Hello! We are Angela & Darwin. We live in Aldie, Virginia, which is about 30 minutes outside Washington, D.C. We met in 2015 after a successful “Match” online. Previously, we had both been living in separate states, even as far as the East and West Coast a few years prior. Darwin grew up in California and Angela lived in Virginia all her life. Thanks to the military, we ended up living in the same state and thanks to online dating, we met! However, it was our shared sense of humor, devotion to family, love of animals, and Christian faith that helped us get to where we are today.
Dear Birth Mother...
Why We’re Adopting
We have been married since October 2018, and are excited to start our family through adoption. We’ve had several friends that have adopted or were adopted and understand that building a family can happen in so many special and loving ways. Because of these experiences, we always knew that we wanted adoption to be part of growing our family and after several miscarriages, we realized it was going to be a part of our story even sooner. Because of this, we are even more grateful to begin this adoption journey with you! We so appreciate you, and we would be so grateful if you would consider us as another loving heart to be in your child’s life. We can’t wait to get to you know more and truly appreciate you taking the time to get to know us!
Our Story
We met online back in 2015. Darwin was stationed in Maryland for work with the Air Force, and Angela lived in Virginia. When we first met, we both connected on faith, family, and how we enjoyed spending our free time. A few years later, Darwin took Angela to New York City around Christmastime and proposed to her on a snowy evening in Central Park. It was picture perfect. Since then, we have had many adventures traveling to different countries for work and fun, visiting each other’s families in California and New Jersey, going to Bible studies with friends from church, and just enjoying downtime together watching movies, playing games, hosting dinners, and taking our dog Gary on adventures as well.
About Angela, by Angela
I grew up in a northern Virginia suburb, about 30 minutes outside of Washington, D.C. Both of my parents were federal employees. My mom worked for the US Commerce Department and my dad, a retired Marine, worked for the US Secret Service. My parents worked long hours to make sure I had the kind of opportunities they didn’t have growing up and I am so thankful! I attended a Christian elementary school and then chose to go to a public high school. It was a culture shift! But one that I’m glad I experienced. I made lifelong friends that I still connect with to this day. When I wasn’t in school or doing homework, I was practicing piano, violin, or at roller skating practice. After high school, I attended the University of Virginia where I majored in English. After graduating, I pursued a career in writing and am finally fully using all of my writing and editing skills as a federal contractor. When I’m not working, or hanging out with our rescue pup, Gary, I visit my parents, help with rescue animals, cook, play music, dance, and hang out with Darwin and our friends.
About Angela, by Darwin
Angela has been a blessing to my life since the day we first met. Her enthusiasm, contagious smile, and humor easily attracted me to her from the beginning. She always finds the positive things in life and in people, accepting and encouraging others to be themselves and discover the abundant joys in life. Her youthful energy is demonstrated by her eagerness to dance to any song, decorate the entire house for the holidays, and make snow angels in our yard on a snowy day. It’s easy to see her sharing this kind of joy and enthusiasm with a child.
More than anything, I am grateful for Angela because of her warm and generous heart. She has always demonstrated her love for rescue animals, caring for her ill father, and constantly considering others first. When I was overseas in the military, she frequently sent gifts and letters to remind me of the comfort of home and how much I meant to her. She is the most tender-hearted, joyful, and loving person I have ever met and will be a blessing to any child.
About Darwin, by Darwin
I grew up with two amazing brothers and a large extended family. Every weekend there would be a great gathering of family and friends because there was always a birthday party, anniversary, graduation, or reason to celebrate together. Having been raised in Northern California, I love hiking and the outdoors. I earned degrees in biology and psychology in San Diego, California and am proud to be the first in my family to graduate college in the U.S. My passion for helping others naturally led me to a career in medicine as an emergency room physician. One of the most fulfilling parts of my job is providing comfort for patients in times of uncertainty or where there is nowhere else to turn to. Being an emergency room physician allows for flexibility in scheduling, generous time off, and never being on-call. The free time has allowed me to occasionally volunteer in humanitarian medical trips in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and other areas. I always take the time to learn new things and hope to encourage that with our future child.
About Darwin, by Angela
Darwin is one of the most determined people I’ve known. I think any good physician needs to have some element of determination, compassion, and ambition to properly care for their patients, and Darwin embodies all these qualities. In fact, these were some of the qualities that first attracted me to him along with his heart for family, faith, and serving others-- whether in the mission field or closer to home. Darwin has a fun-loving personality and connects easily with people and especially children. He’s not afraid to act silly if it elicits a smile from someone—grownup or child alike! When my father first became ill, Darwin made time to connect with him, help him navigate through the challenges, and added a lighthearted and joyful element, which helped bring laughter to a stressful time. Seeing someone love my parents, his new family, as much as I care for them, only made me appreciate him more. He certainly is a blessing in my life and will be one in any child’s as well.
List of Favorites!
