Layne and Emily

About Us

Our love story began in Boston where we met while attending graduate school. We quickly discovered a shared love of exploring the world, hiking, and music, and we also shared a deep connection with our families. We tied the knot in 2016 and have had many wonderful adventures.

Emily grew up in a small town in Ohio with her parents, older sister, and younger brother. Emily and her siblings are all adopted, and her large Midwestern family live close by and often gather for holidays and Sunday dinners. We are especially close with Emily’s niece and nephew. You can often find Emily tending to her growing urban garden, rooting for the Ohio State Buckeyes, cooking a new recipe with spices she brought home from a recent trip, playing and coaching soccer, or reading a book. In fact, she is a voracious reader who often has 3-4 books going at the same time. Her favorite hobby is traveling! She has been to 30 countries – including studying French and photography in Paris and working in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – and enjoys learning about and experiencing different cultures. These days, Emily shares her love of travel through her work at an adventure travel company.

Layne is from New Jersey and visits his parents and older sister often. He went to school for engineering and loves figuring out how things work. Layne is a data analyst for a tech company, but also uses their engineering skills to help their niece and nephew with science experiments or to build a new bookcase for our home. When it’s time to indulge their creative side, Layne plays guitar and bass, and once recorded an album with a local indie band. He loves all kinds of games and can often be found hosting a board game night or a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. The Methodist faith Layne grew up with is important to us, and we now attend a progressive congregation with a focus on social justice.

We own a quirky Victorian home in Wilkinsburg, and there is a strong sense of community here. We love decking the house out for holidays and are slowly building up our decorations one Halloween ghost and string of Christmas lights at a time. The neighborhood and school district are incredibly diverse; we like knowing that no matter the race of our adopted child, they will be surrounded by neighbors and classmates who look like them. We’re close with our neighbors and are lucky to have a tight-knit group of friends who are excited to become honorary aunties and uncles. We enjoy attending Pittsburgh’s many local festivals or playing in our weekly bocce league, and we often have friends over for cookouts, firepits, or to watch a movie on our outdoor movie screen.

What we want for our child:

We are extremely curious about the world and will encourage that sense of curiosity within our children. There is so much to learn outside of the classroom, and we want to encourage hands-on learning to foster growth and compassion. We plan to focus on a gentle parenting approach to allow our child to discover their own interests and help them chart their own path. We’re an active family and imagine having many adventures together from hiking and camping to traveling abroad. We both work remotely from home and were intentional about choosing companies that offer generous parental leave policies and flexibility so we can be there for every milestone.

Because Layne identifies as a transgender man, we consider ourselves an LGBT couple and we’ve surrounded ourselves with a diverse community – one that focuses on equality and inclusion. Our child will have access to different views to help them understand the importance of diversity and empathy. We’re open to adopting a child from any background, and will make it a priority to ensure that they grow up within a community that reflects their culture and traditions. We feel prepared to raise a child who may have additional needs as we are extremely close to our nephew who has a rare genetic disorder called Spinal Muscular Atrophy, and we’ve been there for the many milestones, ups and downs, surgeries, and celebrations. It’s been a gift to be a part of his life and watch him grow up. If you decide to choose us as your child’s parents, they will grow up with a community cheering them on – no matter what. We truly believe that our differences are what make us who we are, and that with love, support, and a good sense of humor, we can tackle anything that life throws at us.

For us, family is everything, and prioritizing and maintaining close relationships with our friends and family is an integral part of our life. We hope to foster a similar connection through adoption and look forward to exploring an open adoption as part of this journey. We would like to explore what an open relationship means to each birthparent and we understand that this piece of the relationship will likely grow over time.

Thank you for taking the time to read our letter and considering us as you explore the idea of adoption. If you would like to know more about us, please feel free to reach out to us at emilyandlayneadopt@gmail.com or call or text the Children’s Home at (412) 736-2908.