We had some mutual friends and our paths crossed here and there. One summer our friend mentioned to Kyle that we should grab coffee. we did and it turned into a great 4 hour experience where we just talked and talked; our coffee date was so fun that it led to another date. Our second date was a picnic with the dog (Jasper had to approve of Kyle)down at the beach.

Afterwards we introduced each other to our parents. We continued dating for 2 months before we got engaged in front of family and best friends. Some people think our dating was quick, but our journey of dating, engagement and then our marriage has always gone at the speed of right. We never wanted to rush anything but took the next step when it felt right to do so. In spring of 2019 we got married in Hawaii with our family and it was amazing.

The last years have been a joy and we are excited to see what the future holds!

We understand that adoption will be a consistent topic throughout the child's life. Our goal is to make the discussion a regular occurrence that feels normal. We want them to know that they are incredibly loved by us as well as their birthparents. They were cared for, and for whatever circumstances their birthparents found themselves in, they loved them enough to give them another family. starting the conversation when they are young with age appropriate concepts is very important as well to us.

Talking about adoption is already very normal in our family with my siblings. We would love for the child to have the opportunity to contact their birthparents on milestones like birthdays and holidays, and be able to ask questions firsthand but understand that may not be comfortable or possible with their birthparents. We are also open to trying to setup a visit where the child could meet their birthparents.

Kyle's passions are to continually grow as an individual and the outdoors. He enjoys studying, reading, learning, and getting to ask questions/perspective from others. When he wants a little relaxation, he finds that hiking, kayaking or fishing refreshes him and he is happy to share his outdoor adventures with others. Nikki's passions are people, cooking and traveling. Every home we have lived in, she has made friends with the neighbors and cooked meals for them. At church when someone has a baby or major life disruption, her friends and her often start a meal train to help make things easier for a time. She serves in the Ronald McDonald House helping with meals and fundraising for the families that use the house while their child goes through treatment. Finally traveling is a delightful adventure that she enjoys! Her favorite trip was 3 years ago, we were able to take Nikki's parents and Kyle's parents to Norway and Iceland to check off dream bucketlist things. for her mother-in-law. Kyle's mom always wanted to see the northern lights and for Nikki's dad always wanted to go to his Grandfather's old farm in Norway. She was so blessed to be able to experience that time with them and share in their joy.

We have Nikki's family close by. Next door is her parents, across the field is her brother/sister in law, and 10 minutes away in town are her 3 sisters. One brother lives in Florida. Nikki's siblings were adopted later in life when a close family friend (their birthmother) passed from cancer. We regularly see them at church and on Wednesdays for family game night. Kyle's parents and siblings live in Indiana, and trips to visit happen nearly every year.

Our home is often frequented by various family members and food is always a big part of it. we eat a lot of Belizean dishes as that is Nikki's siblings cultural background; our favorite dish is dirty rice and stewed chicken.

Birthdays and holidays are always well celebrated. On Christmas and Easter it is typical that we have an "open house" and upwards of 50 people come and join us. We also always take a family vacation for a week in January. the location changes but it is always all the siblings (and their kids)s and our parents that come.

Our family is very excited to have an addition of a child. Our parents are beyond excited to have another grandbaby, and our siblings are so happy to welcome another child into the family.

We live in Washington state on an island. We are on a family farm with Nikki's parents, and her brother living there. The house we reside in was actually Nikki's grandparents family home. On the farm we have fruit trees, a handful of cows, a horse, some rabbits and our dog Jasper. The house is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom cozy brick house, Nikki loves the living room because of the fireplace and memories with her grandparents. Kyle loves the old wood paneling throughout the house as it adds character.

There is a beach about 5 minute drive that is lovely for walks and within 10 minutes of a beautiful state park where Kyle enjoys kayaking. The other families living on our dead end road are spread out and it is not uncommon to see kids riding bikes along it. The child would be living nearby cousins within walking distance and in view of the home.

We installed a fire pit in the backyard when we moved in; it has been very fun in the spring/fall to have a nice fire with smores and everyone is hanging out and laughing around the fire.

Hi there! We would like to start by saying thank you. Thank you for making such a difficult decision, and for loving your child(ren) so, so much. We don't know what circumstances brought you here, but we are grateful to you and your decision. We hope that you and your child(ren) find happiness, and hope in your journey.

We have been married for 5 awesome years and our excited to welcome new additions to the family. We have been blessed to be near many family members, to have a home with land, and jobs that allow us to provide for our family. We each come from moderate to larger families; Kyle has 3 older sisters and Nikki has 5 younger siblings; our goal was always to have children and to adopt. We had a miscarriage and then, 2 years ago, she had a tubal pregnancy that required emergency surgery and it has made it difficult/improbable to get pregnant. We decided that adoption would be our next journey. Our family, especially Nikki's sisters, were extremely excited when we told them that were planning to adopt. Nikki's brother and her sister-in-law are expecting their first child and are thrilled with the idea that our kids would be close in age, living nearby and be able to grow up as cousin BFFs; her sister-in-law was that way with her cousin who was a year older.

Adoption is a journey that looks different for everyone and on paper we can paint what that journey would ideally look like. We know we want our adopted child(ren) and us to be able to write/ email you, to share milestone pictures/videos and potentially be able to meet you in person one day. We want them to know your name, what you look like and that you cared about them. While that is our ideal, we understand that it may not be your ideal scenario or that you are unsure of what you would like connection to look like. It is okay to know, it is ok to be unsure and it is okay to change your mind on things as the journey progresses. We do not want you to feel pressured to be in more contact than you want; we just want you to know that we desire for there to be contact if you are open to it. We would love to get to know you and learn things about you that we can share with the child(ren) as they grow.

Adoption in our family is always just a normal conversation, and it happens often. My siblings are not biologically related to me (family friends that we took in as teens/young adults when their mom passed) and cousins adopted internationally. Our family pictures are a beautiful snapshot of colors from light skinned to deep bronze, blues eyes to brown eyes, and light red hair to black hair. Each of us is unique with different likes and hobbies; a brother like fishing and listening to reggae while another sister likes k-pop and dance choreography. Nikki likes cooking and listening to jazz music while Kyle prefers kayaking and classical music. Any child would be welcomed, loved and be able to blend right in with us while being encouraged to find what they enjoy.

Thank you for reading about us and our hopes. We wish you the very best in life as you navigate your journey. If we are to be a part of that journey, we are excited and feel honored to be able to come alongside you and the child(ren).

Kyle & Nikki