Building off of Peter's love of movies and TV, we enjoy watching them together. As a big movie buff, Peter usually shares with Lezlie his in-depth knowledge of behind the scenes stories that deepen the entertainment experience. Peter is still introducing Lezlie to classics that he can't believe she hasn't seen, including all of the different series of Star Trek. We even saw William Shatner, a Star Trek actor, on our first Valentine's Day together.

We have both always been avid readers. Even as an infant, there are stories and photos of how Peter delighted in storytime. Lezlie has fond memories of summer reading programs at the library. We both still read for pleasure, with Peter's favorite genres being history and science fiction, while Lezlie reads and listens to mostly fiction novels. Lezlie is in a book club with the group that has become their closest friends. (The women have forced the husbands together.) She always looks forward to having an evening with the girls once a month. We also love to travel and have new experiences when we have the chance.

Our leisure time is often filled with a variety of activities with friends and families, whether we are celebrating a birthday or holiday, doing an activity around town or simply enjoying time together. We look forward to sharing all of these things and more with a child as a way of opening their eyes to develop their own passions and interests.

Lezlie About Peter: I have always appreciated Peter's kindness. He wants what is fair and good for every person, which is very admirable. While he can be a responsible grown-up when he needs to, she loves his sometimes child-like love of fun that will make him a great dad. He can always make me smile and laugh, especially when I need the reminder to have a little more fun. His patience and calm demeanor will provide a safe and solid foundation for our family.

Peter About Lezlie: Lezlie is one of the kindest people I have ever met. She has a very happy, bubbly personality and enjoys trying new things. Since meeting her, I have gotten involved with activities I never would have tried on my own. She is a fantastic aunt to our niece and nephews. Right before visits with them, you can always find Lezlie at the hobby store to get a new art project we all can enjoy. She is intentional about creating memories and having quality time with her family and friends.

We are close with both of our families and get to carry on traditions and make new memories with all of them throughout the year. With Lezlie's extended family, every summer we all gather for a fun day at a local campground where we eat good food, play lots of fun games and play in the pool together. We FaceTime with Peter's parents every Sunday afternoon, keeping up to date with each other's daily lives. We visit Peter's family on the east coast several times a year, as well as have them come to our house. When we visit his parents, we often like to spend a day in a nearby major city, usually visiting historical sites or museums, most of which are all new experiences for Lezlie. We also get to spend time on the beach or fishing on the water with them. We alternate spending Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays with each family, which are always full of traditions and memories. When with Lezlie's family, around 25 people gather at her grandma's house for the traditional holiday meals and days together. Peter's family has celebrated Thanksgiving at a rental in the Florida Keys one year. When we enjoy our time together at his parents' house, we hang decorations, visit family and friends or just enjoying each other's company. We usually take a walk on the beach together during big holidays too.

We live in a suburb in Oklahoma that is wonderful for children and families. The city has some of the best schools in the state, as well as a calendar full of activities for the whole family that we like to enjoy, such as the Fourth of July parade and downtown street festivals. We live on a cul-de-sac in a fun neighborhood, with a pool, park, and trails, which are loved by the numerous neighborhood families and kids. The neighborhood has social events throughout the year, including cookouts at the pool in the summer and a Halloween parade, before being one of the best trick-or-treat neighborhoods in town.

We love our home with four bedrooms, numerous flower beds and a big backyard. The open main area of living room, newly remodeled kitchen and dining room is where you'll always find us cooking, relaxing and spending the majority of our time at home. Peter works from home, so one of the rooms is used as his office and also holds his collections of movies, video games, models and lots of sunglasses. The baby's room has a window that looks at the treehouse in the backyard, under the shade of a big oak tree. Peter enjoys grilling outside and Lezlie is a few years in to developing her backyard garden.

We have great relationships with both of our extended families. Lezlie's parents live in the same town as us, so we see them regularly to do a fun activity, like going to a baseball game, or just to borrow things, such as a dish or yard tool. Lezlie's brother and his family, with our niece and nephews, aren't too far away, so we get to see the kids and support their activities, from ball games to art shows. Lezlie's extended family is unique in their closeness, all living within a few hours. We gather at least every other month for holidays, birthdays or to support each other's activities, like watching her cousin march in band. Since it can be harder to get everyone in the big extended family together for the holidays as the family grows, we now have the annual tradition of spending one summer day together at a camp with EVERYONE playing games, swimming and enjoying each other's company.

Peter's parents have been retired for a number of years. They live in the same shore town he used to vacation in while he was growing up. There is a great beach and boardwalks with amusement parks. We visit them multiple times per year, usually around the holidays.

Both sides of our family are thrilled that we are building our family through adoption. They have been supportive in every way they can as we navigate this journey and are all so excited to welcome a new family member.

Hello, this is Peter and Lezlie. We live in the central US. We met and began dating over 5 years ago and are coming up on our 3rd wedding anniversary in October 2024.

We appreciate that you are considering adoption and know you are thoughtfully considering your next steps. We want to acknowledge the complexity of the situation and, although we don't know you, we support the decisions you make for the good of the child.

We have moved to the suburban community with great schools where Lezlie grew up and her parents still live. Peter works from home for an HR tech company. Lezlie is a state employee that works in volunteer management. She intends to be a stay-at-home mom. This means that both parents will be at home during the day to take care of the child. Our moms both stayed at home with us when we were younger, and Peter's dad also worked from home in his childhood. Because of our positive childhood experiences, we both think it will be ideal to have parents at home and available during the first formative years. We are grateful that our careers and finances are in positions to make this possible for the family we want to build.

Peter grew up on the East Coast and has worked in education, sales, and currently technology. His parents have retired to a beach community where they vacationed as children, so we have a fun destination to visit several times a year. Lezlie has lived in the central US her whole life and has worked in interior design, then volunteer management for non-profit and government organizations. Her entire extended family lives within a two hour drive, so you can bet we have lots of family get togethers.

We have both dreamed of having a family of our own our entire lives. When we began dating, this is something that we were planning on together from very early on in our relationship. We have many positive experiences with adoption in our lives, from best friends growing up who had been adopted into loving, healthy families to now having several of our close friends who have adopted as well. When we realized that we were not going to be able to conceive, we knew that we wanted to adopt. In our desire to do everything to the best of our ability, especially when it comes to our family, we have visited with a variety of people and read a lot about the realities of adoption. We want to be the best parents for the child, whatever that means, based on the individual personalities and needs of the children. We are surrounded by an amazing network of family and friends who are ready to welcome a child, and hopefully someday a sibling for them, into our family and lives.

We are fully committed to sending you letters and pictures with updates of how the child is doing. We are open to additional contact, such as phone calls and possibly in-person visits, if that is feasible. We understand that all open adoption relationships look different, but we are ready to figure out that relationship for the good of the child and the benefits to them to have the knowledge of their birth mother or family.

We very much want you to have confidence that if you pick us to be adoptive parents, that you are making a right choice and they will be in good hands. They will be so loved and we also already have a special place for you, the mother who may bring the child into our lives. Your decision to place your child up for adoption is complex and we hope you have great peace with your decision. We think often of the birth mothers in this season and want the absolute best in everything for all of the birth mothers right now in all parts of this process. For us, it would also be the greatest privilege of our lives to be entrusted to raise your child. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your consideration.

Peter & Lezlie