We are blessed with a beautiful daughter, Ellen Ruth. Named after both of her grandmothers, Ellie is a curly-haired bundle of energy: empathetic, generous, and brave. She loves to pet all the neighborhood dogs, swim at the pool, pester her older brother, and connect with new people - despite having only a few words. Ellie was diagnosed with a number of developmental delays, so we celebrate as an entire family when she reaches each next milestone. We love to hear her laugh or get a flash of her bright smile and we work hard to provide her with all the resources she needs to grow.

Seth is our oldest and the outgoing and talkative "mayor" of our street. He loves to goof off and is constantly coming up with new ways of having fun - like making a new version of s'mores (all marshmallow and chocolate, no cracker), leaving snacks for the fox that visits his window at night, and insisting that the rocks ("aka jewels") he collects from the neighborhood creek give him unique super powers. Seth is also a kind boy who makes sure his friends feel included and his little sister is by his side for the fun.

We both grew up in larger families and feel that our family is not yet complete. Adoption was something we had always desired since the beginning of our marriage. Now, we are confident it is the next step to expand our family.

About Robyn:

About Kyle:

While we are both Caucasian, we grew up in families with an openness to other cultures and an unwavering belief that we are all made in God's image. Kyle's family hosted international students over school breaks so he was exposed to many cultures at a young age: he even mastered chopsticks as a 5 year-old by using them to eat popcorn! Robyn's neighbors hosted exchange students and those friendships led to reunion trips to Italy and Russia. Our love for other cultures drew us to study International Relations at Georgetown University - where we met each other - and to study abroad in France and Senegal, West Africa. Robyn also worked for a human rights non-profit that sent her frequently to Africa before we started having children.

As a married couple, we have continued this tradition - volunteering with international student ministries for ten years and most recently, opening our home to a student from Brazil named Bianca. We love the new languages and perspectives Bianca brings: from teaching us how to cook authentic rice and beans, to singing songs with our kids in Portuguese, to stories of Brazil's rich culture but challenging living conditions.

This thread of cultural diversity is one we expect to continue as we expand our family through adoption. We look forward to learning new cultures, adopting new traditions, and expanding our circle of family and friends to include those from the ethnic and cultural background of your child.

We love our suburban neighborhood nestled in beautiful Fairfax County, Virginia. When we moved in, we learned it was nicknamed "the Friendly Corridor" for good reason. Our closest friends live next door and down the street and our two children enjoy playing with the kids in the neighborhood: bike rides, tag, lemonade stands, and exploring the wooded trails and nearby creeks. Doing life together has become even more precious during the pandemic and we are meeting each other's needs in new ways: "learning pods" to make virtual Kindergarten more interactive, grocery and TP drop offs, and driveway chats 6 ft apart!

Like many people in the Washington, D.C. area, we didn't grow up here. This helps us appreciate the diversity of our neighborhood filled with many mixed families, first generation immigrants, retirees and young families, and their multiple religious and political perspectives. We love getting together at block parties and pool events with a healthy curiosity for learning more about each other's background and sharing a common bond that prioritizes giving our kids the best future we can.

We feel blessed to enjoy our 5-bedroom, 3 bathroom home on a quiet street. We spend most of our time outside in our 1/3 acre yard, playing ball, riding the toy jeep, gardening, BBQing on our back deck or roasting s'mores on our brick patio.

Kyle grew up on a cattle farm near Wichita, Kansas. Robyn grew up in a small town outside of Nashville, Tennessee. We each have two siblings and value the close friendships we have with them. Ever since we left home to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., we prioritize trips to our hometowns at least once a year. On trips to the farm, our children have "helped" with wheat harvest, getting tractors stuck in mud, feeding cattle, and naming the numerous baby kittens. In the evenings, Kyle and his brother and sister often stay up into the early hours of the morning, exchanging stories and catching up on each other's lives.

On trips to Robyn's hometown, we enjoy catching crawdads in the creek, playing cards (watch out for grandpa!), listening to live bluegrass music, and strolling down historic main street with some ice cream. Robyn's sisters come by to spoil the kids since theirs are now already in college. Robyn's parents also have a second home in Florida and it has become our favorite vacation spot: fishing at the dock, watching dolphins in the bay, and we always seem to make time for a stop at our favorite ice cream drive-thru on the way to the beach.

Our family is tremendously supportive of our adoption plan and is already counting down the days until we welcome this child into our family.

We are humbled and thankful that you have taken the time to consider our family. We recognize that there are many tough choices and difficult decisions ahead. Please know that we are already praying for you daily! Our hope with this letter is to convey our gratitude to you as well as create a vision of the life we will provide for our children.

A little about us ... we met through mutual friends at college through a ride to church. Robyn joked she never thought she would fall for a guy because of the car he drove, but in a way, that's exactly what happened. After long conversations about life, we started dating for what became a four-year relationship while Robyn finished undergrad and Kyle started his career in telecommunications. We married young, age 22 and 27 respectively. We've had our share of struggle- from simple communication style conflicts, to losing Kyle's mom to cancer, to creating the right life/work balance. Now at fourteen years of marriage, we've learned a lot about listening, respect, and forgiveness and we can confidently say that we are more in love today than when we first said "I do."

We have built a fulfilling and meaningful life through hard work, perseverance, and a hope anchored in our faith in God. We are blessed with a beautiful home, a happy loving marriage, and two wonderful children, Seth and Ellie, but we both feel something is still missing. It might be because of our own experiences as siblings of three - with exposure to blended, adopted, and culturally open families - we both desire to add a third child to our family. Even our oldest started talking about another baby. During Robyn's pregnancy with Ellie, she had complications and was required to remain on bed rest for many months. Ellie was born full-term and healthy, but has since been diagnosed with several developmental delays. Over the last year we have immersed ourselves in the special education community and have been amazed at the progress Ellie has already made. We both love to travel internationally - in our opinion, the more distant and different the better. This allows us to see first-hand the beauty and diversity of creation and to meet some truly incredible people along the way, but it also drives us to form new, open, grateful and generous perspectives on life. We have been blessed with many stamps in our passports already, and hope one day to share these experiences with each of our children. For now, while our children are still young, we are content to teach them about this diversity in our everyday lives, through support of our church's international student ministry, serving as a host family for a Brazilian student, and engaging naturally in the diversity in our neighborhood and school with many mixed race and immigrant families.

We look forward to opening our family up to new cultures and traditions through adoption, and expect to expand our circle of family and friends accordingly. We want to share this child's culture and heritage with them so they feel complete, understanding their roots and embracing their background. We strongly believe that the more people who invest in and love a child, the better off they will be in life. We would love to share with you - to the extent you desire - photos, phone calls, and even future in person visits, whatever makes you feel comfortable and confident with your decision.

You are an incredibly courageous person who has already shown great selflessness, strength and compassion with your actions. As parents ourselves, we are humbled by the decisions ahead of you and the range of emotions that you must be experiencing. It's our genuine desire to offer you a family and friendship that helps you feel hopeful about the future.

Kyle & Robyn