At the age of 18, Johnathan's mother became pregnant by her husband at the time. After hearing of the unexpected pregnancy, the birth father decided that a child wasn't in his interest and he left. Rebecca went on to have Johnathan and raise him as a single mother before she met Robert. Robert and Rebecca were married when Johnathan was four years old and Robert legally adopted Johnathan the following year. From this turbulent journey in Johnathan's early life, he quickly realized that family is more than just blood, its those that are there for us through thick and thin.

Johnathan remembers being at the courthouse on the day of his adoption and recalls the open conversations between his mother and Robert prior to that regarding Robert becoming his legal father. This experience opened Johnathan's heart to the world of adoption and through conversations between us both, we knew that adoption was the sole avenue for us to expand our family.

Outside of owning a hair salon and working for tech company, we love to unwind from our work lives by participating in activities that we find personally challenging while promoting self-growth.

Our favorite morning routine is waking up early and meeting a group of our friends at a local down-town gym and taking a group exercise class (crossfit). We have found that participating in our scheduled workout morning routine has created a sense of community with like-minded people who all share similar life goals. We have forged great friendship and find strength in one another.

When we aren't lifting silly weights, we love to escape the city to our own little paradise on a piece of land we own in eastern Washington. We love bringing out friends out with us to camp in our RV, river raft down lazy river, fly fish, hike and bike the warm desert trails, and enjoy the beautiful scenery that surrounds our place.

When the time affords it, we love to escape to sunny weather and beaches in Mexico and enjoy the local cuisine and culture that Mexico has to offer.

We are fortunate to live in a community where diversity is cherished and celebrated. It is our belief that children from ethnically diverse backgrounds be able to maintain a strong connection to their cultural heritage to ensure that a sense of belonging extends beyond the reaches of the love their parents give them.

Our local schools have a mission to maximize culturally responsive instruction and leadership to transform educational opportunities, access and outcomes for every student, in every classroom, every day.

We feel it is important to expose our child to leaders in the community who share a common racial identity. With this belief we have researched local pediatricians who specialize in medicine for children who are adopted and are exposed to doctors of the same race.

It is important to us that when choosing a playgroup for us and our child to be a part of, that the playgroup is diverse and representative of the many cultures celebrated in our local community.

No matter the race of the child, with this mission and our drive to ensure our child's exposure to their cultural background we know that aside from being loved within their home, they will know they belong and are a part of our entire community.

We live in a very diverse community where representations from all corners of the globe reside. Every year we come together in a block party known as "Seattle Night Out" where the local fire department blocks off the street while all the neighbors come together in a great pot-luck and enjoy foods that everybody has prepared. This is a great opportunity every year to catch up with our neighbors, meet new families who have moved into the area, and create a sense of community that bonds us all together.

We live on a corner lot in our community in a 5-bedroom craftsman home. Surrounding our yard is cute gardens where we love to plant berries and flowers that we can enjoy in the summer harvest. On the back of our house is a large deck that looks over the back yard and gets plenty of warm sunshine where we spend so many of our summer evenings.

Within just a couple of blocks from us are the Japanese gardens, a beautiful public space filled with exotic and manicured plants, the local elementary school with a full playground and large playing field, as well as numerous trails perfect for afternoon or weekend walks.

Just down the street is the local community center that houses an indoor swim facility with slides and a lazy river, racquet courts, and a gymnasium.

We both come from large families and while Johanthan is an only adopted child, he is very close with his extended family of cousins, aunts and uncles. Johnathan's family is all located in Salt Lake City, so we travel there about once a year to visit with everybody and enjoy great big family barbecues, skiing days, and loads family time with all the cousins, nephews, and nieces (about 16 cousins, and 20 nieces/nephews).

As the Covid pandemic started to close down Washington, we took a sporadic road trip down to Utah to visit Johanthan's family. We stayed with his cousins Dallas and Jessica and their four kids. After we arrived there was a turn in the weather and temperatures soared to the high-90's. This was the perfect scenario to play in the pool, barbecue in the backyard, and hang out with everybody we love.

Joshua's family mostly lives in the greater Seattle area. He is 1 of 9 kids and we are uncles to 19 nieces and nephews. We love gathering everybody together as much as possible to enjoy lawn games, big family cook-outs, and overall each other's company.

Our families are so excited for us as we embark on our adoption journey, and can't wait to add another member to our growing family.

We are so humbled and thankful to have you take the time to read our profile and allow us to potentially be a part of your birth plan. We understand that this decision may not be easy for you, but rest assured, we want to you know that if you select us to be the parents of your child, your child will be raised in a safe and supportive home with two loving parents. If there is anything else that you want to know about us, we are certainly open to that line of communication as we embark on this journey together.

Since before we met, we both knew individually that we wanted a family and to raise kids one day. With Johnathan being adopted by his father at a young age, he knew that the path of adoption was the avenue that he wanted to pursue. Joshua grew up as one of nine children and always looked forward the time he got to spend with his nieces and nephews as he enjoyed being a part of their lives and he looked forward to the day he got to raise a child of his own.

We were brought together on a blind date in 2008 set up by a mutual friend. Time quickly turned into a relationship where we were sharing our dreams with one another of one day becoming parents and raising a child together.

We both value our families and the time we get to spend with one another and cherish the memories we created when we were both kids with our own families. It is our hope that we get to pass on these bond-making traditions with a child of our own, and that they too can carry with them into adulthood and pass along to children of their own. Growing up as an only child, Johnathan didn't have the luxury of having siblings, however his immediate cousins were always around and were not only his family, but his best friends. Even to this day, not a day goes by where we don't have regular communication with his family and get to catch up on what is going on in all their lives.

Our families are very involved in our lives and are beyond excited at the prospect of us becoming parents and adding another member to our large and growing family. We look forward to the future vacations, camp-outs, sleep-overs, road trips, and holiday gatherings we all can share together where we continue to create lasting memories that bond us together.

Aside from the great value we each have in family, we want you know the importance that education has played in our life, and our strong belief in encouraging a positive and prosperous education experience for our child. Since Joshua's first job, he has always held a role that was heavily influenced by the promotion of childhood development, and went on to college to receive his master's in education. Prior to joining the private sector, he worked as a substitute teacher for one of the local school districts and was heavily involved with promoting an inclusive environment in the classroom.

We look forward to getting to know you more and opening up the door to our lives to give you a vision of what it will be like for your child if you choose us to be a part of your adoption plan. We look forward to sending email updates and pictures to you of our family and when the time is right, setting up annual visits with one another.

We will always be open and honest with your child and the difficult choice you had to make to move forward with an adoption plan. Please know that we will speak of you in the kindest manner and continue to praise you and your bravery you went through when making this difficult decision in your life.

Thank you for letting us share a piece of our life with you.

Lovingly,

Joshua & Johnathan