Customer Service / Teacher
Georgia
Caucasian / Hispanic
Christian
Jon says: Zuly is loving, fun and passionate. She is a giving person who always tries to make people around her feel special. She loves with her whole heart: there is no halfway with my wife? Seeing the way her love impacts the people around her makes me feel so special.
Zuly says: Jon is probably one of the kindest souls you will ever meet. He always has a smile on his face, and he never knows a stranger. Jon is 100% genuine. He finds a reason to be happy, grateful and joyful in every situation. Jon is the funcle in our families. If we are gathered, Jon disappears because a niece of nephew snatches him to go play.
There are so many reasons we want to adopt. We have always loved kids. I have always felt a desire to be a mom. As a couple, we have walked a road neither of us had hoped to. We suffered multiple miscarriages, and eventually came to an infertility diagnosis. Kids have always been drawn to Jon. Whenever nieces and nephews are around, he has a tendency to disappear. The kids kidnap him to play. As his wife, infertility took away my opportunity to make Jon a dad. Adoption gives that to us in a different way.
We live in a comfortable three bedroom home with a little backyard at the top of a mountain with views of the surrounding area. Our neighborhood may be hilly, but it is walked daily by a diverse community of people from all kinds of backgrounds. We are districted for a top school focusing on educating a whole child with a global world view.
We have three families: Zuly’s big Cuban family, Jon’s big Southern family, and our church family. We are very close to our birth families with frequent visits, dinners, events and vacations. Our church family is about a dozen couples with children ranging in age from newborn to six years old. We do life together with weekly meetings, date nights, gatherings and birthday parties for the kids, and more.
Jon is kindness personified. He doesn’t know a stranger, and wants nothing more than to make everyone around him comfortable. Jon’s customers love him so much so that Zuly can’t shop at his store without the red carpet treatment. Jon calls his parents everyday to check in with them, and helps them however he can.
Zuly loves with her whole soul. She does nothing halfway. Zuly has expanded my world through her love of travel. She is always planning the next adventure whether it’s a quick road trip to the mountains or an international escape to a new culture. Her sense of wonder and lack of boundaries in the world has opened my eyes to all that are out there.
Our story is a little more than your typical boy meets girl Hallmark movie. In the fall of 2016, we were both ready to give up on finding someone. After a few messages, texts and calls, we met for our first date. Within eight months, Jon had proposed on a family vacation. Over the next 14 months, we purposely planned our wedding so that we could enjoy our celebration with those we love most.
Everyone has a story, and that story is worthy of your respect and your time. No story is better than any other. You can learn something from every person you meet. Treat everyone with this level of respect. Give when you can of your time, talents and gifts. No matter what you choose to be, we support you, we love you, and we will encourage you.
We want our child to know their whole story including their first family. We believe that the first family should have a place of honor in our home. We are very open, but we also know that openness is a two way street. We support a first family’s decision for space. All we can do is be willing to sit at the table together to find the best definition of openness for everyone through every season of life.