As a family, we make sure to laugh and smile every day. No matter how difficult things may be, we find time to laugh and enjoy the moment. This may be laughing at Abby, our dog, snoring loudly in her bed or us dancing around the kitchen singing the music from The Little Mermaid. We laugh when Fabrizio shares silly robot stories from work or at how, during a work meeting, Johnny did a Scooby-Doo impression. These moments of joy are found every Sunday morning as we enjoy our family breakfast. They are found when Fabrizio is in the garage building furniture for the house and when Johnny is rock climbing with friends. We find joy when we are together doing simple, everyday things like walking the dog through the neighborhood, preparing a meal, strolling through the grocery shop, and sitting on the couch watching our favorite movies.

Fabrizio grew up in Italy; his brother, sister, and parents still live in Rome. We have visited his family in Italy during summer and Christmas vacations. We talk every week on FaceTime when they are not visiting us or when we are not visiting them. Fabrizio speaks to his family in Italian, and Johnny is slowly learning. Johnny is hoping to speak fluent Italian with them soon. Fabrizio enjoys hearing stories and seeing pictures of his young niece and nephew, who really enjoy swimming, big cars, and unicorns.

Johnny’s family is a couple of hours away, so we frequently see them. His parents will come over for the day, and we all go out to lunch. Johnny and his sister will go on adventures together. Sometimes it is just a weekend away, and one time it was even a sibling trip to Walt Disney World.

Johnny’s parents and sister come over to celebrate Thanksgiving with a bit of an Italian twist. Everyone works in the kitchen preparing their part of the meal. After Thanksgiving dinner, we take our dog for a walk, come home, eat pumpkin and apple pie with a scoop of ice cream, and watch a Christmas movie.

We live on a lake in Massachusetts where, every day, we get to see bald eagles and animals of many kinds. In the summer, we swim and kayak with our dog, Abby, a small, fluffy, and very important part of our family. We like to get our hands dirty in the gardens in the front yard. We plan to add vegetable gardens soon to have fresh vegetables and spices for our homemade pizzas. And Fabrizio knows about making good pizzas. Our house is a short walk from all of our local schools. It is a fifteen-minute walk from the town center, where we like to visit bakeries, restaurants, and our favorite bookstore. We are a short drive from a big city, where we enjoy theater, concerts, and museums.

Johnny’s sister is adopted. His family knows the joy of growing their family through adoption, so it was an obvious choice for us when we decided it was time for our family to grow. Adoption allows us the opportunity to welcome a child into our hearts and our home and to provide them with love. Being given this chance to care for a child is an honor, and we know we are being trusted to be the best parents we can be.