Chance and Lina

>

<

From Us to You

We are Lina and Chance, and we are so excited to begin this journey with you. We know we can never completely understand what you’re going through and the decisions you’re making, but we’ll be there to support you every step of the way. We want to get to know you and for you to have a relationship with your child if that is something you want. After all, a child can never have too many people in their life who love them!

We love road trips, live music, cooking, and hanging out with our families, friends, and pets. We met seven years ago in Oregon. Our first date was meant to be just afternoon coffee, but we were having such a good time that it turned into a 7-hour coffee/walk/dinner date. We have always had an ease with each other and just genuinely enjoy spending time together. We’ve been through a lot of big life changes together, including career changes, deaths in the family, adopting pets, and a cross-country move to a city we’d never been to before. These experiences have taught us a lot about communication, honesty, and compromise. We’ve become a really great team and now we’re ready to add a baby to that team!

We know you’re reading a lot of these letters and are probably feeling a bit overwhelmed (we know we are!). We hope our profile will give you a sense of who we are, what our life is like, and the kind of home your child will be raised in. Regardless of the details, please know that your child will be raised with love and patience, surrounded by family and friends. We will raise them to be kind to others and curious about the world around them. We will support their interests and encourage them to try new things. We will help them through difficult times and laugh with them in happy times. And we will always tell them about you and your decision that made us all a family.

>

<

Why We are Choosing to Adopt

We’ve always wanted kids and adoption was part of the discussion from the beginning. When we think about building a family, sharing our genetics has never felt like an important part of the story. Lina has cousins who are adopted and we both grew up with friends who were adopted, so adoption has never felt out of the ordinary to us.

When we learned that it would be difficult for us to get pregnant, we knew that fertility treatments weren’t for us. We knew that adoption was the right path. We hope that path leads us to you and we can’t wait for us all to be family!

>

<

About Lina, by Chance

After first meeting Lina, it didn’t take me long to realize that she is the kindest and most empathetic person I have ever met. Over and over, I’ve seen her approach situations with an open heart and mind and that is something I truly appreciate about her. Just by being herself, she helps make me a better person, and speaking from experience, I firmly believe that she would pass those values to your child. That definitely doesn’t mean she’s a pushover, far from it. It means that I always know that she’s coming from a thoughtful place.

Over the years, it’s been a joy watching Lina interact with children. Whether she’s volunteering to take a friend’s feisty toddler on an adventure to the zoo by herself or jumping at the chance to help a friend take care of their newborn, she’s always completely confident, calm, and excited for the opportunity to spend time with kids. These are just a couple of the many qualities that convince me that Lina will be an excellent mother. I can’t wait to see Lina continue to grow by becoming a mother and I guarantee your child couldn’t be in better hands.

More Fun Facts about Lina:

• Lived in Costa Rica, Peru, and Argentina where she taught English
• Got to meet her family in Cuba when she went there with her choir
• Loves taking the train and has traveled cross-country on Amtrak

>

<

About Chance, by Lina

Chance is, simply, my favorite person. He truly takes people for who they are – I have never felt more comfortable or more like myself with anyone else. I really admire how he is steadfast in his values, but also constantly pushes himself to learn new things and consider different perspectives. He takes his responsibilities to others seriously and really appreciates other people’s unique qualities and interests, even when (especially when!) they’re different from his own.

Something I know will make Chance a great dad is that he’s a great teacher. He is very patient and enjoys working through a problem. I often hear him on work calls since he works from home, and I’ve noticed how often his colleagues go to him for advice. He’s the go-to person for new teammates, which I think speaks volumes to how he is approachable, supportive, and a good mentor.

Chance is fun and funny and pushes us to get out and do things, like go to concerts and take trips. He’s also the organized one in our house, which I really appreciate! I know that everything I’ve said here – his patience, how he takes people for who they are, how he pushes himself to learn new things – are qualities that will make Chance a great dad. I’ve loved seeing him get excited about raising a child. I can’t wait for him to become a father.

More Fun Facts about Chance:

• United States Air Force Veteran
• Once road tripped from Texas to Alaska in a tiny car with three friends
• Has been to 41 states – planning to visit all 50!

