We met online after we both moved to a new city to start new jobs nine years ago. We had our first date at Starbucks and talked for four hours. We instantly connected over our family values and our sense of humor. We were married in 2020 and bought our home in 2022.

We both love to travel, particularly to Disney World and NYC. We love live theater and movies. We love to spend time with our friends and family, and can’t wait to introduce our child to them. Mari likes to play guitar, build legos, and is a huge soccer fan (but enjoys pretty much any sport). Shana likes to play piano, read, bake, and play board games.

Mari is hard working, loving, generous and loyal. She pushes herself to be better and does her best to help those around her feel loved and supported any way she can.

Shana is incredibly caring, creative, responsible, and intelligent. She accomplishes everything she sets her mind to, is patient even in tough situations,  and always makes others feel cared for.

We have a large family with lots of love. Some are close by and some are in other countries but we have plenty of people that are ready to love our child. Both sides of the family have grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Shana’s side of the family lives close and often has get togethers throughout the year. Mari’s side of the family often visit the US to travel and have permanent residences in Panama as well.

We have always wanted to have a child together and adoption has always been our first choice. We have worked to build a beautiful home and life together and are ready to share it with a child.

We look forward to reading with our child and doing fun creative projects. Teaching them to play soccer or play an instrument. We are both big fans of Disney so we are looking forward to the first time we can bring them to Magic Kingdom, show them the big castle and meet their favorite characters. All in all, we’re excited to share whatever hobbies our child expresses interest in.

We love to celebrate the holidays, particularly Christmas and Halloween. We love to decorate our home and participate in different community activities. This includes trick or treating town events, easter egg hunts, and Christmas lighting ceremonies. We usually host Christmas at our home with our parents and have a tradition of watching Christmas movies throughout the holiday season together.