Nathaniel and Deborah

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From Us to You

Dear Expectant Mom,

We can’t imagine what you are going through right now. Our hearts ache for you as we think of the tough decisions you are facing as you try to determine what will be the best life for your tiny baby. We are honored that you would consider us as parents for your precious child.

If you give us the opportunity to adopt your baby, we promise to

• cuddle them when they cry at night
• kiss their boo-boos
• cheer when they wobble away on their bike
• love them with everything we’ve got!

We would love to welcome your beautiful baby into our home. We both love children and can hardly imagine a life without them. When we were dating, we dreamed of creating a family with both biological and adopted children; then maybe doing foster care. God has a way of turning things upside down. We currently have one little foster daughter. Having her has been the most wonderful thing in our lives since our marriage. We would adopt her in a moment if we could, however, it seems likely she will be reunified with her parents. Having a baby in our home quickly taught us that the baby must be the center of our world. She tells us how much sleep we will get and if we can make supper right now. She demands hugs and nursery rhymes and splashy baths. We love her to the moon and back and long for the privilege of caring for your baby the same way.

We were excited to start our family, so shortly after we were married, we began trying to get pregnant. After trying unsuccessfully for two and a half years to conceive and many weary doctor appointments, we would love to move ahead with adoption. We have been given so much love and time and wonderful experiences by our parents and we dream of passing that on to more children.

Family is very important to us. We both come from close-knit families and our best childhood memories revolve around siblings and family time. Nathaniel is the youngest of seven children and Deb is second from the oldest in a family of four. Nathaniel grew up working beside his older brothers in his dad’s construction business. He tells tales of sledding in the winter, biking home from school, and playing tricks on each other. Deb’s best childhood memories include planting the garden together, roasting hotdogs around the campfire, playing “Hide and Seek” after dark, and biking on Sunday afternoons. We dream of creating the same kind of memories for your little one. Our siblings are some of our best friends and even though we don’t live in the same community as either of our families we get together with them as often as possible. Because of our own wonderful experiences, we would love to eventually add more children to our family so that your baby could experience life-long sibling friendships like we appreciate.

We are excited to meet you but also nervous. We hope that you like us and understand our commitment to love your baby unconditionally. You will always have a special place in our lives and I hope that we will be able to keep in touch and exchange pictures. We want you to know that we pray for you often. We pray that God will …

• protect you
•  give you wisdom 
• and wrap you in His love

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Why We are Choosing to Adopt

• We love children
• Adopting is a dream for both of us!
• We can’t get pregnant
• We have nieces and nephews who were adopted

Besides a natural love of children, adoption has been a dream for both of us since before we met each other. Nathaniel has several adopted nephews and nieces. It’s impossible to imagine the family without them. Watching them grow up, integrate, and thrive in his family was just normal to him. It seemed natural to want the same opportunity. We are grateful to have Nathaniel’s sister and brother-in-law, who have experience raising adopted, racially diverse children, to go to for advice and support. We are also excited that your child will have cousins who have also been adopted.

Deb’s passion was born while spending almost 2 years working at a children’s home in Tecate, Mexico. Their big eyes, mischievous tricks, and longing for family burned into her heart. While dating, we dreamed together of building a family of biological and adopted children. Since we got married, we discovered that we likely won’t be able to conceive. This only assured us that we were meant to build a family through adoption.

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About Deborah, by Nathaniel

My wife, Deb, is an adventurous introvert. She is ladylike, but also very willing to go on spontaneous outings. She is a natural at deep conversations. She loves books, water, flowers, people, and nature. She is very intelligent and takes a deep interest in anything that our friends are interested in. Deb is a gifted artist and a wonderful cook. She spent 2 years cooking at an orphanage in Mexico when she was in her mid-teens, and I believe that developed her cooking skills exponentially.  I love the way she keeps a tidy house, but not so neat that our (prior) foster daughter can’t get out her toys and make a mess with them if she wants. Deb might have a hundred things to do in a day, but she is very aware of the needs of our foster daughter, and if she needs attention and love she is quick to drop what she is doing and sit on the floor and play with toys with her or rock her for a while. Deb has a real love for children and the nieces and nephews and the children at church feel it and love her in return. I love to watch the way Deb looks out for our foster daughter; teaching her to be the best person she can be. I know she will do the same for your dear child as well.

