We love our vacations! In 2019, we went to four countries, Shenandoah National Park, and Sunset Beach in North Carolina. Things have slowed down with the adoption of our first son and, of course, the pandemic. We've still managed to take a few trips safely, including renting a beach house each summer. Our go-to for summer vacation is the Outer Banks. We loved it so much, we got married on the beach in Nags Head. Most years, we rent a little house in Duck, NC where we stay for a week. Usually, we spend our mornings at the beach. In the afternoon, we lounge by the pool, ride our bikes, walk to town to shop, or spend some time reading and playing board games if it's rainy.

Last year was a little different, since we had a one-year-old in tow. We had fun swimming with him in the pool and playing in the sand. Once it's safe, if we want a little special excitement, there are also a ton of things to do - climbing Currituck Lighthouse, seeing the wild horses in Corolla or Carova, live music by the boardwalk, parasailing, boating, an aquarium, fishing at the pier in Nags Head, or flying kites at Jockey's ridge. We love having a whole house so that we can bring along family and friends, cook family dinners, keep plenty of drinks and snacks handy, and have space to spread out.

A lot of our family traditions center around holidays. We bake Christmas cookies and make a Christmas ornament every year. We have special foods for Christmas and Thanksgiving - including the best macaroni and cheese ever! We have events with our extended families on both sides. In Travis' family, weddings are special events where the whole extended family gets together to celebrate the couple and each other. Sarah's family celebrates "Dog Christmas" on Christmas Eve with finger foods and presents for all the family pets. In the Spring and Fall, we volunteer together as a family for a local service organization; this year was an animal rescue. We also have a Fall camping trip (or at least a cabin rental in the mountains).

In the summer, we plan a beach vacation and a cornhole tournament. During the rest of the year, there are other traditions. We have family brunch on Saturdays with french toast, pancakes, or waffles. Thursdays are our night in, which can be a movie night or game night and sometimes include cousins and siblings. We look forward to making some new ones, too, like first day of school photos and birthday wishes.

We plan to start talking about adoption from the very beginning. We have adoption books and incorporate them into our daily reading with Finn. Our hope is that by the time our children are old enough to understand what we're saying, we will be used to telling the story, comfortable talking about adoption, and over any initial awkwardness. From the beginning, we want to build positive feelings associated with adoption. We even plan to create a personal book for them about "How We Became a Family" with pictures and happy memories. While adults may have complicated emotions around adoption, it should be a happy memory for them. In working with our social worker, we learned that if parents have been open and matter of fact about adoption, most preschoolers are proud of being adopted. The same goes for our attitudes about their birth families. Whatever the level of openness, we want them to have positive feelings about how they came to us and where they came from. Everyone involved in this process loves them and is making choices with their best interest in mind. That is something we feel it is important for them to know from the beginning. We are happy and excited about this adoption and don't want them to feel any differently.

We both have close extended families. Most of Travis' family lives in Minnesota, and we visit every year, usually for weddings, baby showers, new babies, or the holidays. Sarah's whole family (and the rest of Travis' family) all live within a few hours of our house with her brothers and closest cousins all living in the same metro area, including a few with young children and babies. Sarah's parents live a little farther away, but they come to visit pretty much every month.

Between us, we have three cousins who were adopted and a half dozen close family friends. When we told our families that we were beginning our adoption journey the first time, they couldn't have been more excited! The families that have adopted have offered some valued words of wisdom, and hand-me-downs. They've all welcomed our son with open arms and are excited for the family to continue to grow.

Our family really loves celebrating each other’s successes and life events. There are festivities for graduations, new babies, professional achievements, birthdays, and weddings. We love backyard barbeques with outdoor games or even family vacations. Other times, a few of us just get together to play video games (Mario Kart and Rock Band are favorites) or cards (spades and euchre).

We live in a suburb of Washington D.C. Our neighborhood has beautiful trees, sidewalks, club swimming pool, elementary school, and three parks within walking distance. This year, we've managed to stay safe and still have some outdoor fun as a family in our own neighborhood. Just down the road, there is a public swimming pool, splash park, wave pool, water slides, and carousel. At National Harbor, there's a Ferris wheel or we could see Disney on Ice. Our house is 2400 square-feet and has four bedrooms and three baths. It is tucked away on a quiet cul-de-sac that we share with other families and their children and pets.

We have a fenced backyard with a swing set and plenty of space for play equipment and maybe a little garden. We share a fence with two couples with kids under two. Our neighborhood is perfect for riding bikes, roller skating, and outside play. Every weekend, there are farmers' markets or we could go to local events or drive 20 minutes into D.C. to see the Smithsonian Museums, National Mall, Monuments, and everything else the city has to offer. For the 4th of July, we can see the fireworks over the Potomac River. Around Christmas, there are craft fairs, caroling, and the lighting of the national tree. In the summer, the county has fishing and swimming lessons. In the spring, we can see the cherry blossoms in bloom.

Thank you for taking the time to read our profile and getting to know us. We are in awe of the love and strength you've shown by considering adoption. It is a brave and selfless decision, and we are honored that you would consider us in choosing a family for your child. We can’t imagine how difficult this decision must be for you. Hopefully, you can see that we are committed to providing a safe, stable, loving home for your child and we appreciate this opportunity to introduce our family to you and give you a picture of what life would be like for your baby.

We have been together for 10 years and married for almost 4. While we love our family and life together, we are excited to share our lives with a new child. We live in a suburb of Washington D.C. with our son and two dogs. We have started setting up a new nursery in our home and talking to our toddler about the prospect of a sibling - he's excited, too! We have plenty of space in the house with plenty of room for guests and a fenced yard. We have a lot of family nearby, but even our out-of-state parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins will be visiting frequently. Family is the most important thing to each of us and we cannot express how excited we are for the opportunity for ours to grow.

We believe strongly in education, which begins with setting an example and fostering core values including respect, honesty, work ethic, and inquisitiveness. In early childhood, we feel that sharing a love for knowledge is important and Travis has decided to stay home for the years before preschool. We have already researched nearby schools and educational programs and found many excellent opportunities, and we believe that education also includes development of an appreciation for culture and the arts, which are always accessible in the D.C. area. With our family and friends, we attend events like the Cherry Blossom Festival, the Nutcracker Ballet at the Kennedy Center, Family Equality Day at the Zoo, Nationals Baseball Games, and laying wreaths at Arlington National Cemetery for Christmas.

We can't wait to start everyday fun activities, too. Music, travel, and family events are important to us. We regularly go to the ballet, opera, and symphony. We have a piano but will also support lessons on any instrument. As children, we were both given the opportunity to see a lot of the country and even travel overseas. In our travels, the experiences have ranged from backpacking and camping to staying at nice hotels. We hope to impart some of our adventurous spirit on this child by offering regular trips to nearby cities, National Parks, the beach, and beyond. On a regular basis, we have family game nights, picnics, dinners, and more. Words can’t express how supportive our families have been of our decision to adopt or how excited the whole family is to have a new addition to the festivities.

We realize that you are in the process of making a hard decision that requires a lot of consideration. We hope that learning more about us has given you some comfort. We welcome any questions you may have and would gladly meet with you or provide any additional information you may want. In the event that we are fortunate enough to be selected, we will respect and support you in whatever role you choose to play. We couldn’t have more respect for you or your role and will make that clear through our words and actions. Whatever you choose, we will honor. We are happy to send updates with pictures and stories and are open to making arrangements for visits when that time comes. We can never fully understand what this is like for you, but will continue to strive to honor you and demonstrate our respect and gratitude for your decision.

Travis & Sarah