Letters

Hello, we are Nathan and Dan. We would love to tell you more about ourselves and our hopes to grow our family through adoption.

We met in New York City in 2009 through an online dating site. We had both already collected some bad first date stories, but when we met each other, we both felt this could be something different. We met for drinks and were getting along well, so we decided to extend the date to catch a movie (a corny action movie with John Cusack).

Although we were both on our first jobs out of graduate school, and our schedules were hectic, we found...

I grew up on a cherry farm in northern Michigan. I constantly read as a kid. I always had a book nearby when manning the fruit stand or on family camping trips. I made my way through most of the science fiction and astronomy sections at our town's small library. That love of reading stuck with me through college and law school, and it's something I hope to pass on to a child.

I work as a lawyer for the State Department. After law school, I had a job as a corporate lawyer for a large law firm, but I think the government job suits me better. The work is more fulfilling and gives...

I was born in Manhattan and grew up in Queens, where I lived with my family until I was ten. When my youngest brother came along, we moved to Long Island, where my parents still live. Some of my favorite times were spent with my family at our small summer cottage in upstate New York as well as visiting my mom's large extended family in Nebraska. I was also a long-time Boy Scout and developed a love of the outdoors, which I look forward to exploring with a child.

My immediate family, while very small, is important to me. We like to celebrate birthdays and holidays together, and...

We moved into our house in May 2021. We live in a suburb of DC. Our home is on a quiet tree-lined cul-de-sac with a spacious backyard and a beautiful mature willow oak tree. We had been living in an apartment in DC for a while and wanted some more space for ourselves and for the family we hope to have. The house has a lot of original architectural details that we've fallen in love with (copper gutters, glass door knobs, knotty pine, wonderful proportions), and in the months since we've moved in, we've spent a lot of time and effort keeping it in good repair and making it into our own...

Nathan grew up with a large extended family; he has three siblings and 18 cousins. Although we don't live near them, we see them often. Dan's family is smaller; he has two brothers and two cousins. We usually spend Thanksgiving with them and keep in touch with them often. Family gatherings with Nathan's family are very freewheeling, with lots of activity, while Dan's are usually smaller and more intimate. Both families are excited at the prospect of welcoming another child into the group, from our parents and siblings to Nathan's two nephews.

We have a network of friends that...

Nathan is an amateur puppeteer. He has a chimpanzee puppet named "Gregory Maybe," who he is excited to introduce to a child. Gregory is popular with our friends' children, he's entertained them on zoom calls with his comedy routine ("How do you make a tissue dance? You put a little boogie in it!"). Nathan also loves playing board games and has a weekly Dungeons & Dragons game with friends. He's really looking forward to playing with a child.

Dan loves to be outside and can usually be found in the yard, running the hills of our neighborhood, or walking miles along the sidewalks...

Thank you for taking the time to read about us. While we can't know what you're feeling, we imagine that this decision is not an easy one. We appreciate you considering us as prospective parents.

Adoption is our first choice in building our family, and we're excited to be part of the amazing community of adoptive families in our area. As gay people, we have experienced what it feels like to live outside the expectations of traditional society, and as a result consider ourselves open-minded and non-judgmental regarding folks' backgrounds and the situations they can find...