We are Katrina, Don, + Piper from Northern California. Thank you for taking the time to read a little about us and we hope to give you a good sense of who we are, what we’re like, and what kind of loving, fun, and adventurous home we can provide. Adoption has always been our first choice when we started dreaming about a family and something we’ve been talking about since we were just dating and we are so thankful for the wonderful gift you’re providing to a lucky family.

We’ve been making quite the adventure out of life as a family of three and are beyond excited for Piper to have a sibling. Piper has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives and we can’t wait for her to be a big sister. We so value the closeness and lifelong connection of siblings, and we would love to grow our family again so our children will each have an ally in the battle for dessert.

We met online and after a rigorous debate about the best tacos in Sacramento and so we had our first date at a taco shop called Chando's. Katrina had just moved back to Sacramento from San Diego and was having a hard time finding any great Mexican food spots up here. Don promised Chando’s would deliver and it did! We ended up talking for over three hours that first meeting. We also realized that we had a major connection in Fitz, Don’s cycling friend AND Katrina’s mom’s long term partner. Fast forward, Fitz officiated our wedding since he was one of our very first connections. So many incredible events have happened since we were married, but the most notable one was adopting our beautiful daughter, Piper! Piper is 18 months now and it’s been the best 18 months of our lives. We have both been fortunate to have the ability to work from home over the last year and a half and were able to be present for each of Piper’s milestones. She’s also become a favorite Zoom meeting guest now!

Since our first date, we’ve bought a house, adopted 2 more dogs, got married, adopted our daughter, Piper, and in between, traveled the country and around the world. We usually travel a few times a year. We also want to make sure our children can see the world and develop a sense of adventure and curiosity.

Katrina is the most caring and compassionate person I know, always wanting to make sure everyone around her is doing okay and enjoying life before she thinks of herself. She cares deeply for others and learning about the struggle of others and how she can help those that come from all walks of life. She’s a voracious reader of all things, whether its murder mysteries, news, or anything she can get her hands on. She is always learning and taking in new information. She is the biggest instigator of having adventures, big and small, from checking out small local activities to travelling the world and learning about different cultures in art and history. Always the first to say yes to doing a new thing.

At the same time, creating a welcoming and comfortable home for us and creating an atmosphere where our close friends and family feel at home. She is the first one to listen and help talk through any problem or thought you have and give you a safe space to be you without judgement. She leads by example on how to be a great human, whether it’s with a stranger or with our young niece that she watches on the regular. She has made me and anyone around her a better human being and I count myself lucky to call her my best friend, wife, and mother of my child.

This sounds cliché, but Don has one of the biggest hearts I’ve ever encountered. He is constantly doing everything he can to help those around him with anything
big or small. He is also constantly fighting for the little guy, be it the coffee shop worker or fighting institutional racism. He has been a constant inspiration to me to be better and do better. He is curious about the world and constantly learning which always impresses me. He works in IT so he’s everyone’s tech support.

Watching Don become a father and seeing the amount of love he has for Piper has made me fall in love with him all over again. There is nothing better in the world than hearing them giggling uncontrollably together. Don likes to think that he has a gruff exterior, but he is really a big hearted teddy bear with the warmest smile.

We bought our 1923 Tudor forever home last year and have been taking on some much bigger DIY projects than either of us ever thought we could do ourselves. It’s been mostly delightful building our power tool collection and discovering the endless layers of wallpaper previous owners have tried. Don has started to master the electrical updates and Katrina has become an expert with the circle saw. We are lucky enough to live half a block from the neighborhood park and playground and a few blocks from the library, bakery, and our favorite coffee shop and we try and walk or bike as many places as we can.

We got a phone call one afternoon, flew home from vacation early the next morning, and picked up a car seat on the way from the airport to the hospital. We met and took her home when she was 6 days old and life has never been the same. She is smart, and sassy, and kind, and loving, and funny, and so adventurous. She loves being outdoors so we spend a lot of time in the yard, at the park, or taking day trips to the lake or ocean so she can explore to her heart’s content. She’s becoming an expert on the trampoline and loves broccoli and popcorn. She has more hair than we know what to do with but dad is becoming quite the hairstylist.

We’ve also been lucky enough to have new extended family in Piper’s biological brother and his adopted family. They’ve been in her life from day one and we get together with brother Sully and his three other siblings (triplets!) every Sunday for family dinner and wild play time. It’s become our favorite night of the week. We also stay in contact with Piper’s birth mom and siblings through text and photos. We feel very fortunate to have Piper’s biological family a part of our lives as well.

These three rule our home, have become best friends themselves, and all compete for the crumbs that Piper drops (or sometimes throws to them when she thinks we’re not looking). Piper chases them around, plays tug-of-war with the small ones, gives them nose kisses, and laughs uncontrollably when they lick her. We adore them and are absolutely the people who have their dogs in their family photos (maybe even in matching pajamas).

Our family is the most important thing to us. We have parents, grandparents, siblings, cousins, in-laws, adopted family, and more. Then we have our ‘chosen family’ of close friends, some of which we’ve known for 20+ years. Katrina’s mom and grandparents are located in Sacramento. We see Ma’mom (grandma) every weekday as she has recently retired and is our primary childcare and we get together with the rest of the family regularly. Our favorite night of the week is Sunday family dinner where we get together with Piper’s bio-brother, his three siblings and parents, ourselves, and Piper’s grandparents – it's a big, loud party every week. Don’s parents and grandmother are located in Kansas. We have what we call our “chosen family” of close friends in Sacramento and most now have kids ranging from 2 months to 14 yrs old that we try and see regularly. We regularly host holiday and family meals where our home is packed to the brim with family, friends, kids, and dogs with lots of laughs, love and always food.

Having a strong family connection for our children is important. We welcome the opportunity to connect with our future child’s family as well, in the way that feels best for you.

Family comes in many forms including, biological, adopted, and friends that feel like family. The more connections we can all make together the better!

In Closing: Thank you so much for taking the time to get to know us. We’re in awe of your courage and strength and have so much respect for what you are choosing to do. We are so excited to start this journey again and look forward to sharing our unconditional love and extended family support, the more the better!

Love,
Katrina + Don