Hello! We are Chantal and Dirk-Jan (known as DJ) from the Netherlands!

To a very special woman

We are so thankful that you are taking the time to get to know us a little better. We hope our story gives you a small impression of our life.  We cannot imagine the difficult decisions you may be facing throughout this process. We want to let you know that we have so much respect for your choice and we think that you are brave, thoughtful and strong to be considering what is best for you and your child. We offer our open hearts, a home filled with love, and will give a child everything he or she needs to be safe, stable, happy and healthy.  We hope you can follow your heart in this difficult decision and find the loving family you imagine for your child.

On Adoption

After trying to start a family, we learned our chances to get pregnant were slim, and we began to look at adoption. Open adoption felt right to us because we believe children should understand and know about all parts of themselves and be connected to their birth families. We are also excited to embrace and welcome the child’s birth parents and extended birth families into our lives in whatever way feels comfortable for them, and provide all the love and support we can. We are trying to adopt in the United States because we’ve made several travels through the States and we fell in love with your country. Unfortunately in our country it is still difficult to pursue adoption.

Our Story

Our story begins in 2008 when we became colleagues. We were drawn to one another immediately; Chantal to DJ’s sweet, honest and funny personality and DJ to Chantal’s warm, open and loyal personality. DJ asked Chantal to marry him on her birthday during a beautiful hike in New Zealand. We got married in 2015 during a beautiful ceremony with all our loved ones.  We are happy to call the Netherlands our home. At home, during the week, we tend to have relaxed nights at home where we cook dinner, watch Netflix and enjoy time together. We kick the weekend off with Chantal’s pancakes, cheesecakes or burgers, then enjoy activities like walking with our little dog, reading, listening to music or hanging out with family and friends. We also love to travel and cannot wait to discover the beautiful world with a child. One of our dreams is to go to South Africa and see lions and elephants in the wild.

Meet Chantal

I grew up in a warm, loving and open family with my parents and two younger sisters. I had a lovely childhood, and I know that my parents cannot wait to become grandparents. My sisters will be really great and funny aunts.  My strong sense of justice and helping people led me into working as a detective for the law enforcement. We really want to enjoy our family. Therefore, we both want to start working less so that there is always someone home with the baby. I’m so lucky to have a really flexible job where everything is possible.  I love to spend time with DJ and our loved ones, cooking, reading, watch Netflix, traveling and horseback riding.

More About Chantal, by DJ

Chantal is a loving and supportive wife. She sees the best in people and makes them feel at ease and welcomed. I am spoiled because Chantal is also a fantastic cook. There’s no one else I’d rather share the responsibilities and joys of parenting with.

Fun Facts About Chantal

• Favorite food: Cheesecake and Fries
• Favorite music: Sade, Angus and Julia, The Weeknd
• Favorite color: Pink and Green
• Favorite show: Big Little Lies and Girls
• Favorite sports: Horseback Riding
• Favorite things to do: Travel and Cuddling with our Animals

Meet DJ

I grew up in a small village in the north of the Netherlands with my loving parents and older sister. My sister is married and has two children. We are a very close family and I love being an uncle for my little nephew and niece.  For work I am a lieutenant for the law enforcement. I love my job because I get to help people and I hope to make the world a little bit safer. A safer world is also what I want for my family. Their safety is my biggest priority.  In my spare time I love cuddling with Chantal, enjoy cycling, spending time with our families and friends, traveling and reading.

More About DJ, by Chantal

DJ is a calm, sweet, patient and funny husband who has the utmost respect and love for his animals, friends and family. DJ always has a smile on his face and is up for whatever adventure lies ahead from traveling to America or cycling through New-Zealand. Most importantly: we’re best friends who love, support and respect each other.

Fun Facts About DJ

• Favorite food: Tacos and Burgers
• Favorite music: Angus and Julia
• Favorite color: Green and Blue
• Favorite show: Ozark
• Favorite sports: Cycling and Rugby
• Favorite things to do: Cycling, Travel, Making Funny Jokes with Chantal and Watching Netflix
• Guilty pleasure: The TV show ‘First Dates’ and Cheesecake

The People We Love

We both come from close-knit families. Our families truly mean the world to us! We are blessed to have an extremely supportive and caring family, with lots of love between our parents, siblings and niece and nephew.  They are all very excited and supportive to welcome a precious little one into their hearts.  Our weekends and holidays are often spent with our family and friends. Each Easter, we come together to have Easter brunch and for every Christmas we organize a large Christmas dinner with lots of presents.  And whenever it is possible we are visiting each other, or all have dinner together.

Our Friends

Beyond our immediate families, we are blessed with a close circle of friends. Our friends are those that look out for one another, are extremely kind and are there for us when needed.   We don’t know what we would do without our family and friends. We are excited that they will be an important part of your child’s life!

Our Pets

Bink loves to cuddle, playing with kids and eating a lot of dog biscuits. Jacky and Charlie are our sweet and playful cats.

Our Home and Closing Thoughts

Home Sweet Home

We live in a warm and cozy house in a small village in the north of the Netherlands with our little dog Bink and our two cats Jacky and Charlie. Our home reflects our many interests: delicious smells from the kitchen where Chantal loves cooking and spending quality time together; all kinds of music on the radio especially jazz; and mementos from our travels all over the world.  Our neighborhood is a safe, great place to raise a child, with good schools, lots of young families, shopping and plenty of parks and playgrounds to go wild on! We have friendly neighbors who help each other out and we’re so happy to live close to our family and friends and spend time with them often.

About The Netherlands

We LOVE OUR COUNTRY! We live in the Netherlands, which is a small prosperous country in Western Europe. The Netherlands takes good care of all its inhabitants, it’s a safe country, has a great educational system and really good health care system. The Netherlands is also known for its respect for human diversity, with progressive legislation for women and gay rights. The Netherlands is truly multi-cultural, has every nationality, cuisine, and all types of religions are represented here.  The Netherlands has its own traditions. Some are the same as your traditions like for example Christmas and Easter. The Netherlands has also King’s Day. On King’s Day we celebrate the birthday of our Dutch king and there are a lot of parades and activities. Another tradition is Sint Maarten, celebrated on 11th of November. It is very similar to Halloween with kids going door to door with their self-made lampions singing songs for candy.

A Special Message To You

Thank you for taking the time to review our profile and begin to get to know us. We promise to give your child all the love, care and opportunity we can give. We promise to raise them with patience, provide them with a good education and allow them the ability to pursue any interest they may have throughout their life. We promise to raise your child in a home full of love, respect, nurturing, support, laughter, forgiveness and understanding. We will always be honest with your child about their story including their heritage, answering their questions with sensitivity, and celebrating what makes them-and each of us-special. You would ALWAYS be known as the greatest woman who gave them the miracle of life and to us, the woman who gave us the greatest gift of love. We’re ready and waiting to take this next step and excited by the possibilities of sharing it with you in whatever ways feel comfortable for you.