In his leisure time, Dale enjoys walking our dog, Opal around the neighborhood and saying "hi" to all of the neighbors. On the weekends, you can typically find Dale playing pickup basketball with his friends, doing yard work, and often playing drums at church. Kaitlyn likes to spend her leisure time snuggled up under a blanket catching up on her favorite TV shows, cooking or baking, and working on various crafting projects. Together we like to spend our time hanging out with family and friends, having a date night out, or curling up on the couch together for a movie night. One of our favorite things we do together is our nightly walk through our neighborhood. We love having that quiet time to focus on each other and connect without distractions. On slow Saturdays we enjoy running a few errands together and having a little lunch date while we're out (our guilty pleasure is getting hot dogs and pizza at Sam's Club). On Sundays we like to go out for brunch after church sometimes, which is usually followed by an afternoon nap on the couch. It's very important to us that we don't let our lives get too hectic and make sure we have plenty of time to slow down and enjoy quality time together.

We have three pets that we absolutely adore--two cats and one dog. Our first cat is an orange tabby named Quentin. Kaitlyn adopted Quentin as a kitten when she was in college. Quentin is a very friendly cat who loves people. Quentin has chronic upper respiratory infections that are likely related to his unusual facial proportions. He's a bit funny looking and sneezes a lot but we love our sweet boy! Our second pet, Finn, is a small gray and white cat. Dale took Kaitlyn to the animal shelter on her birthday and she instantly fell in love with Finn and took him home that day. Finn is a big mama's boy and loves to snuggle with Kaitlyn. When he's not snuggling with Kaitlyn, you can usually find Finn sleeping in a basket, laundry hamper, or cabinet. Our last pet is Opal, our two year old Great Pyrenees. Opal is a sweet, gentle giant. She's very affectionate and loves to snuggle. Opal loves kids and is wonderful with kids at Kaitlyn's work. She's been going to work with Kaitlyn since she was a puppy and can often be found laying on the floor surrounded by kids giving her belly rubs. We know Opal is going to love having her very own little human at home!

Having an open adoption is something that is very important to us. It is our hope that we will be able to create a bond with the child's birth mother and maintain a positive relationship with her throughout the child's life. We want to have a good relationship with her not only for the sake of the child but also in hopes that we can provide her with support and encouragement both before and after the child's birth.

During college, Kaitlyn had the opportunity to do an internship at an adoption agency and work directly with expectant mothers who were choosing adoption. This often included taking the women out for lunch and spending time listening to them and offering support. Getting to listen to these women share their stories and talk about their hopes and dreams for their children, and their fears of being rejected by their children's adoptive parents created a special place in Kaitlyn's heart for birth mother's. Because of this experience, when we decided to adopt, Kaitlyn instantly knew that she wanted to have the kind of relationship with the child's birth mother that would allow her to be a source of encouragement, comfort, and reassurance.

We do understand that birth mothers may have different preferences for how much contact they want with the adoptive parents, and we are okay with that. We believe that mutual respect is an essential part of the relationship between birth parents and adoptive parents and we are willing work together with the birth mother to create a plan for contact that works for everyone.

Our home is located in a quiet, peaceful neighborhood just outside of a bigger city. Our neighborhood is fairly diverse and full of families with young children. We love taking our dog, Opal, on walks through our neighborhood in the evenings, and we can't wait to include a child in our nightly family walks too! We live in a beautiful two-story brick house with 4 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, and a fenced-in backyard. The main floor has an open floor plan that and contains the kitchen, dining room, and living room--a perfect space for family time. One of our favorite parts of our home is the finished basement which has a secondary living room, the office/craft room, and an open space for a play area. The basement is our favorite cozy space to spend quality time together at the end of the day, whether that's watching a movie, playing card games, or just talking about our day.

Kaitlyn grew up with her mom, dad, and older brother. Currently, her parent's live just a few minutes away and we see them often. Both of Kaitlyn's parents are retired and can't wait to be active grandparents! Her brother and his wife live a few hours away but visit several times a year. Kaitlyn's brother works in construction management and her sister-in-law is a nurse. We love visiting Kaitlyn's grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousin's as well. One of our favorite traditions is getting together with our extended family every year to celebrate Christmas. Kaitlyn's cousin's have lots of little children that this child would get to play with at these gatherings!

Dale grew up with both parents and a younger brother. His parents live just 30 minutes away, while his brother lives in another state. Dale's dad and brother are engineers, and his mom is a special education teacher. Dale's mom is an adoptee herself, and we love that this child would get to grow up having this special bond with her! We are also thrilled to share the experience of being adoptive parents with Dale's grandparents, with whom he has always shared a close bond.

This child will be the first grandchild on both sides of our family and we cannot wait to see them get spoiled and loved on by our family!

We first want to express how sincerely thankful we are that you have taken the time to learn about who we are. We are honored that you would even consider choosing us to love your child. Our hope in writing this letter is that you will see our hearts and find peace in knowing that your child would be wanted, loved, and safe in our family. In this letter we want to give a glimpse of what life would look like for your child if you choose our family and tell you a little more about us.

We have been together for over 10 years and married for 5 years. We first met in college when we were placed in the same bible study group through a campus ministry. What started as a friendship later turned into so much more. Over the years we have faced our fair share of challenges that life has thrown us. Through it all our love for each other has never wavered, and instead grows stronger and stronger every day. It has always been a dream of ours to grow our little family and share all the love we have with a child, and we can't wait for that dream to become a reality!

Kaitlyn works as the Regional Director for a therapeutic foster care agency. She has loved kids and known she wanted to work with kids since she was a kid herself, always playing house or school with her baby dolls. Though she currently works full time, Kaitlyn hopes to transition to working part-time or being a full-time stay at home mom in the near future. Being a mom has been a lifelong dream for Kaitlyn that she hopes will soon come true. Kaitlyn will be a warm and affectionate mom, always there with a hug when needed. Kaitlyn wants to be a very involved mom, chaperoning school field trips, baking cupcakes for birthdays, and going to every game/recital/event!

Dale works as a financial analyst for an engineering firm. His job offers the flexibility of being able to work remotely some days and be home with kids. Dale can't wait to be a dad and will be a very gentle, patient, and fun-loving parent. He is already practicing his dad jokes! In his free time, Dale is either watching sports or playing drums at our church for the middle and high school ministries. He is so excited to be an active dad and share his hobbies with a child. Dale will be the kind of dad that always signs up to coach the sports teams!

We want to tell you what we envision for our relationship if you choose our family. We want you to know that we will always have the utmost respect and admiration for you. We want to build a lasting relationship with you and learn as much as we can about you. We plan to talk openly and honestly about adoption in our home, and tell your child about you and how much you love them. Please know that you will never be judged or criticized by us. We will always speak positively of you and tell your child that you made this difficult choice out of love and selflessness.

Our plan is to stay in contact with you throughout your child's life if that is what you want, whether that's through emails, phone calls, or texts. We want to share frequent updates and pictures with you, and check in to see how you are doing. If you would like to write letters to your child, we would love to share those with them and even help them write letters back to you! We are open to at least one visit in the first few years, and possibly more later on.

Right now as we eagerly wait to become parents, we are thinking of you too. We can't wait to meet you! We would love to start building a relationship with you now so that you can get to know us and we can support and encourage you. Though we don't know you yet, we want you to know that we are praying for you. No matter what choice you make, we pray that you have comfort and peace as you face this difficult decision. We pray that you have a healthy pregnancy and a safe delivery.

With much love and gratitude,

Dale & Kaitlyn