Steven and Donna

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From Us to You

Hello!

We have been thinking of you quite a bit. You have made a courageous choice of considering adoption and now face another big decision in choosing the right family for your child. We are so honored that you are reading this and taking the time to get to know a little more about us. We know this is not a decision to be made lightly, and just the very fact that you are here, reading this and considering the best options for your child shows you have an incredible strength of character and love for your child.

So, why are we choosing to adopt? It has been our dream to become parents, to have a child together that we could love, teach, and nurture. In 2016, our world changed forever when our dreams came true and our daughter’s birth parents blessed us with a beautiful little girl. We can tell you it took no time at all for her to capture the hearts of everyone she came across! We have absolutely loved every single minute of watching her grow, learn and explore. Our daughter is now 6 years old and yearns for a sibling and our hearts yearn for another blessed soul to share our lives with. Bringing our daughter into our family has been one of the greatest joys of our lives, and we would be honored to share our home and our hearts with another child.

We live a quiet, easy and peaceful life in a small coastal community. We genuinely enjoy being together and spending time together as a family. We laugh, love, and support each other unconditionally. We believe in seizing the day and always have an eye open for opportunities to travel and appreciate all that comes our way.

Our promise to you is that your child will be surrounded with unconditional love, and will be raised with patience, grace, and faith. Thank you for sharing this time getting to know us. We look forward to talking with you soon and wish you the very best in your journey.

With love,
Steve, Donna, and Annabelle
and our dogs, Max and Finn

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Why We are Choosing to Adopt

When we found out that we were unable to have biological children we were devastated and realized how much we longed for a child. We have close friends who adopted and we have witnessed the joy that adoption brings. Adoption was a positive path for us to choose and we were blessed with the adoption of our beautiful daughter Annabelle Grace. Now, we are looking to adopt again because we still have so much more love to give. Our daughter has been begging to be a big sister and asks us every day when the new baby will be born and tells us about all the ways she will help take care of the new baby. She will be a wonderful big sister and we can honestly say there is nothing we would not do for our children.

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About Donna

How did I get so lucky? My wife is the most amazing woman I have ever known. I remember shortly after we started dating, we were out to dinner somewhere when Donna noticed a woman coming out of the restroom had a train of toilet paper stuck to her shoe. Without saying a word to the woman, Donna ran over behind her and stepped on the toilet paper to remove it from her shoe then picked it up and threw it away. That is the way Donna is. She is always thinking about others’ needs first and would do anything for anyone. Donna is also quite the organizer and planner. I can see her eyes light up when she talks about our daughter and all the things she is planning for our next child. She has everything from their room planned to the activities we are going to do. Reading stories together, trips to the zoo, swimming lessons, etc. Your child will have no shortage of things to do with Donna around. In fact, if I know my wife, all our activity options for the weekend will be printed out, color coded, and organized into binders for the kids and me to select from. 🙂 She is an amazing woman and an even more amazing mom.

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About Steve

Growing up, I had a dream of what my future husband would be like. Some things were a bit silly, like he would have brown eyes and glasses and would read poetry to me in front of the fire on rainy evenings…. But there were some serious things too. The man of my dreams would be loyal and kind, and have a compassionate, empathetic soul with a strong bond to his family and good family values. He would be respectful and intelligent and have a great sense of humor. My friends thought my list was long and impractical, but I hoped he was out there somewhere. Little did I know that special someone would be in Oklahoma!

Steve moved to Washington from Oklahoma for work in 2003. Shortly after that we met online and chatted for a bit before deciding to meet in person. He was charming, intelligent, and funny and I felt there was something different about him. It was more than just the way he held my hand or opened the door for me. He was kind and compassionate. He had a quick wit and a ready laugh that encompassed his whole being and spread over to me. Right away I felt at ease, and soon after, completely in love. Steve is extremely intelligent, brilliant, and has been moving up quickly in his career. He is kind and respectful towards my family and remains remarkably close with his family in Oklahoma. He has a goofy side that always keeps me laughing. He is gentle, considerate, a great listener, protective and teasing. And most of all, he is a wonderful, kind, and loving father to our daughter. Watching him interact with our daughter just melts my heart. Whether its gently untangling her long hair or letting her sit in his lap when he’s steering the boat, or just playing games, he is the most patient and loving dad I could ever hope for our daughter to have.

