Hi, we are Sarah and Mike from Los Angeles, California. Thank you so much for letting us share a little bit about ourselves. We’re here to support you through this process and want you to know how much we appreciate you.

We always thought adoption would be part of how we built our family. When we ran into fertility issues, adoption was an easy choice. We believe that we are part of a big, beautiful human family, and we are excited to put this belief into action in such an important way. We look forward to working with you to create an adoption plan that feels good to all of us.

We met 16 years ago at a small music show in Los Angeles, where we made each other laugh. On our first date, we went to the beach. At our wedding a few years later, our friend said our ceremony made everyone feel more in love. We’ve been married over a decade. We’re a great match because we value the same things: honesty, adventure, treating ourselves and each other with kindness, and appreciating people for their uniqueness and all the places and cultures they come from. We love walking with our dog Henry to explore our city and can’t wait to add a child to our strolls. There’s always music playing in our house, where we can be found doing silly dances to make each other laugh. We know that kids have all kinds of unexpected personalities and interests, and a child in our home will be free to become the person they want to be.

Because we’re both writers and editors, we get to work from home, which gives us excellent flexibility for raising a child. While Sarah will care-take when the baby is born, Mike also plans to take advantage of his employer's generous family-leave policy. Giving our baby a lot of time and attention is extremely important to both of us.

Many of my friends comment on my loyalty. Supporting my loved ones in both happy and hard times is really important to me. I’m also good at making people laugh, and if you need to find the best sandwich or coffee or doctor in a fifteen mile radius, come to me! On trips and weekends, I always plan both adventurous days and chill days. I think that’s a balanced way to parent, too. As far back as 4th grade, I knew that I loved to write. I feel very lucky that I’ve been able to realize my dream of becoming a writer and editor of essays, journalism, and more. Meeting new people and learning about new places and things are some favorite parts of my job. Mike is always amazed at all the stories I hear from people just while I’m out doing basic errands. People seem comfortable talking to me. I believe deeply that every being deserves respect and love, and has a uniqueness to share that the world needs.

Sarah is the kindest, most thoughtful person I know. Ever since we met, I was amazed at how she clicked with my parents, siblings, and nieces. I knew right away that if we ever decided to start a family, she’d be a natural. And I see it every time we hang out with our friends’ kids — they seem to flock to her. Sarah’s also a gifted writer. She went back to school as an adult and got her master’s degree in creative writing while holding down a full-time job. She’s a great listener, too. People come to her for advice or just to talk through things because they know she’s honest and trustworthy. She also knows how to make people laugh hard, really hard! She’s my co-pilot on all adventures, and she always knows where to find the best meal, no matter where we are or what time of day it is.

Outside is my happy place, and has been ever since I was a kid. I hike, mountain bike, surf, walk, and generally try to be moving around outside as much as possible. I’m really excited to show a child the trails, waves, and mountaintops that bring me so much joy and have shaped my life in so many ways. I love music. Classic rock, hip hop, old country, folk, blues, pretty much everything. A few years ago, I decided to take drum lessons — something I learned to do as a kid but never took too seriously. Now I play almost daily. So if my kid is into music, then watch out — it’s family band time! (And if not, that’s great too.) I’m also a reader and a writer. In fact, I love reading and writing so much that I became a journalist. My work appears in magazines, online, and on the radio. This means I get to talk to people and learn new things, and write about it all for a living!

After 16 years together, I can whole heartedly say this: Mike is the best! He’s an enormously caring, thoughtful, patient, smart, capable, and loving human. He makes life more funny, fun, and secure. On backpacking trips with friends, Mike keeps us on the right trail, pumps water, starts the fire, and makes sure all our supplies are in order. Wherever he is, Mike just makes others feel at home. Like any two people, of course we disagree at times, but even then Mike is able to talk through an issue until it’s resolved. It’s zero surprise that after we met, he quickly won over my family and friends. These days, if there’s a baby around, it’s likely to spend a long time in Mike’s arms. People always say that he’d be an amazing dad. And I couldn’t agree more.

