Clelyn About Josiah: Some of the great things about Josiah are his steady presence, gentleness, honesty, and intelligence. He handles conflict with humor and reason, so no problems are insurmountable. He is also great with children! He was a summer camp director for years before becoming an attorney. Recently, he has been paired as a mentor to a child through a community program in our town. It's so much fun to hear how he models healthy behaviors and guides his mentee without judgment. He is also one of the most patient people on the planet and will be able to deal with the hard days of parenting just as well as the good days.

Josiah About Clelyn: Clelyn gives her whole heart to everything she does. She is beloved by her university students who nicknamed her "Dr. Big Dawg," and she impacts all the students and singers she works with because they can feel how much she cares about them. She is endlessly creative, fun, and funny, but is also driven to succeed. She is the type of person that brings out the maximum potential in everyone around her, and they still have fun doing it. As seriously as she takes her career, she is also a goofball with children. They love her silly voices and her high-level pretending skills.

On the weekends and vacations, we love to be outdoors. We go hiking in the summer and snowboarding in the winter, and then follow it up with great food. When we get back from our adventures, we love snuggling up on the couch to watch a show or a movie with our cat, Kittin. We love having big parties for our friends and neighbors and are known for being the house that serves up a fun time for everyone, including children. Recently, we have developed a new love of flowers and have spent a lot of time making our garden a colorful place to sit and relax.

We also like to spend time with friends and family. Even though we don't live next door to our families, we love seeing them several times a year for visits, holidays, and family reunions. When we are with them, we play games, pickleball, and have big family meals together.

We know that adding another family member will bring new passions, new perspectives, and new personality to our home and we are very excited to welcome that. Clelyn can't wait to sing the lullabies she has written and write new songs with and for our kiddo. She has an incredible imagination that brings joy to children. Josiah is looking forward to being a teacher that helps our child grow into a confident, competent little human. He can't wait to read bedtime stories, learn new games, and play outside.

As a teacher, Clelyn has been fortunate to work with children of all ages and backgrounds. She has had many years of practicing unconditional respect and care for the students who come into her classroom every day. Josiah has lived in multiple countries and cultures that have helped him develop a perspective that is flexible and non-judgmental regarding other cultural traditions. He also has worked with diverse kids in summer camps, boarding homes, and was a youth basketball coach.

We are ready to support a child of any race or ethnicity in understanding and participating in their cultural background. That could look like learning new languages, attending cultural events or classes that help us participate together, and finding community mentors with similar backgrounds. With one of our most important values being curiosity, the opportunity to learn new things that we can share with a child is exciting, not a burden.

We live in a medium-sized town in Colorado that is known for great schools and a strong community identity. Our town has the most parks per capita in Colorado and we are close enough to the mountains to take day trips to go hiking and snowboarding. Our block is very safe and family-friendly. There are often multiple kids out riding their bikes while their parents watch from the porch, and they are also excited that we are adopting.

Our house has four bedrooms, two living areas, and a giant kitchen. Clelyn loves the den with her piano next to a big window, and Josiah loves to sit in the kitchen that overlooks the back yard. We live on a large, quiet lot with huge trees that will be a perfect play area for child. Josiah may even build a tree house if the child is interested! We often eat dinner on the back patio that gets enough shade to not be too hot even in the middle of summer.

We love our town and can't wait to raise a family here!

We love our extended families. Both of us feel completely part of each other's families and prioritize visiting and spending time with them. Clelyn's family is close-knit, with parents entering retirement but still contributing value to their community and staying very active. We always play pickleball and golf together when we visit and enjoy big home-cooked meals where we can all laugh and play together. Her family is very musical and loves to have meaningful conversations. Every year at Christmas, Clelyn's mom has a new game for us to play and a new idea for a family activity. This past year it was painting each other's faces, which had very interesting results. We also enjoy spending time with her brother and sister and their families, including some older cousins who can help take care of a child. Josiah's family is a bit more spread out geographically, full of people who love to travel and play games. But every time we visit with them we have a fulfilling time of eating, sharing our lives, and walking. Josiah's parents are always learning and his mom always has new health tips that she learned. Every year when we visit for Christmas Josiah's brother and his family host a karaoke and game night that is fun for the adults and the kids alike. We think a child will fit in nicely with both families.

First, we want to thank you for reading this letter, and for the incredible courage and love it takes to make the decisions you're facing. We hold deep respect for you and the care you're taking in choosing what's best for your child. We hope this letter gives you a glimpse into who we are, how we love, and the kind of life we would offer your child if you choose us.

We've been together for nine years and married since 2019. Our marriage is a partnership in every sense, and we can't wait to share that steady, joyful foundation with a child. For a long time, we didn't think we wanted children, but when the loss of a family member cracked our hearts open, we realized we had been holding onto a fear of not being good enough to be parents. As we talked it through over several months, it became clear that our most important desire as a couple is to share as much love as possible in our home and community, and that meant becoming parents. When we shared our desire with our friends and family, every one of them was ecstatic and excited to see us become parents.

We chose adoption because we think it's beautiful to choose to welcome someone new into a family and give them all the love they deserve for being exactly who they are. We know there are birth parents like you who are looking for a great home, and we want to provide that. Clelyn's mom works in the foster care system, and we have many friends and acquaintances with joyful adoption stories. We are also fully supportive of an open adoption. We think any caring adult in the child's life is a good thing.

We both grew up without much money, but were very fortunate to have loving families and exposure to educational experiences and challenges that have helped us develop into adults that love life and have a great home. That's what we want to bring to a child. We are so excited to get to share our knowledge, experiences, love, and laughter with another person and watch them grow.

We feel strongly that the challenges we have overcome in our own lives have helped prepare us for this moment. The ups and downs have taught us to be strong, resilient, patient, and have a broader perspective. We know that it won't always be easy to raise a child, but we are very excited to take on the challenge and learn what it means to be a good parent and role model for a little one.

We also want you to know that if you would like letters and pictures to keep you updated on the child's life, we are more than happy to do so. We can set up a private sharing website so you can see the child grow up, if that's what you would like. We are also open to visits. We are not rigid in how we are going about this and want this to be a partnership where everyone involved is able to communicate exactly what they want and everyone else respects it.

No matter where your journey leads, we hope you feel surrounded by love, support, and respect during this important and precious process. Thank you for considering us.

With care and gratitude,

Josiah & Clelyn