Adoption has always been a central part of our lives. Even before we got married, we discussed how we wanted to grow our family through adoption. Andrew's brother and cousin were both adopted — and one of Kelly-Lynne's close friends made an adoption decision for her child early in her life. We both know what it means to adopt, and what that experience can look like. We have deeply thought about adoption from the perspective of birth parents, adoptive parents, and children.

We initially decided to try to grow our family in ways other than adoption. But after struggling with infertility, and praying about our family planning decisions, we are now confident that we are ready to choose adoption as our path for our family. Making that decision has brought so much peace — we know that adoption is right for us, and we cannot wait to welcome a child into our home.

We see adoption as a life-long commitment to both raising a child and maintaining and cultivating a relationship with the child's birth family. Our goal is to have as open an adoption as possible, and to the extent that you wish it to be. We would love to talk to you more about what an open adoption might look like.

We both love exploring our neighborhood/city in our free time. Both of us like trying new restaurants, and there are unlimited options within a short drive of us. In the last few months, we have found a new favorite place for tacos, a new favorite place for dim sum, and a new favorite place for sushi. We keep finding new museums, stores, and parks to explore. Washington, D.C. is a great place to live, and we think it will be a great place for a child to grow up!

Andrew's favorite activity is going to see movies. He loves both classic movies (Hitchcock is a favorite) and going to see new movies at the theater. We host an Oscars party every year where we invite friends to dress up, eat snacks, and submit our predictions for who will win.

Kelly-Lynne's favorite activity is fashion. She has a blog focused on secondhand fashion and personal style, and she loves supporting local small businesses. She is also an expert on fashion history (Andrew's words, not Kelly-Lynne's).

We strongly believe that our child should grow up in an area that is diverse and embraces that diversity. We live a few miles outside of Washington, D.C., and attend a church located in the city. Our church emphasizes the importance of having a multicultural community — by hosting multiple affinity groups, singing worship songs in many languages, and holding special events throughout the year. Our weekly Bible study — which includes many of our closest friends, and the people whom we anticipate will be mentors and babysitters for our child — is racially diverse. Your child would grow up around role models of many different backgrounds, ethnicities, and life experiences.

In addition to being part of a diverse community, we plan to proactively seek out opportunities for a child to learn more about the world around them. We plan to continue to attend events and concerts around the city and seek out spaces where your child will feel most comfortable (including culturally specific barbershops/salons).

We live in a residential neighborhood in Virginia — a few miles away from Washington, D.C. There is a walking trail right by our house, which leads to a playground, rose garden, and picnic areas. We are also within walking distance of a public pool, miniature golf course, and several restaurants (we highly recommend our local ice cream shop — they've got purple Ube ice cream!). The neighborhood is full of families, and hosts a number of events throughout the year for kids — including an Easter egg hunt, Fourth of July party, and "Halloween parade" where everyone dresses up in their costumes.

Our home will be a great place for your child to grow up. We have a backyard with a patio, and we love to have fires/s'mores outside. Our kitchen is big enough to allow multiple people to cook together. And we have a finished basement with a guest room and bathroom — which allows us to have guests/family visit and stay with us. Our favorite place to hang out is our large family room in the back of the house — which has views of our garden, and where we can relax and watch the birds.

Kelly-Lynne's family immigrated to the U.S. from South Africa, and now live all over the world. Much of her extended family still lives in South Africa (we have visited South Africa and went on a safari, and cannot wait to visit again). Her parents and siblings now live nearby in Virginia and West Virginia. They have several holiday traditions — including lighting a Christmas pudding (fruit cake) on fire during the holidays, and holding a truly unique Easter egg "scavenger hunt." We also just welcomed our new baby nephew — the first child on Kelly-Lynne’s side!

Andrew's family mostly lives in Pennsylvania (think Philly suburbs meets Amish country). We love visiting them and going to the farmers' market — where, instead of getting vegetables, we mainly get donuts. We also love to play with our little nieces and nephews on Andrew's side of the family and have loved being there for them while they are growing up.

We love traveling to see extended family and are blessed to have a close-knit family that spends time with each other's family as well (Andrew's parents attended Kelly-Lynne's siblings' weddings).

Both of our families are excited about our plan to adopt. Kelly-Lynne's grandfather, Andrew's youngest brother, and other family members were adopted — so the family knows how amazing adoption can be. Your child will have many grandparents, aunts, and uncles that are excited to welcome them.

Thank you for considering our profile! We know that you are facing incredibly important decisions in the weeks and months ahead. Please know that no matter what decisions you ultimately make, you and your child will be in our prayers.

We hope that this profile will give you a snapshot of us and our hopes as future parents. Kelly-Lynne is a social media manager for a public health non-profit and a fashion blogger on the side. She always knows about the latest trends (Andrew's words, not Kelly-Lynne's) — and is great at finding new activities that our friends and family will enjoy. Andrew is a classic movie fan and attorney — he loves going to the theater and trying new restaurants around town (he also promises not to talk about law too much).

We have been married for about 5 years and live just outside of Washington, D.C. in a neighborhood with playgrounds and walking trails. We have spent the last few years together starting our own traditions (like making hot chocolate and driving to see crazy Christmas lights around our neighborhood) and going on adventures (traveling down the California coast alongside cliffs on Route 1 was a highlight). We are so excited to grow our family and share these memories.

We originally thought that we may want to grow our family through biological birth. However, after struggling with infertility, we began praying about where God may be leading us. We soon realized that adoption was the right decision. That decision has brought us both peace and joy.

Adoption is already a huge part of our lives. Kelly-Lynne's grandfather was adopted, Andrew's brother and cousin were adopted, and Kelly-Lynne's close friend made an adoption decision for their child earlier in their lives. We understand how beautiful and special adoption can be — and also have some perspective on the many emotions held by everyone going through the process.

We hope to provide a home for your child where they feel both loved and supported and can grow into the person they want to become. We will raise them in a church filled with amazing role models of different ages, ethnicities, economic levels, and cultural backgrounds. We will make sure they receive a world-class education that is tailored to their talents and interests (whatever they end up being). We cannot wait to take them to all of Washington, D.C.'s amazing museums, theaters, and monuments (The National Zoo! The Air and Space Museum! The Natural History Museum!) as well as travel beyond D.C. to visit family and explore around the world.

We are also committed to having as open an adoption as possible. We will regularly communicate with you over email/phone/video, and will often send letters and photos (as well as utilizing internet sharing sites like Tinybeans). We also would love to set up in-person visits with you — and are more than willing to travel to make quality time possible. We hope we can ultimately be a friend, and feel like family, to you.

We are very excited to get to know you, and we pray you will consider us as potential parents for your child. Thank you again for considering our profile, and hope to get the chance to talk soon!

Love,

Andrew & Kelly-Lynne