Dear Birth Parent(s),

We are thankful that you are reading our profile and may choose us as the parents of your child. We have so much respect for your courage. Your selfless decision to put your child’s needs before your own shows your incredible strength and love. We hope and pray you find what you are looking for that lets you know you are making the right decision.   

It took us some time to figure out that adoption was meant for us, so we can’t imagine how difficult the decision is for you. We are so grateful that you are considering adoption. We would be honored to raise your child in our loving home and family. Thank you for reading our letter. We hope it gives you a sense of who we are.

Our Story
We met in high school. We had an instant connection and became really good friends. During those years, we hung out, laughed, and talked on the phone all of the time. It wasn’t until we both went away to college that it turned into something more. While Nate was at the University of Illinois and Dawn was at Northern Illinois University, we found that the distance between us only brought our relationship closer together. Our schools were near enough for us to visit and we continued dating throughout college. We were always so excited to see each other!   

After graduation, Dawn moved to Chicago with some girlfriends and got a job teaching First Grade, while Nate continued his education at chiropractic school. During those next few years, our relationship continued to grow even stronger and we knew it was only a matter of time until we got married. Nate proposed just before he finished chiropractic school. He brought Dawn to Lake Michigan for a picnic and surprised her with an engagement ring! We were so happy and immediately started planning the wedding.

We got married one year later in July of 2003. We had an amazing wedding weekend with all our family and friends. After the wedding, we spent a week at a bed and breakfast in Vermont. We did a lot of relaxing and some site seeing. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to begin our marriage.

In July of 2005, we were ready to start a family. After six months of trying to get pregnant, we went to the doctor and found out that In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) would be our only chance of getting pregnant. Over the next year, we had many failed attempts. We decided to look into adoption as a way to begin our family because we both really wanted to be parents. When we got the news that we weren’t pregnant on our fifth IVF cycle, we both looked at one another and knew that adoption was the path we were meant to take.

In March of 2009, our prayers were answered. We were chosen to adopt a baby boy! We were able to be at the hospital when Zachary William was born. It was such an amazing experience. We are so thankful to have Zack in our lives. He brings smiles to our faces everyday.

About Zack

On the day of his birth, we were actually going to meet his birth mom for the first time. Just as we were about to leave, we got a call saying she was going to have an emergency c-section and she wanted to meet us at the hospital. We were so excited, yet so scared at the same time. We were able to meet his birth mom for about two minutes before they had to wheel her into surgery. Before we knew it, the doctor came in to tell us that the baby was born. Zack’s birth mom’s wishes were for us to take care of him at the hospital, so our parenting skills kicked in the first moment we met him. We were able to feed and hold him right away. We couldn’t believe how adorable he was. From then on, we knew it was our job to take care of and love this little guy. We are still fortunate to communicate with Zack’s birth mom through pictures and e-mail.

Zack is amazing! We love watching him explore. He is curious, funny, sweet, and playful.  He loves making us laugh by showing off and being silly. He also loves books and will sit in our lap and look over every page and want you to read it again and again. It is so fun watching him learn new things everyday. We know he will love sharing and teaching these things to a new little brother or sister.

About Dawn
My early childhood years bring back good memories. I grew up in Minnesota. My mom stayed at home with all of us and babysat two other children during the day. We loved having her home! We also enjoyed playing with the other children she babysat. They were around our ages. My dad worked the regular nine to five job and was very involved in our lives when he was home. My favorite memories come from our lake trip every summer. My mom’s family would head about two hours north and spend a week with each other up at the lake. We looked forward to it every year. 

My family moved to Michigan when I was in fifth grade. My dad got transferred and I was excited to move to a new house. We were there for about five years until my dad got transferred one more time to the Chicagoland area. It was a hard move for me being a freshman in high school. Luckily, I had tried out for the poms team and made it! I made some great friends and ended up really enjoying my high school years.

After high school, I chose to go to Northern Illinois University and major in elementary education. My roommate and I joined a sorority in the spring and lived in the sorority house for the remainder of college. The friends I made then are still my closest friends today. They all live in the Chicagoland area, so we see each other often. Most of them have kids now so it is fun to get everyone together. We are good about planning fun events and talking on the phone. The best part is that our husbands all get along too. I feel very blessed to have such amazing friends.

Currently, I am a stay at home mom. I love spending my days with Zack. We play, go for walks, take trips to different places, read, etc. I am also in a moms’ group. We meet once a week so the kids can play together. The previous nine years I was a teacher. I taught Kindergarten and First Grade. I learned a lot from the kids and their families about how I’d like to raise a family and about life in general.

