To us, being parents means that we get the incredible opportunity to build an amazing life for a child, and watch the mystery of who they will become unfold: What will they become passionate about? What will be their favorite subject in school? What will be their favorite food? What will make them laugh? To see all of this uncovered as they grow and discover themselves will be the greatest gift we could ask for. Being parents also means that we will support them in all of their physical, emotional, and intellectual growth, by helping to instill healthy habits and lifestyles, encouraging them to try different hobbies to discover what they enjoy, and by supporting them in their journey through school and making sure they are prepared to lead a life of their own. Whether they become passionate about a sport, about music, about robotics, about dance – that is completely up to them, and we will love supporting them in any healthy pursuit that brings them joy and purpose. A child's ability to find that sense of purpose and happiness, to be proud of who they are, and to know that they are loved – these are our top priorities as parents and will bring us incredible amounts of joy.

Kristen About Nate:Nate is the most honest, kind, and loving person Kristen has ever known, and she knows that these qualities will be so amazing to see in action when he becomes a father. He is completely dedicated to everything important in his life: he cares so much about his family and friends, he has endless compassion for his patients in his role as a physical therapist, and he absolutely loves coaching and seeing his young players develop and grow into strong young people. He is also VERY funny, and can surprise you with a joke or a zinger when you least expect it! When getting to know Nate, he can be a bit of an introvert at first, but that is because he listens and really wants to know who people are when he is developing relationships with them. Once Nate knows you, he knows you forever, and he will always take the time to check in on his loved ones and nurture those relationships.

Nate About Kristen: Kristen is the most incredible person Nate has ever met. To be in her life is to know what it feels like to be seen, heard, loved, cared for, and supported. Everything about Kristen is perfectly designed for being a mother. She is a natural caregiver, she is fiercely loyal, and incredibly supportive. To get to see her put these gifts to work is one of Nate's great hopes in their relationship. Kristen is also a complete goofball, and in her own words "a walking contradiction" – to Nate, this is true in all of the best ways. She is at the same time an extrovert and a house-mouse, a complete book-nerd and a fan of almost any binge-worthy television, a lover of quiet time on the couch with our dog and also up for multiple runs/hikes/outdoor adventures every week. Kristen has an appreciation for so many different aspects of life, and Nate knows that it will be amazing to see her share these passions as a mother.

Cultural diversity is so important to us both, and we have deep respect and appreciation for the many cultures that live within our community. In Kristen's teaching career, she was blessed to teach students from many different backgrounds and loved learning about their lives, their families, and their traditions. Kristen also spent five years of her life teaching internationally: she spent three years teaching in Dubai, UAE and two years in Bogotá, Colombia. This was driven by a desire to learn about and experience cultures outside of her own, and she loved every minute of it. Nate, through his work in health care and coaching, has also embraced the opportunities he has everyday to work with people from many different backgrounds and walks of life. The love for people and cultures that we both have will definitely influence our parenting. We will always teach a worldview of love and appreciation for differences, and make sure we seek out new experiences, especially in order to help your child connect with their own heritage. On an everyday level, we want to make sure your child goes to school and activities where diversity is represented. If a specific language is part of your child's heritage, we will also explore ways that we can integrate that within their life. Travel to different places that build cultural understanding will be important no matter your child's background, but that will be especially important to us if travel also helps to create a sense of connection with their heritage.

We live in a suburb that has incredible access to the mountains in Colorado, and we love all the natural beauty and adventures our home has to offer, from wildflower hikes and camping in the summer, to snowshoeing in the winter, to watching the aspen trees turn golden in the fall. While living close to nature, we also live near a major American city in a family-friendly neighborhood with great schools and families of all ages and backgrounds nearby. We have lots of friends with young families, and know that your child will have a huge network of friends and supporters ready to welcome them home.