We can’t wait to include a little one on our hikes through the canyons of Los Angeles and on bike rides along the beach. We recently took one of our best friends and her 13-year-old hiking in one of our favorite places, Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. We look forward to doing much more of that! Some other standout travel memories have been to American places like New Orleans, rural New Mexico, and Miami and to other countries like Spain, Brazil, and Thailand. We look forward to showing a child the beautiful diversity of cultures and landscapes that make up our world. We love taking in art—whether it’s a book, photography, painting, etc.—and we have a good number of artist friends.

Obviously, we’re animal lovers! Besides lots of play time with our dog Henry, we’re looking forward to taking a child whale watching and maybe even llama camping (which we got to do once before)! One day, we dream of going on a family safari. We love to read and look forward to reading favorite stories aloud to our child, like 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,' 'Alice in Wonderland', and folk tales of all cultures. Laughing is a hobby for us, so we love to watch comedy and sometimes go to stand-up shows. Other times we like to just hang out, talk, and listen to all kinds of music.

We got our dog, Henry seven years ago from a nearby rescue. He’s super gentle and sweet with kids, who love to pet his silky ears. (We do too!) We think dogs are one of life’s great gifts and look forward to saying “yes” if a child asks for another one.

We live in a sweet Spanish cottage in a lovely, green neighborhood in Pasadena, which is a historic town in Los Angeles County. We're friends with many of our neighbors, who we see in the mornings and evenings walking dogs and strollers. After work, parents and kids gather in each other's yards, and that's year-round because we have good weather so much of the time. The neighborhood has wild peacocks and parrots, which kids love! We spend a lot of time in our backyard, barbecuing and sitting by the fire with friends and even growing some of our own vegetables. We've always pictured a toddler exploring the grassy lawn and joining family time in our cozy living room filled with sunlight and music. When it comes time for school, it will be a priority for us to find a place that's a great fit for the child's personality and gives them a lot of opportunities.

We have a tight-knit group of friends with lots of kids of all ages. There’s always action: pool parties, ping-pong, beach days, BBQs, you name it! Sometimes in summer, we take road trips and rent a house together in the mountains, where everyone goes hiking, fishing, horseback riding, or just hangs out and plays sports. Four of our good friends are also about to become parents, so there will definitely be other babies joining our crew. One of the greatest honors of our lives: Our friends are so sure we’ll be loving parents that two families have asked us to be guardians of their children in case of an emergency. We have close relationships with our four nieces, who we often see for fun dinners out or mellow dinners in, where we cook for them. Grandma and grandpa (on Sarah’s side) look forward to kids’ art activities. On Mike’s side, there’s another grandpa, two uncles, and two aunts to joke around with on Thanksgiving, family birthdays, and other times. Sarah's cousins are another important part of our lives, and they bring six more kids in the mix and a whole lot of fun holidays and vacations.

The more love this child has in their life, the better. We’d love to figure out a connection with you that we’re all comfortable with. We’re also committed to incorporating our child’s cultural heritage into our lives and to continue learning about parenting adopted kids. We’ll raise our child to be proud of being adopted! We believe in communicating gently, openly, and respectfully with a child to understand their behaviors and needs. We want our child to feel safe to share their feelings about anything. We want our child to be able to learn from mistakes and love themselves unconditionally. We know that happy kids are kids who are free to be their truest selves. We will let our child’s uniqueness be our guide and support their interests, so they can grow into happy adults who know how to love and be loved.

Our hearts are with you as you make this challenging and important decision. If given the chance, the most important thing we do in our lives will be to raise your child to feel unconditionally loved and supported, so they can become the beautiful person they’re meant to be. We will work hard every day to accomplish this and to provide your child everything they need to be happy and healthy. We’re so grateful that you’ve taken time to learn about us. We’d love to have the chance to meet.