In our free time, we love spending time outside. We are lucky to be able to go on a hike almost every weekend, and New Mexico has so many beautiful places to explore. We also love camping when the weather is good, and enjoy sitting around the campfire talking and laughing until bed time. We love anything in the water, from snorkeling to kayaking, and never pass up an opportunity to swim. We enjoy going out to eat, trying new restaurants and new dishes. We look forward to introducing our baby to all kinds of yummy foods as they grow up and reliving our first time trying some of our favorites. We also love a good movie night at home or playing silly games on our Switch. Bringing a baby into all of these experiences will be so much fun and we cannot wait to discover all the things our baby will love to do.

Our lifestyle is relatively relaxed and predictable, in the best way. Ibrahim works 9-5 during the week, and Shelby’s remote work is flexible; usually she works in the early mornings and is done by lunch. We have a homemade dinner at home every weeknight. Neither of us works on the weekends, and we are lucky to be able to spend so much quality time together every week. On a long weekend, we like to pack up the car and go camping or road trip to explore a new town in New Mexico or a nearby state. We like to mix it up on the weekends when we can, but love our routine at home during the week. We both like to stay active throughout the week and find time to get outside most days.

We are both so excited to have chosen adoption to build our family. The road to get to this point was winding, but the end destination has always been in our hearts. Both of us have always wanted to be parents one day. Shelby has been drawn to adoption from a young age, and growing up she always said she wanted to adopt. When we got married, we tried to have a baby, but after a year of trying and many different doctors appointments, we learned that our chances of conceiving are low. The decision to choose adoption to grow our family instead of pursuing IVF or other fertility procedures came easily. Adoption has always been in Shelby’s heart, and infertility felt like a sign that it was the right journey for us. We have not looked back, and feel so excited for what the future holds.

We plan to be as open as possible with this child about their adoption. We will communicate openly and honestly at an age-appropriate level, teaching them all we know as they grow and mature. We want them to know as much as possible about their birth mother, culture, and the reasons for their adoption. We will be open about our journey to adopt them, as well as about their birth mother’s experience, given the information we have. We will always express respect, gratitude, and consideration for this child’s birth mother and family. They will know how incredibly thankful we are to their birth mother for bringing them into this world and for choosing us to be their parents.

Our cultural heritage is mixed. Ibrahim is Palestinian and Brazilian, and both of his parents immigrated to the United States before he was born. Shelby is Lithuanian and Hawaiian. We met in Hawaii, where Shelby has family. We celebrate our diverse backgrounds by cooking and enjoying foods from our cultures.

It can be hard to get all the ingredients for Hawaiian and Palestinian food out here in New Mexico, but we manage to find them! Ibrahim’s family speaks Portuguese and Arabic in addition to English and we are lucky to be very immersed in Middle Eastern culture when we visit them in Chicago. Shelby and her family are very connected with Hawaiian culture and we can’t wait to take our baby there one day.

Currently, we are living on a military base in New Mexico. Our neighborhood is incredibly safe and family friendly. There are many families living nearby, and the elementary school is located at the end of our street. The military community is incredibly supportive of families, and there are numerous resources for parents and children on base. We regularly attend family friendly cookouts and pizza parties with other military families. Additionally, we conveniently live near two major cities that grant us access to all the restaurants, entertainment, and shopping we could want.

Our neighborhood has multiple playgrounds, an indoor pool, and outdoor splash pad for small children as well as a skate park and all kinds of athletic facilities for older kids. Our home is ranch-style with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a living area, dining room, and combined kitchen and laundry room. We spend most of our time in the kitchen and living room making and enjoying meals together. When it comes to the curb appeal of our current house, the old saying is true; “it’s the beauty on the inside that counts. ” We love living here and have made so many great memories in New Mexico, and we are equally excited to see what state the military takes us to next.

