Hello, we are Irene & Greg, plus our son Max Zen, from Redmond, Washington. We wanted to first thank you for the love and compassion that you are expressing in making this significant and important decision for you and your child. Our desire is to approach this process with the utmost respect and sensitivity.

We are two goofy best friends who met over a decade ago. We desired to have a blended family. We always believed that family is not only about blood but about love, commitment, and shared dreams. Thank you for considering us as potential parents. Our thoughts and best wishes are with you all.

We have chosen the path of adoption to expand our family, driven by a deep-seated desire to embrace the unique and beautiful journey it offers.

While Max Zen is our biological child, we faced challenges with infertility and firmly believe that love knows no biological bounds. Adopting allows us to provide a loving home to a child in need, creating a family founded on compassion and inclusivity. Our decision to adopt is also rooted in the joy of building a blended family, celebrating the richness that diversity brings to our lives. We cherish the opportunity to create a home filled with understanding, support, and unity, where every member, biological or adopted, contributes to the tapestry of our shared experiences and love.

We first met in a writing group, forging a strong friendship that evolved into a beautiful partnership. Our lives took an unexpected turn when we welcomed our kind and loving son. Diversity, science, learning, and laughter are vital aspects of our household, reflected in our shared love for cooking, especially making pizza on Fridays and enjoying French toast or pancakes on Saturdays. Our passion for exploration has taken us around the world, where we embrace various languages, traditions, and celebrations. With friends spanning the globe, we celebrate our shared humanity, believing that we are all one race. Our home is a haven of warmth, enriched by the joyous tapestry of our diverse experiences.

Laughter and kindness are the defining characteristics of our family.

My family is originally from Nigeria but I grew up in Chicago, in a neighborhood that was a melting pot of diverse ethnic and financial backgrounds. My best friends from this neighborhood have been with me for over 30 years. This allows me to keep practicing some of the languages and holidays I've taken on over the years. Having lived and worked in different countries and traveled extensively, I've immersed myself in the beauty of our global tapestry. I speak English and Igbo well and know a bit of Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Portuguese and Italian.

Although I work from home in Investments, charity work, fostering children and mentoring have been integral to my life, fueled by a profound love for children and seeing how they look at the world.

I enjoy philosophy, photography, taking long walks, cooking, traveling, gazing up at the stars (I actually wanted to be an astrophysicist) yet my favorite thing in the world is hanging out with Greg and Max Zen. I can never stop laughing.

I've always been the one to look right in front of me, putting one foot after the other, fully in the moment. Irene is the planner, the one looking to the horizon and imagining where we'll go. She dreams big and I'm always in awe of just how big it can be.

She comes from a big family with four brothers and sisters. She's second youngest with a wide age gap between the siblings which meant she got to help raise 14 nieces and nephews, from teenage auntie to grown and independent auntie. I rely on her experience when trying to navigate challenges with our son because she has the good ideas on how to actually engage and turn behavior around instead of just getting everyone worked up.

Irene has always said that her goal as a parent is she wants to bring more good people into the world.

I was born in Florida and spent most of my life there until my wife convinced me to move to Washington. I've fallen in love with the trees and hiking trails in this new environment.

Cooking is a passion of mine, and I enjoy creating dishes from around the world.

Science fiction holds a special place in my heart, both in reading and writing. I tend to keep things simple and can't resist throwing in a joke here and there. Having kids in our home brings immense joy as I marvel at their growth and learning. Cooking together with my family, going on trips, and exploring the world are some of our favorite activities. With over 20 years in Information Technology (IT), I've found a balance between work and family. Irene drops Max Zen at daycare in the mornings and I pick him up on the way home from work. My world revolves around my family, and the idea of growing together and potentially adding to our fun group fills me with hope and excitement for the many more happy memories ahead.

Greg is a true comforter, radiating kindness in everything he does to everyone. His love for cooking is a genuine expression of care, creating dishes that bring warmth to our home. While I convinced him to explore the world, he, in turn, persuaded me to rediscover the simple joy of riding a bike. It was during a challenging time, after a bike accident that left me with a twisted leg, that I realized the depth of his compassion. Despite biking 12 miles to work, Greg immediately turned around and raced back to be by my side. He took me to the hospital, ensuring I was comfortable on the couch with gourmet meals. His selflessness and unwavering support are the reasons why I asked him to marry me—because in every moment, he has proven to be my rock and my greatest source of comfort. Also, did I mention the man is just hysterical! I don't know how many times we got through things because he found the one thing that you can't help but chuckle at.

