We are extroverted introverts, and our lifestyle reflects it. Our home life includes a lot of time with the two of us and our pups, reading on a Saturday afternoon or relaxing with a movie on a Friday night. Savannah frequently redecorates while Sam completes a house project. Our home is our sanctuary, and we hope it can become the same for our child. In the evenings, we have yard time with the dogs, where everyone plays and enjoys the sunset. Our dog Calvin recently "discovered" and barked at the moon for about a minute, which was hilarious to watch.

We also cherish time with our people, getting together for dinners downtown and spending Thursday nights catching up with our closest friends.

We love to travel and create new memories--like the time we visited a sea turtle hospital! Traveling is also an opportunity to spend time with loved ones. In the past year, we've traveled to the UK and Ireland for a wedding, Seattle for a birthday party, Napa for a birthday trip, Mexico and Florida for our anniversary, and Savannah's hometown to see her family.

Regarding work, we have chosen people-focused careers. Sam teaches high school English and Savannah practices immigration law. We're fortunate that both of our jobs allow us to prioritize our marriage and family over work. While the work itself is challenging, we enjoy a great deal of flexibility and leisure time, which will allow us to be very present in our child's life.

It's no secret that we take pet parenting VERY seriously! We've both had a deep, spiritual love for animals from the beginning, and as a couple, it's only intensified. For Savannah, pets have always been family (rescue pets in particular). In fact, it's difficult for her to recall special memories from her childhood that do not involve a dog or cat…or two or three. For Sam, his childhood dog and turtle were steadfast friends.

We became pet parents in 2016 when we adopted our precious Paisley, a black-and-white pup who quickly became our soulmate. Calvin, our beautiful hound boy, joined us later that year. Paisley picked him out, and they have been best friends ever since! Finally, Lemon, our fiercely affectionate girl, joined us in 2022, bringing a big personality and tons of laughs with her.

Our adventures with and care for our pets have strengthened our marriage, whether it's been jointly teaching them to swim, playing silly games, or helping Paisley recover after her three knee surgeries. We're happiest when we're all together, partly due to the ridiculous dog voices we've invented for them. We're so excited to watch our future child build their own relationships with our pets!

We love the breadth of cultural diversity in our neighborhood and our jobs--it's what drew us to where we live. Through the relationships we've established, we know the importance of putting assumptions aside and listening to others' experiences in order to understand them. We also know how essential it is for young people to be surrounded by role models who look like them and come from the places they do. We will consistently seek to understand our child's heritage, share this knowledge with our child, and because of where we live, immerse our child in experiences and relationships tied to their background. We will also encourage them to be curious about their cultural heritage and provide them resources to explore, especially as they grapple with their identity in later adolescence.

It's important to acknowledge that there will inevitably come a time in our child's life when someone intentionally or unintentionally hurts them out of ignorance or prejudice. When this happens, we will be by our child's side to support them through this experience, which could mean connecting our child with someone who will be able to identify with our child through shared experience. As with all things, we approach cultural diversity from a place of open-mindedness, humility, and discovery and we will strive to learn as much as we can to support our child in appreciating their cultural background. We will celebrate what makes them who they are!

We live in a vibrant mid-sized city in North Carolina, full of history and character. Our neighborhood's diversity enriches our lives and would offer your child a wonderfully inclusive environment. We love spending time with our best friends and their kids, who live just down the street. We consider them family.

Given our proximity to downtown, we have easy access to our favorite restaurants, city parks, and playgrounds. We enjoy spending time with our nephew at the local science and nature museum, which has wolves, bears, a replica moon lander, and so many other cool exhibits!

We have loved restoring our 1915 home over the past four years, turning it into our own little oasis. We consider ourselves caretakers of this historic home, and we love working together on house projects. Our large fenced-in backyard offers ample space for fun and games (our dogs can attest!) as well as a basketball court that we know your child would enjoy.

As a teacher, Sam is deeply involved in the school community. Your child would have the opportunity to attend the school where Sam works from K-12, benefiting from a consistent and supportive educational environment and ensuring your child would have a strong sense of belonging and community at home and school. Savannah's office is five minutes from our house, and she enjoys the ability to work from home multiple days a week.

