To us, being a parent is more than merely providing for your children. We have to be the protectors, shielding and defending our child from physical and mental distress. We need to be mentors, guiding them through life's challenges and helping to foster their growth and development. We need to offer support in helping them reach and achieve their goals and dreams. We need to comfort and listen to them when they've had a bad day or need to vent. We have to be their spiritual guides, helping them as they navigate their spiritual journey. While we believe that parenting can come in many forms, we feel that to be successful parents, we need to be able to give our child unconditional love and the type of support that they need at a given time. Derek looks forward to playing hide and seek with our child as well as showing them how to draw. Sam is excited about making our child custom Halloween costumes and getting to teach them in Sunday School. We are both eager to bond with a child as we open our home and our hearts to them as new additions to our growing family.

Addressing cultural diversity is especially important to us. Living in an area as diverse as we do, it's a daily occurrence to regularly see and interact with individuals of different cultures and races. They are our neighbors, our friends, our family, our church congregation, doctors, teachers, and coworkers. We live our lives not only accepting, but embracing cultural diversity as it paves the way for fresh ideas, new ways of thinking, enriches our culture, and increases openness and acceptance of others. We would plan to raise our child with that same philosophy of being open minded and accepting of all peoples, regardless of their race, religion, culture, or sexuality. Our child will attend school in a district where no race makes up more than 40% of the student body so they will regularly be exposed to individuals outside of their race and culture. Our neighborhood is as diverse as any neighborhood could be with Asian, Black, Indian, Hispanic, Caucasian, Middle Eastern, and more on our short little street. Our child will be raised to develop friendships with children of all races, and we plan to talk to them at a very early age about cultural diversity.

We met in college. We were both in the marching band. Sam played the clarinet and Derek played the tuba. While we were both in the band, the band was so large, we did not know one another. We met when Derek decided to join an honors music fraternity that Sam was already a member of. This is where our friendship grew. During this time we would meet up for lunch, watch movies, do homework together, attend activities our college hosted like Breakfast Bingo, and we'd talk, a lot. Our conversations are really what helped us to grow closer. We would share our highs and lows, we would discuss our views on life, and discuss controversial subjects like political opinions or thoughts on religion. As we got to know each other on a deeper level, our friendship grew as did our feelings for one another. In our last year of college, we finally decided to start dating and have been together ever since.

We live in Maryland in a large three bedroom townhouse on a quiet suburban street with no thru traffic. We have a large living room with plenty of space for children's toys and have two affectionate cats, who already have toys all over the house. Unlike many homes in our area, right behind our house is a county park with a playground and historic placards. There are lots of children who play in our neighborhood, all of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Our town in general is very diverse, with our neighboring town being one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse cities in the country.

We live across the street from some shops and restaurants that are easily walkable. Our elementary school is just around the corner, and our middle and high school are also conveniently nearby. We have countless walking trails and county parks within a short distance as well as a large lake that you can boat and fish on. We have some shopping outlets within walking distance as well. We can drive 10 minutes in one direction and be in a bustling city and 10 minutes the other direction and be in rural farmland. We live close enough to D.C. to go for a day to explore a Smithsonian museum, but far enough away that we don't need to worry about the D.C. traffic on a regular basis.

Most of our family lives within two to three hours of us; however, many of our close friends live nearby. Derek has a sister that lives in D.C. that we see on a fairly regular basis. We really enjoy having friends and family visit. When we have company over, our time is often spent exploring new places, like going to a new museum exhibit, attending a festival or event, visiting a park or small town stores, going to D.C. and touring monuments, or trying out a new ethnic restaurant. We try to provide unique activities to our friends and family that they otherwise wouldn't experience. We also enjoy time bonding at home, grilling out on our deck, playing board games, watching movies, and conversing with one another.

Our friends and families are both fairly unique. We have friends that we play board games and Dungeons and Dragons with and we have others that we go to barn sales and breweries. We also have friends that have stemmed from our church communities. Sam has an older brother, who has 2 children. Derek has 3 sisters, with partners from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Both of our families are ecstatic about becoming grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Our family enjoys taking yearly vacations together as a group. We also enjoy going all out for the holidays and this includes dressing in family themed costumes and coordinating PJs.

We want to thank you very much for taking the time to learn about us and the life we hope to create by welcoming a child into our home. While we understand how hard this process can be with many decisions ahead, we will be there to support you and your child now and through the future.

Sam is a Business Development Analyst for a government contracting company and Derek is a Graphic Designer for the National Institutes of Health, Institute of the Aging. We have different personalities that complement each other. Sam is filled with lots of energy, tends to talk a lot, and can sometimes be a little emotional. Derek is very quiet and takes longer to warm up to new people. Derek keeps Sam calm and keeps her head on her shoulders. Sam helps Derek expand his horizons, including new types of food and activities.

We met in college while performing in the marching band. Our relationship started as a friendship that grew into more during our senior year. We have gone through a lot during our time together, including a long distance relationship, moving apartments and states, multiple job changes, and adopting 2 cats. We strive to support each other during these times and create a safe space. We were ready to get married in 2020, and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. We started working remotely while living in a one bedroom apartment with our cat Ellie, who loved us being home all the time. Even though 2020 was a hard year for many, we bought our home and got married in a very small family-only ceremony on September 19, 2020. We were able to celebrate the following year with our close family and friends. We also brought home our second cat Gemma.

We've always known that adoption was something we valued as important, having both known individuals who were adopted and families that have adopted, we learned about the struggles they went through, the strength of their parents, and the love their families shared. We knew this was the right path for us. We plan to raise our child in a way that develops a strong moral compass, but also be loving and accepting to others, regardless of age, sexuality, gender identity, race, religion, or any other factor. We attend a very inclusive church, who welcomes people of all different races, cultures, and sexualities. We feel our church communities will help us raise a child in the same mindset. We live in a very diverse part of the country which will provide a welcoming environment for a child of any race or culture. We have a strong interest in traveling, culture, and history. We feel this will allow us to invite any child into our home and be able to raise them in a combination of our culture and their own.

Not only will we welcome a child in our lives, but we will also welcome you. We will keep you updated on the child's development and experiences through letters, emails, and pictures, and occasional visits when the time is right. We plan to make adoption a normal part of our child's life journey. We will always be open about the process with them, in conjunction with how you want the child to view you. We feel it is important to understand and communicate your story in the way you want it to be known. We hope to build a strong, healthy, and lasting relationship with you.

We are very excited to bring a child into our lives. Our family and friends are so supportive of our plan for adoption and are excited to follow along with our journey. We have surrounded ourselves with people and environments that will help us raise a well-rounded child. We can't wait to bring a child into our home with our 2 cats. We know you have a difficult decision ahead, but we hope you will consider becoming a part of our journey as well.

Derek & Sam