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About Us

We met online in 2003 and have been happily married since 2010. We have a very stable and happy marriage where love and respect are key, and we honor and love each other and our families. Gratitude, patience, humor, and appreciation are values of ours and we show our respect and gratitude for each other freely. We love to travel, cook, play games, watch old movies together and visit with friends and family. We are both loyal to each other and are each other’s best friend.

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Our Home

We live on a beautiful island in the Puget Sound in Washington. We started construction of it in 2019 and were able to move in during the summer of 2020. Since then, we have been exploring the island, getting to know the different beaches, parks, and forests around us. Our home is a 2-story house with a large back yard that looks out over the water. From our back yard we can see Orca whales, eagles, and spectacular sunsets. Many of the island residents have their own small farms with chickens, goats, horses, cattle and even bison! We are finding many of our neighbors are retirees, and many others are tech workers who are opting to leave the city and work from home so their kids can live in a more scenic, small-town neighborhood. The schools here are amazing and our daughter has really excelled socially and academically. We are loving the small community lifestyle.

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Our Sweet Pups

We have two dogs in our home, both Shetland Sheepdogs (or Shelties) which look like small collies. They are extremely intelligent dogs, loyal and protective and wonderful with kids. Max is our oldest and is now 5 years old. We got him after losing one of our other Shelties to cancer. Our daughter was just 8 months old when Max joined our family, and it has been such a joy to watch them grow up together. Finn joined our family as a puppy in 2019. He may seem meek, but he loves to play with our daughter and Max. He always cracks us up when he chases Max and chomps on to his tail as Max tries to run away. It looks like a little Sheltie-train.

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Our Family and Friends

We are both remarkably close with our families. When we moved to our new home, Donna’s mom, brother, and sister-in-law all decided to move out to the Island as well so we could be together. Now we see each other several times a week for game nights, watch movies, help with each other’s gardens, or just visit. Steve’s family is in Oklahoma, Oregon and California, but we all travel to visit with each other as often as we can and have Zoom game nights and FaceTime calls in between. Many of Steve’s co-workers have become our closest friends over the years and we visit with each other often. One of them even moved in next door to us. We feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

When we announced to our friends and family that that we were hoping to adopt another child, they were overjoyed. Many of our closest friends are adoptive parents as well and quite a few shed happy tears that we were looking forward to sharing our lives and home with another sweet soul.

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Our Lifestyle

Prior to the pandemic we lived in a big house on the foothills of the mountains. When the pandemic hit, Steve’s employer gave him the option to work from home. Donna was already a stay-at-home mom at that point. When our daughter was born, she decided to leave her management position at a local University to watch and enjoy our daughter grow and learn. Since we had just finished the build of our vacation house on the coast, we decided to move there and enjoy the slower pace of coastal living. We now have a beautiful new home with a western waterfront view and are treated to spectacular sunsets. We like to take that time to stop and enjoy it as a family, sharing stories of our day, play games or just enjoy each other’s company.

Steve and Annabelle both have such a wonderful sense of humor, and we are always laughing together. One thing about us as a family is that we never lose our sense of humor, compassion or empathy. Even among all the stresses and curveballs of everyday life, we never lose sight of who we are to each other and the family bonds that mean so much to us.

Our daughter has grown so quickly! It seems we just brought her home from the hospital and now she is ready to start First Grade in the fall. She loves school and wants to be a teacher when she grows up. She is our pride and joy and so smart, funny, and kind. After school she and Donna have special time together where we either play at the park, look for unique shells or other treasures at the beach, pick up a new book at the library to read that night or do some crafting. After dinner we all settle down for the evening with a family movie night or a bedtime story. When school is not in session we love to travel. We have a boat and a 5th wheel trailer and have taken several trips with family, friends, and our dogs all over the Western US and Canada.

