Cultural diversity has always been a part of both of our lives. Shelby's parents come from different religious backgrounds, so blending these cultures was a way of life. They were excellent role models in how to include and celebrate each other's heritage. Shelby learned to respect people who were different from her and to treat everyone with dignity. Empathy and inclusion were naturally part of Shelby's upbringing.

Fredrick grew up in New York City, the most diverse city in the world. Throughout his life, he has been surrounded by people who were different from him, including neighbors, classmates, and friends. Later, Shelby moved to NYC and embraced the diverse community as well.

These upbringings set us up to be open to a relationship with each other, since we also come from different backgrounds, with the biggest distinction being our religion. Thanks to the openness to others we were raised with, we easily found common ground and built a life incorporating each other's heritage. For example, our holiday season is made even more special by celebrating Christmas and Hanukkah (more decorations and lots of yummy meals!).

Furthermore, we have both worked in social services in diverse communities. This type of work requires humility, openness, and acceptance of all people. Through these careers, Fredrick as a civil servant and Shelby as a social worker, we both frequently used our fluent Spanish.

We know we will bring the same open approach for a child, appreciating and embracing their background. We will celebrate their identity and incorporate their heritage into the fabric of our family.

We strive for balance in all aspects of our life, and that includes how we spend our free time. We enjoy fun, exciting activities as well as just relaxing. At home, you can usually find Fredrick in the garage woodworking. In fact, he has dreams of using his skills to build a playset and even a treehouse for a child! Shelby spends most of her downtime exploring her creativity through cooking and sewing. She can't wait to bring a child's imagination to life through homemade Halloween costumes and everyday clothes (although a trip to Target is always fun, too!). While we love life in a rural community, we also frequently plan trips and go to cities to experience cultural opportunities and diversity. We especially love Boston, which is only a short drive away. We are also very proud of the work-life balance we have developed. We have dedicated our careers to helping others and making the world a better place for everyone, and we prioritize spending free time with the people we love and making memories together.

Food also plays a big role in our life - growing it, getting it from local farms, and cooking delicious meals, for ourselves or with friends and family. We also embrace diverse cuisine; Shelby is always learning new recipes (her latest passion is homemade pasta - yum!) and we love exploring new restaurants.

Music is also very important to us. Most evenings, Fredrick plays jazz or classical piano as the soundtrack to Shelby making dinner. Other times, he's filling our home with sounds from his collection of random instruments, like the trumpet, organ, or accordion. We also enjoy listening to live music and going to shows with friends. From spending time in nature, to playing sports, to learning music, to creating and enjoying family meals, we can't wait to share every aspect of our life with a child.

Both of us have always had pets in our lives. Growing up, Fredrick had an aquarium in his room. Taking care of fish taught him responsibility and gave him an appreciation for living things. Shelby's family always had dogs who were loved and cared for like any family member. Now, we have an adorable dog of our own, a 2.5 year old German Shepherd mix, named Mocha.

We adore Mocha and nothing brings us more joy than showering her with love and affection - which she seems not to mind! From the moment we wake up, she is all tail-wags and happiness. She elevates our mood and makes us laugh with her goofy personality. Mocha is the definition of loyalty and brings us comfort and security. As an added bonus, Mocha also helps us get more exercise through daily playing and walks.

To put it simply, Mocha is a member of our family. We know we will always want a dog to share our life with.

We live in a beautiful, rural town in New Hampshire. Our community is made up of individuals and families who enjoy activities that can only happen in a peaceful rural area - everyone has some kind of garden! There's also a strong culture of helping your neighbor, like checking in after a storm.

One of the reasons we chose this area was the strong school system and many families have made the same decision. The community has a library with children's story time and activities, playgrounds, and two state parks complete with trails, picnic areas, and a lake. Our town also hosts a summer carnival, fall harvests at the local farm, and ice skating in the winter.

We also love that bigger cities are only a short drive away, which provide access to shopping, restaurants, and arts and culture. We really feel we have the best of both worlds!

