Choose A Family : Parent Profile
Rachel and Nate
We would like to thank you for taking the time to read our letter and learn about us. We acknowledge the magnitude of your decision to choose adoptive parents for your child. We know that this decision
will be life changing for you, and we truly appreciate your considering us to be the adoptive parents of your baby. We hope this letter will offer you some peace of mind with your decision to place your child in our care. Please know that our intent is to love, honor, protect and cherish your child, that is our commitment to you.
About Us
We are Nate and Rachel and have known each other for what seems like forever. We both grew up in the same small town in the wine country of northern California. Our families knew each other before we were even born, and at some point during our childhood Nate’s godmother had a conversation with Rachel’s mother about how great it would be if the two grew up and were married to each other. Although we attended the same high school we were some years apart and only knew each other through friends. One night out on the town at a local festival we connected and have been inseparable for the last thirteen years, we were married in 2005 on the beach in Maui. We had a hand full of close family in attendance along with Coral our flower girl, who Rachel had nannied for since her birth and whom we were like surrogate parents’.
Coral had nicknamed us”Nateman” and” Rachie”, and it meant the world to us having her present.
Our lives thus far have been spent working hard and enjoying our lives together. Nate’s occupation as a union electrician with a company he loves has provided us with a level of financial stability that will allow Rachel to be a “stay at home mommy” when the baby comes. Rachel’s position as a nanny has given her twenty plus years of experience in raising children. Nate has often lent a helping hand on outings with the children. This has been a great tool for us to learn how to effectively parent together. What we have learned is that we work well as a team and some of our most enjoyable moments are spent in the company of children. Being a positive force in these children’s lives has furthered our determination to be parents.
Our Home
We live in a spacious home with a huge backyard and a pool located on a private court. With one set of grandparents next door and the other set less than a mile away, we have a great support system and see each other almost daily. During the summer we love having barbeques and pool parties. Our seven nieces and nephews (two of whom are our godchildren) love coming over to Uncle Nate and Aunt Rachel’s house. There are hiking, biking and picnic areas within walking distance of our house. We live close to a lot of wineries that have beautiful landscaped parks and wonderful hiking trails. We are both products of the local school system and there are some wonderful schools close by. Rachel attended Montessori school for pre-school and the elementary school closest to our house; our plans are for our child to do the same.
The town square hosts Fourth of July parades, a Vintage festival and weekly farmers markets in the spring which are just some of the fun local small town festivities we participate in and enjoy. There is a music festival every spring that we ride our bikes to; we have seen the likes of Steve Winwood, BB King, Ziggy Marley, Chris Isaac, Bozz Skaggs and many others. We also enjoy attending Nate’s mother’s local theatre productions such as Nunsense, Moon over Buffalo, and children’s productions of Three Fairy Godmothers and many more. Spending quality time with family and friends is very important to us and the big family gatherings at Nate’s parents’ house with all the little ones and delicious food is absolutely amazing. We also love traveling together; we have explored Mexico from Puerto Vallarta to Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo to Cancun and Ensenada. The Caribbean islands are our favorite. We’ve been to St. Thomas, Barbados, Martinique, St. Marten, Anguilla, and St. Barts. We hope to make it to Europe soon, as Rachel is the first born of English immigrants and has family overseas. We also love to go camping (Nate loves to let his Boy Scout skills shine) and spend time at the family cabin in the Sierras. We often take all the children/teenagers and their friends up to ski and snowboard.
Our hope for our future is to one day have a child of our own, who we can share our lives, experiences and love with. This would be our greatest dream come true.
NATE on NATE
If I were to describe myself in a few words I would say that I am reliable, sensitive, hardworking, responsible and funny. I believe that the foundation of those attributes starts at an early age. I grew up with three siblings, an older brother and sister and younger brother. Our house was kind of chaotic but in a fun way. We lived near a creek and spent hours exploring and making forts in it. We all walked to elementary and middle school which were close by. My favorite sports growing up were baseball and soccer, although I was no star athlete I enjoyed the fun of being on a team and being outside. At an early age music was introduced to my life and became a huge part of it. I think I started piano lessons in the third grade, by fourth I had taken a summer of violin and by fifth I was playing clarinet. By sixth I had found my true love which was the drums and to this day they are the biggest part of my creative expression. I played music in school from fifth grade throughout high school, and yes I was a marching band geek. I wasn’t the greatest in school so I focused all my attention on music, I had started playing in bands in sixth grade, and I thought that being a rock star would be a cool job, so that’s what I shot for.
