David and Shani
Location: Florida
Ages: 36 and 39
Religion: Jewish
Professions: Accountant/Clinical Social Worker
Other Kids: 1 daughter
Preferences: Caucasian/Hispanic/Bi-Racial/Asian, Either Gender, Newborn up to 1 year of age
How We Met: The two of us met while we were both living in NYC in 2012. David had moved there from his hometown of Seattle a few years after undergrad, while Shani moved there for grad school. We were both focused on school, work, new friends, and enjoying all the city has to offer. As cliche as it may sound, we truly say it was fate that brought us together. We realized after meeting that we had both been at the same parties/social events several times but happened to have never met until the timing was just right. When our second date consisted of closing down the restaurant, we knew there was something special.
Qualities We Love, Admire and Respect in Each Other: David is a kind, positive, giving, and a hands-on husband, and father. He is charismatic, full of positive energy, and is the true definition of a person who lights a room up when they enter. He is friendly, hard-working and someone we feel so lucky to have in our life. Shani is patient, loyal, and the type of mother and wife who would do anything for family and close friends. She likes to have tremendous amounts of fun and is especially silly and playful when it comes to our daughter, Maytal. She is the epitome of a “mama bear” protecting her cub and family: smart, caring, and the glue that keeps our family together and everyone’s needs accounted for. Maytal would also make, hands down, the best big sister a sibling could ask for. She is kind, giving, and caring, which is apparent by the way she treats her parents, her friends, and even her stuffed animals. She loves sharing, is conscientious of peoples’ needs, and has a sensitive nature and demeanor.
Our Hobbies and Interests: We love to travel, whether that means trips visiting relatives all over the country/world, relaxing vacations, or exploring new places. We are active in our local community, led by the incredible charge of Shani. She volunteers for local events at our synagogue, including organization of various activities and functions. We live on the beach, and truly consider it our backyard. We can often be found there building sandcastles, chasing waves, having beach-side picnic dinners, or taking walks or bike rides on the beach path. Individually, we channel our creative side in different ways. David finds calmness and joy in pencil sketching and charcoal art, and recently started teaching himself to play the ukulele. Shani too loves music, as well as dancing. She practices by having many dance parties with our daughter, Maytal, and by taking various dance classes. David also plays in an ice hockey league once a week and enjoys outdoor activities with the family.
Why We Want to Adopt: Becoming parents has been the greatest joy for us, greater than we could have even imagined. We have always wanted a large family, and after going through years of infertility treatments, we are hoping to grow our family via adoption. We have an incredible amount of love to give and share with another child and we are so excited by the prospect of continuing to build our family.