Choose A Family : Parent Profile
Rachel & Shane
Dear Birth Mother,
Hello and thank you for taking the time to learn a little about us. We appreciate the tremendous courage and love it takes for you to consider adoption. We have so much love to give and cannot wait to provide your child with a secure home full of happiness, laughter, learning and opportunities. It is your courage and strength that provides us an opportunity to fulfill our dream of becoming parents. Your child will know his or her birth story and you will always hold a special place in our hearts, home, and family.
Our Story
We met nine years ago and have been happily married for five years. Our story is an international one. Rachel was born and raised in New Zealand (yes – she still has an accent!) and Shane grew up in a small town in Iowa. We met and fell in love in London and after a long-distance relationship Rachel moved to the US to be with Shane. In 2004 Shane proposed on a beach in Sicily (such a romantic) and a year later we celebrated our wedding with a beautiful ceremony overlooking the Pacific Ocean. We spent our Honeymoon showing 20 friends and family around New Zealand (the more the merrier!). We hoped to start a family soon after but we were not able to conceive on our own. After many infertility treatments we are so excited to move forward with building our family through adoption. We both love kids and cannot wait for all the joys of playing peek-a-boo, trick or treating, the first visit to Disneyland, feeding the ducks at the park, reading bedtime stories every night (even if it is ‘Goodnight Moon’ for the 100th time!) and so much more.
All About Us
Shane works as a commercial airline pilot and enjoys a flexible work schedule doing what he loves. Rachel is qualified as an attorney in New Zealand and works in the US as a paralegal. We both graduated with college degrees and enjoy financial security.
Growing up in Iowa, Shane fondly remembers working on the farm with his Grandparents and Great-Grandparents, learning a lot about patience and hard work from some of the most down to earth people you could imagine. He played football, sang in the chorus and wrestled in high school and enjoys a great love of the outdoors. Shane’s many different interests range from vintage cars (our 1962 Corvette is his pride and joy) to bird watching in our backyard. He loves all kinds of music and is trying to teach himself guitar (lessons might be needed!). Shane can fix anything. He just needs a little helper with a mini tool belt to give him a hand. His current project is restoring a vintage Airstream trailer for us to take on family vacations. He loves to barbeque and makes ribs ‘to die for’.
Rachel grew up by the beach and loves both the mountains and the sea. She shares Shane’s love of the outdoors and has a true passion for animals. Rachel loves photography and pictures of all the important people in our lives fill our home. She is learning to digital scrapbook to create beautiful memory albums for our family. Rachel also enjoys working in our garden but is still trying to develop a green thumb. Rachel loves the theatre, ballet, reading, and for the last few years she has collected her favorite children’s books to share with our child. There have been many great experiences in Rachel’s life but the one she will cherish the most is becoming a mother.
Shane (...by Rachel)
Shane is my best friend and my partner in life. He is smart, handsome, hardworking and loving. Shane puts a smile on my face even when I least expect it.
When I first met Shane it wasn’t the most romantic of moments. He came to London to visit his sister, my roommate and met me for the first time in my pajamas (not very glamorous). Luckily that didn’t put him off and he asked me on a date. I ended up with food poisoning (again not very glamorous) but he persevered and in that first year he visited me in London ten times. I thought he was a little crazy at the time but it showed me his commitment to our relationship right from the very start.
This level of commitment will make Shane such a great Dad. I can’t wait to watch him teach a child to ride a bike, learn to snowboard, name the birds in our backyard and share his love of cars. Shane doesn’t like to shop but he goes all out at Christmas and no matter how many gifts I buy, he always tops me. Shane has such a big heart and our children will have him wrapped around their little fingers.
Rachel (...by Shane)
When I met Rachel she won my heart pretty quickly. I found myself drawn to her great attitude, her kind heart and her positive outlook on life. Rachel gets along with everyone she meets. She is compassionate and giving and I can’t imagine my life without her. I am so grateful for her unconditional love and friendship.
