Evan and Alana

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From Us to You

Dear Expectant Parent(s),

You are the hero of your child’s story. We are here with open arms and ready to love your child unconditionally. We want you to trust that we will provide a stable, loving, and fulfilling life for your child. We are willing to share anything that will help you build this trust in us. We promise to always talk about you in a positive light. We will convey your love and devotion to wanting them to have the best opportunities. Whatever your story is, we will always share it in a respectful manner. We want your child to feel surrounded by love, and that includes yours.

Your child will be raised in an environment that centers around being young at heart and having fun. We are silly and laugh a lot, but also believe in hard work and dedication. We want to share everything we have learned along with the life lessons that are still to come. We place importance on education because we both have found school essential to our success. We look forward to reading to your child before bed and teaching them how to tie their shoes (Evan prefers bunny ear style). We look forward to wiping their nose and kissing the boo boos. We have always wanted to be parents and look forward to being there for all the things that shape a little person into becoming the person they are meant to be.

Our journey towards parenthood began 10 years ago with trying to conceive naturally, but unfortunately, we were unsuccessful. We took our time to come to terms with the realization that we would not be biological parents. We then decided together that adoption would be the right path for us. We believe our experiences happened in order for us to arrive at this point to meet you. We are believers that things tend to happen as they are meant to, even if some steps are hard and painful. After 15 years together and a lot of hard work, we created a life that we are very proud of that includes two loving adopted dogs, a large house fit for a family, good careers, and a support network of family and friends who are invaluable. Wholeheartedly, we feel we are at the best place in our lives to give your child the optimal environment to flourish and grow into the best version of themselves.

We respect you and the decision you are making. We are open to discussing what our relationship post-birth would be. We are flexible in respecting what works best for you, while we all keep in mind what is best for your child. We are not here to dictate our needs, we are here to support you in yours. Everything is a conversation. Let’s work together on what the best path forward would be.

Respectfully,
Evan + Alana

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Why We are Choosing to Adopt

Our adoption journey started around 10 years ago when we started trying to conceive. We were pretty casual at first, “trying not trying”, but after a few years of not getting pregnant, we decided to get serious. We saw many doctors, took many tests, read books, and learned a lot. Alana tracked her ovulation daily, went to acupuncture weekly, and doctors monthly. We kept being told that our results showed nothing was wrong and to keep trying. It took around 5 years of these nonstop tasks and appointments which left us feeling frustrated and confused. It took finding the right doctor to discover that we would not conceive without the help of drugs and processes like IUI or IVF. In the end, we decided that this was not the route for us. We believe that if pregnancy wasn’t happening naturally that maybe our story was different. We changed our focus, and a couple of years later here we are. We have two dogs who we have poured our love into along with our home and careers. The truth is we still have so much love to give! In the end, we were unable to conceive, which is fine, but we still want to continue growing our family. We want to raise and care for a tiny human, we want to be parents.

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Adoption in Our Lives

Alana has always had a special connection with adoption. Her mother was 16 when she had Alana, but was not ready to be a mom and did not have the family support or resources to care for a child. Alana was left with her father when she was 6 months old. Alana thanks her as it was the best decision she made for both of them. She feels lucky to have a father who was stable and better equipped to care for her. Alana’s father started dating her stepmother who raised her not too long after her mother left.

Alana remembers having two pictures of her mother that were dear to her heart. She would ask many questions about her and her parents were open about who she was and where she lived. She met her mother at age 5, and remembers feeling lucky to have two moms! Through this experience, she had a special connection with friends growing up who were adoptees she could relate to.

Evan’s best friend growing up was adopted. He saw how his friend’s life was positively influenced by adoption. His adoptive parents were not able to conceive but were able to create a loving family. Evan also has a cousin who was adopted and is now an engineer for tractors. Evan learned from an early age that adoption could result in a positive outcome from a challenging situation.

