We are Steven, Danielle, & Kingston (plus our cute puppy, James) from Washington. We know that the decision to make a plan for adoption may be one of the most difficult choices a mother can make – we can only imagine how you are feeling. Perhaps we can help make it a little less difficult by providing you with a glimpse of who we are and why we are so excited to have another baby in our home.

We are a fun-loving family. We adopted Kingston at the end of 2019. Even with COVID-19, and the difficulty and uncertainty of the last year, our time with him has been a dream come true. It has been the joy of our lives to watch him learn and grow over the past year. We both wanted to adopt since before we even met – it’s just something to we’ve always felt drawn to. We both come from wonderful families, and perhaps because we were both given so much, we just want to pass that on. We love being parents and are excited for our family to grow even more (plus, Kingston needs a baby brother or sister to play with, teach, and look out for).

It is difficult to accurately put into words what a monumental decision this is and what it means to us. We can only hope you see the love shining through these words. We are so grateful that you are making an adoption plan and we hope it includes us.

Have you seen the TV show Friends? That show pretty well sums up how we met and fell in love. I was living in a house on a lake with five other girls. Steven had a group of guy friends and they often came over to the house for parties and to hang out. Over time, our friendships grew closer and a few of the friends paired off. (Speaking of Friends, Steven likes to say that he has the smarts of Ross, the looks of Joey, and the sense of humor of Chandler.)

For our first date, Steven took me to my first comedy show in Seattle (near the famous gum wall). Another time, Steven took me on a tour of a chocolate factory. It is often difficult to pinpoint the moment you fall in love with someone, but given how much I love chocolate it was probably at that tour. The rest, as they say, is history.

By Steven: Together we make a terrific team. Danielle is a gifted organizer and planner; I am a workhorse. Danielle is a terrific cook; I am a fast and efficient cleaner. Most importantly, we love and respect each other and want to see the other happy and healthy. We are open-minded and forgiving. We value communication and always seek to understand one another. We are best friends, we love nothing more than cuddling, spending time with one another, and laughing and sharing inside jokes. We are so excited to grow our family through adoption again!

The first thing you need to know about me is that I love to laugh and joke around. I have found that my sense of humor has served me well in my role as a dad – I love to play games, make learning fun, and find humor in the chaos that is having a baby.

I am also relentlessly curious and am constantly reading and learning about new subjects. I consider myself a lifelong leaner. And I love discussing and explaining the things I’ve learned to anyone who will listen. Those traits have worked well for me in my profession as an attorney specializing in employment law.

Other than my family (of course), my passion in life has always been music. I am always looking for new kinds of music to explore and appreciate. And I am an amateur musician myself – I have played the guitar and bass since I was 14 years old. With the demands of life, I don’t play as much as I used to, but I still love playing guitar for Danielle and Kingston at every opportunity that I can.

From even before I met Steven, I noticed him because he was funny. I would see him with his friends at church or at a party and he was always surrounded by people. Steven is thoughtful, sweet, kind and gentle. He loves family, friends and people in general. He can go anywhere, and make friends. He has many interests: books, politics, music, people and an endless curiosity for the world. I love learning and Steven is constantly teaching me something new. Steven has taught Kingston (and his nieces and nephews) to find a game or humor in everything they do. I am excited to become a parent again with Steven by my side!

When I close my eyes and picture the life of my dreams, I see the life I have. I grew up in a Seattle suburb with my parents, 3 siblings and our dog, Rex. When I was an 8-year-old, I got a Chemistry set for Christmas and it inspired me to pursue a degree in Biology and Chemistry in college, at BYU-Idaho. Upon finishing that degree, I realized I wanted to work with people and I wanted to continue learning so I became a Registered Nurse.

And now, I have the 2 most perfect jobs! First, and foremost, I’m a mother – I never imagined how much I would love it! For work, I am a nurse at a fertility clinic in Seattle. My work is extremely rewarding as I help people who are struggling to start a family.

My greatest joys in life are spending time with my family. Now that Kingston is in our lives, I am able to work part time so I can spend more time with Kingston and be able to care for a new baby. Kingston and I like to read, play catch, sing songs, dance, go on walks, play with friends, and swing on swings at the park.