Our house is newly constructed four-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom, two-story Colonial with a basement, sitting on just over 4 acres of property. The main floor is open-concept with sight lines from the kitchen into the living room and plenty of open space for a child to play. Because music is such a strong tradition in Fredrick's family, we have converted the dining room to a music room, complete with Fredrick's grand piano, organ, record player, and several other instruments.

We also have a fenced-in backyard and acres of forest for any child to let their imagination run free.

Both sides of our family are incredibly supportive of our adoption journey. They are looking forward to sharing their love with this child and making them part of the family.

Fredrick's family is based in New York City where he grew up. He has two older sisters who each have two children. We see them occasionally and always know we have their support.

Shelby's parents live nearby and we are fortunate to see them frequently. She has one younger sister who lives with her husband and their 1-year-old son in Florida. We are very close with them and talk and video chat frequently. We see each other throughout the year, but we most look forward to our annual extended stay at the family lake house in Maine. We always have so much fun whenever we're together, whether we're sightseeing in new places or just gathered in the family room to watch a movie. Whatever we're doing, the atmosphere is always full of love, joy, and laughter.

In addition, we both have large extended families full of aunts, uncles, and cousins and more. We love small visits and big reunions and treasure celebrating life's milestones like weddings, birthdays, and graduations.

Growing up, we were raised with similar family values, which we hope to pass on to this child as well. We were taught to put family first, work hard, and love unconditionally.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. We deeply admire your courage and strength as you consider adoption for your child. We hope that learning more about us and the life we could offer your child might give you comfort and peace of mind. We can't imagine how difficult a decision this must be for you and are grateful you are even considering us.

We have been together for 11 years, married for 7, and are incredibly eager to grow our family through adoption. Our journey to become parents began many years ago. The happiest time in our life so far was with our biological child, Evelyn. We loved every moment with her, playing together, going on walks to show her the world, being silly, like singing and dancing together, and even late-night diaper changes. Tragically, when she was seven months old, Evelyn became very sick and, despite best efforts of doctors and specialists, she passed away. That experience shattered our world, but working through it together has given us strength and resilience we never thought possible.

When we were ready to begin trying to have a second biological child, Shelby experienced severe medical complications. As a result, we can no longer have biological children. When we heard that news, we knew that we were destined for adoption, a process we have welcomed with open arms and open hearts.

Even before these experiences, we have always been open to adoption. In fact, we openly discussed our feelings about adoption early on in our relationship and we were on the same page, always imagining it would be a part of our life together.

One factor that helped us be aware of the beauty of adoption is our careers in public service. Shelby is a social worker and has always felt a calling to support children to reach their full potential. Fredrick's nonprofit work connected him with diverse communities and exposed him to all the different ways to make a family. Together, we continue to uphold these values of education, empathy, inclusion, and human dignity. We will raise our child with these same principles, while encouraging them to discover their unique strengths and pursue their own passions.

Our extended family could also not be more excited and supportive for us to welcome a child through adoption. With grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on both sides of our family, this child will be absolutely showered with love and affection. In particular, Shelby's parents live very close and are eager to take an active role in the child's upbringing.

We are very excited for what the future holds for our family. We have so much love and joy to offer a child and are eager to create a life with them. We are especially looking forward to sharing the things that bring us so much joy, including music, food, the outdoors, our dog, and quality time with our friends and family.

We will always be grateful for the incredibly special role you will play in making it possible for us to grow our family. We are excited for you to be a part of our life and are dedicated to staying in touch, including photos, letters, and emails, and would welcome the opportunity to visit in person. We will always be open and honest with a child regarding their adoption story. We will make sure your child knows how much you love them and what a difficult and brave decision you made. You will always be reflected positively to them.

More than anything, we are so grateful that you are considering us as potential parents for your child. That you are even considering this process demonstrates your courage, your commitment to your child, and your selflessness. We hope that sharing our story and learning how you can make our dream of growing our family come true brings you some comfort as you make this incredibly difficult decision. You will be in our thoughts and forever have our respect.

Fredrick & Shelby