Every parent has hopes and dreams for their children, and we're no exception. However, our dreams may differ from others. We do not want to push a child into playing piano at Carnegie Hall by the age of five, attend an Ivy League school, be a future Olympic gymnast, millionaire, or the CEO of a mega corporation. Instead, we recognize that every child comes with their own personality, hopes, wishes, and dreams to pursue someday. While achievement is to be celebrated, we feel the content of a person's character is what really matters.

As parents, our hope and dream for a future child would be for them to grow up in a home feeling accepted and loved. We intend to teach values like kindness, love, honesty, respect, hard work, and integrity. We believe who someone is as a person is more important than any job title. We intend to raise a child who will one day be independent, self-driven, contributing members of society in whatever form they see fit. Our dream is to enable a child to feel secure, explore their own interests and dreams, and for us to be a part of their journey in discovering a life of meaning and purpose.

Cultural diversity, inclusion, and celebration is very important to us. As part of the LGBT+ community, we know the power of "chosen family."

Both of us are fortunate to have been exposed to many different cultures throughout our lives. While in school, Alex worked in Central America on humanitarian missions while Garth spent time teaching English in rural China. We both became fluent in Spanish through school and volunteering. Our local community is made up of folks from diverse social, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds.

We acknowledge that we walk through the world with certain privileges that inevitably create blindspots in our perspective, and we recognize that many BIPOC individuals and communities have endured/been shaped by experiences that are different from our own.

As a potential transracial family, we would make connection to our child's background and heritage a top priority. As such, we would deliberately plan to:

We know we'll make mistakes at times, but humbly feel that we have the access, skills, connections, and community to support us and (most importantly) our child as a transracial family.

Garth About Alex: Alex is the most nurturing, intelligent, funny, and talented person I've ever met. He's my biggest supporter, best friend, and the wind beneath my wings. When I feel down or frustrated, he knows how to pick me right back up. Alex is always kind, warm, supportive, and knows how to make me laugh. I love that he never takes himself too seriously and lets his (proverbial) hair down. Silliness is one of our love languages, and happy dances are a regular part of life. I know he always has my back in every situation, and I feel like we're both extensions of each other. Through all the craziness of life, Alex has been my uncontested rock. I never feel "at home" without his presence.

Alex About Garth: Garth is kind, empathic, patient, and thoughtful. He has a way of intuiting what folks are thinking or feeling and is able to meet them where they are and make them feel validated. He doesn't take himself too seriously, and loves to laugh. He puts up with my antics and is my favorite co-conspirator. He loves adventure and takes me out of comfort zone in ways that make me grow and become a better person. I feel unbelievably lucking to have him in my life.

After years of saving, we bought a split-level house last summer in Washington State. We are in love with our home and community. Nestled on a forested hillside near a large PNW metropolitan area, we are surrounded by greenery, trees, mountains, beaches and water while enjoying a short commute to a thriving city scene. Our home is 1,600 square feet with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a fenced yard. Playing with our dog, gardening, and having friends over for bonfires are some of our favorite activities.

While looking for a home, we were attracted to our community for a number of reasons. First, we live in one of the most diverse communities in the PNW. Our community represents a wide range of nationalities, cultures, and racial backgrounds. There is every kind of restaurant, shop, art, cultural festivals, and parks imaginable within a short distance. Our favorite place to visit is the local Japanese Garden.

Our community also provides access to a number of activities both indoors and outdoors. We have everything from libraries, pools, and museums to outdoor activities like hiking trails, beaches, and places to see and enjoy wildlife. Our community is very well-rounded where opportunity and activities abound.

Family has always been really important to us and we both come from large families. Our families live out of state, but we enjoy facetiming and traveling to spend time with our parents, siblings, nieces, and nephews.

When we get together with Alex's family, we always have a good time. His dad and stepmom are the life of the party and have hearts of gold. We also love spending time with Alex's mom. She runs a historic hobby farm where we've ridden horses, shorn sheep, and tended to the chickens. Alex's biological sister is arguably the funniest person you've ever met with wit to match, and his stepsisters are outgoing and friendly.

Garth grew up in a devout Christian household with his two older brothers and younger sister. His mom is very kind and a fantastic story-teller, and his dad works hard both professionally and as a volunteer in his religious community. When we get together with Garth's siblings, we love playing board games and chatting the night away. His in-laws feel like they've always been part of the family, and each of his nieces and nephews are adorable with big personalities for such tiny bodies.

All of our loved ones are thrilled for us to grow our family through adoption, and we've received a humbling amount of love and support.

Whoever you are and whatever your journey has looked like leading up to this moment, we imagine it must have taken an incredible amount of courage and strength to be here. We hope you feel seen, heard, valued and supported. Please know that whatever decision you make, it will be the right one. We feel honored that you are reviewing our profile and considering us as potential adoptive parents. Thank you for taking the time to get to know us.

Our names are Alex and Garth and our story begins years before we met each other. As we both come from large families, we were both strongly drawn towards parenthood with the desire to have a family someday. The internet-dating stars aligned, and we met during the summer of 2015 and began dating long-distance. Garth was finishing up his undergrad degree in Utah, and Alex was wrapping up his medical training in Virginia.

We bonded over our mutual love of Tex-Mex food, shared knowledge of Spanish, similar backgrounds, and goofy senses of humor. We also felt drawn to each other because of our matching desire to have a family someday, however, we knew that as an LGBT couple, our journey to creating a family would look different than it did for our parents, siblings, and friends.

After countless bowls of guacamole, two cross-county moves, and a wedding, we've been together for six years (married for three of them). We've finished school, created a cozy home together, raised a pup named Timber, and have progressed in our careers. Alex works in a local clinic caring for patients of all ages and also teaches medical students. Garth works in Human Resources for a large Aviation company, but plans to make a temporary career change to meet our family's needs.

In recent years, we've felt the tug and desire for parenthood get stronger and stronger. We've been eagerly educating and preparing ourselves for adoption and feel like we've arrived at the right time to start this journey.

We're really excited for parenthood! As prospective parents, we're committed to providing a loving, happy, and secure home. We deeply believe that the core quality of one's character is much more important than someone's background, what they do for a living, or where they're from. Our approach to parenthood is led by our family's values of love, honesty, empathy, curiosity, courage, intentionality, kindness, gratitude, connectedness, patience, humility, balance, and creativity. Although we are imperfect people, we hope to exemplify these values in our home and raise a child who shares our love of laughter and fun, exploration, and nature. We're excited to share our lives and experiences with you via email, pictures, phones calls, texts, and even visits (with respect to your preferences and comfort level).

We look forward to getting to know you, virtually or in person, on your terms and in your own time. We know this is a big decision and want you to feel empowered and supported to make the decision you feel is right. We greatly appreciate your time and consideration.

Best,

Alex & Garth