>

<

Lifestyle

We are both a true mix of homebody and extrovert. We cook almost every day and really enjoy trying new recipes and ingredients. We recently got a grill and have been experimenting with different marinades for grilled meats and veggies. We both read a lot and like to watch movies together. Chance plays the guitar, refinishes furniture, and has a great used record collection. Lina sings in a local community choir. She also keeps a vegetable garden in the summer and enjoys lots of crafts, including quilting, painting, and knitting. We both like trying new things, and we think one of the joys of having a child will be sharing our hobbies with them and exploring new things they’d like to try.

We love to go on day trips and have been doing that since we first started dating. We like to pick something to check out in a new town – it can be something simple like a new grocery store, or a more traditional destination, like a museum. Then we use that as a jumping-off point to explore the area. For a recent trip, we found a park built around the ruins of an old mill from the 1830s. We drove an hour to the park (we love taking the scenic route!) and walked around for a couple of hours. Then we drove around the historic downtown, found a cafe to get some lunch, and checked out a new brewery. We took a different route home and passed a marble factory with an amazing marble building, which we never would have seen if we had been on the interstate.

Music is a huge part of our lives. Lina has sung in choirs her entire life and Chance plays the guitar. We have a stereo, record player, and speakers set up throughout the house. We honestly listen to all types of music, and you’ll regularly hear a mix of classic rock, R&B, 90s country, Motown, modern pop and hip hop, and show tunes in our house. We love seeing live music and are lucky to live in an area with a great local music scene. We also go to a few big concerts a year. We like to see musical theatre and one of our best early dates was seeing Jurassic Park with the local symphony orchestra playing the score live. Basically, if there’s music involved, we’ll enjoy it!

>

<

Our Cats

We are animal lovers and we have three cats. Funnily enough, we both thought we were dog people – Chance has always had dogs and Lina always wanted one. But we ended up with one cat and then he needed a friend and then Lina fostered some kittens and we kept one, so now we have three cats!

Our cats are Tom Hanks, a gentle giant who loves kids, Sonia, queen of the house who loves watching birds and wrestling with the other cats, and Dolly, our tiny troublemaker who plays with everything and sleeps under the covers with us at night. They are all very social and adaptable. We have trained them to do tricks and walk outside on a leash, both of which take patience and persistence!

Lina started fostering kittens for our local animal shelter a few years ago, which has been really fun. It’s a lot of work, but it’s so rewarding to watch the kittens grow and find them good homes. We think fostering kittens with our child someday will be a great experience. Even though it’s hard when the kittens go to their new homes, we think a child can learn about kindness, responsibility, and that good things are meant to be shared.

>

<

Home & Neighborhood

We bought our first home in 2020 and we really love it! We bought this home knowing that children would be living here. The house has an open layout where we can keep an eye on a little one. There is a big, fenced-in backyard with a great climbing tree. We love opening the windows and hearing kids playing in the neighborhood. Our favorite room in the house is the bright, plant-filled sunroom, where we drink coffee while our cats watch the birds. We like decorating with pieces that are personal and meaningful to us. We are lucky to have amazing artists and photographers as family and friends and almost all of the art hanging in our home was made by people we love. We love doing small DIY projects to make our new house feel more like “us.”

We live in a quiet, friendly neighborhood. There’s a real mix of folks here, from new families in their first homes like us to older folks who have lived here for 30 years. So many neighbors reached out to us when we moved in and made us feel welcome. There are lots of kids in the neighborhood, and there is a community pool and playground. We are within walking distance of a large park that has events like movies, concerts, and camping nights. The local elementary school is less than a mile away, with a bus stop for the middle and high schools right on our corner. We are less than two miles from our city’s historic downtown, with restaurants, a museum, and a farmers’ market.

>

<

Racial & Cultural Diversity

We have spent so much time thinking about, discussing, and talking to our friends and family about this question. We know the question isn’t whether we will love a child of a different race than us, because of course we will. The question is whether we can provide a loving, supportive, healthy home for a child of a different race than us.

We know we can never truly understand what it is like to move through the world as a person of color. Your child may have experiences – good and bad! – that we will never have and questions we may not be able to answer. We know how important it will be for your child to have meaningful relationships with adults and children who look like them. It will be our job to make sure they develop those relationships and encourage them to get support wherever they can best find it, even if it’s not always with us.

