Adoption has always been a part of our lives. Dustin's oldest brother was adopted by his father. Clint's cousin, who grew up next door, was also adopted. We both had the opportunity to see how adoption was positive for everyone involved. Both families welcomed the adopted children with open arms and hearts full of love. To all of us, they weren't adopted; they were just part of the family. As we have gotten older another of Dustin's bothers has fostered several children. In both of our extended families several aunts, uncles, and cousins have adopted one child or several children. For us, adoption is very familiar, and we cannot wait to grow our own family through adoption!

Most of this profile is about the two of us, but it really should include our other two family members. Gus, a nine-year- old Boarder Terrier, and Finnegan, a nine-year-old Toy Australian Shepard Mix. While it might sound silly, our boys are the reason that we know we're ready to be parents. They showed us just how much love we have in our hearts to give. They showed us that this love doesn't go away even when it is 2 a.m. and you're comforting them because they are sick, they broke something that is important to you, or they do something even though they know it is naughty. They also showed us how special it is to receive snuggles and to play. Our dogs have been like children to us for a long time. We are so excited to introduce them to their new baby brother or sister because we know that they will love them unconditionally.

Over the past year we had the opportunity to attend Dia De Los Muertos, Juneteenth, the Lunar New Year, and Pride festivals. These, and the many other cultural celebrations and events that we were able to participate in, are possible because we live in one of the most diverse parts of the country. From our neighborhood, to our small town, to the much larger metro-area that we live in diversity is everywhere. We won't have to look far to find a connection to almost any community.

We strongly believe that exploring cultures, getting to know people different from us, and understanding their perspective is what makes people great. Celebrating cultures is a value that will be present in our home. We don't think that anyone should ever have to give up their culture, even if they are adopted. Rather we can learn more and incorporate culture into our home, traditions, and our everyday life.

We live in the kind of neighborhood that kids dream about. We live in a small city that is safe enough for children to explore. We live a few blocks away from the local elementary school and only a few houses away from a small park. Our neighborhood is filled with children, so your child will have an abundance of friends to grow up with. We also live pretty close to a major city. There is always something to do, see, or experience. Your child will have the opportunity to be exposed to anything that they want to learn about or do.

We live in a standard three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in a pretty standard neighborhood. But, that is where standard ends. We have an amazing back yard. We have fruit trees, a giant garden, grass to play games on, and enough space to play chase and fetch with the dogs. There is plenty of room to build a treehouse, read a book, or just having an adventure. Our yard is waiting for your child to make it their own.

Dustin's dad once spoke about his growing family. He said that during one point in his life he thought that there was only so much love that someone had to give. He went on to acknowledge that as each of his grandchildren were born his heart grew because love is infinite. This simple idea sums up both of our families.

Dustin comes from a large family, six siblings and 30 (and more on the way) nieces and nephews. Clint comes from a smaller immediate family, one sister, one niece, and one nephew, with a massive extended family of over 200 people! Even though there are a lot of us we get together often; we camp, we play games both in person and online, and most importantly we laugh a lot and loudly!

Christmas is a time for many of our family traditions. Dustin's family is more religious and traditions revolve around their faith. Each year we, as a family, read the nativity while all of the nieces and nephews dress up in costumes to act it out. These costumes hold a special place as they are the same costumes used by Dustin and his siblings when they were children. We then read The Christmas Orange to remind us of spirt of the season while share chocolate oranges.

Clint's family tends to be less religious and their traditions focus on family. Each year we do a large Christmas activity like sledding, taking a Christmas train, or visiting a Christmas market. The family then gets together every Christmas Eve to exchange gifts, change into pajamas, play games, and watch a movie by the fire.

If you choose us your child will never be without family, tradition, or a smile. We can't wait for everyone's heart to expand a little more as their love grows for your child.

Hello,

Thank you for taking the time to look at our profile. We can't imagine the decisions that you're being faced with right now. But we are grateful that you are considering adoption for your child. Adoption is near and dear to our hearts, as many of our family members have adopted or are currently fostering. We hope that as you learn more about us that we might be the right fit for you and your child.

As we write this letter it is spring where we live. For us, that means it is time to prepare our garden for planting. During a recent trip to the hardware store for supplies we found a children's corner with small gloves, a miniature trowel, and a small shovel. It sounds like an insignificant find, but it made us pause. It was in that moment that we really saw how a child will fit into and enhance our lives. With us, a child will grow and flourish like our garden. They will spend countless days playing the dirt, learning about the world, and growing.

We have been together for almost 20 years and will be married for 10 years this fall. Being together so long means that we've grown into the people we are now, together. We have had the privilege of exploring the world, buying property, growing gardens, and raising two amazing dogs. For a long time, we thought this was enough. We were happy, we were active, and we were fulfilled with our life. That is until we realized that there was something missing, a family of our own. We saw members of our family adopting or fostering and were able to see how much love and joy it brings to everyone involved. Now we know that it is the right time for us to share everything that we have and everything that we learned with a child.

As we embarked on this journey, we were confronted with new ideas that we hadn't really every considered. What we would tell a child about adoption and you are one of those ideas. It was, however, easy for us to figure it out. We believe that love is what makes a family; not what you look like, not who you are, where you're at, or how often you see each other. Because we know that if you choose adoption, it is out of deep and undeniable love you are family and will always be. Because you're family that means you would get to drive what our relationship looks like. We will send as many photos as you want us to, we will meet as often as you'd like to see us, and we will work together to ensure that your child knows nothing other than love.

We would be remised to not introduce you to two other members of our family. Gus and Finnegan are our dogs. They are both 10 years old and for their whole life we have treated them like our children. They are pampered beyond belief. They are two dogs who love to play with kids. We know that if they were able to add to this letter or, well, talk at all they would tell us that they are excited to add another person to our pack and that they are ready to share a billion kisses and snuggles. They probably would say that they don't want to share toys or treats though.

Thank you again for taking the time to read this letter and to get to know us a little better. We know that at the moment you have so many choices to make. We hope, that as you make those choices selecting us is an easy one. We know that we will be the most amazing parents because we want to share our love so much. We hope that you will help us to grow our family, just like a garden with a little seed of love.

We hope to talk soon,

Clint & Dustin