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About Alana, by Evan

Alana likes to be silly whenever possible. She likes to make me laugh when I’m too serious. Her name is pronounced Ah-lay-nah. Alana is also a strong confident woman who rose above adversity as a child without resentment or a defeatist attitude that many others would have had. She was born with an eye condition called Coloboma which is a defect in the iris of the eye that resembles a cat’s iris. People regularly ask about her eyes and she is always patient and kind about it. She is extremely loyal and protective of the ones she loves. She loves cuddling with Augie, our little dog, who she treats like a baby. She is extremely scared of spiders and needs help reaching anything high. Alana enjoys crafty, home improvement projects and organizing the garage. She is the organizer, decorator, and producer of our family. She has a lot of love to give. She is excellent with kids, who easily relate to her. She helped raise her younger brother and grew up changing diapers and babysitting. All this is to say that she will be a great mother.

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About Evan, by Alana

Evan is soft hearted, kind, and wishes he could be as funny as me (I am the comedian in the family but back to Evan). Evan is smart, fun-loving, and very talented. He is an amazing cook making all of our food from scratch. Most weekends he makes bread, granola, sausage, cheese – you name it. I have always envisioned he would make baby food from scratch. Our friends always say if the world was ending, they would come to our house because we would be stocked with good food. He loves playing guitar, golfing, fishing, snowboarding, and staying active in general. He loves nightly snuggles on the couch with our two pups. The first time he met my niece, he played school with her for multiple hours. I finally had to tell him he could take a break from playing but he said, no we are having fun. He was the student, of course, and needed to finish his homework. He is going to be such a great dad as he loves teaching, is a great listener, patient and young at heart.

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How We Met

We have been best friends for 26 years. We met in high school and quickly became best friends. We started dating 11 years later and have now been together for 15 years, married for 11. Everyone always asks us about the moment we realized we were meant to be together. All it took was us attending one wedding together and we realized we were each other’s best match. We realized there was no other person we would rather be with and that we belonged together. Sometimes it feels like we are an old married couple and other times it feels like the first day we met.

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Lifestyle

We take a lot of pride in working hard and being healthy, physically and mentally. Alana does yoga while Evan meditates using the app, Headspace. We eat healthy, exercise, and do the little things like clean with non-toxic products.  We are not perfect but we do what we can on a regular basis to be the best version of ourselves we can be.

We both work, take our 2 dogs on walks, do house projects, and exercise. On the weekends Evan loves to golf and cook while Alana loves going to yoga class and working on home improvement projects. We enjoy the outdoors in camping, hiking, snowboarding, fishing, gardening or just hanging out and BBQing. We love hosting! We have friends over often who have kids. We love learning new things, trying new foods, and traveling (Spain or Bali are tied for the favorite). We love music, playing games and watching movies. We relax by the fire on cold wet days or play outside with the dogs on sunny ones.

We will teach your child they can do anything they put their mind to. Evan is looking forward to teaching them to cook and play sports. Alana can’t wait to teach them yoga and make art. We are excited about the little things like bath time, footie pajamas, introducing new foods, baby bjorns, reading books, swimming lessons, picnics, playdates, building snowmen, flying kites, first day of school photos and so much more. We are excited to share our traditions and adventures while creating new ones as a family. We want to open a child’s mind to the endless possibilities the world has to offer.

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Our Furbabies, Frances Freckles & Augie

We are dog people and love our two fur babies. Frances Freckles is five years old, approximately 50 pounds, and a cattle dog mix. She loves having a task like chasing the ball, going for hikes, and smelling the morning air. She is a sweet girl who would protect a child like one of her herd. Augie is three years old, 35 pounds, and a terrier, boxer chihuahua mix. He is full of energy, but his favorite activity is cuddling. He is a lover at heart who will be very excited about having a new sibling. Both dogs have grown up with the neighbor kids playing together outside on sunny days. We are looking forward to being a family of 5!