Favorite Sports Team
Angela: Philadelphia Phillies
Darwin: San Francisco Giants
Favorite Ice Cream
Angela: Mint Chocolate Chip
Darwin: Hazelnut
Favorite Historical Figure
Angela: Maya Angelou
Darwin: Leonardo da Vinci
Favorite Seasonal Activity
Angela: Pumpkin Carving
Darwin: Corn Mazes
Favorite Dessert
Angela: Anything Chocolate
Darwin: Apple Pie
Favorite Lunch Box Snack
Angela: Chips
Darwin: Chocolate Chip Cookie
Favorite Musical Artist
Angela: Luke Bryan
Darwin: Frank Sinatra
Favorite Children’s Book
Angela: The Phantom Tollbooth
Darwin: Cat in the Hat
Favorite Hobby
Angela: Country Line and Swing Dancing
Darwin: Hiking
Hobbies We Love
We have so many hobbies, it’s hard to find the time to do them all!
Darwin Enjoys…
• Running and biking
• Learning the banjo
• Trying different restaurants
• Traveling
• Watching concerts and plays
• Going on medical mission trips and educating himself in new medical procedures
Angela Enjoys…
• Learning how to cook and bake new recipes
• Volunteering for the children’s ministry at church
• Playing and teaching the piano
• Traveling
• Playing the violin, singing, acting, writing, dancing (country line dancing, swing dancing, and salsa)
• Watching concerts and plays
• Occasionally running marathons
Down the road, we hope to travel with our parents and our future child to Scotland, Ireland, England, Greece, Hawaii, Alaska, and many other places!
Our Home
We live in a beautiful and somewhat rural area of Loudoun County, Virginia, and are surrounded by blossoming trees, friendly neighbors, and curious deer and rabbits. Our house and neighborhood are a welcome respite that we enjoy coming home to every day. We love playing with our dog, Gary, hosting family and friends, and enjoying the peacefulness of our woods-facing backyard—and all the four seasons—but most especially autumn; the trees really put on a show with all their magnificent colors!
We are so excited to share with our future child all of the incredible activities that are nearby! We are only 45 minutes away from the museums, monuments, and delicious restaurants that Washington, D.C. offers; and we are minutes away from horse country and local farms where we can go apple, peach, and strawberry picking. When we aren’t out and about, we enjoy relaxing at home. Our house is an open-style design with a large kitchen and airy family room—our kitchen is our favorite spot in the house where we love to spend time cooking, baking, and catching up after a day at work. We have several bedrooms, bathrooms, and a music room where we enjoy playing instruments!
Meet Our Loving Dog, Gary
Gary was rescued by Angela in 2011 from a local pet rescue. It was love at furry sight. Gary is a mix between a border collie and a flat coated retriever and looks like a little black bear with a white superman-type patch on his chest. He is a smart, silly, friendly boy who will be your best friend if you give him treats and belly rubs! Gary loves all people but especially kids since they tend to drop lots of treats that he gets to pick up. We know that Gary will make a great furry friend to your child!
Meet Our Family
We love spending time with our extended family and friends! Angela’s parents still live in the house Angela grew up in, which is only about 20 minutes away from us! Her mom is active and we enjoy taking her out to lunch, to the movies, or sometimes out for a spa day. Her father, unfortunately, is bed bound, due to the effects of Agent Orange during Vietnam. We love spending quality time with both of them. We also enjoy visiting Darwin’s family throughout the year or hosting them. We try to plan trips where both of our families can meet up together for a new adventure. Darwin’s mom is very active and loves traveling. His brothers, niece, and nephew are always up for exploring, too! We are also blessed to live near Angela’s cousins and some of our other close friends. We always enjoy visiting with them, playing sports, having dinner parties, and hanging out! Our friends and family are incredibly supportive of our adoption journey, and they can’t wait to show our future child so much love.
Thoughts on Parenting
We have always had a desire to share our love and lives with a child/children ever since we met. We have always had a desire to become parents in order to share our love with a child. Whenever that time comes, and we are blessed with our future child, we will make sure to show them unconditional love and grace, allowing them opportunities to learn from their mistakes and become confident in their own strengths, personality, and who God designed them to be. We also hope to be able to communicate with you, if that’s something you desire as well. We hope to learn about some of your family’s customs and traditions and be able to incorporate that into our future child’s life too.
We would love to take our future child on trips throughout the U.S. and around the world! We hope to share all of our passions with them--like animal rescue, church, connecting with family and friends, learning instruments, sports, and really seeing what interests them and encouraging that as well!
In Closing
Thank you for taking the time to get to know us! We can’t express how much we appreciate you, and we would be so grateful if you would consider us as another loving heart to be in your child’s life.
If chosen, we also hope to continue our relationship with you as well, as we would love for you to experience the important milestones in your child’s life, if that’s something you desire. We’ve always known that we wanted adoption to be a part of our journey, and it is our hope that you will entrust us with sharing in the love and care of your child.