We’re a slightly nerdy, loving couple and we’ve been together almost 10 years. Raphael is a project manager and Lorana is a kitchen designer. We both enjoy playing board games. Lorana loves to read and Raphael loves to play video games. We like to go camping and swimming at the lake and cooking out on the grill. On weekends, we enjoy having the family get together for dinner and a movie or a Saturday brunch. We enjoy watching comedies and detective shows. We both love to do at home DIY projects and actually met when we both worked at a home improvement retailer together. Lorana is cheerful and optimistic while Raphael is cheerful, but calls himself a realist (which Lorana calls a worrywart), so we balance each other well.

Raphael comes from a small family. His father was an only child and his mother had only one brother, who currently lives in Brazil with Raphael’s only two cousins. He has two younger sisters in their twenties that live in an apartment near us and we get together with them quite regularly. His mother lives with us, in her own basement apartment.

Lorana comes from a larger family. Both of her parents are one of five children. All told, she has 27 first cousins. She has four siblings, two brothers and two sisters. Among her siblings, there are 10 nieces and nephews. Sadly, most of her extended family doesn’t live nearby, so it’s difficult to see them on a regular basis, but we keep in touch.

In Georgia, we mostly have chosen family. Raphael lived here most of his life and has several life-long friends that we often have join us for holidays and celebrations. We also have a few couples that we are very close to that are also currently growing their families. We look forward to raising our kids together. We’re big believers that love makes family, not blood.

We live in a nice home in a small neighborhood on the edge of a town that is growing rapidly. We have just under an acre of land, most of which is surrounded by a wooden fence, giving us a large, safe, and private backyard. We live not far from a large city in Georgia which allows us the advantage of museums, zoos, and such within an hour’s drive, without having to deal with the crime or traffic that living in the city would bring. All of the schools our children will attend are within about two miles of our house, and there is a city park within easy walking distance. We currently have 3 goofy dogs and an adventurous pet rabbit in the house.

Both of us have considered adoption throughout our adult lives. We’ve seen adoption touch lives from both directions, both a mother who gave up her daughter for the sake of a better, safer life and an adult who had been raised in an adoptive home. Originally our plan was to have one or two of our own and then adopt one or two to round out our family. However, due to infertility issues (two miscarriages and 3 failed rounds of IVF), we’ve decided it is time to start our family with adoption instead.