To the special person reading this: thank you for being the wonderful person that you are.  We don’t quite know how to tell you in words how grateful we are for your generosity.  No matter which intended parents you choose to match with, please know that we have so much admiration for you and the amazing gift that you are prepared to give.

Our stories started on different parts of the globe.  Val grew up in Ukraine and Brent grew up in a Jewish family in Kingston, Ontario.  It’s amazing that, through the twists of fate, our stories came together.

We met online nine years ago.  At the time, Val lived in London, Ontario, and Brent lived in Ottawa, so it seemed crazy to start dating 600 km apart.  But thank goodness we did, because we fell in love and can’t imagine our lives without each other.

Our relationship was long distance for the first four years.  We would see each other for the weekend every two weeks and tried to make the most of those precious days together, but as time went on, it became harder and harder to be apart.  Thankfully, those days are behind us – and we sure don’t miss the seven-hour drives it took along the 401 to see each other (especially in winter!).

At the end of 2017, Val made the move to Ottawa – and a few days before moving, Val proposed.  It’s still so amazing to us that we actually live together now, even several years later.  That’s something we’ll never take for granted.

We got married in 2019 and bought our first home the same year.  There we live with Tony, a very soft black cat who enjoys sleeping most of the day, scratching up our furniture and occasionally running through the house at 100km/h just to keep us on our toes.  (He may also have his own facebook page.)

Family is so important to us and we’re blessed to have very supportive family on both sides.  Brent’s parents live in Kingston and we visit them for frequent family holidays.  Val’s parents live in Ukraine and we speak to them on skype every few days.  We’re also close with each of our sisters.

We both love nature, seeing new places and trying new foods.  Val loves music and plays guitar and piano (but don’t hold your breath – he’s no professional).  He lived in three countries before moving to Canada in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in biophysics.  Brent is hopeless at musical instruments but loves curling up with a good book.  He’s lived in three provinces and has a master’s in anthropology.  We both now work for the government: Val in an agency that funds health research, Brent in a department that provides arts and culture funding.  Our favourite pastimes during the pandemic became bike rides and watching each other’s favourite childhood movies.

We would love to welcome a child into our lives and show them all the exciting things the world has to offer.  Last year, we matched with a wonderful surrogate and developed a beautiful relationship together.  Unfortunately, our first embryo transfer was not successful and she is no longer able to be a surrogate so we are looking out for another special person to continue the journey with us.  We would be honoured to embark on this adventure with you and will be there to support you every step of the way.  We don’t have preconceived ideas of how this relationship should work; we’d like to create it with you in a way that makes you feel comfortable and supported.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!