Meet Max Zen, our incredibly funny, kind, caring and adventurous 3-year-old, who surprises us daily with his imaginative play as a dinosaur, firefighter, or doctor. A surprise born during the challenges of COVID after years of infertility, Max brings boundless joy to our lives. He loves traveling, sledding, making up games, swimming, riding horses, and is eagerly awaiting the arrival of a sibling.

Max Zen keeps saying Reenie, baby, and Max Z are going to be best friends.

In our family, we have a mission to stay healthy in every way—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. We believe in being kind and compassionate to everyone, including animals. We love nature walks, reading, and science projects. We even built a sundial to help our nephew understand time.

During COVID, we had virtual parties and taught our nieces and nephews about finances, saving, and investing. We enjoy watching cartoons (especially Anime), going to movies, seeing plays, and cooking foods from around the world.

We take a trip every year and encourage kids to follow their interests. Our home is a safe space where our son, past foster kids, and family can be themselves. We believe in a diverse, friendly world full of love and laughter.

We call Redmond, Washington home, a choice we made for its diversity with first and second-generation Americans. Our home has beautiful views of the Cascade mountains.

Our community is surrounded by numerous nature trails seamlessly blending into downtown. During spring, our family tradition is to picnic under cherry blossoms. Festivals and celebrations, spanning various cultures like Chinese New Year and Diwali, bring our community together. Abundant parks cater to all ages. The local fire department and library enrich our lives with tours and reading programs for toddlers. Surrounded by farms, we enjoy berry, apple, and pumpkin picking, along with petting zoos and museums. With Seattle just 20 minutes away and Canada a short 2.5-hour drive, we relish easy access to mountains for sledding, skiing, or horseback riding until our son was ready for flights to have far away international adventure.

Our extended family includes dear friends, a diverse village that spans languages, ethnicities, religions, and financial backgrounds. Modern communication keeps us close to our friends and their children, allowing us to act as advocates for all our nephews and nieces, offering support in various life situations or just an opportunity for us to catch up.

This is Reenie the dog! She is a 16 year old schnauzer-shitzu we rescued in Florida. She enjoys long walks, cuddling with Max Zen and will help you eat anything you drop on the floor. Before she retired, she used to be a hospice therapy dog and would visit patients while Irene volunteered. She loves napping in a sunbeam when she can find one.

Our family is a vibrant tapestry woven from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Greg's roots trace back to Scottish-Americans who arrived in the US in the 1800s, while Irene's family, hailing from Nigeria, immigrated in the 1970s. Irene's family is especially large, spanning the globe. Our family is a mix of medical professionals, law professionals, mechanics, plumbers, IT professionals, and accountants. With four siblings spread across the USA, Irene shares a unique age gap of 20 years with her eldest brother. Although Irene's parents have passed away, she is an aunt to 11 nieces and nephews and over 7 great-nieces and nephews. On Greg's side, his family includes his sister and his late father, a mechanic, while his mother is a retired nurse in Florida.

We want to raise good people. Albert Einstein said he's never met an incurious kid but he's met plenty of incurious adults. Kids are born with it and it's something that can be lost along the way if it isn't nurtured. We want to raise kids who maintain curiosity, who have a lifelong love of learning, who are open to seeing the world in new ways, discovering new things and giving back to the world, leaving it a better place for them having been here. We want to raise kids who are able to stand up for themselves, make their own choices and find their own happiness, whatever it may be.

We believe kids learn by doing and make it a point to allow them to participate as early as possible with what we do around the house. Kids always want to take part, even if the activity is chores. We have stepstools and aprons and kid-friendly utensils so they can take part in cooking. When we make household repairs, kids get to sit alongside and see what's happening. It may take longer, they may get in the way, but there's a big payoff for positive engagement and the empowerment they feel when they know they can do for themselves.

We would like to thank you for taking the time to read our profile and consider us as potential parents for your child. We know this is a deep and personal decision and you want to make the best choice in selecting a new family. If you entrust us with the privilege of becoming parents for your child, we will take this commitment just as seriously.

We promise to provide a loving home where your child will feel safe and secure. We want them to discover their own passions, their own happiness and will provide them every support we can to achieve that. We want to share the world with them and see them grow into happy, functional, successful adults. Thank you for considering us and we wish you the best on your journey.

- Irene & Greg, and Max Zen too