Life is a continual adventure to both of us. Being active and healthy are our main priorities and we love to try new things and see new places. We have a close group of friends who live nearby whom we often get together with to play sports and games. We enjoy home cooked meals and consider ourselves good cooks. We have always been drawn to the outdoors and spend a lot of time in the mountains snowboarding, hiking, camping or just exploring. A day doesn't usually go by without some sort of outdoor activity even if that means just taking a walk around our neighborhood. When we want to relax we enjoy listening or playing music, reading books and watching our favorite sports teams play. We also enjoy arts and crafts and because of that we have built some of our own furniture and other decorations you will find around our home.

Adoption has affected both of us personally in a few ways. Being a teacher, Whitney has seen the positive outcomes of adopted children with loving families. There have been a few of these families who have reached out to show their support in our choice to pursue adoption. Whitney currently has a co-worker who was adopted. It has been so helpful hearing about her personal experience, she even connected me with her adoptive mother who took time to talk about how the process went for her and how she wouldn't have had it any other way.

Mike grew up with a couple cousins who were adopted and they were just family to him. He also currently has a cousin with an adopted daughter and it has been a joy to see how happy it has made them. It has been very encouraging to speak with them about their positive experience and we strive to achieve the level of happiness adoption has brought to them.

We live in Utah, a state known for its beautiful mountain and desert landscapes. Utah is home to 5 national parks as well as several world class ski resorts, which is why we chose to move here. Usnews.com even ranks Utah as the number 1 most desirable state to live in in 2023.

Our split-level home, which is located in a quiet suburb has 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and best of all, a really great backyard. We love our backyard for cookouts, sled riding and just relaxing in the hammock under the pine trees. We even have an adorable wooden children's play house that we have spent many years waiting for a child to enjoy.

Within a five minute walk is our town's recreation center, which is complete with a large indoor/ outdoor pool that has a children's play area, waterslides and diving boards. Our recreation center offers everything from swim lessons, camps, sports lessons, ice skating and more. Our favorite event there is the carnival and parade every July.

Our community has 3 brand new schools and a beautiful park with a playground, baseball fields and plenty of room to run and play. Our quiet street is filled with children of all ages who are often out playing and riding their bikes on the sidewalks.

Our families do not live in the same state as us, but our time spent together is immensely meaningful. While most of Mike's family lives in Cleveland, Ohio, Whitney's family is spread between Cleveland and Orlando, Florida. We find time to spend in each of these states visiting, but we also enjoy vacationing with both of our parents at the same time.

Both of us are very close to our adult cousins and we often plan various vacations around the country to meet each other. Between the both of us, we have lots of children in our families who we love to watch learn and grow over the years. We have a close group of friends in our neighborhood with kids of their own who we get together with weekly to play backyard games, camp and attend concerts. In the winter we enjoy taking ski trips together and playing games in front of the fireplace, like Catchphrase and Mario Party.

Our families are over the moon with our decision to adopt and are eagerly awaiting updates and good news. We cannot wait to have a child of our own to join the festivities.

In the wake of what may be an extremely difficult and confusing time for you, we were hoping to shed some light on some aspects that could hopefully offer you some comfort and peace.

We started out as high school sweethearts and have been in a committed relationship for 19 years and happily married for 8 of those. During this time we have longed for a biological child of our own, but the world had different plans for us. After four years of continuous fertility treatments and reoccurring loss, we have opened our hearts to adoption. For the first time we are overwhelmed with joy and excitement with the possibility of finally having a child to share our love with. It has seemed like a surreal experience finally having the confidence to begin a few preparations around the home to accommodate a little one.

Both of us have extensive experience caring for, teaching and working with children of all ages. With one of us being a Montessori early childhood education teacher and the other teaching children snowboarding lessons, we already possess many skills of great parents. We hope to instill strong values of empathy, honesty, love, perseverance, loyalty and that we don't forget to be a little silly sometimes. We want make it known that above all, we are family first and will always support each other no matter how tough the situation. With having worked so hard to become parents the last few years we are hoping that you can help us achieve our life long goal and confidently know that your child will be happy, safe, loved and cared for.

Our support system, which consists of a large family, friends, neighbors and co-workers have been rooting for us from the very beginning of our journey. Everyone is more than ready to meet your child and shower them with unconditional love. Both of our moms have already been brainstorming fun ideas for the child's future birthday parties, as well as holiday celebrations. Personally, we are so excited to place Christmas gifts for someone other than our cat under the tree, who already has more toys than she knows what to do with.

There are many places for your child to fit in with us and we have so much to offer. From a cozy home in a quiet neighborhood, to a large extended family with many children, we cannot wait to show your child how much fun we can have. We plan to share our favorite outdoor hobbies of snowboarding, camping, hiking, playing various sports and traveling. There have been many beautiful destinations around the world where we have visited and talked about how we cannot wait to bring a child there to share the experience. We would love to document all of our activities as a family with photos and we will be sure to keep you updated as your child learns and grows with letters, emails and phone calls if you would like.

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter. We wish you strength throughout your journey.

Best,

Mike & Whitney