Shon runs a financial advising practice. He spends his workdays meeting with clients in person and over the phone. Ashley transitioned from being an elementary school teacher to Shon's full-time assistant so she could work from home. Being that we make our own schedules, we have a lot of flexibility during the day to do things like take walks with our dog in the park or run errands.

In our free time, we love to be outside as much as possible. We have a newly landscaped backyard that we spend a lot of time in either lounging on the patio, enjoying our garden, playing with the dog, or having a BBQ with family and friends. We are also finishing up a whole house remodel, and Shon likes to spend time woodworking and finishing projects around the house. When we can, we love to travel and look forward to being able to do that with a child one day as well!

We feel that it is important to acknowledge a child's cultural background.

We are very lucky to have a diverse extended family. Being that our brother-in-law is Black, and our nieces and nephews are biracial, we have watched how their family has navigated cultural diversity in their world. We have had the chance to ask genuine questions about racism, and how they navigate those challenges and support their kids. We know that they will be a good resource for us if needed, and they would also be positive role models for what a diverse and loving family looks like.

Mostly, we feel it will be critical for us to continue to ask questions and be open to learning about how to make our child feel as loved, accepted, and supportive as possible. We don't have all the perfect answers for what that will look like, but we are committed to supporting our child in whatever way we can.

Family traditions are very important to us. Currently, we trade off spending major holidays with each side of our family. Holidays right now are very "kid focused" due to having six nieces and nephews! We enjoy taking the kids sledding at Christmas, decorating cookies, and looking at Christmas lights. One year for Easter when our first niece was two, we dyed Easter eggs and did an egg hunt. It was so much fun it became a tradition, and we host an egg hunt for all the kids every year now. Another tradition we have started is serving a special dish from each adult's childhood at Thanksgiving. It's a way for us to make sure we are including each other's heritage and gives us a chance to celebrate that too. Additionally, because Ashley likes to bake, she tends to make cupcakes or cakes for all the kids' birthdays which is always a lot of fun to celebrate as a family.

We live in Washington state. We have lived in our current house for almost five years and absolutely love our community.

Our home has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a large backyard. Our neighborhood has a community swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, lots of playground areas and splash pads for the summer, and beautiful public gardens to walk through year-round. We chose to move to this area because there are four major parks very close by, one directly across the street from us! Our local parks also host summer concerts and art festivals, and during the wintertime there are holiday lightshow walking tours.

We also love that we have a museum not too far from us that has a lot of events for young kids and families. Within walking distance there are ice cream shops and coffee houses as well as a few small local markets.

Our neighborhood is mostly made up of younger families with children, and there are great schools nearby our house. We specifically chose this area of Washington state because we felt it was the best possible place to raise a child and we look forward to having that opportunity one day.

Shon grew up with his mom, dad, and twin sisters. His sisters are older by two years, and all his family currently live about an hour away from us. One sister has four kids; two boys and two girls who range in ages from 1 to 10 years old. Shon's other sister just had their second child. They now have a boy who is 2 and a baby girl. Growing up, Shon's dad worked for the family business as a mechanic for farming equipment. Shon's mom worked at the elementary school he and his sisters attended.

Ashley is an only child, and her parents live right next door in an apartment above the garage. Ashley's Dad worked as a salesman for building products, and her mom worked in a pediatric dentist office for 35 years. They both recently retired and have been traveling the world and enjoy having a home base so close to us.

We are lucky to be able to spend a lot of time with both sides of our family, and we always make a point to celebrate holidays together and other special events like birthdays. Our extended family is diverse and we are open to the idea of a transracial adoption, especially since we have biracial family members. Everyone in our family is excited at the idea of adding a new child to love and cherish… especially our four-legged child, our dog Charlie, who loves kids so much!

Firstly, thank you so much for taking the time to consider us on your journey. We are grateful you have allowed us to share a little more about ourselves, and the love we want to be able to give to a child. We can only begin to image how difficult this process is for you, and we deeply admire you for your strength and courage. While we may not know each other yet, you are in our prayers while you navigate this journey.

We have been married for almost eight years and together for ten. Being a parent was something we hoped and dreamed would happen. We have always been open to the idea of adopting a child. Initially, we thought we would have a biological child first and then look more seriously into adoption. After several years of trying to conceive, we discovered that we cannot have children ourselves. We felt like this was God's way of telling us adoption is, and always was, the way we were meant to be parents… even if it took us a little while to see that plan. We have so much love to give and feel blessed to be able to pursue adoption as a way of growing our family.

Our hope for a future child is that we can provide them with as many opportunities as possible to grow into the person they were meant to become. Given that Ashley was a teacher, we very much value education. We want to be able to give a child as many opportunities to learn about their world, and themselves, as possible. We want to be the kind of parents that encourage a child to try new things, travel to new places, and experience a sense of wonder about who they will become. We are excited at the possibility of watching a child grow up, surrounded with love and care.

Our extended families are also thrilled at the idea of bringing a new child into the family. We have six nieces and nephews and are very close with both sides of our family. We know that this child would be loved and cherished by everyone, and we love to think about them getting to grow up playing with their cousins and spending holidays with the family.

We feel strongly that you are, and always will be, an extremely important part of this child's story. We hope to be able to share letters and pictures with you over the years, if you would like, so that you can feel confident and comfortable with your decision in the years to come. Our hope is that a child knows its roots, and you are forever an important part of that aspect of their life.

We know that this decision requires a lot of courage from you. It is difficult to express the gratitude we have for your consideration in such a short letter. Please just know that our hearts are praying for you, your child, and your decision as you navigate through this process.

With deep gratitude,

Shon & Ashley