Family means everything to us, and so do the traditions that bring us together. We love spending time with our families and finding reasons to celebrate—big moments, small moments, and everything in between. As a mixed-religion family, there is almost always a holiday to gather around, usually with plenty of food, laughter, and time spent at our home or one of our parents’ houses. We enjoy decorating for every holiday, whether it is big or small, and during Halloween and Christmas, we make a tradition of driving through neighborhoods to see how other families have decorated their homes.

For Thanksgiving, we love having our Christmas tree up early so we can enjoy its warmth and happiness a little longer. We either host or spend the day at Ashland’s uncle’s house, and then we get ready for some Black Friday fun.

One of our favorite traditions is celebrating our wedding anniversary by returning to the place where we were married and taking a picture in front of the gazebo. We are especially excited for the next photo, knowing it will show how our family has grown.

We both knew from a young age that we wanted to become parents. It has always felt like something that would bring even more joy, purpose, and meaning into our lives.

When we think about parenthood, we imagine all of the big milestones and the little everyday moments that make a family’s story so special—hearing a first word, watching first steps, celebrating the first day of school, cheering at graduations, and supporting our child as they grow into exactly who they are meant to be, while knowing they have the agency to make their own decisions. We are excited for stroller walks, playtime, nap time, age-appropriate activities, and all the simple routines that become treasured memories.

More than anything, we look forward to raising a child with love, patience, kindness, and compassion, and teaching them to be caring, loving, and nurturing toward others. We know parenting will be rewarding and challenging, messy and exhausting, and sometimes filled with spit-up and diaper blowouts—but we also know it will be magical. We feel so ready and grateful for the opportunity to begin this adventure together.

Rather than a favorite vacation spot, we have a favorite vacation way.

Generally we prefer to vacation ocean-side, like going to the coast of Maine for some whale watching and to enjoy delicious lobster by the ocean, or going down to South Carolina for some gator bites and fried green tomatoes by the beach. We love vacations in Disneyland in Florida, especially to see how the parks are all dressed up for Christmas and Halloween.

For longer trips we prefer to fly, but we absolutely loved our road trip through Canada, driving from the US and through the Ontario and Quebec provinces, then driving down the East Cost of the United States back home. For shorter vacations we like long weekend trips with friends to explore cute towns, art exhibits, and new restaurants.

Wherever we go, we like to find interesting sights and activities to do and new local foods to try.

Both of our parents live close by, and we spend time together every week. Julia is an only child and Ashland has a brother who is 4 years older and lives about a half hour away. Ashland’s mom has a dog and a cat, and Julia’s parents have a cat. Ashland’s mom likes spending time with her sister at the pool and shopping, and Julia’s parents like going to the ballet and opera. We love going to Disneyland on family vacations with Ashland’s mom and brother, and we love going to resorts with Julia’s parents. We meet up for dinner at Julia’s parents’ house or at our house every week, and play tabletop games like dominos and ring toss. With Ashland’s mom we celebrate special occasions with brunch at a favorite restaurant by her home.

Our family tradition is to celebrate and uplift our family for any achievement or win, big or small, by gathering with family for one of Julia’s mom’s specialty homemade meals, or going out to eat at a nice restaurant. What makes our family unique is that we both come from parents who make us feel safe, loved, and supported no matter what, and they taught us that no matter what life throws at you it’s going to be ok as long as you have your family.

Our families are beyond excited to welcome a grandchild! They are very supportive of our adoption plan and with us every step of the way.

We live in a peaceful suburb of a large city, with green spaces, great school district, and a wonderful mix of families. Our neighborhood feels warm, safe, and welcoming, with sidewalks for walks, bike rides, and meeting neighbors along the way. Many young families live nearby, including children of all ages, and we can easily picture this child growing up with neighborhood friends close by. Within walking distance, there is a large playground, tennis and basketball courts, a baseball field, and a shaded walking trail. A mile away is our neighborhood swim club, with five pools, including two just for children. We also appreciate being close to everyday conveniences like Costco, Wegmans, Target, and Whole Foods, and the city, while still enjoying the calm, leafy feeling of our community.

Our home is a bright and spacious 2,000-square-foot townhouse with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a garage, driveway, balcony, and front and backyard. We love the large bedrooms, big windows, and closets, as well as the beautiful green canopy the bedrooms and living room overlook. The walk-out basement offers a big play and recreation space, and the open layout lets us imagine cooking in the kitchen while watching this child play nearby. With warm maple floors, neutral accents, colorful art, and live plants throughout, our home feels cozy, cheerful, and inviting. We cannot wait to fill it with even more love, laughter, bedtime stories, playtime, and family memories.

We are grateful that you’ve chosen to look at our profile and hopeful that you will choose us.

We met in 2016, on April 15th to be exact, which is important to note because at that time Ashland was working as a Tax Accountant and that day is the busiest day of the busiest time of the entire year for Tax Accountants. It was a coffee date at a local café during the workday, immediately there was a spark between us and Ashland tried his best to be present, but it was clear to us both that it was challenging, so we agreed on a second date later that day. We both showed up in our pajamas and comfy shoes, and spent hours exchanging travel stories and laughing over French fries and sweet tea at a local diner. Our third date was the next day for brunch and we’ve been together ever since.

We got married in the fall of 2021, in a small outdoor ceremony at a gazebo on a lake at Julia’s parents’ community. It was a beautiful warm October day, with a backdrop of bright orange and red maple leaves against the calm lake and blue skies, and it was made even more perfect by the presence of our family and friends to witness our union.

We find joy and laughter in everyday life, see the beauty that is all around us in the world, and are always learning new things and exploring new places. We are excited to nurture and love your child unconditionally, and share this incredible world with them. We can’t wait to see the world through their eyes, and experience the magic of childhood with them all over again. We live in a diverse, safe, and welcoming neighborhood with a lot of kids and green spaces for them to enjoy. We also chose this neighborhood for the great school district, and are excited to watch your child learn and grow, discovering what they like and excel at. We are also looking forward to sharing all of our family traditions and histories with your child. We plan to teach them about their background and keep them connected with their birth parents, including sending letters and pictures to the birth parents.

We are close with our families, and love spending time and making memories with them. We are both lucky to have come from loving and supportive families where we felt safe to make mistakes, learn, and grow, knowing that our parents supported us and helped guide us no matter what. We are looking forward to watching our parents become grandparents and spoiling this child with all of the grandparent love.

Being chosen by you would mean the world to us, it would literally make our dream of becoming parents come true. This child will be loved unconditionally, knowing they are safe asking questions and sharing their feelings, knowing that it is ok to make mistakes and that we will always be there to help them, support them, celebrate and love them unconditionally.

Ashland & Julia