Our home is a two-story ranch style house with a big front and backyard for our sweet pup Charlie to run around in. We have four bedrooms with nice living and play spaces upstairs and downstairs. I think our favorite space in the house is actually our big patio in the backyard, where we love grilling food in the summer, hanging out with friends on the weekends, and growing our garden each year. Nearby, there are several great playgrounds and local swimming pools, as well as open space parks where kids can run free. Colorado seems to especially love the fall - there are all sorts of harvest festivals in September and October, and big pumpkin patches and corn mazes to go explore. Those are definitely some of our favorite traditions!

We both come from big families with many brothers and sisters, and we have lots of amazing nieces and nephews, ages 1-15. We love to travel to see our families, especially during the holidays or during the summer for family vacations where everyone gets together. When with our families we love to find fun activities, play board games, laugh about old memories, travel to new places, and eat tons of great food.

We are big fans of holiday family traditions. This past year we traveled to see family and celebrate "Thanksmas," which is our combined Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday where Kristen's father, brothers and their families get together to celebrate gift-exchanges before spending the day cooking a great meal and relaxing together.

It was actually at this past year's "Thanksmas" that we shared our hopes for adoption, and they could not be more excited about the prospect of a child joining our family. They are incredibly hopeful for us, and immensely grateful for you as you navigate this difficult path. They will be the most loving cousins, aunties, uncles, grandmas and grandpas you can imagine, and they will also cherish you as an incredibly significant part of our family. Your child will have a huge extended family who will be the biggest cheerleaders throughout their entire life!

Thank you so much for reading our family profile! Without even knowing you yet, we know that you are incredibly brave. The fact that you are here and deciding what is best for both you and your child indicates an incredible amount of courage and strength. Please know that we have your back and our hearts are with you. We are honored to be considered as an adoptive family as you decide what's best for your child's future and your own.

To tell you a little bit about us: we have been married for four years, we love and respect each other dearly, and we are so excited to grow our family! We're committed to our work, passions, and families (each of us comes from a big extended family!). At the same time, we also love to have fun, make each other belly laugh, and get the most that life has to offer. We love getting ice cream, playing mini golf, going to sporting events, planning fun road trips or international adventures, and also just relaxing on the couch with a board game or a good movie - all things we hope to enjoy with a child, one day. We also can't wait to see what adventures a child will bring to our lives, whether that's going to their plays, sports, concerts, places they want to see, or anywhere else their life leads them.

As for our careers, Nate is a physical therapist and he cares deeply about helping his patients heal and live active and healthy lives. Kristen is a former high school English teacher who now works in continuing education for teachers, and she loves working with both kids and adults to help inspire a love for learning. Our plan is for Kristen to become a stay-at-home mom, at least early on.

We have both had the great blessing of working with children throughout our adult lives: Kristen taught high school English for most of her career, and Nate has been a youth and high school coach since 2008. The relationships we have built with kids have been an incredible source of joy in both of our lives. We are now ready to cultivate a loving home for your child where they will always be supported in who they are and whatever they want to pursue.

We know you have so much to figure out right now. In terms of what your future would look like with us, we want to honor and respect the kind of relationship that you feel is best and that you are most comfortable with. We also hope that you will love getting to know us as much as we'll love getting to know you! We already know how strong you are, and we are truly excited to learn more. We want to work together with you to build a plan that promises an incredible life for your child. Without a doubt, we will send you pictures and updates on a regular basis, and if it's right for you, we are absolutely open to more communication, whether it's email, texts, Facetime, etc.

As we hope to get to know you and understand your story, we'd like to tell you a little bit about ours, too. We have always seen a family in our future - for our whole lives, we have both envisioned ourselves as parents. We tried the traditional path of having a child biologically, and it turns out that won't be possible for us. Even through that process, although it was difficult and sad, we felt a strong pull towards adoption and have come to truly believe that this is the path that is meant for us. Hopefully we can come together and create an amazing new path for a family that includes all of us.

If you decide that we are the right fit for you, we promise to provide a nurturing, safe home where your child can flourish, find happiness, and always be loved for who they are. We will do our very best to honor and respect your needs and wishes throughout this process, and we are already here supporting you from afar. We truly look forward to getting to know you as a person, working together to decide what the future looks like, and determining the best ways for us to support each other in this moment and throughout your child's life.

Nate & Kristen