences, we are committed to sending you regular updates via texts, emails, letters and photos and visiting during special occasions or holiday celebrations.

We will be absolutely devoted to your child and assure you that we will provide a loving, caring and peaceful home where they will always be cherished. We are looking forward to sharing your child's adoption story with them so your child knows how much they are loved by you and us. It's our desire that our child be proud of who they are and where they come from and that they have a strong sense of identity, history and understanding of their ties with their family of origin. Please know that if we are chosen for your child, we would work tirelessly to show them how much they are loved, respected and cared for.

We appreciate you taking the time to read about our family.

With respect and wishing you love and light.

Keith & Rebecca