After high school I went to junior college for awhile but I knew I had to follow my dreams, so I kept pushing along with my music, auditioning for bands, recording and touring. I had some close brushes with fame but I decided at twenty five that it was time to join the real world. The last ten years have been spent building a career, working hard and enjoying life with my wonderful partner Rachel. Some of my favorite things to do are spending time with children whether it is my nieces or nephews, my friends’ children or the children Rachel nannies for. At Easter the kids really enjoy it when I dress up as the Easter bunny. I also enjoy snowboarding and being in the mountains at the family cabin& camping is super fun, I was also a Boy Scout as a child and worked as a camp counselor for a few years. Performing with my band is still one of my great pleasures; I also love barbequing and cooking in general. I love being in the great outdoors whether it is hiking, exploring, traveling or waterskiing as well as playing on my softball team. I also believe volunteering and giving back to the community is very important and I do that in a number of different ways.
My whole Life I have been told that I am great with kids but it wasn’t until I was an integral part of Coral’s life (a child Rachel nannied for since she was born) that I realized how much I wanted to be a father. The interaction between Rachel, Coral and I actually felt like we were a family. Seeing her grow up from two weeks till the age of eleven and being involved with that process truly has put so much love in my heart. And knowing that Rachel is the best mother figure I have ever seen means that we will be a great parenting team.
RACHEL on RACHEL
In 1967 my parents came to America from England to open a French restaurant in California. I was the first born American in the family and loved going to England as a child to visit the relatives. Growing up in a small town with my younger sister was lots of fun. After school we liked to help out at the restaurant then walk to the park to feed the ducks. By the time I was ten my parents had divorced but still ran the business together. My dad re-married and I was so excited when my two baby sisters came along and I could start babysitting. In high school I loved sewing and art classes. After school I worked at the restaurant and sold clothing at a local shop. I really enjoyed my time volunteering at the Boys and Girls club. After graduating I opened my own daycare which led to me becoming a nanny. In 1991, I decided to go back to school to get my cosmetology license. I was a stylist for two years and realized that I much prefer working with children and I have been a nanny ever since.
I have been with six families in the last twenty years and have loved watching the children grow up. Spending time with the children I have nannied for is very important to me; I love reading books with them. The Runaway Bunny and Angelina are two of my favorites. When we have sleepovers we all snuggle on the couch and watch Peter Pan, The Goonies or School of Rock. I have so much fun taking them to the park and the beach especially when Nate comes along. From 1998 to 2007 I was Asia and Corals nanny. Asia was four years old and Coral was just two weeks old when I started working for the family. The girls loved it when Nate came over to play; he did everything from changing diapers to piggy back rides to going to school with Coral on special person day. I felt really happy to have an opportunity to see how Nate would be as a father. Now that Asia is fifteen years she actually asks Nate for advice on dating.
One of my favorite things to do when I’m not hanging out with kids is to watch Nate perform with his bands, I can’t wait for him to teach our child to play an instrument. Lately, I have been reading books by Joseph Campbell and also enjoy books about the Ramones (my favorite band). I am a bit obsessed with eighties new wave music, and had an awesome time seeing Duran Duran and The English Beat when they came to town. My all time favorite movies are Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Valley Girl and Rock ‘n’ Roll High School. I love to sew and design costumes for Halloween and making scrapbooks for all the special people in my life is also something I really enjoy.
One of my dreams is to someday put together a cookbook with all of the recipes from the old family restaurant. On weekends I like to take long walks, biking and picnics. When Nate and I have date night we go out for sushi and a comedy show in the City. Some of our favorite comedians are Greg Fitzsimmons, Joe Rogan and Jim Jefferies. My husband and my family are especially important to me. When Nate dresses up as the Easter bunny for the family egg hunt or when we light up the house and do cookies and milk for Santa Claus at Christmas it makes me extremely thankful to have those moments in time to remember. I am really looking forward to the day that Nate and I become parents and are able to share all those magical moments with a child of our own.
If you would like to speak with us further about adopting your child please contact one of our adoption advisors at AdoptHelp toll free at 1-800-637-7999.
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