Adoption has tugged on both of our heartstrings our entire life. For Adam, two of his childhood best friends were adopted. Lauren's desire to adopt started during her time as a NICU nurse, where she cared for children and interacted with many mothers. Some of them went on to participate in adoption.

Then came our journey to Weston – the most incredible experience of our lives. It began with an unexpected phone call at the end of the day, asking us to come to South Carolina the next morning. As we hurriedly packed up our family, my heart was filled with excitement and nerves, especially about how to talk to Oden about possibly having a little brother. We needn't have worried – the pure love and excitement on Oden's face when he met Weston for the first time, and how instinctively he watched over his new little brother, was one of the most heartfelt moments we've ever experienced.

Meeting Weston's birth mother and father was such a meaningful moment – truthfully, it was the most nervous we've ever been about making a first impression! That connection has grown into something we treasure deeply. We routinely chat and share updates with them, and we can feel their love and support with every interaction. Their presence in our lives adds an extra pep in our step each day.

Now, we simply can't imagine our lives without Weston. He is completely woven into the fabric of who we are as a family – we are him, and he is us. Our adoption experience has transformed us in ways we never could have anticipated, deepening our understanding of what it means to be a family.

Our favorite thing is being with family and friends. We love having small get-togethers, so we can cook together as a family. Our sons repurposed one of our stools as their sous chef ladder and love to help out. Travel is a big part of our lives, both sets of grandparents have homes by the beach. Whenever we can, we love to fly down. We end up having a grand time digging in the sand and building sandcastles. We also love camping as a family and visiting new cities together.

Individually, Adam loves to play golf, tennis, fish and work on his photography skills. Lauren loves yoga, teaching, crafting and planning activities for the kids. She is also a great artist when time allows.

Our family is brightened by our two wonderful boys. Oden, with his creative spirit, fills our home with imagination as he invents games that often involve his beloved Pokémon and Minecraft characters. His passion for tennis is growing each day, and the sweetest thing is how tenderly he includes his little brother in all his adventures.

Weston brings boundless energy as our little athlete who's already mastering the "t-bar hang" and shows promise in all things sports. His joyful singing echoes through our home, and you'll rarely find him without his cherished stuffed kitty cat tucked under his arm. Though small, his adventurous spirit knows no bounds as he follows closely in his big brother's footsteps.

Reva is a one-of-a-kind dog that has been with us for years. Our family initially fostered Reva as a rescue from an unlicensed and crowded breeding situation, but knew from the first day meeting her that she was already family. She is a cuddly fur-ball who loves to play and jump in our laps despite her large size and very long legs.

Reva, Oden and Weston adore each other; they're like siblings. When Weston was a baby and Reva heard him crying, she would patiently curl up adjacent to the bassinet like an old mama dog. In the same token, Weston and Oden can be counted on to sneak Reva extra treats anytime she asks.

On cool evenings, we'll frequently take a long family walk so Reva gets a little exercise, and Weston proudly holds her leash. We feel blessed to have had animals in our lives that teach compassion, empathy and a commitment to love to our children.

Our home is a spacious-six bedroom house on a quiet street, which is bustling with other young families with children. We have a fenced-in backyard with a vegetable garden, sandpit and a playground for the kids. Lauren designed an imaginative play space in the basement with toys, a trampoline, comfy spaces for reading and quiet play, climbing walls, an obstacle course, silk swings, a table for art, and gymnastics and dance equipment. Upstairs there is a sunny playroom with spaces for painting, legos, dolls, pretend, plus desks for when the kids get older and need a space for school work. There's a nursery ready for your child.

Our immediate neighborhood is a close-knit community, which routinely blocks off the street for holiday block parties. Up a hill, there's a neighborhood pool that we find ourselves at most summer nights (there's even a wooded trail to get there).

Our neighborhood is nestled in the middle of a small, old-fashioned town right outside of the big city. You can walk everywhere and big trees line the streets. It has been a blessing to be in such a tight-knit community filled with loving families, parades and countless family-friendly festivals throughout the year. One of our family favorites is summer movie night, where the town sets up a giant movie screen and a few food trucks in the middle of a park for families to enjoy. The local fire department puts on a big show in the winter, converting a fire truck into Santa's Sleigh. Each night in December, the "sleigh" goes around the streets playing holiday music and the firefighters are handing out candy while dressed like elves. We are within walking distance to our church, which has a strong place in our day to day family activities, and the children's schools.

We have a large, loud and loving family around us. Lauren was born locally, about half an hour away from where we presently live. Raising children so close to Lauren's childhood home means there's a lot of family close by. Both of her parents live minutes away and are the sweetest grandparents. They're constantly thinking up new adventures for grandkids, from small hikes to rides on miniature trains. A little further down the street, Lauren has several cousins, who have in total a thirteen young children, who light up family functions with cheer. We have several big family parties during Christmas time, culminating on Christmas Eve when the kids get matching PJs for a family photo.

Adam was born in Missouri and moved to the area for college. Back home, he has several cousins who were his make-shift big sisters growing up and have transitioned into being loving aunts. He loves returning home to the lakes he spent his childhood on and eagerly awaits teaching the kids how to fish! Adam's parents relocated and live right on the beach in Florida, which has made for some fantastic weekend trips.

Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read our profile and getting to know us. It is not an easy to ask to boil our lives down to so few words, but we hope we can convey to you the depth and sincerity of our convictions. We hope you will read between the lines to see how much our family loves each other. More importantly, we hope you'll see how much our family will treasure, nurture and protect your child.

We cannot imagine what you are going through. You are displaying incredible bravery and engaging in an un-comprising act of love. We hope you will accept our promise that this act will be continued. It will be continued every day with the love, care and security we will extend to the child. Our goal is for the child to want for nothing. We agonized over how to express this sentiment. Whether it be education or having the silliest of childhoods, we will give the child everything and anything we can. We cannot wait for another adventure buddy at the beach, nights out at restaurants, and any of the other many escapades that await us.

In that vein, we want the child to understand their story from the beginning and know how much they are loved by you and by us. Using the information you are comfortable with, we will express excitement about their path to us and joy for their addition to our lives. Fostering a robust self-esteem and the child's understanding of their cultural heritage is a hefty responsibility that we understand. Being proud of one's identity is an irreplaceable step in building our identities. We cannot wait to send you pictures of the silly adventures, set up phone calls, or even if the time is right, visits. We want all of our children to admire your courage.

Adoption has been close to our hearts for many years. Two of our closest friends were adopted and seeing the love it created inspired us to adopt. For Lauren, she has spent many hours in the NICU working with adoptive families over the past decade. The power of this process has inspired us to this step and we couldn't be more excited.

As a couple, we met a decade ago through mutual friends. We dated for just over five years before we ultimately got married. Not a day has gone by where our love for each other has not been enhanced. Nothing has deepened that bond more than parenting, the challenges and adventures it has brought have been an unbelievable blessing. We have learned love is infinite. There is no limit to how much you can have in your life and each addition to a household only increases the potential. We cannot wait to take the next steps and have another member.

As parents, we have painstakingly worked to create a positive environment for kids, from researching neighborhoods and child developmental thought to the lighter things like stocking a home with toys and being a silly friend. Each step has been a part of our effort to be ready for this responsibility.

We are grateful for your consideration.

We pray that you feel loved and supported through this process. We pray that your decision be blessed and that the love you're enacting will follow your child throughout their lives. You are in our prayers and we hope to be part of each other's lives.

Love,

Adam & Lauren