Kseniya Korshunova and Mario Aviles

We are so excited to be parents and see our child grow into a happy, confident and kind person. We promise you that your baby’s well-being and security will be our highest priority, and we will provide him or her with a lifetime of unconditional love and support. We will be patient and accepting, giving our child the opportunities and encouragement to explore their talents and pursue their dreams. We look forward to embracing you and building a positive and respectful relationship that lets our child know of the wonderful way we became a family.

We met over 15 years ago as athletes in college, where Mario ran track and field and Kseniya played volleyball, and we have been inseparable ever since. We’ve been married for over seven years and are looking forward to celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary one day, still holding hands, with our children and grandchildren by our side. With Mario being from Nicaragua and Kseniya from Russia, we speak Russian, Spanish and English and are excited to share all three languages and cultures with our child!

We make sure to spend time together and plan to do the same as a family. We love to travel and learn about different cultures. We cannot wait to see the awe and wonder in our child’s eyes when he or she sees the Grand Canyon for the first time or visits the home of Mickey Mouse. We also enjoy spending time outdoors. Camping trips with stories and s’mores by the campfire will be a summer tradition.

We are blessed with loving and supportive families. We are both very close to our families, and we talk almost daily and visit often. Our parents are very excited about our adoption and are looking forward to spoiling their grandchild! They are active, fun, compassionate and nurturing people. “Family First!” is our motto. We enjoy long family vacations and look forward to spending a few weeks every summer with our child at Granny and Gramp’s country house near Moscow, Russia.

Our dog Cookie (also known as Cookie Monster) is very much a member of the family. Cookie is a yellow lab and boxer mix who has been with us since 2003. She is gentle, patient, loving and playful. She will be a great playmate for our child. We can’t wait to see our child throwing the ball to Cookie and laughing as Cooking brings it back for another toss. Cookie is "kids tested, mother approved" and she graduated with honors from the obedience school :)

Memphis, Tennessee is a great place to raise kids. It has many parks, museums and fun things to do as a family, such as Memphis Zoo and Planetarium. We can’t wait to hear our child’s laughter as he or she sees giraffes and pandas. We live in a safe and family-friendly neighborhood, full of kids and playgrounds. Our spacious, warm and inviting home is often full of family and friends—it will be perfect for hosting play-dates and sleepovers! Whether it is enjoying weekly story time at the local library or watching spectacular annual July 4th fireworks at the neighborhood lake—we are looking forward to making memories as a family.