We've been so excited to embark on this adoption journey! Ever since we began talking about expanding our family, adoption has been the primary topic of conversation. We feel so grateful for the opportunities we've been granted in life and we want to be able to share those opportunities with others.

We feel that family does not stop at blood and is made up of the community and people around us. Adoption, for us, is an extension of that belief and a meaningful way to grow our family.

We can't wait to get started!

by Raul

The first thing you might notice when you meet Joey is how easygoing and welcoming he is. Even though he defines himself as an "extroverted introvert," he's really skilled at striking up a conversation with new people and putting everyone at ease.

He's truly the most caring and thoughtful person I've ever met. For example, when we first started to get to know each other, I mentioned that Toy Story 3 was my favorite movie. That Christmas, he secretly tracked down, purchased, and gifted me a book about the art and making of Toy Story 3, which was out of print and not for sale anymore. It showed me just how far he'd go to make someone else happy.

He has great emotional intelligence, always able to tell how other people feel and having thoughtful conversations about it. However, he's also a kid at heart. From his deep passion about all things animation, knowing all the behind-the-scenes details of any Disney movie and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle (his fav is Donatello, of course!), to a really big collection of games, he shares his passions with others. This makes him one of the most fun people ever (especially to his niece and nephew)!

Joey will be an amazing father. In addition to everything already mentioned, he makes THE BEST homemade pizza. Seriously. Secondly, he makes any place feel like home - nice, cozy, and celebratory. As I'm writing this, he's already getting out all of the Halloween decorations to put us in the spooky, cozy fall mood. And wait until Christmas comes around!

Not only is he great around kids, he's also really into the science and facts about everything: from when and how to train our dogs, learning the right moment to start tummy time for a new baby, to the best toys for each stage of developmental growth. He's incredibly invested in the people around him, endlessly caring, and the most loving person I could ask for!

• Joey was a child actor on a popular TV show for three seasons
• In the past, he's worked for The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, and Bravo TV. Now he's a freelance character designer / illustrator
• He lived in Prague for six months
• He's written two books (currently unpublished!) and multiple articles for gaming sites

by Joey

He's goofy, he's incredibly caring, and (for some reason) he loves blue cheese on pizza. Those are three things you should know about Raul right up front.

Other things you should know about Raul are that he's originally from Spain, he came to the US to get his Masters Degree in Computer Engineering, and he stayed because he got hired at one of the top tech companies in the country.

It's at that company that I met Raul and we began our relationship back In 2020. I was immediately drawn in by his quick wit, his emotional openness, and the love he had for really "dorky" hobbies. He's a big comic-book reader and a green-thumb (we currently have 8

fruit/vegetable gardens in our backyard).

Over the past number of years, I've learned so much more about Raul and my growing love for him seems near-infinite.

When you first meet him, he's reserved and may stand to the side to let the louder people talk, but, once he gets to know you, he opens up as the jokey, sarcastic, playful one of the group. He loves to quote his favorite show Friends and is constantly slipping in references to memes and Internet humor. He has a special super power for making me and those around him laugh until our sides hurt.

Even though Raul is now based in the US, his family still lives in Spain. Every year we go to Europe to see them and immerse ourselves completely in his culture for a week. In the meantime, we are constantly connecting with them through WhatsApp, video chats, and social media.

While in the States, Raul has taken on the role of "the fun uncle" and can often be found playing games, running around, and goofing off with our niece and nephew. He loves being with family.

I believe Raul is going to make a wonderful father because he has all the right ingredients: compassion, intelligence, empathy, endless energy, humor, and blue cheese.

• Raul has lived in three different countries -Spain, Canada, and the United States
• As a prize for graduating top of his University, he met and shook hands with the King and Queen of Spain
• He finished first in his work group's 5k run, ran a Tough Mudder, and got his green belt in karate
• He built a video game from scratch

We've recently moved into a newly built two-floor home. The house has 4 bedrooms, an office/art studio, a library, a large kitchen space meant for entertaining, a game room upstairs, and a family room downstairs. We are absolutely obsessed with both our library and our huge backyard.

When we moved into our home, we decided that instead of a formal dining room, we'd convert the space into a dedicated reading area. We've built out the room to have floor-to-ceiling bookcases, really comfortable chairs to curl up in, and a spot for us to kick up our feet and dive into a really good book. We believe reading is essential to keeping our brains sharp and our library provides the perfect alcove for such an activity.

Our backyard was another feature that sold us on the house. As we mentioned, Raul is an avid gardener so we created a space where he is able to grow a variety of fruits, flowers, and vegetables. We've grown watermelon, plums, cucumbers, and a ton of potatoes. If we had another four pages of this booklet we could list everything we've grown. Even with all the gardening beds, we've found more than enough room to run around with the dogs, set up a small fire pit, and enjoy the freedom of an open yard.

