Adoption has already touched our lives in countless ways. Josh's sister, Maryn, now 17, was adopted at 11 months from China. Maryn's adoption was a pivotal time in Josh's life, and her arrival put adoption deep into the hearts of his entire family. After that, Josh gained four cousins who were adopted out of foster care, and who we've tremendously enjoyed watching grow up.

Angie's parents fostered infants, and the stories of the love that Nana and Grandpa had for each of those little ones has shaped much of Angie's heart for children.

Lastly, but most impactfully, we adopted our son, Obie, on Christmas Day in 2020. The phone call from our social worker on 12/23/2020 was one of the most beautiful phone calls of our lives. It was bested only by the two calls immediately following, when we got to tell our families through squeals, hiccups, and the happiest of tears that the wait was over. We had been given the gift of a lifetime: a child to love.

Obie lights up every room he enters. Obie is as bright as he is brave; a fearless climber; and a quick problem-solver. He loves riding his tricycle, running around the yard with his puppies, and snuggling up for books before bedtime. He will be a fantastic big brother! We think that sharing that lived experience of being an adoptee could make the sibling bond all the stronger. Obie and your child will understand and connect with each other in a way few others can.

Angie grew up climbing trees and skinning her knees, so getting active and outdoors feels like home to her. She's been into half marathons, rock climbing, and even obstacle course races. Right now, she's happiest taking the littles for long walks and going hiking with her BFF to check off more National Parks each year. Angie also has a bit of a creative streak, and especially enjoys hand embroidering gifts for friends and family. She volunteers in our church's nursery on Sunday mornings, and cooks dinner with Obie on her hip most evenings. She loves watching him learn to measure, pour, and gain an appreciation for the variety of food that we get to eat.

Josh has always loved music, and it's been a big part of his life since he was a child. He plays drum set and bass guitar on the church's worship team, and aspires to learn acoustic guitar and piano as well. He hopes one day to be able to teach our kids how to play whichever musical instrument they choose, and to get to make music together with them. When he's not making music, he's usually either reading or watching any of the Philadelphia teams play.

Cultural diversity is not something we hope to provide for our children, it's something we have built our lives around. When we adopted Obie, we sold our house and moved into an incredibly diverse community so our children can find peers from their origin culture in their neighborhood, schools, and clubs, no matter their race. We've taken courses and read extensively on transracial adoption. One of our biggest takeaways has been about the importance of racial mirrors and role models immediately available to transracially adopted children. Obie and this child will have access to toys, books, shows, and other media with positive cultural representation. We will hand-pick professionals like doctors, speech therapists, dentists, and barbers with excellent skill sets and who share their race and/or culture with our children.

We sought out a church with BIPOC at the highest levels of staff. We cannot undersell the importance of our church small group, who we meet with every Monday evening, along with playdates, birthday parties, and holiday celebrations. They are our closest local friends and the backbone of our support system. Our small group has Lebanese, Phillipino, Korean, Black, Hispanic, and Mixed children and parents. The couple who leads and hosts our group also has two adopted children. Our intention is that your child will never walk into a room and feel like they don't belong.

We moved into our dream home in Northern Virginia in 2021. The yard is our favorite space. We spend the warm months playing in the sprinkler and chasing fireflies, and the winters sledding down the big hill. All year round, our neighbors' young children can be heard laughing and riding their scooters in the cul-de-sac out front. The neighborhood pool is a quick three minute drive, and so is our local library. The phenomenal children's programs at the library make Angie's reading-teacher-heart happy, and we love going to toddler story time on Thursdays. We have several large playgrounds and even a handful of ponds that we walk to every week, where kiddos can work out their wiggles or watch geese and turtles in the water.

Inside, we've converted what would've been a formal living/dining space into a giant play room right off the kitchen, where our children can play with Angie close by. Your child can start in the nursery right next to our room, which is just waiting for the little pops of blue or pink. Once they're big and ready, they'll graduate to their own, larger bedroom down the hall. There is so much space for them here in our home and community, but so much more so in our hearts.

