We met in our college cafeteria. Sid had just recently enrolled into Graduate school and Monica was in her sophomore year. Sid lived off campus while Monica stayed in the university dorms. Since we were both part of Greek life, our paths had crossed before however we hadn't really talked to each other on those occasions. We had some common friends and we met one day while Sid was with his group of friends and Monica was eating lunch with her friends and this was our first interaction. Since she stayed on campus, Monica had card swipes to eat in the cafeteria and offered to swipe her card for Sid and a couple other friends to eat lunch after being introduced by our common friends. As a friendly invitation Monica offered to swipe Sid in for food anytime he wants since she had a lot leftover for the semester. So one day the following week Sid messaged Monica and they ate dinner together in the cafeteria.

By the end of that month, we were officially dating and have been together for 16 years; married for 12 of those years. It is a cherished memory we often reflect back to and reminisce especially when we are near the old college campus buildings.

We share some common leisure time activities while having our individual interest as well. Monica is an outdoors person and loves hiking, camping and has a goal to visit all National Parks, all states and each of the continents. Monica loves to read and complete puzzles especially on a rainy or cold winter day. She has participated in many races for charity such as Susan G Komen breast cancer walk and others. Both of us are passionate about donating to charities as much as possible as we feel it is important to give back and share for good causes and those not as fortunate; which is something we aim to imbibe in our children as well.

Sid loves to play golf, watching documentaries and sports events and spending time with friends and family. Together we share a common love for traveling and have been fortunate enough to travel internationally to various countries. While there we always make it a point to visit landmarks and also eat where locals dine to get the true essence of the country and region. We like to learn about new cultures and therefore try to plan activities and visit to local areas.

Both of us during dating expressed our interests in adopting a child. After being married for 10 years we decided to pursue it as we felt we were both at the right stages of our lives and could provide for and share our love with a child in our family. We adopted our son from India after matching with him when he was about 4 months old. We were fortunate enough to meet him a couple of times while the process played out until we finally brought him home about 10 days before his first birthday. We were the first in our family from both sides to go through an adoption process, so there were a lot of learnings, excitement, nervousness and agony of waiting while remaining optimistic. We believe it brought us even closer and allowed us to view ourselves as parents and not just spouses. It brought in an enhanced level of responsibility and care as we raised our son the past year. The process for domestic adoption would be a bit different than what we gone through as we would be able to experience this journey with you if you were to choose us to be parents for your child. We had a friend who was a foster parent and then later adopted that child, so we were able to lean on certain tips from her. Overall as parents adoption process has made us stronger as a family and allowed us to prioritize things better personally.

Our family is unique in the sense of cultural backgrounds; Sid's family is in India as he was born and raised in Mumbai before moving to USA 20+ years ago and Monica is from Ohio with her Mom, Dad, Brother and Sister-in-law living within 30 minutes of our home. Our families meet and continue to stay in touch albeit residing in different countries. We get together with both families on major holidays both in India and in Ohio.

Most of Monica's extended family also live in Ohio so we come together to do activities such as birthdays, graduation parties, annual cousins night and game nights. Monica loves baseball and soccer so we always go to a couple of games together as a family. We also play card games when together and pool parties are our favorite summer activity with friends and family. Sid loves golf and he often plays with Monica's father-in-law, brother and uncle. Monica's family is unique because her stepmom and mom are very close and have been for many years. Sid's parents are no longer with us but his brother, sister-in-law and extended family always get together when we visit India and are very welcoming and shower our son with love and affection. Both our families were very supportive of us during our first adoption process and are very excited to be part of our journey again. We look forward to growing our family with your child and sharing our traditions and creating more memories together.

We live in Ohio and recently built our house in a great community on a cul-de-sac. There are many families with diverse cultural backgrounds with kids of different ages. Our community does an annual block party which is a great event to meet new neighbors and our son gets to meet and engage with other kids. Our home is modern with 6 bedrooms, fully finished basement with a home theater, gym and golf simulator room, a beautiful kitchen and an indoor pool and spa which allows us to host many events and parties with friends and families throughout the year. Our favorite room is the kitchen because Monica loves to bake and Sid loves to cook. We also love our basement and often gather there with friends and family for board games and watching movies.

Our city hosts a Memorial Day parade, 4th of July events and a Christmas tree lighting every year. Public libraries close to our house also has many activities and events which we take our son to regularly. Our city also has a park and playground for kids of all ages. We also have a city water park with splash pads, slides, lazy river, rock climbing wall and other activities for residents. Our city is also close to various hiking trails as part of the Metro parks network which we enjoying going to especially during summer and fall months.

We are grateful for our community with kids playing, riding their bikes and adults taking walks regularly allowing a safe neighborhood for families.

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter. We cannot imagine your circumstances and we recognize that this may not be an easy process for you; we want you to know that we will be here to support you along this journey.

We have been together 16 years and married for 12 of those years. We have always had a passion and desire to adopt children and recently adopted our son from India who turned 2 this past May and has been with us now for over a year after being matched with him when he was 4 months old. We wish to continue to grow our family by providing a safe loving environment for your child. We would be the kind of parents that share traditions such as family game nights, movie and pizza night, family dinners, holiday celebrations with family and friends and so much more. We would raise your child to be kind, selfless, embrace differences while recognizing their self-worth in this world.

We feel fortunate enough to be considered by you and would provide the child with all the opportunities that we may not have had growing up ourselves. We would embrace the child's desire and cultivate their passion whether it is in sports, music, after school activities, etc. while providing a strong educational foundation. We want to be there to celebrate their wins while guide them through challenges and hardships. We will send letters and pictures as well as updates with you as your child grows up, at the frequency with which is comfortable for you. We would also be open to emails, phone calls, video calls and even a visit to you before birth. We understand that your wants regarding contact with us and your child may or may not include above or can change over time and would want you know that we will be open to discussing your preferences as time goes by and you will be always be known to your child and spoken off in a positive manner.

We will always be open with your child about his/her adoption story, sharing information in an age appropriate way. For example we created adoption journals with notes from our family members when they entered our family and would do the same for your child. We also have books for babies and toddlers that show adoption related content which we find useful with our son and would do the same with your child. We know that overtime they will be questions, curiosity and maybe even difficult conversations but we will not shy away from being open and honest with our children.

We are an interracial family; along with our extended family and friends we celebrate and embrace cultural diversity. In our home you will find love, laughter, empathy, adventures and traditions. Whether it is celebrating Friendsgiving and sharing food and laughter, or it is traveling to different states/countries, or it is going on casual walk with our dogs as a family; we always show our son and will show your child happiness and love in everything we do as a family.

Monica loves to bake and is an avid hiker and runner, we look forward to cheering her on at her next event with your child as part of our family at the finish line. Sid loves to golf, travel and watch sports. We could see ourselves celebrating your child's first success in soccer, football, golf, etc. or taking funny pictures at our next overseas vacation possibly somewhere near the ocean, which is a favorite spot for both Sid and Monica.

We hope this letter gave you a glimpse of the kind of parents we would be to your child and the life your child would have, if you choose us. If we are blessed to be parents to your child we would provide him/her with the right morals and values as part of our loving family. We wish you peace, comfort and strength.

Thank you,

Sid & Monica