We have always imagined being parents and dreamed about all the everyday moments and big milestones. Becoming parents will be a dream come true for us! We are so excited to experience all those firsts – little things like tip-toeing through the grass, picking tomatoes from our garden, and splashing in puddles after a good rain.

As avid book readers, we cannot wait to start reading to your little one. We would love to include your favorite book as well! We have a great community trail near our house (Arkansas is known for its wonderful outdoors) and look forward to taking a stroller through the tree-lined path. When visiting the local ranch where we volunteer, the little one will see and pet horses, tiny ponies, sheep, goats, and donkeys!

We also want you to know we will honor your child’s activity preferences. Will he or she love scouting, 4-H, dance, athletics or anything else? Our number one goal as parents will be to love and nurture your child every single day of our lives.

Felipe was born in a dynamic city in Mexico and grew up with Spanish as his first language. He loved watching his mother cook and hearing her stories about her childhood in a small town in Veracruz, a state on the coast of Mexico. Felipe has a close-knit family and grew up surrounded by grandparents, aunts and uncles, his brother David, and his cousins, one of whom was adopted within the family. Felipe has always enjoyed learning how his Mexican identity is the result of the encounter of multiple cultures. We will offer our child the opportunity to learn Spanish as well as learn about Mexican traditions such as Dia del Niño (Day of the Child) and Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead). Felipe honors family members who have passed on Dia de Muertos with their favorite foods. Felipe became a US citizen nearly a decade ago, and feels happily in touch with the American culture he began absorbing in Mexico through literature, popular music, and cinema.

Karen was born in Connecticut and has British and Italian ancestors. Karen's grandfather moved to the United States from England with his family as a teenager, and he eventually served in World War II. We still have a lot of family records and genealogy available. Karen's great-grandparents on her dad's side immigrated to the United States from Italy and Karen's aunts still make some of their cookie recipes today.

We enjoy our time in our home with our cat Sophie. On weekends Felipe will make French toast or omelets in the morning, and we will go on walks on our community trail. We'll usually go out to eat a couple of times a week. Our favorites include Thai, pizza, and sushi. We look for new exhibits at the art museum that we can appreciate on an afternoon. We attend many of the local plays, musicals, and college activities right in our town. Felipe takes great care of the lawn, and Karen focuses on organizing and cleaning the house. We both enjoy growing vegetables in our raised bed. It's very rewarding to cook using basil, cucumber, eggplant, and green onions from our backyard. Felipe is the cook of the house. He loves when Karen finds new recipes, which is an arrangement that Karen appreciates! At night after we've gone for a walk, we will often watch programs on our projector with our cat Sophie on our laps. Shows we watch together include The Bear and Silo, and a handful of others about house design or tiny houses. On nice days, we go hiking at the parks. Karen usually will go horseback riding 1-2 times a week and assist with the riding classes. Karen has a women's book club and Felipe a men's board game group. While we have fun on our vacations, we are always happy to return to our house and relaxed, everyday life.

Karen appreciates that Felipe is so creative, adaptable, and hardworking. He is very family--oriented, and enjoys his time with Karen and his family. Felipe is very caring and a good listener. He is a collaborative partner, working together with Karen in the garden and taking care of our house and cat Sophie. Felipe enjoys trying out cooking new recipes. He is dedicated to helping students with their writing, and enjoys talking about many different writing subjects. Felipe is very extroverted and enjoys speaking with people, whether in the community or at book talks and lectures. He is always willing to take on a new challenge--whether it is a new role on a committee, setting up my mother's new computer, or fixing something around the house.

Felipe loves Karen's strength, resilience, and kindness. Karen stays calm and focused in trying times and has smart solutions for all kinds of problems, from the organization of the house to where to find something on the internet. Karen is a great researcher, which is ideal for her library work. Also ideal for her library work is her immense care for others. She is always thinking of everyone's needs whenever she makes plans. Felipe says that everything that is lovely in his life comes from Karen, because she is dedicated to creating beautiful and cozy spaces. Felipe delights in Karen's sense of humor, which is low-key but surprising.

We live in a family-friendly college town in Arkansas. Children often play in the front yards of our quiet suburb and our house is within walking distance of a community trail where families ride bikes and walk. We walk on the trail to get ice cream, go to a restaurant, and see herons, turtles and bunnies in and around the creek. We are a short drive away from splash pads, a community swimming pool with waterslides and a lazy river, and playgrounds. The local park has a lake and frisbee golf course. Within a thirty-minute drive we can see some of the most beautiful parks in the state, with lovely hiking and swimming locations. The town and colleges stage children's plays and theatre productions and host bands and symphonies. The colleges have many activities for kids, such as cultural festivals, sports games, and camps. Our town has a yearly arts festival and a town festival with games, music, and fairground attractions. We are within driving distance to art, history, and science museums. Our house has three bedrooms and two bathrooms, with a large cozy living room, dining room, and a sunny eat-in kitchen. We have a large back and front yard, and a raised bed for vegetables.

Hello.

We are Karen and Felipe, and we hope you will get to know us a little bit through these words. We want to start by telling you that we understand considering adoption must be tremendously difficult. We believe that whatever decision you make for your child will be the right one. We will support you in your journey, and if you choose adoption, become a loving family for your child.

We always wanted to become parents and made life decisions with that in mind. We were saddened when we discovered we could not have children, but knew there are many ways of becoming a family. We set our sights on adoption, and are very excited to build our family alongside you. We started dating in college in 2006 and married in 2011. We know how to work together as a team. We understand each other's strengths and lean on each other when needed. We cannot wait to see each other as parents and look forward to building our lives with a little one in the mix.

We mentor students at our universities, Felipe as an administrator and Karen in the library. Felipe has summers off, and he would be ecstatic to spend those summers with a child if they're not at camp or other fun activity! Karen previously worked in schools with children, teaching in a high school for two years and working in K-8 schools with students with disabilities for five years. Karen also worked at a daycare and a camp in college. All of these experiences have prepared us to raise your child thoughtfully and lovingly every step of the way.

We will be excited to see the child's interests develop and embrace their identity. We both experienced childhoods full of fun, structure, and respect for the persons we were becoming. Family time was the top priority. As parents, we will always put your child first, and love them for who they are and who they will become.

Storytelling matters to us. Our home is filled with it, which is why we are drawn to the idea of open adoption. Hearing the stories of both the birth and adoptive families is a positive experience for a child. They are the tales of the people that love them. We believe that we have the thoughtfulness, dedication, and humility to talk about adoption with the child and ensure they know where they come from and how much you love and care for them. If you are interested in an open adoption, we will join you wholeheartedly. We will send letters and pictures, and would welcome emails and phone calls. We would like to talk with you more about what you envision for an open adoption. We will try to find opportunities to meet in person through the years if that would work for you.

We're filled with hope for a future that will surprise us. It will be our honor to share that hope with you. Should we have the fortune to become the adoptive parents of your child, we will keep our eyes, minds and hearts open to what's to come. In every scenario, the child will be loved.

We'll be thinking of you. Thank you for reading.

Warmly,

Felipe & Karen