Our home is a joyful mess of Chinese and Midwestern American cultures. Yunjing grew up in a Chinese city that boasts a 2500-year history, eventually finding a second home in St. Louis during graduate school. Josh, a Kansas native, has been enriched by a career spanning southern California to rural Virginia.

On any given night, our table could feature Yunjing’s go-to comfort food of egg and tomato soup, or it could be Josh’s hotdog mac and cheese, or maybe smoked Carolina ribs on the weekend. We are constantly learning from one another, whether Yunjing is sharing Chinese literature or Josh is introducing her to Monty Python and Star Trek; Josh insists it’s an even trade. Our distinct cultural backgrounds are certainly essential to our identities, but rather than rigidly preserving these traditions, we let them evolve and enhance our life together.

We look forward to welcoming a child of any cultural ancestry into this mix. We will encourage our child to explore their identity, not just through books but also by seeking out communities and experiences that reflect who they are and where they come from.

At home, we love cooking together—whether we're making handmade Chinese dumplings or smash burgers. Our downtime is usually filled with LEGOs, board games, puzzles, or video games. We also enjoy reading interesting stories to each other and singing along to music. We can’t wait to share these moments with a child, from reading Shel Silverstein poems and playing 'Just Dance,' to eventually introducing them to the worlds of LEGO bricks and science fiction.

When we’re out of the house, we love visiting botanical gardens, zoos, and museums, or getting active with things like kayaking, mini-golf, and sailing. We try to take one big trip to a new place every year to explore different cultures and foods. Ultimately, we want to seize every moment by making lasting memories with each other and our child.

Education is the almost-magical result of curiosity, opportunity, and persistence. As teachers, we are enthusiastically dedicated to learning in all its forms. We’ve seen firsthand how education opens doors, and we owe our careers to the opportunities it provides. Beyond that, we simply find immense joy in nerding out on interesting things, and we can’t wait to share that enthusiasm with our child. In our home, our child will be surrounded by discovery that feels like play: books of all varieties, LEGOs for creativity and spatial reasoning, Nerf sports for physical skills, and board and puzzle games for strategy. Outside the home, excellent local schools offer extensive enrichment outlets and sports for whatever sparks their curiosity or aptitude. We also look forward to continuing exploring the world as a family, traveling to experience different histories, cultures, and cuisines together.

Ultimately, we will model the curiosity we hope to instill. We are committed to providing every opportunity for our child to explore their unique interests, while lovingly encouraging the persistence they need to excel in whatever goals they design for themselves.

Our growing family includes Yunjing’s live-in parents, who are extra excited to welcome a grandchild, Josh’s parents, sister, and family in Kansas, cousins in Texas, and lifelong friends both local and around the country. Most of our travels and traditions involve connecting with these loved ones in both old and new places.

We spend every Thanksgiving with Josh's sister and her husband, and our two nieces in Kansas. As teachers on break, we get the whole week to cook, read to and play with the kids, and even sail on grandpa’s boat if the weather cooperates. We also often make a big family trip during the summers in other places where we can bike, hike, and kayak. Including our family in Texas, there’s a growing collection of six young cousins that we hope will be a part of many formative experiences for this child.

Closer to our rural college town, we have longtime friends and local traditions. Our house is usually filled with a fusion of smells, with Yunjing and parents making traditional Chinese dishes in the kitchen, and Josh smoking meats and veggies or practicing his grilling skills on the deck.

We regularly host friendly neighbors and families in backyard party potlucks with garden games. Josh is also godfather to one close couple’s baby daughter, and other lifelong friends with families are a short drive away. We are thrilled to welcome a child into the circles of loving and loyal families we have found here.

We love our beautiful and family friendly rural town in Pennsylvania. With its small private college and nearby large regional hospitals, local professionals flock to our town for the well regarded school district and diverse local culture. A playground equipment company showcases their work in several expansive playgrounds throughout the town, which also boasts two community pools, a splash pad park, butterfly garden, and little league fields. Many annual arts and crafts festivals, children's enrichment opportunities with the college, Oktoberfest, and a summer music in the park series make our hometown a welcoming community that deeply values education and family life.

A short drive from the center of town, our three bedroom home is in a quiet hilltop neighborhood that includes many young children on the school bus route. Because we are off the main road, our street is often populated with free-range kids and dog-walking families when the weather permits, and there is another small neighborhood park a short walk down the hill. The house itself includes an open plan back half that gets great sunlight and opens to a deck. This is where most of our daily life happens, from family dinners in the dining room to grilling and garden games outside. Whether we are hosting guests or enjoying board games and nerf basketball in the family room, it’s a space filled with laughter and energy. We feel this is an ideal place to raise a child.

Hello! We are Josh and Yunjing and we are eager to welcome a child into our loving home. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about us. While we do not yet know you, we are sincerely grateful to you for considering adoption for your baby. We promise to provide your baby with all the unconditional love and patience we have in us, as well as the environment and upbringing needed for them to thrive and grow into the person they are meant to be. We have been together since we first met ten years ago, and have been married for seven. When we met, single and in our mid-thirties, starting new jobs in a new town, a family and child seemed unlikely. However, ten strong years later and secure in our jobs, we are more committed than ever to making that possibility a reality.

Our families and friends have been super supportive as we look to grow the family. Yunjing’s parents live with us in retirement and are very excited to become grandparents. We believe that growing up in a multi-generational household will help the child build deep connections and feel the security and love we can together provide. From making dumplings and grilling to exploring the outdoors, we hope our growth together provides a strong emotional anchor for our child as they deal with the outside world.

Despite the distance, Josh is very close with his family in Kansas. Most years we spend the week of Thanksgiving at his sister’s home, where we can play with the nieces and be with his parents. Often we also go on family vacations together during the year, a tradition of making memories together in new and interesting places. We are committed to maintaining this tradition with our child, building diverse formative experiences with our families whenever possible. Closer to the everyday experience, we feel our home and town will be a great place to raise a child. As teachers and lifelong students, we have filled our house with opportunities for exploration, with books spanning Dr. Seuss to science fiction to classical literature, LEGOs, Josh’s prized Nerf basketball court, puzzles and games. In the backyard we have gardening and games to enjoy our time outdoors. While we are thrilled to share these with a curious soul, we are most excited to help our child explore their own unique interests, while lovingly encouraging the persistence they need to excel in their own goals. Outside the home, our small town has its own children’s museum, public library with many events, playgrounds and parks that our childhood selves would envy, and an excellent local school district. We also have close local friends already anticipating playdates with their own children.

Ours is a welcoming community that deeply values education and family life. Our college employer is additionally very supportive of families, with paid child leaves and flexible schedules for parents, arts performances on campus, free admission to all of the school’s games, and, much farther down the line, discounted or even free college tuition. While our parents did not attend college due to choice or circumstance, they raised us with the confidence that there is no limit to the education we could seek. Whether our child chooses college or not, we are enthusiastically dedicated to learning in all its forms, and we will provide every educational opportunity we can. While we commit ourselves to raising this child, we also look forward to the role you define for yourself. We will always send regular updates and pictures of our child’s latest adventures and accomplishments. Should you choose, we are also open to visits or travel to be together in person, as circumstances allow. While your preferences are of course allowed to change over time, we can promise an open line of communication. You will always be a part of this child’s identity, and we will always be grateful for your contribution to our child’s life and growth.

Thank you sincerely for reading this and for considering our family for this important decision.

Joshua & Yunjing