Angie's family is big and close. She has four brothers, three sisters-in-law, and six nieces and nephews. When we're together, we laugh loudly, quote obscure movies, and play card games while our children chase each other around, barefoot and giggling. Angie's youngest two brothers and her parents, "Nana and Grandpa," still live in the area. Nana has come over every Monday since Obie was born to play with him, and she's eager to add another little lovebug to our Monday visits.

Josh has a younger brother, a sister-in-law, and a younger sister, Maryn, who was adopted as an infant from China. The whole family loves sports, especially Philadelphia teams and are the fastest Dutch Blitz players you will meet. We're more reserved than Angie's folks, but just as close. Since the whole family lives close by, we meet up for birthday dinners, holidays, and to cheer on Maryn at swim meets. Josh's parents, "Mimi" and "Poppop," are so excited for a second grandkid to join them for traditions like the annual Christmas Cookie Bake and Super Bowl watch parties. Having adopted a child of their own, their cheerleading - Mimi was an actual cheerleading coach ;) - and support of Obie's story and this next child's journey have been invaluable.

Imagine with us that these words are the beginning of a beautiful, lifelong story. Hope, security, and love for you and your child are on the horizon. Just for a moment, take a deep breath and know that you are safe with us.

Hi. We are Josh and Angie, a couple in Northern Virginia hoping for a second little wonder to welcome into our family. We've been married for ten years but started as high school sweethearts in band class at 16. We are each other's first and only relationship, dating through high school and college, and tying the knot in the summer of 2014 between our undergraduate and master's programs. Josh works from a home office as a computer security engineer, and Angie was a special education reading teacher before becoming a full-time mom. Our son, Obie, is a bright and bouncy three year-old with dreams to chase and toy cars to race. We adopted Obie as an infant, and were blessed to bring him home on Christmas Day in 2020. If you watch Obie for any length of time, you'll see two dogs closely following him around. Ender is our clever seven year-old Airedale Terrier, and Beanie is a snuggly little four year-old Cockapoo. Soon after Obie arrived, we sought to surround him with a diverse community and ended up buying our dream house on a quiet cul-de-sac with neighbors of every ethnicity and background. As of this spring, Obie understands the concept of siblings, and asks for a baby brother or sister often. We are so eager to see the amazing brother and friend he could become for your child.

There is much more we want to share with you, but we are comforted knowing this is just the start. There's a chance we will have the rest of our lives to get to know each other! For now, there's just three more messages we want to leave with you. First, by choosing adoption, you are painting the clearest portrait of love we can imagine: a love that is both sacrificial and selfless, even in the face of uncertainty. We hope that in a sea of decisions and questions, you can find an anchor in this promise: you and your child's story will be cherished and respected in our home. We promise this child will know that your love for them came first. We can make this promise with full confidence because adoption is already a familiar experience in our family and extended families. Our sister, cousins, and son have all joined us through different adoption paths.

Second, we believe that the narrative a child hears about themselves as they grow up is deeply impactful, and that is why we are so passionate about open adoption. Maintaining connections with biological families can create a mighty sense of identity in our little ones. In the case of our son, Obie's adoption was not the severing of a family relationship, but the forging of a new one. His "Mama K" and "Papa E" are our family too now. Watching his big smile light up when he sees one of their faces appear on our screen for a call is everything to us. We would love to do the same for your child. Whether openness to you means texts, pictures, phone calls, or video calls, we are committed to supporting your relationship with this child as best we can. With some wiggle room on frequency depending on travel distance, we would even love to do visits with you as time goes on.

Above all, we want you to know that we love you. We love you the only way that we know how to right now, which is through prayer. We have been praying for you and your child for years. We've prayed for your protection and safety, for health and provision, for relationships and jobs, for a smooth pregnancy, and that you are able to achieve every dream you have for yourself. Ultimately, you might be searching for a trustworthy family for your child. We are dreaming of another little one to love. Perhaps, we are actually just searching for each other.

All our love,

Josh & Angie