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About Nathaniel, by Deborah

5 Things I love about Nathaniel!

• He has big laugh and bigger heart
• He loves giving (and getting) gifts
• He adores kids
• He is a pilot
• He can do pretty much ANYTHING!

The first thing I noticed about Nathaniel was his open friendliness and generosity. He is full of fun, with a big grin, twinkling eyes, and a quick laugh.  I watched him become a dad to our (prior) foster daughter. Every evening she waited anxiously at the door for him to come home. He swooped her up, covering her with kisses, and carried her off for a swing ride in the backyard.

Not only does he now run his own construction business and mini-storage, but he is also on the school board and church youth committee. What attracted me to Nathaniel more than anything else, was his passion for life and people. Whatever he does is done wholeheartedly; whoever he loves is cherished deeply.

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We're Mennonites! Of course we...

• Go to church every Sunday
• Know how to bake bread
• Pray before every meal
• Have dozens of cousins
• Love gardening and know how to can pickles
• Send our children to private school
• Sing together for fun
• Have quiltings and sew our own dresses
• Play volleyball and softball
• Sit around the table for dinner every evening
• Go camping
• Eat popcorn on Sunday afternoons
• Believe marriage is for life
• Work hard and play harder!

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Our Faith

Our Christian faith is central to who we are. Without Jesus Christ in our lives, we wouldn’t be in a place to welcome your baby into our home. God is a part of our daily lives and we want to teach your child about Him. Because of Jesus’ teaching, we value honesty, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, modesty, and love for everyone to name a few. Our church is a big part of our lives. We think of the other members of our church as part of our family and they provide a huge support base for us. We love to share about our beliefs and are happy to answer when people ask questions.

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What We Will Teach

As former teachers, we are always on the lookout for a teachable moment. Here are a few of the things we would love to teach your baby!

How to…

• Be a friend
• Get lost in a book
• Bake bread
• Fly an airplane
• Build a tree house
• Balance a checkbook
• Pursue your dreams
• Never give up
• You are special
• God loves You!

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Lifestyle

Our lives are built around family and church. To us family is about commitment, unconditional love, and togetherness. Church is a place of joy, encouragement and learning to know God better with our friends.

Nathaniel runs a construction business and a mini-storage. He has two passions: people and planes. He always has a friendly greeting for everyone and takes time to stop and talk with anyone. People seem drawn to his honest and caring personality and end up confiding and asking advice. He owns a two-person airplane that he flies whenever he gets a chance. He loves to give people rides; often Sunday afternoons are spent flying with other pilot buddies or giving rides to friends. We enjoy taking peaceful evening flights and attending the local flight club meetings together.

Deb is a stay-at-home mom, who loves gardening, baking, and home-cooking. She has dabbled in art since her early teens. She loves having deep conversations and learning to understand how people think. She enjoys publishing articles as she has time. Evenings often find us eating supper on the back patio and playing games. On the weekends we love going on bike rides and picnics or having friends over. We dream of having a little one to show the joy of picnics and squirrels and to join in with tussles and snuggles before bed.

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Home & Neighborhood

Life with Us Means…

• A big yard with huge trees
• Friendly neighbors
• Fried chicken and okra
• Jaunts to the library
• Campfires and singing

We live in a small, country house surrounded by beautiful shade trees, deep in the farming community of Mississippi. We have a huge yard perfect for children to spend hours riding bikes, playing pitch and catch, and flying remote control airplanes. Recently Nathaniel hung a tire swing in the giant pecan tree behind the house. It gets daily use!  You won’t find a friendlier culture than the one in our Deep South community. The talk is slow, the people wave, and the fried chicken is mighty fine. We enjoy jaunts out to the wildlife refuge near us. There are plenty of hiking trails, biking paths, and boardwalks over the water with wildlife everywhere. There are children’s parks and swimming holes close by that your child would enjoy as he or she grows up.

We are part of a close church community that we consider family.  Several other families from church have also adopted both African-American and Caucasian children. In our community, your baby would be surrounded by little friends of a variety of races.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

We believe that everybody is special because they are uniquely created by God. He carefully planned everything about your baby down to how many hairs will grow on their head. He loves your sweet baby so much He put special thought into each dimple and quirk. God picked you to give this child life for one reason: because He loves you.

