Our daughter is two years old and is such a ray of sunshine. Watching her grow and experience the world has been an incredible privilege. We are in constant awe at her energy and enthusiasm for the world. Her presence has opened our lives to so much joy and love. Her presence has driven us to engage with so many new experiences and activities that bring us all so much happiness. Our daughter has also been the largest reason behind our recent move to connect her to her cousins of a similar age. While we are unable to give her a biological sibling we look forward to helping guide her in her role as an older sister. We are so excited to bring this child into our home and facilitate a positive sibling experience.

From our first meeting gaming has been a large part of our lives. We love spending time playing a board game from our collection. Yard games are also a big love of ours, whether together or with friends and family we love being outdoors and getting to play everything from cornhole and bocce to kubb and even kickball. Video gaming is also a fun pastime in our home. We enjoy playing both independently and together to test our skills and relax.

Since moving to Michigan we have found ourselves outside constantly! We spend most of our week at various parks, outdoor events, or walking around the neighborhood. Being outdoors has been a great way to connect with our daughter and we are so excited to share this excitement with this child.

Education is also deeply important to our family. Prior to his role as a stay at home father, Mike spent 15 years as a high school math teacher. Our hope is to instill a love of learning with this child through activities and by example. Our current daughter is enrolled in a nature based preschool, and we also follow a preschool curriculum at home with her.

We are fortunate to live in a highly diverse community. From our school systems, to our grocery stores, to our medical appointments we are able to interact with people from many diverse backgrounds. Our community is a great backbone from which we have been able to meet other adoptive parents and learn more about the need for a strong cultural influence for this child. We know the importance of being part of a cultural community and will work consistently to ensure this child has access to all parts of themself, regardless of race, culture, or otherwise. We will maintain an open mindset to help us grow as well as to support this child throughout their lives and interests. We know that diversity consists of more than children's books and media and will strive to provide this child with racial and cultural mirrors to best support them. This will mean deliberate and purposeful exposure and influences for this child.

We live in a wonderful community. Our home is located in a small town that is 15 minutes from two much larger cities. It provides us with the joy of a small town but the diversity, amenities, and excitement of a larger city. Our neighborhood is family friendly, with children of all ages living near us. Our local area also includes local and state parks. Perhaps the best part of our community is the access to all kinds of events! From farmers markets, parades, and seasonal festivals to cultural, artistic, and musical opportunities our community has so much to engage with.

Our home's layout is ideal for raising a family. Our main floor includes a playroom, kitchen, dining room, and living room. This is also where our guest bathroom and laundry room reside. Upstairs we have a primary bedroom and bathroom as well as three additional bedrooms and a full bathroom. While our basement is not yet finished we plan to make it additional living space to accommodate play dates and teenage hangouts when the time comes. The backyard is one of our favorite spots with a playhouse (slide and swing set attached) as well as plenty of room for the dogs, backyard games, and a patio.

Our families are deeply excited for us to expand our home via adoption. Our parents especially have expressed excitement at the idea of meeting their newest grandchild. Elise's family live nearby and are the source of many weekend visits and cousin playdates.

While Mike's parents live in Phoenix, AZ they are still a huge source of support. We video chat with them at least weekly, and take at least one trip to visit each year. Mike's parents also make it a point to visit Michigan at least once a year as well. This year we intend to swing by Wisconsin to visit with Mike's aunts and uncles on our way to a family reunion for Elise's family.

As a family we are still establishing and continuing lots of traditions! Elise comes from a large Italian family, so homemade pasta and sauces are a big source of joy in our home. We have also continued a long standing tradition in Elise's family of birthday week. For the week leading up to a birthday the lucky family member gets lots of extra joy, whether through specially chosen meals, less housework, or getting to choose the activity for the day. While our families are spread across the nation we are still so close. Phone calls, video calls, and trips keep us together with our cousins, aunts, uncles, and everyone in between.

Family is an important part of our lives that we look forward to sharing with this child.

Hello,

We really weren't sure how to start this letter. We are, however, filled with hope that you are reading this and that we might soon start our journey together. We want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to look at our life and consider joining our paths together. We know that this can't be an easy decision to make and we appreciate that you are being open to us as potential adoptive parents.

In the nearly 4 years we have been married we have always known we wanted multiple children. We struggled to conceive our daughter, but managed it in the end. However our attempts for a second child proved even more difficult. After trying out various fertility aids, including IUI and considering IVF, we decided to consider another route and adoption called to us as a path to expand our home and our hearts.

We hope to have an open adoption and look forward to maintaining as much contact as desired with this child's birth (first) family. From pictures in their baby book to visits with their birth (first) parents we are so excited to see our family grow and expand to encompass all parts of this child. We want this child to know where they come from and see that they have multiple families, keeping a positive outlook towards being adopted.

We never could have anticipated how much our hearts would grow when we had our first daughter. Watching her learn has been such a blessing and our hearts have grown every day with her in our lives. The love we have for her and the intense privilege we feel watching her discover the world stems not from where she came from, but the simple fact that she is our child. Despite this love we both know that our hearts have so much more room within them. We are ready to add a child to our family, to fill our table, and complete our home.

Our plan is to support an adopted child with whatever life brings them. Whether they want to go to college, a trade school, or any other career, we want them to be safe, happy, and healthy. We will aid them on that path in whatever ways we can. Mike is currently a stay at home Dad and will continue to do so to take care of this child as well as our firstborn. We have community events and preschool that they will be involved in so they will see other children and adults from a variety of backgrounds. We will be taking yearly trips to Arizona to visit family, as well as keeping close to family that already lives near us in Michigan. If possible and desired, visits with you would be something we hope to do as well.

Thank you again for taking the time to consider us as parents. Whatever you choose, we want you to know that we wish the absolute best for you and this child.

Mike & Elise