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Home & Neighborhood

About a year ago we moved into our dream home. It is a four-bedroom English cottage with a large magical yard that resembles camping in the forest. There is a large picture window in front that our dogs lie in front of all day long watching our neighbors walk by. The house has plenty of space and is meant for a family. Anyone who comes to our house is required to record their height in the doorway, dogs included.

The backyard is very large (the size of two backyards) with a treehouse, large grass area, a deck with a dining table, stringed lights, and a fire pit where we make smores. There is plenty of space for a swing set and a sandbox. We also have chicken coops where we plan on having chickens one day. We have a large family room in our basement where we watch movies and cuddle on the couch. We plan to create a playroom in this area with a little desk, chairs, and toys. Family meals are very important to us so we spend a lot of time in our dining room. We plan to have dinner together every night where we can talk about our days.

The street is curvy and lined with trees and adorable houses. We live in an integrated neighborhood with a variety of cultures and income levels. Within walking distance are an elementary school, farmer’s market, restaurants, parks, and a historic movie theater.

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Racial & Cultural Diversity

We are committed to providing a loving, supportive environment for a child of any background. We live in a multicultural city where we have resources at our fingertips. We have already joined adoption support groups where transracial families are common. We will not always have the answers, but we acknowledge the importance of educating ourselves, continuing to build a support network, and never having a sheltered mindset.

It’s important to acknowledge a child’s racial identity and introduce them to others they can relate to. We will create discussion, and encourage them to ask questions and be curious. It will be our responsibility as parents to provide them the opportunity to explore their culture as they grow and create their own identity. Overall, we will always give them a sense of belonging and support them. We currently connect with different cultures and ethnicities through food, music, events, traveling, and within the neighborhood we live in.

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Our Families & Friends

We have family in Idaho, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming. Our entire family was beyond excited when they learned about our plans to adopt. Alana has a large family that includes four sets of grandparents, a father, two mothers, and three siblings. She has one niece and three nephews. It is guaranteed that everyone in Alana’s family will call and sing happy birthday every year. Evan’s side includes his mother, stepfather, and a brother who has two young boys who live in Idaho, only a short plane ride away. Evan’s mother is famous for buying too many presents and mailing newspaper clippings of comic strips. Both sides include many aunts and uncles with cousins.

After learning about our plans to adopt, Alana’s younger sister and her husband decided to move to Oregon from California. They will be a huge part of our daily support system as they will only be 7 blocks away! They look forward to babysitting and playing with the little one and raising our kids together.

We have been in Oregon for around 15 years and have developed a large network of friends that include various ages and interests. Several friends have younger children who are looking forward to playdates. We are already signing them up to take turns babysitting.

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Family Traditions

We are the typical American family who celebrates all the classic holidays. We give thanks at Thanksgiving, kiss at midnight on New Year’s Eve, and drink Irish beer on St. Patty’s Day. On the 4th of July, we go camping or BBQ. We usually spend at least one major holiday with family. Your child will get to know their grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. A new tradition is to create a to-do list bowl on Thanksgiving where each person, including the kids, draws a task, such as “Chop herbs” or “Give Alana a hug,” in order to create a shared experience. During Christmas, Alana loves playing Christmas music on the record player and decorating the tree. We look forward to building new traditions as well!

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Our Promise to You

Our promise to you is that we will love and support your child for the rest of our lives. We will be focused on making sure they have a good education and experience what life has to offer. We are committed to being the best parents we can be. We will raise them to be strong, brave and caring individuals. We won’t always know the answers but we will do everything in our power to find them. We promise to listen and to be patient, to encourage them to explore and be curious, to love and to treat others how they want to be treated. Your child deserves the best possible home with a family that is prepared to meet all of their needs. We would like to be that family. We would love to have some photos of you to share. Alana had a few photos of her mother growing up and it’s amazing how powerful those photos were in keeping a connection. We do not want to remove you from the equation, we want to add ourselves to it. As Alana always says, “It’s not a family tree, it’s a family forest.”