Hello, we are Zaid and Angelica!  Thank you for taking the time to get to know us.  We also hope to get to know you!

We first met when Angelica was the photographer at a wedding Zaid attended.  Watching her move across the room Zaid thought, “there goes the most beautiful girl”.  She was working so hard to take the best pictures while making everyone laugh – Zaid was hooked.  Years later, in 2019, Angelica needed to insure her business, and not only did Zaid sell her insurance, but he also got her to agree to a date!

Our love was meant to be.  God aligns everything to happen in His perfect timing!  After our first date, we knew the other was the one, although we didn't say it until later on!  We enjoyed going to church together, and we fell in love with each other's relationship with God.  We both finally knew what it meant when people would say “when you know you know”.  

We were engaged in 2020 after dating for six months, but because of the pandemic, our engagement happened in a parking lot!  We got married in the summer of 2020, and it was the best decision we ever made. 

We always knew we wanted to have kids, and dreamed of having a big family.  There were seven bouquets of flowers at our wedding to represent the seven kids we envisioned having.  Right away, we started trying, but unfortunately have unexplained infertility.  We know that God has a plan for us, and He’s shown us the path to adoption.  We believe that we will love seven kids to the fullest someday!

I fell in love with photography in highschool, and in college received my Bachelor's degree in Photography.  I love taking portraits of people, and eventually realized one of my favorite things to capture was newborns!  I had a special touch with them and many of my clients called me The Baby Whisperer.  I loved my job so much, as it was very rewarding, but I have closed it to prepare for having a family.  I continue to utilize my skills by photographing our niece and nephews, but I can’t wait to photograph a child who calls me “Mommy”!

From Zaid About Angelica

She is such a wonderful, caring person whom I fell in love with quickly.  She made such an effort to get to know my family and friends, and I was blown away by it.  I quickly realized that she brightens every room she is in and people are gravitated to her energy and warmth.  Her heart for people, especially kids, is like something found in a Disney movie.  She is one of the most creative people I have ever met, able to make something seemingly bland into something extraordinary. 

My wife babysits our niece and nephew and she is awesome with them.  Our niece runs to her (she’s old enough to run) and is so happy when Angelica gets to babysit or visit her.  I have never seen anyone with more energy and love for children.  I always pray that one day we can be parents and she will get to be the mom that she always wanted to be. 

I wasn't born in America, so some things didn’t come easy, but with God's help, I have had such a good life!  I was born in Iraq and lived in Greece for a few years, before immigrating to America when I was seven-years-old.  Growing up, I played a lot of sports, from basketball, wrestling, and baseball, to track, but my favorite was football. My love of the game led to coaching football right out of high school, and I have been coaching ever since!  

From Angelica About Zaid 

One of the things I admire about Zaid is that he works hard at everything he does, whether at his job or volunteering.  He started his own company when he was nineteen-years-old, and it has grown into a successful business that supports his family, twenty employees, and us!  He gives the same level of effort in everything that he does.  He somehow brings so much energy to every situation, that even after a long day at work, he still has energy to coach football, and is still able to be present with me in the evenings.   

He is so fun to be around that everyone wants to be his friend, and he really makes every person he talks to feel so special and loved.  Our friends and family value his opinion and give him a call whenever they are struggling with something.  He is the best uncle, and I've never seen anyone so loving, playful, and natural with babies and kids.  He will be the best dad ever, and I can't wait for a child to look up at him and call him “Dada”.

We have lived in our home since 2021, and have made a couple of upgrades, but for the most part it is a traditional colonial-style house.  We can be homebodies at times, because our house has brought us so much peace, and a great space to spend time together.  We love hosting on holidays, and our house is perfect for serving our extended families. 

We live in a sweet neighborhood, where there is a good mix of young children and elderly couples.  Our cousins just moved in across the street, and having a young family close by has made for fun activities and family time.

There is a school nearby with a playground, and a park across the street that has a playground plus a few sports fields.  The trail through the park leads to our parent’s house.  Our home is central to all of our family members, and everywhere we need to go, from restaurants to shopping, and the beach to football games.  Our backyard connects to our neighbor’s rather large field which we are welcomed to use, and we have picnics under their willow tree often. 

Ultimately, our favorite thing to do is spend as much time as possible with family.  We have a large and loving family and we enjoy hanging out multiple days each week.  We all love each other so much, and we all make an effort to show up and support one another, like for Zaid’s football games, when the whole family attends, as it's an opportunity to be together.  

Our extended families are filled with many aunts, uncles, and cousins, and our family is growing as our cousins are having kids, and we couldn't be happier about it!  with many siblings  Some of our sisters are living out-of-state, and while they visit often, we stay in contact over FaceTime.  Everyone else lives super close to us, within a three-mile radius!

Our parents are so loving, and have basically dedicated the remainder of their lives to their grandkids.  Our family gathers frequently, and in addition to grandparents, aunts and uncles, we have so many great aunts and cousins who love all the babies.

Everyone is super excited to meet a new child and welcome them into their arms.  Our parents want more little feet running around the house and making messes everywhere.  We all love going on family trips, and they are so excited to continue our family traditions with our growing family!  They can't wait to welcome a child into the mix of our big family!

Since we love spending time with our extended families, we happily host our families for the holidays, especially on Christmas Eve.  We love to decorate for every holiday and make our home feel magical, and one day we would love to see that through a child's eyes! 

We love to travel, and there are a few places around the world where we have dreamed of taking a child.  We are a very active family, and enjoy working out and incorporating fitness into our everyday lives by going on daily walks, where we also love the bonding time!   

When fall rolls around, the one thing that springs to our minds is football!  In our house, football is very important, whether that's cheering for our local team by going to games every Friday and Saturday night, or watching the Lions play on Sundays and Thanksgiving.  We can’t wait to have a child on the team Zaid coaches, or in the cheering section!

Thank you for getting to know us.  We cannot imagine how hard this path must be, but we want you to know that we have been praying that you and the baby feel safe and loved.

It's our dream to become parents and share all the love we have to give with a baby.  We think often about sharing our lives with a child, teaching them about God, and showing them how much He loves us.  We want them to feel confident in themselves and in who they are.  We will support them in their interests and push them to be the best version of themselves.  We will give them every opportunity to succeed in what they love, whether that's sports, academics, or another hobby!  We will provide a safe haven in our home and a place to rest in our arms.  Most of all, we have so much love to give and we want a child to feel all the love and protection in the world through us.

We are hoping to have an open adoption, but are truly comfortable with whatever the birth family decides.  We will always honor the birth mother and the loving choice of adoption.  We will explain adoption to the child from the very beginning, and incorporate photos and storybooks to help them visualize their life’s story.  We plan on discussing adoption with them often, ensuring they feel comfortable in their birth story.

As we count down the seconds to becoming parents, we pray that you have a safe space to make the best decisions for you and the baby.