Danielle is really a remarkable person. She is the kind of person who knows exactly what she wants and does what it takes to accomplish her goals. She is one of the most capable and talented people I’ve ever met. If she doesn’t know how to do something, she uses the resources at her disposal and figures it out; if she doesn’t get the answer she wants, she doesn’t give up until she does. She is determined.

She is also a natural nurturer. She is sweet and patient and kind, particularly with babies and small children. Despite working a full-time job, she always makes time to care for our son. Danielle’s favorite thing in the world is to be a mother. I have loved watching her step into that roll over the past year or so. I can’t wait to see Danielle become a mother again as we endeavor to add a baby to our growing family.

Kingston is a happy, fun-loving, hilarious little boy. He loves to run around and be wild – his favorite game is to look at you, say “Rawr,” and then run until you chase him, all the while giggling like crazy. He also loves chasing and being chased by our puppy James.

Kingston loves music and does all sorts of little dances (he especially loves Pete the Cat on YouTube). His favorite foods are beans, noodles, and most of all, any kind of fruit.

When we named Kingston, it was a collaborative effort between us and his birth mother. His birth mother’s name starts with a “K” and her kids names all start with a “K.” We wanted to honor that, so we started brainstorming “K” names with her. When one of us suggested Kingston, it just felt right – all three of us immediately knew that was the name for him. And we were right! He is the most “Kingston” baby boy you could ever possibly meet.

James loves babies, kids, cuddles, wrestling, playing fetch, and going on walks. Most of all, he loves to eat whatever we’re eating. James is four years old, but he’s only five pounds. He will always be our little puppy. People always ask if he is a puppy and are shocked to find out he’s fully grown. He is a very sweet pup who loves everyone he meets, especially kids.

We live near Seattle, Washington. Our neighborhood is peaceful and friendly with a beautiful view of the city below. We live walking distance to so many beautiful parks. Take your pick: we have a park along Lake Washington’s waterfront, a river walk that leads to the public library, a dog park, and a nearby Parks and Rec, with playing fields and jungle gyms. It is an ideal neighborhood to raise a child. We currently live in a quaint condo community but are busy searching for the perfect house for our growing family.

We both come from wonderful families. We have incredible parents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins – they are all excited to love, care for, and spoil our new addition. Spending time with family is everything to us!

Steven’s family lives nearby, and the family gathers at his parent’s house each Sunday for dinner. These dinners are full of laughter, love and (often) chaos -- Kingston runs around with cousins, James runs around with the other dogs in the family, and the adults joke with one another and play games with the kids.

Most of Danielle’s family now live in Boise, Idaho, which is about a 7-hour drive. We visit them at least 5 times a year and they come and visit us about 5 times a year too so it’s almost like they live near-by. When we visit, we pack in as much fun as we can -- BBQs, movie nights, craft activities with the kids, go shopping, float the river, and take the kids and puppies on lots of walks. When we are apart, Kingston LOVES video chatting with his grandma, cousins, aunts and uncles.

Our favorite thing in the world is being parents. It is our sincere desire to bring another child into our family and raise that child in a home filled with love. We want to take them on trips to explore the world, spend hours reading and cuddling, teach them to play and appreciate music, help them study and learn about the world, teach them how to cook delicious foods…the list goes on. We can’t wait to give your child the best life, full of exciting experiences, loving family and friends, and opportunities to learn and grow.

When we imagine holding our future baby for the first time, our hearts skip a beat and goofy grins form on our faces – we feel like we could burst with excitement. We both have so much enthusiasm for life’s adventures and we have some much love to share. We both came from incredible families who spent time teaching us, reading to us, taking us on trips to experience new things. We want to provide these experiences to our children. We are excited to be proud of our child, to encourage them to do great things. We want nothing more than to watch them learn and flourish.

We are grateful you chose adoption and are grateful you are considering us as adoptive parents for your child. We want to hug you and promise to dedicate our lives and love to your precious baby and thank you for making us a mom and dad, again. There is nothing more precious to us than this dream.

- Steven, Danielle, Kingston, and James