As a couple, we are close with both sides of our extended families. Shelby’s parents and sister live in California, and Ibrahim’s family is from the Midwest, with his parents in Chicago and his brother in DC. We try to see both sides of the family at least twice every year. We recently met up with Shelby’s family to celebrate her dad’s birthday at Yellowstone National Park. We had so much fun driving around in a van all together seeing bison and bears. We are celebrating our birthdays this fall with Ibrahim’s family in Chicago, where we will also meet up with some old friends.

When we get together with friends and family, we enjoy playing card games, watching movies, and exploring either nature or the city. We love eating food prepared by our families, and making dinners for them in return. Ibrahim’s family is Middle Eastern, so it is a tradition for Shelby to try a new Middle Eastern food every time they visit his family. His mom is an amazing cook and we always have fun checking out new Arabic restaurants and bakeries all together. Another tradition we have with Shelby’s family is for the women to pick a day where they cook together, with each person making a dish or two and enjoying it with the rest of the family. Our extended family has been so supportive throughout our adoption journey and cannot wait to meet and love this child when the time comes!

Thank you for choosing to read our letter; we feel lucky to be considered as parents for your child. We hope that if you get to know us a little more, you will keep us in your thoughts. This journey to grow our family is certainly at the top of our minds everyday, and we both feel grateful and hopeful to be in this phase of the adoption process. It is humbling to hope that an incredible blessing could be in our future, and we trust that what is meant to be will be. We look forward to meeting, embracing, and loving a future child and to building our family around them. We have wanted to grow our family since we first got married two years ago, and we are excited to be on our adoption journey.

We met in Hawaii and have since moved to New Mexico. We are both adventurous, outdoorsy individuals and we have had so much fun exploring the southwest since we got here. In our free time we can usually be found hiking, camping, or eating out at one of our favorite restaurants. We have a cat named Humu (after the Hawaii state fish) who is very spoiled and loved. He is a total daddy’s boy and is always climbing into Ibrahim’s lap whenever we watch movies on the couch. We look forward to continuing to explore everywhere the future takes us with our growing family.

Ibrahim graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in molecular-cellular biology, and he now serves as a pilot of unmanned aircrafts in the Marine Corps. Shelby went to college at the University of Colorado, and then graduated with her master’s degree in autism and applied behavior analysis from Russell Sage College. She currently works from home with a flexible schedule as a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) designing and supervising behavior therapy programs for children with autism. She plans to be a stay-at-home mom when baby comes home.

Our home is filled with love, connection, and stability. We have been in a committed relationship since 2023, and have been married for 2 years. As partners, we know that we can always depend on each other in good times and in challenging times, and we know that as parents we will be able to do the same. This child will be the center of our world. They will be loved not only by ourselves, but by their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who already cannot wait to meet them. As they grow up in our family, this child will be treasured and celebrated for exactly who they are.

As parents, we will strive to be attentive, curious, and understanding. We will teach through kindness and play, and guide with patience. We understand that trust and safety are built not only through gentleness and joy, but also with firmness and reliability. We want our child to know that they are loved no matter what and to turn to us for both celebration and support. We want them to know that at any age, they can count on us to be there for them. We are willing and eager to learn how to be the best parents we can be for the rest of our lives.

We look forward to exchanging letters and pictures with our child’s birth parents regularly. We hope to develop an authentic and supportive friendship with the birth mom who comes into our life. We will teach this child all about their adoption story, starting in infancy with storybooks, and continuing throughout their life as they grow and mature. We will teach them about their birth mom, family, and culture to the very best of our abilities, and prioritize learning about these facets of their identity ourselves. We want to honor our child’s heritage every chance we get. We would love to name a baby girl’s middle name after her birth mother, or collaborate with mom in choosing a middle name for a baby boy. We are excited to meet with birth mom within the first five years, and are open to arranging additional visits as the years go on. We hope you will keep us in mind as you consider the future for your child, and thank you for taking the time to read our letter.

With love,

Ibrahim & Shelby