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Family Traditions

One of Donna’s favorite traditions started on a trip to Hawaii. We were driving through a tunnel and Steve surprised her by shouting at the top of his lungs “I LOVE THIS WOMAN.” On the way back, I surprised him by shouting in the same tunnel “I LOVE THIS MAN.” Annabelle quickly picked up on this. Now whenever we go under a bridge or through a tunnel, Steve will roll down the window and shout, “I LOVE THIS FAMILY.” I’ll respond, “I LOVE THIS FAMILY, TOO” and Annabelle will follow suit and yell out her window “I LOVE THIS FAMILY, THREE.”

Another of our family traditions is our annual Cutwater Rendezvous. Several years ago we bought a cabin cruiser boat by a boat manufacturer called Cutwater. This company is so wonderful! Each year they plan several boat trips for the Cutwater owners in the Puget Sound and British Columbian waters. It’s been a great opportunity to connect with other boaters and we have developed such strong friendships through these gatherings. Our daughter has grown up on these boat trips and has several “aunts” and “uncles” in this community who have taken her under their wing and watched her take her first steps, eat her first ice cream, and take her fishing. Each year we have our “Daddy and Me” picture of Annabelle and Daddy at the helm of the ship. It has been a wonderful way to show her the beautiful area, teach her about the various marine life and just spend time as a family.

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Vacations and Leisure Time

We have always loved to travel, and now we share that love with our daughter. We got our first cabin-cruiser boat shortly before our daughter was born and she has grown up sailing the waters of the Puget Sound, exploring marine life in her little net, eating ice cream on the docks and already has an awesome cast to her fishing line!

We recently bought a 5th wheel trailer and just returned from a 6-week trip through Montana, Yellowstone, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, California, and Oregon before returning home to Washington. We had such a great time and explored different landscapes, learned about the different types of rock formations and trees, and made friends with people from all over the Western US. We visited with friends, played at water parks, drifted along lazy rivers, made tie-dyed tee-shirts, roasted marshmallows over campfires, played games and visited with family and friends. Even the dogs came with us! We had such a great time and are already planning our next road trip adventure.

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Our Relationship with You

Annabelle’s birth parents chose a closed adoption and we have honored their wishes. We were blessed to be in the delivery room when our daughter was born, and Donna was able to hold her birth mom’s hand all the way through. Our daughter knows her birth story and that she was loved and is loved by her birth parents. When we talk about her birth story, we always refer to her birth parents with honor and respect.

We know that every situation is different, and we respect and will honor your wishes as far as contact after the placement. We are happy to share life updates, pictures, exchange information and have communication with you so you can see firsthand the impact of your placement decision and rest at ease knowing that you have made a wonderful decision and that your child will be loved unconditionally.

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What We will Teach Your Child

From the moment we brought our daughter home, we have loved every minute of watching her explore her new world. From little toddler games to crafting, story time and now preparing her for her elementary school debut, we have loved every moment. We have raised her with love, patience, grace, and faith and taught her the importance of honesty, empathy, compassion, gratitude, and respect. We also believe in having fun as a family, whether it is a planned trip or just spending time together playing games or watching a movie. Your child will also be raised in a warm home, filled with love, respect, laughter, acceptance, and untold opportunities to blossom.

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Our Promise to You

Our promise to you is that your child will be loved with every fiber of our beings. They will be raised in a loving and secure home, full of laughter, family outings, travel, and untold opportunities to learn, explore and blossom into the beautiful person you hope and dream them to be.

We believe in honoring a child’s adoption story and sharing that story with him or her as early as possible. In that adoption story, we will always honor you as the birthparent(s) and tell them how much you love them and how incredibly lucky they were to be born out of that love. It is that love that will bring us together and unite us as a family. And it is that love that we will keep in our hearts for you and for the greatest gift you could give a family.