We love our home and neighborhood and can't wait to share what makes it special with our future child!

We both come from large families. Sam, the youngest of four siblings, lives close to his family and frequently visits his parents, known by their grandchildren as "Goodie" and "Choo Choo." While Savannah's family lives a bit further away, we make concerted efforts to spend time with them. Known as "Sas" by her family, Savannah is the third of four siblings. The grandkids call her dad "Coach," a nod to his love of sports, and her mom "Mimi." Our entire families are excited for us to adopt a child!

Both families share a love of spending time outdoors--and a little friendly competition. At Sam's family beach house, we all gather to enjoy good food, often cooking locally caught seafood together. Sam enjoys gardening alongside his mom and bonding with his dad over basketball, especially their favorite game: "H-O-R-S-E."

Savannah and her family enjoy hiking, kayaking, and lake time. Just recently, we met up with Savannah's brother and sister-in-law to go whitewater rafting. In addition, her family loves game nights, in particular word games requiring strategy and quick thinking. We're all excited for the adventures we will share with our child, fostering a love of nature, fun, and exploration!

We hope this is the start of a lifelong relationship with you and your child! Thank you for the wisdom and thoughtfulness you're giving to the adoption process. We know there are many great families looking to adopt, and you probably have many questions as you determine the best path forward. Our goal is to make you feel comfortable and confident as you weigh the opportunities before you. If you select us to adopt your child, you can feel secure knowing that we will love them deeply just as we will cherish our relationship with you and value your insight as our child's birth mother. We're excited to communicate with you through updates, letters, photos, visits, and all the little traditions we'll create together! Sharing the joy of our parenthood with you will be our humble attempt to thank you for what you've given us.

As hopeful first-time parents of humans--we already have three fur babies--we're exhilarated by the possibilities! We won't pretend to know everything, but we are avid learners who will always do our best and seek the counsel of our community. Fortunately, we have no shortage of mentors and experience! Between us, we're the lucky aunt and uncle to eight nieces and nephews and are the honorary aunt and uncle to several more. Watching our siblings and friends become parents has been life-changing, and building our own relationships with their kids is better than we ever imagined. We can't wait for those same people to fall in love with our child, to form their own inside jokes, and to encourage and support us as we embark on parenthood.

Our loving foundation as a couple offers the support a child needs to grow. We met as college freshmen at a student-led ministry, and now--in our thirties and nine years into our marriage--we've grown and changed in ways we never expected. Our relationship has been both a constant and the catalyst for much of our growth. Savannah admires the way Sam shows up for our family, like how he makes sure we're always fed delicious meals. Sam appreciates Savannah's funny, playful personality, and how reliable and steady she is under pressure.

As a father, Sam will take great joy in teaching our future child new things. He'll be supportive and open-minded, helping our child solve problems while fostering a sense of independence. As a mother, Savannah will be a great listener and advocate for our child and will encourage their interests, whether it's memorizing Taylor Swift's entire Eras Tour setlist or playing a sport she's never even heard of. As siblings, our three pups will be the most attentive, affectionate nanny dogs you've ever seen, as evidenced by their obsession with their cousins. There's no shortage of love in our house, and we promise to express that love to our future child every chance we get.

We are passionate believers in the value of education. It's why we each pursued advanced degrees to help us build careers we're proud of: Sam as an educator and Savannah as an immigration lawyer. Our educational backgrounds gave us the tools to make our passions for justice and helping others a reality. We'll ensure our child receives a world-class education founded on diverse perspectives and commitment to service.

Last but certainly not least, we'll give our future child a life full of discovery, humor, and joy. When we look back on our lives, the best memories center on laughter and adventure. Fun isn't a bonus in our house: it's a priority. Whether it's playing Taboo, throwing absurdly specific theme parties, or traveling abroad for a family vacation, we promise the party won't stop!

We're honored that you've taken an interest in our family, and we pray you will experience peace and clarity as you make this decision.

Sam & Savannah