Finding and building a diverse community will be one of the most important factors in the choices we make about where we live, what schools your child attends, and the activities we are involved in. We want your child to be part of diverse communities no matter what race they are, and we have already made big decisions with that in mind. For example, when we bought our house, we researched different areas because living in a racially and culturally diverse area was really important to us. Our neighborhood and city are both very diverse – 55% of students at the local elementary school are people of color.

We are completely committed to learning about and honoring your child’s race and cultural background. We know we will have blind spots and will make mistakes, but we will keep learning and keep listening to make sure your child feels loved and secure in who they are.

>

<

Our Families & Friends

Our families are very different in terms of culture, size, location, and traditions. We see this as a plus – our different backgrounds mean that our kids will have lots of different experiences. For example, Chance’s family lives in a rural area and has a farm where he grew up fishing and riding 4-wheelers. Lina’s family lives in a major city where she grew up going to museums, plays, concerts, and other cultural events. We’re excited to share all of those things with our child.

We are both close with our parents and siblings and everyone is over the moon excited about a new baby. Your child would be the first grandchild on both sides of the family! This won’t be our first experience with kids, though. Chance is 13 years older than his brother and Lina has 22 younger cousins, so we both grew up caring for kids. Lina has a large extended family spread across the East Coast, and she is particularly close with her Cuban aunts and cousins. Chance’s extended family is smaller, but they all live near each other and get together often. We can’t wait to add a new family member to the fold.

We both moved a lot in our 20s, so we have friends all across the country. We also each have close, long-lasting relationships with childhood friends who we speak with often and vacation with. Our closest friends are also adopting a baby right now, so your child will grow up with other adopted children.

>

<

Our Relationship with You

You will always be your child’s family. We welcome an open relationship with you and look forward to ongoing communication through photos, videos, and phone calls.  We are also open to visits. We think a relationship with you would be a wonderful thing for your child if you are open to it – the more people in your child’s life who love them, the better! Your child will have questions about you and your family and we want to be able to answer them. That said, we will take our cues from you in terms of what you are comfortable with and respect whatever level of communication you are looking for.

We know that you are a whole person with your own experiences and story to tell, and we would like to get to know who you are, beyond being the mother of your baby. We want to learn about your life, interests, experiences, and plans. We’d also love to know things that we can incorporate into your child’s life, like your favorite song or a specific holiday tradition.

We can never know everything that you’re going through and everything you’re feeling as you make this incredibly personal, selfless decision. But we want to get to know you and support you as you go through it.

>

<

Family Traditions

The holiday season is chock-full of traditions from both sides of the family. We kick off the season at the beginning of December with St. Nicholas Day, a tradition from Lina’s mom’s family. We put our shoes by the door and leave gifts for each other from “St. Nicholas.” We decorate the tree with old family ornaments while listening to our favorite Christmas albums. Lina bakes her great-grandmother’s shortbread cookies. On Christmas Day, we eat prime rib, cooked the way Chance’s dad taught him. On New Year’s Eve, we eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight, a Cuban tradition Lina’s grandmother taught her. The season wraps in January with Three Kings Day, another Cuban tradition. Lina’s dad always hid gifts from “the kings” and she had to search for them, which is something we’re looking forward to doing with your child!

We have non-holiday traditions, too. Our birthdays are only one day apart, and Lina bakes a from-scratch funfetti cake every year. On vacations, we like to use our Polaroid camera and we have a wonderful collection of snapshots from our trips. We take walks in the neighborhood almost every day. We do regular movie nights where we make popcorn and alternate choosing the movie. We eat breakfast at our local coffee shop on Saturday mornings. We watch scary movies on Halloween (Lina is wimpy and will only watch one per year!). We’re excited to create new traditions as our family grows.

>

<

Our Promise to You

We promise that you will always be part of your child’s story and their life if you so choose. We promise to love and accept your child for whoever they are and whoever they want to be. We promise to encourage your child to do the things they love and to try hard things. We promise to give them all the opportunities we can. We promise to discipline with love and respect. We promise to expose your child to different places, different cultures, and different types of experiences. We promise to give them tools to help them deal with stress, anxiety, and anger. We promise to be there for them unconditionally when they need help. We promise to recognize that we won’t always be the best, most qualified people to give that support and to find them the resources they need to succeed and be happy. We promise to do everything we can to raise a kind, thoughtful, helpful human. We promise that our home will be filled with joy, laughter, and music. We promise to help your child stand up for themselves and be there to advocate for them and cheer them on for the rest of our lives.