Rachel puts a lot of time into finding just the right gift for family and friends (I help by signing the cards!). She loves the holidays and makes sure our house is full of the festive spirit, from pumpkins and candy at Halloween to a gorgeous tree and stockings for all (including our pets) at Christmastime. Family and traditions are very important to her. I especially look forward to the holiday dinners Rachel spends so much time preparing, although I know to stay out of the kitchen at times!
Rachel’s patience and her devotion to everyone she loves will make her an amazing mother. She has such a generous heart and I cannot wait to see her share that with a child.
Our Lives Together
We love to visit and explore new places. Before we met Rachel lived in England for 7 years, a great base to see many countries, and Shane lived in Norway for 2 years, visiting a lot of Europe in that time. Our adventures together include trips to Italy, Peru, South Africa, France, England, New Zealand and Australia. Traveling remains an important part of our lives and we hope to share this passion with our children.
Our summers involve camping, hiking, day trips to the lake, fishing, canoeing, and cooking out in our backyard with friends. We enjoy our local farmers market and the many music and arts festivals in our city. In spring and fall we like to ride our motorcycle or to go for Sunday drives in the Corvette. Winter means plenty of snow to enjoy. We live very close to the ski fields for snowboarding fun (Shane is quite the pro and taught Rachel very patiently) and we also love to go snowshoeing with our dogs. Building snowmen and sledding will be so much fun with our future little one.
One of our favorite things to do is to rent a cabin in the mountains for family get-togethers and weekends away with friends. We also cherish our quiet weekends at home, just relaxing on our big cozy sofa. Friday is home-made pizza and movie night – one of our own little traditions.
Our Home
We live in beautiful Salt Lake City, surrounded by the mountains, lakes and many national parks. Our home is located in an historic neighborhood, on a street lined with big old trees that change color with every season. We lovingly renovated our Victorian home, filling it with photographs and little treasures collected on our travels and now we can’t wait to fill it with toys! Our backyard is fenced, with plenty of room for a big swing set and kids fill our neighborhood. We enjoy living very close to a large park with tennis courts, two playgrounds and a children’s swimming pool.
Family & Friends
We both come from loving families and everyone is so excited about our decision to adopt. Our families live all over but we remain very close. Shane’s job provides airline benefits to all family members so we can fly to visit each other often. Shane’s father, mother, step father and grandmother all live in Iowa. Shane’s sister, Shana, lives in London with her husband Paul and our new little niece, Elia. Rachel’s family live in New Zealand. Her mother and father are both retired and relish their role as grandparents. Rachel’s sister Liz and her husband Greg keep busy with their 3 year old, our nephew Hugh. Our child will be just the second grandchild for both our families so as you can imagine there will be no shortage of spoiling from the Grandparents. We keep in contact with everyone online and use a webcam to share all those special family moments.
Our friends also play an important part in our lives. We both remain close to friends from childhood and college and we enjoy catching up with them whenever possible. Most of our friends are parents to young children so they will be a wonderful support group and all the kids will have a lot of fun growing up together.
Furry Family!
Our family includes one cat and two dogs (both Bernese Mountain Dogs). Our cat Riley is the boss and has no problem pushing in for her share of the loving. Our dogs are very friendly and affectionate (and so huggable). They spend time around our friend’s children and are wonderful family dogs. Nero loves to play tug and Max loves to play keep away. They both love to play hide and seek! We take them everywhere we possibly can.
Hopes, Values and Our Promise to You
Although we do not belong to a particular church, we believe in strong core values including honesty, respect, dedication and compassion. We want to raise our children to be creative, open-minded, loving, and respectful of others. Education will be an important focus in their lives, as well as the fun things of course!
We promise to love your child with all of our hearts and to make him or her smile every day. We will strive to raise your child to be happy and well adjusted and to have a healthy understanding of their adoption. You will always hold a special place in our hearts, as the person who made our dreams a reality. Be assured your child will always know the depth of your love.
You are responsible for so much joy and we hope that some of this joy will be part of your life as well. Most of all we wish you peace in your decision and hope that the future brings the realization of all your goals and dreams.
Thank you again,
Rachel & Shane
If you would like to speak with us about adopting your child or have any questions, please contact one of our Adoption Advisors at Adopt Help by calling 1-800-637-7999 toll free.
Check Our Rating