Part of the beauty of who your baby will be as a person is their ethnicity and the rich culture they come from. We love the beauty and diversity of different cultures and we are excited to learn more about your background and history. Both of us have had the opportunity to live in other cultures and learn how they think and operate. We love our friends from other cultures.

We are thankful to live in a community where adoption is not uncommon. We expect to learn a lot from our friends who have already adopted and are grateful to be able to ask them questions. Nathaniel’s sister has adopted several children from different racial backgrounds. We are delighted that in our family your child will have first and second cousins who are also from different ethnicities.

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Our Families

Family is a wonderful part of our lives. Deb grew up as the second child in a family of four. She has 3 nephews and 2 nieces. We live about two hours from her family; close enough that we frequently spend the weekends together. Deb’s dad and mom’s favorite names are Grandpa and Granny.

Nathaniel’s family spills over with fun and laughter. He is the youngest of seven children and uncle to oodles of nieces and nephews. (28 to be exact) Papa and Grammy, Nathaniel’s parents dote on every last one of their grandchildren, cuddling the babies, playing games, and having late-night chats with the older ones. Somehow, they keep track of all the family birthdays, anniversaries, and other special events.

Most of our vacations we spend with our extended family. Belize is a favorite destination for us. Since Nathaniel’s parents have lived there as missionaries for ten years, they have explored much of the country and know all the out-of-the-way corners. It is wonderful to spent time with them and have our personal tour guides. Both of our families are very supportive of our decision to adopt and are excited to welcome your baby into their hearts

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Family Traditions

Christmas is both of our favorite holidays and we love the season leading up to it. Deb gets together with her mom and sisters for a day and bakes loads of cookies, fudge, buckeye candy, party mix, dipped pretzels and more. She also spends a day with her grandma making divinity candy; a white, fluffy, chewy, candy that has been in the family for generations. We enjoy going to the Little Bethlehem event that a local church hosts and Deb enjoys attending the local Handel’s “Messiah” concert. One of our favorite traditions is gathering with friends from church on frosty evenings to Christmas carols for neighbors. We love buying gifts for each other and friends. Excitement runs high and Nathaniel struggles to wait to give his gifts until Christmas Day! We usually spend the day with one or the other of our families.

Thanksgiving is often spent with Deb’s family. Deb’s dad raises sugarcane and Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect time to press it and cook the juice down to a thick sugary syrup. Yummy, sticky syrup soaking into fresh biscuits eaten next to the steaming cooking pan summarizes our Thanksgiving memories, that and the generous spread of food for dinner!

Every fall when the weather gets crisp, we load up with a group of friends to go camping. We sit around eating marshmallows, blowing bubbles for the kiddos, playing games, and riding bike. This annual camping trip is a Fall highlight.

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What We Will Share

We value honesty and openness. We intend to be up-front with your child even as a toddler about their life story. We want to explain that you had to make a hard choice. We will tell them how excited we were when you picked us to raise them and how we traveled to the hospital where they were born to meet them and you. We will squeeze them tight and tell them how precious they are and how much you love them, and how much joy they have brought to us.

We hope to be able to tell them about you and who you are. I would love to tell them any details about you that we can. We can’t wait to meet you and we want you to know that we will always speak about you with respect. You will always have a special place in our hearts

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Our Promise to You

We promise:

To love your child just as they are...

• Short or tall
• Athletic or clumsy
• A+ or F student

to be there when

• The spelling list is too long
• They puke on the floor or
• They win 1st place

to challenge them to be THEIR best

To help them achieve THEIR dreams

To give them a warm home

a safe place …

…a family

We promise to love your child with all of our hearts, to be there for them when they come home from school with a spelling list that looks too long, when they win the prize for the long jump at field day, or when they have the stomach flu and don’t feel well. We will love them as they are: short or tall, athletic or uncoordinated, a whiz at school or working hard for a passing grade, center of the party or quiet dreamer. We will challenge them to be the best that they can be and give them every aid that we can to help them attain their dreams. They will have a place where they can show their true feelings and ask hard questions without worrying about being rejected because they know they have a home, they have a family, and they belong.