Our neighborhood is founded on former farmland in a quiet, young community. We live down the street from a brand-new elementary school, two parks with sports courts and playgrounds, and a large pool. A 2.5-mile walking path (Frank and Phoebe's favorite walk) winds its way around the neighborhood. We've noticed a ton of kids in the neighborhood and, with all the activities we see going on on the weekends, we are confident our children will be able to make friends quickly. A little further up the road (not even 20 minutes away!), we live near a new kid-friendly theme park which we're excited to bring our new family to regularly.

Coming from Spain, Raul always says that this neighborhood is exactly like he imagined American suburbia - comfortable, friendly, and a great space to raise a family.

Frank is an almost-senior Chihuahua mix, rescued by Joey back in 2017 from a shelter in New York City. His favorite pastime is sleeping and his special talent is being able to wrap himself in a blanket all by himself.

Phoebe is a Retriever-mix who just left her puppy stage. She was rescued by both of us from a shelter in Texas in 2023. She is never without a ball in her mouth and is always down to cuddle, snuggle, and play.

They're nearly inseparable and we could not be happier that they've become a bonded pair. They're very rarely never by our side, going on adventures with us to the city, and our parents' lake house, and Frank has even flown with us.

We're excited for them to become fur-siblings to our growing family.

We live within 30 minutes from every single member of Joey's immediate and (mostly) extended family. This makes family get-togethers easy and often.

Joey's parents own three homes - one nearby, one on a near lake, and a condo in a Colorado ski resort. From boating to skiing, they love to have the entire family over for fun adventures, all-you-can-eat dinner parties, and extended-family reunions.

Joey's sister and brother-in-law currently have two kids and are embarking on their own adventure of adopting more.

Between grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and second-cousins, this tight-knit group has already shown that they're ready to shower any new member with love and support.

Raul's family lives in a small city in Spain, but we're no less close to them. We've bridged the gap with video chats, messages, and yearly trips to Europe. We intend to raise our children bilingual so they can have close relationships with both sides of their family.

Raul's parents are divorced but live close to each other to be near their extended families. Their family line extends back generations in the same city. His dad owns an entire apartment building and a beach house, which he always opens up to us when we visit. Likewise, his mom always welcomes us to her apartment, located down the street from the city's famous town center park.

Along with his parents, their city is home to Raul's sister, brother, cousins, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. It's a slice of familial paradise, nestled in the mountains of Northern Spain.

The fall and winter are our favorite times of year because for four months, our favorite holidays are back-to-back. We go all-out for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Dia de Los Reyes. From elaborate costumes, to family vacations, to specially baked cookies and cakes - we make it a point to celebrate these holidays as a family every year. Joey bakes apple and pumpkin pies and Raul has made it his goal to grow the fruit that we use for them.

In addition to the holidays, we have introduced more low-key traditions like daily neighborhood walks, weekly game nights, and monthly family cookouts.

When we have kids, we plan to build more traditions around whichever hobbies they are most passionate about - whether that be sports, arts, or something entirely new.

We love to travel and our goal is to take our kids to as many places as we've been - all the Disneys, Europe, Asia, beaches, lakes, and ski resorts. If there's a post card, we want to go, bring the family, and have an adventure.

Outside the house, we're big fans of discovering interesting food

(our most recent find is shabu-shabu), walking around downtown settings, and finding spots/activities where we can embrace our inner child.

Inside the house, we love playing games, cooking, baking, and reading. Our house not only includes multiple Nintendo game consoles, Xboxes, and Playstations, but also an entire closet filled with board and card games. Playing together is a key tenet in our family and we've set up our house to foster this type of activity.

As we mentioned, we've built a library in our house, and the shelves include books for all ages. We have a hefty Dr. Seuss collection, over a hundred comic books, novels ranging from classic mythology to soapy mystery, and everything in-between.

We like to consider ourselves well-rounded and, through our adventures outside and inside the house, we intend to share multiple cultures, experiences, and memories with our children. Our growing family will continue to reach past the borders of our home to see places and meet people from all walks of life.

We hope this book offers a glimpse into our family, but we know that reading a few paragraphs from a book only scratches the surface of getting to know who we are as people and parents. There is not enough room to fully express how much love we have for a child placed into our care, but we're not sure there will ever be enough pages to satisfy that.

Our promise to you and to our future family is that we will always act out of love, respect, support, and the best interest of our children. There will be moments of mistakes and frustration, but mostly warmth, understanding, and learning. Our family will travel the world, be immersed in Spanish and American culture, and stand hand-in-hand during the good times and the bad.

We promise to celebrate adoption in our home and the people who placed children in our care. We'd love to keep you up-to-date on all the milestones along the way and are open to exploring that relationship further.

Our home will be goofy, educational, affectionate, and inviting. But most of all, our home will be a safe space for our children to grow up and explore the world.