Adoption has always been a big part of our lives as a couple. Sarah and her brother were both adopted as infants. Sarah's parents had struggled to have children and adoption was their path to having a family. As a child, Sarah remembers her Adoption Day as a day of celebration – of love and respect. She would celebrate the day together as a family and go to a restaurant or to the aquarium. Her parents would tell her and her brother the stories our how they were adopted and would answer their questions, openly and honestly. At that time, most adoptions were 'closed adoptions' and so there was very limited information on her birth parents. Sarah feels that always knowing she was adopted and having it be a day of celebration and love made being adopted a special and unique experience and helped mold her into who she is today. Sarah is so thankful to her parents for being open and honest with her and her brother. And she is grateful to her birthmother for having the courage to make such a selfless decision to place her for adoption. As a couple, we know how very fortunate we are to have this experience of adoption in our lives, and it is our hope to be blessed with a chance to raise a child and celebrate their Adoption Day as a family.

We are a very active family! Having regular work schedules with lots of vacation and time off, we get to spend a lot of time together as a family.

We enjoy a lot of different outdoor activities, whether it is riding our bikes down to the beach to go for a swim, going on hikes or taking a trip up to the mountains for skiing and snowboarding, we love the outdoors.

Patrick Sr. plays ice hockey and is enjoying teaching Patrick Jr. how to ice skate. We think it is very important to expose Patrick Jr. to lots of new and exciting activities so whether it is baseball, soccer, swim or ski lessons we are always keeping busy. Sarah loves painting and doing other art projects which she shares with Patrick Jr.

As a family we love cooking together, going to sporting events, and appreciate being able to volunteer through our local church, especially around the holidays.

We appreciate and respect all ethnic and cultural backgrounds. And while our specific heritage may be less diverse than others – our hearts and minds are open to any child that does have a diverse background. As a parent, it is our main priority to ensure our children feel loved and secure. With that comes the responsibility to educate ourselves and make sure our child knows where they come from. Having an open adoption and learning about your heritage and customs will allow us to incorporate those traditions and celebrations into our daily family life.

We live in a very diverse area of Southern California with close access to many faith traditions and cultures. We also have lots of friends and family from multiple backgrounds. It is our goal to have our child know that they are respected and loved through our active participation in learning about and celebrating their heritage.

We love our home and neighborhood in Coastal Southern California! When we first saw it at the open house, Sarah left in tears of excitement as we drove away thinking about the possibility of raising a family there - so we had to have it! A few of the main reasons we moved to our town was because of the great public schools, diverse culture and close proximity to the beach. Our four-bedroom home is beautiful inside and out. From cooking Christmas dinner in our kitchen to having friends and family over to entertain and play in our backyard, this home is perfect for our (hopefully) growing family.

After five years here we know this will be our forever home. We have great neighbors, lots of parks and hiking trails, and truly enjoy being a part of this community. One of our favorite things to do is walk down the street to the local high school on Friday nights to watch the football game. We also have a great park we visit almost every weekend with Patrick Jr. to play on the playground, have a picnic, or ride his bike. We truly look forward to sharing our wonderful home and community with another child.

We were both very fortunate to have grown up in extremely loving and supportive families and are very close with them to this day.

We get together with Sarah's extended family every year for a large family reunion in Cape Cod, MA. Our family, Bampa (Sarah's Dad) and brother Graham and his family along with more than 40 aunts, uncles and cousins spend a week together doing fun activities like mini-golfing, attending the local band concert and having a pot-luck lobster night. It is wonderful to be part of this BIG extended family that makes such a committed effort to spend time together every year.

We also go on a family vacation every winter to visit Patrick's older brother and his family in Hawaii. Gramps (Patrick's Dad), Grammy (Patrick's Mom) and Matthew, Patrick's brother along with his family all come along as well. It is always an amazing week to reconnect and spend quality time with each other by our favorite beach spot on the North Shore.

We are very blessed to have Grammy and Matthew (along with his family), close. We are always visiting each other or planning events together. Whether it's going to hockey games or visiting the local farm for pumpkin picking or just planning an afternoon of football and family dinner, we enjoy spending time together - numerous times a month.

We can only imagine the difficult choice that you have ahead of you. We are so grateful to you for taking the time to learn more about our family and, hopefully, choosing us to be the adoptive parents to your child. Please know that throughout this journey, we will do whatever we can to help you feel supported and loved so you can feel confident in your decision. To help you on this path, here is a little more information about us and who we are as a family.

We met at a mutual friend's wedding on the East Coast almost 10 years ago. We hit it off immediately - as if it was meant to be - and spent the whole rest of the wedding talking and laughing together. Upon returning to California, we planned to have our first date in a town half-way between the two cities we lived in. After that night, it was quickly apparent we were head over heels for each other and when we married in 2016, we moved to the same town where we had our first date. We LOVE our home and our neighborhood – it is a warm, safe, wonderful place to raise our 5-year-old son, Patrick Jr, and expand our family.

Patrick Jr is a bright, kind, empathetic, curious child who loves school, playing T-ball and Spiderman. He is always so excited to see his 1-year-old little cousin and looks out for him so lovingly. Patrick Jr. cannot wait to be a big brother and have a little sister or brother to care for and "teach them how to play catch."

Family is incredibly important to us. We are fortunate to have a big extended family that we see and spend time with often. Our vacations are usually spent traveling to be with family – whether it's to Cape Cod, MA or the North Shore of Hawaii. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins are all fully supportive and overjoyed at the possibility of us adopting, especially since it's been such a big part of Sarah's life.

Being adopted as an infant and having a brother who is also adopted, Sarah had always planned to adopt a child one day. It was that openness to adoption that attracted us to one another and was discussed early on in our relationship. Growing up Sarah, and her brother always knew they were adopted - it was a day of celebration for the entire family. A day also filled with immense gratitude for the selfless act of a birth mother - not yet ready to care for an infant herself.

We plan to be open and honest with your child about his or her adoption and your role as birth mother. We want them to grow up with thankfulness and gratitude towards you, just as Sarah does for her own birth mother. We are happy to send you photos and updates and continue to have open communication throughout the baby's life, if that is your wish too.

As parents we know that the most important thing is to ensure our children feel safe and loved, unconditionally. We won't always be perfect, but we promise to always be actively present in our children's lives and help them grow into strong, compassionate, independent, thriving adults. We also promise to learn about and include their heritage and culture in our family lives.

Thank you for taking the time to read about our family. We look forward to the day that we get an email saying we've been chosen to be adoptive parents and move forward on this journey together. Whomever you choose to raise your child, please know we understand the difficult choice ahead of you and are sending you all our love and support.

Patrick & Sarah