My family all live in the area. We see each other often. My parents have been married for 35 years. They like to work around the house and help us with projects when needed. My sister is three years younger than me and my brother is six years younger. My sister and I enjoyed sharing a room together when we were growing up. We are still very close now. She was the maid of honor in our wedding. My brother and I also get along well and I love the close relationship he has with Nate. Since neither of them have a brother, they really enjoy that bond.

About Nate
I was born in California, but soon after we moved to Illinois where I was raised. I am the oldest of three kids in my family with two younger sisters. Both my parents played very big roles and were very involved in our upbringing. My dad commuted to Chicago everyday for work and my mom stayed at home with us kids. It was always nice coming home from school knowing that my mom would be there waiting for us. My parents still live in the house where we grew up, so it is nice to still be able to see them regularly. We love having them over for barbeques and going to their house for family parties and Sunday dinners.

I have great memories of my childhood. We lived in a neighborhood with lots of other kids, so we were always outside. Our house was on a pond, so if we weren’t playing games around the neighborhood, then we were swimming, catching frogs, and even ice skating and playing hockey during the winter. In fact, one of my favorite memories as a kid was playing pond hockey. We would play from the time we got home from school until we had to come in and finish our homework or go to bed. We even built ten foot lights so that we could continue to play after dark.  

My high school and college years were very memorable. I made a lot of great friends who I am still close with today. I played soccer and hockey in high school and I continued playing soccer in college. Even though I spent a lot of time playing sports, my parents always stressed the importance of academics. If I didn’t keep my grades up, they would not have allowed me to play sports. I graduated from the University of Illinois in 1999 and went on to finish chiropractic school. I currently have my own practice and really enjoy going to work everyday. It is so fun to be able to help my patients with their different ailments. Having my own practice also allows me to make my own schedule, so I am able to spend more time at home with Dawn and Zack.

I have two younger sisters. Kate is one year younger than me and lives in Denver with her husband, Chris. They just had their first child last year. My youngest sister, Lindsey, lives in Wichita with her husband, Rob. They have a two year old daughter and a newborn baby boy. We get together as much as we can and love that all the cousins are close in age. It will be so fun to watch them grow up together.

Our Home
We just moved into a new home! We already love so many things about it. We have four bedrooms upstairs and a finished basement with a play area for the kids. We have a great fenced in backyard for Zack and our dog to run around. There is a park right down the street, lots of trails for walking and biking, and a great school district. Our favorite part about our new subdivision is that it is very family oriented. There are lots of kids, strollers, dogs, bikes, and different activities to participate in throughout the year. Plus, it is so fun to be only minutes from both of our parents.

Just For Fun
We love spending time together as a family. If we aren’t hanging out at home, we like to go on different adventures. Zack loves being outside, so we get out as much as possible. We love taking walks, playing with our dog, going to the city, and just having fun at home.

The grandparents are always excited to see Zack, so we try to make a lot of visits to see them. Nate’s parents have a lake home in Wisconsin, so it is so fun to go up there for weekend trips as much as possible. We like to spend time on the boat, play games, eat, and relax. We are also fortunate to be able to take a week long vacation each year with Nate’s family and some smaller trips with Dawn’s family. We love to travel and see new things!

If we aren’t out doing something as a family, Dawn likes to work out, cook, read, go shopping, and hang out with friends. Nate’s hobbies revolve mostly around sports. Nate still plays soccer occasionally. He also enjoys going to the gym to play basketball or to work out. Nate is a huge Chicago sports fan and he loves going to Cubs and Bears games. He is already teaching Zack about the Chicago sports teams!

Our Beliefs
We were both raised as Christians. Dawn grew up in a Catholic family while Nate was brought up in a Methodist home. We both attended church regularly as a family and religion was a strong foundation in our lives. When we got married, we wanted to find a church we both enjoyed and felt we belonged. We tried both Catholic and Methodist churches in our area, but we ended up feeling most comfortable in a Christian community church near our home. Our faith has played a strong role in our lives and our marriage, so we want to instill those beliefs in our children.

Our Hopes for the Future
We are so blessed and thankful to finally be parents. Now that we have experienced the joy and love of parenthood, we can’t wait to continue to grow as a family. We envision having kids close in age, so they may have that special bond as they grow older. Having another adopted child in our family is also important because they will be able to share that connection with each other. We want to share the love and guidance with our children that our parents gave to us. Both of us feel that having a stay at home mom was a very important part to our childhood. Because of this, we feel very fortunate to be able to have Dawn stay at home.

We know the adoption process is an emotional experience for everyone involved. We want you to feel comfortable with us and the adoption process. We are very easy going and will answer any questions that you may have. We are comfortable with an open adoption. However, we also realize that ultimately the decision is yours and we will respect your wishes on the amount of openness.

We hope our profile gives you a sense of peace knowing your child will be raised in a loving home.

For more information please contact Sunny Ridge Family Center.

Sincerely,

Dawn and Nate

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