We are Joel and Oz from Kansas City, Missouri, and we’re happy to share our story with you.  Our dream is to complete our family with a child, and we have spent the past year and a half working through the adoption process toward that end.

We’ve been together 11 years and have always talked about starting a family, but began taking action two years ago when we got married and completed our home study.  Prior to that, we bought a house in an eclectic, older neighborhood in Kansas City and have been renovating it room by room.  We feel incredibly fortunate that we were able to find a larger home where we could start our family and also be able to host our relatives from out of town.  The renovation has been a lot of work, but nothing is more fulfilling than seeing your efforts come to fruition.  Both of us learned improvement skills from our fathers, and we’re eager to teach those skills to our child.

Joel works for a large company that focuses on all aspects of personal expression, and Oz is a stylist – you could say that we both love helping people feel good about themselves and others.  Kansas City is a great fit for us – centrally located, inexpensive, lots of cultural amenities, great food and Midwestern sensibility with just enough edge and manageable growth to keep things fresh.  Having four distinct seasons mean we get to experience just about every type of weather imaginable, with beautiful foliage in Spring and Fall.  We live in a diverse but family-oriented neighborhood, complete with nearby parks where we take our dog, Diego, to play – he’s never met another person or dog that he didn’t like.

Joel was born and raised a few hours away in Wichita and graduated from the University of Kansas, with additional time studying abroad in France.  He is from a smaller family, but we see his parents from Wichita and sister in Lawrence about once a month – his mom can’t wait to be a grandmother for the first time!  He’s a big supporter of local college and professional sports, and loves cooking and travel.

Oz’s immediate family is largely in the Dallas area – we love taking road trips to visit them and having them come to KC; we especially enjoy his dad’s grilling and mom’s cooking.  Oz is one of five children, and he has numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles and more cousins than we can count.  He went to an arts magnet high school, where he tuned his skills as a painter and began to explore his creative side.  Oz has recently rediscovered his love for painting and we’re thrilled that he has been showing some of his work in local stores and galleries and online through a new website.  When he’s not at work or painting, Oz’s passion to work in the yard.

We’re excited to bring up a child in an environment where family is so close-knit, extensive, and supportive.  Our favorite times of the year are Thanksgiving and Christmas, as we can spend time with our families making turkey or tamales, opening gifts, playing games and trying to find the Christmas pickle ornament on the tree.  The thought of seeing our child laughing and playing with his or her cousins helps keep us hopeful throughout our adoption journey.

Over the past year we’ve worked on finishing up our home renovations and getting the nursery ready with Oz’s art, lots of books, records and stuffed animals, many of which were Joel’s and passed down by his mom.  Education is very important to us, but equally as important is exposure to creative influences like music, reading, different cultures, languages and painting.

Our goal is to raise a child in an environment of respect toward others, honesty, open communication, responsibility, tradition and learning.  Both of us are excited to experience sleepless nights with an infant, learning which foods aren’t eaten, doing homework together, attending sporting events, school functions, etc.  We would love an open adoption and have you involved in our family, but realize that all situations differ and will be supportive of what you’re comfortable with.  We know that as excited as we are about becoming parents, your choosing adoption is just as difficult.

Thank you for reading our profile and getting to know us – please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you would like to know any additional information.