Home Study Approved!

We are home study approved! This means that we can now adopt at any time. We are so very excited! 

Home Study Approved and So Excited!

So what does it really mean to be home study "approved" or "ready"? A home study is a legal document put together by a licensed social worker that basically says we are suitable to adopt. There was a lot of paperwork and much to think about but we tried to quickly move through the process. We are anxious and excited about our family's adoption journey and certainly didn't want to hold things up! Our initial intake interview was on July 20th and we were officially approved on August 20th - exactly a month! 

Our Adoption Binder -
to keep us organized

This is some of the things we had to gather and do in order to get to this point: 

• criminal and child abuse background checks
• medical reports from our doctors (for all 6 of us)
• reference letters (Thanks friends!)
• copies of drivers licenses, birth certificates, marriage license...
• financial and employment information
• interviews for all of us
• a safety inspection of our home (to see where we have fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors, medicine stored, covers over electrical outlets, etc)
• lots and lots... and lots! of essay questions to answer (about parenting styles, family background, marriage, goals, personality, education and adoption... just to name a few)

Our caseworker complied all this information to create our home study summary... and we passed! Phew! It says we are are "recommended for placement", that we are "a stable family who are able to provide for another child" and that we "relate well to one another and interact with love and patience with [our] children."

We are one step closer!

Profile Video

Welcome to our family and our story! Here is our adoption profile video. 

We love having this so our family can come to life for those looking at our family. 

Our Letter to You

Hi! We are Nic and Natalie.
We admire your courage, strength and desire to do what you feel is best for your little one. Considering giving your child an adoptive home requires a very special and courageous kind of love. Know that you are not alone. We know that God, our Heavenly Father, loves you and your child very, very much. Unconditionally! He will help and guide you. Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. We hope you find comfort and peace as you find the right path for you and your child.

We assume the task of looking at profiles can be daunting. You surely have a many question running through your mind. Please ask! We so look forward to getting to know you!

Why Adoption
We believe adoption is part of Heavenly Father's plan for our family. We have four kids and have felt like we were supposed to have a fifth. But that kiddo hasn't come. After a couple years, fertility testing showed that we are no longer able to have kids. Seeing test results, the doctors were surprised that we had been able to have our four kids! Either Heavenly Father really helped things along in our getting those kids and they were all little miracles or suddenly things had changed. Either way, we feel Heavenly Father is letting us know that yes, we were supposed to have a fifth child, but that he or she needs to come another way, a different kind of miracle. We strongly feel directed to find a child who can come become part of our forever family through adoption.

Our Family
We think our family is a pretty good mix of love, faith, fun, hard work and chaos! We express our love and gratitude for each other every single day. We know the greatest joys in life come from family and faith. The relationships we have with extended family: parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces, nephews, and cousins are so important to us. The child placed in our home through adoption will be surrounded by people who will love them and support them throughout their entire life. Both of us grew up with siblings that were and are some of our very best friends. We know the importance of siblings and the loving friendships that they can offer. We cannot wait for our current children to extend that love to a new sibling!

Our Parenting Style
Every child is unique and needs to be parented differently. Our first child was pretty easy going, happy and slept well early on. We thought we were pretty fabulous parents! When the second came along, we realized it wasn't quite as easy as we thought and our fabulousness needed a bit of work! 

Each child has their own personality and so parenting each child takes on a different look. That being said, we do feel strongly about some core parenting principles. 

As parents we strive to:
   -Teach them that they are a child of God, who loves them, knows them, and wants to help them.
   -Teach them that we love them and show them that love unconditionally.
   -Read scriptures and have family prayer every single day. {We even have a fun tradition that was passed down from Natalie's family to do a little "cheer" after family prayers. We all put our hands in the middle and say "Suuuure love ya!"}
   -Spend time together as a family and with each child one on one. We feel it is so important to be there for them: help with school projects; attend their ball games, dance recitals and choir concerts; ride bikes together; or simply just listen to them. Another important part of being there for them is that Natalie is a stay at home mom.
   -Teach responsibility and hard work. One of our family themes or sayings is "You can do hard things." We believe it is important for them to know they can accomplish things that are challenging. We also believe everyone needs to help around the house with age appropriate chores. 
   -Encourage and help with education. We think education is pretty important. We love to read to our kids and help them with homework. We encourage them to aim high and someday get a college education or learn a trade.
   -Be active. Although an occasional show or computer game is fun, we encourage imaginative and outdoor play.
   -Be consistent in discipline. We try to clearly communicate expectations and use positive reinforcements. When needed, we use "time-outs" or assigning an extra chore. We talk about what happened and what could be done differently. 
   -Have fun! A child's laughter is the very best sound. We strive to have our home filled with love, laughter and joy!

Thanks and Love
Thank you for taking the time to get to know our family. Our prayers and thoughts are with you. Please know that if you choose our family to be part of your child's family we will forever honor and cherish you and your child. We want our child to know their story and know you. We hope to have a relationship that is comfortable for everyone. At the very least hope to exchange letters, emails and pictures. Your child will always be loved and cared for and will always know of your love for them.

With love and respect,
Nic and Natalie

Please feel free to contact us at nicandnatalieadopt@gmail.com 

We would love to exchange emails, talk to you on the phone and/or meet!

Hoping to Adopt!

Excited to make our announcement to those who didn't already know about our big family news! We are HOPING TO ADOPT! So excited and anxious about the journey ahead and the miracle Heavenly Father has in store for our family!

Our Story

We make each other smile 

I had recently returned home from a church service mission and returned to my "random" job at a sprinkler supply store. Come to find out it wasn't so random after all because that is where I met Nic, a landscape contractor, who came into the store. {Heavenly Father really does have a hand in our lives, even when we don't realize it!} Nic asked my boss for my phone number, who must have felt pretty good about Nic because he gave it to him! We dated off and on for the next year. {Poor Nic had to deal with a lot during that time while I figured things out!} I knew I loved him right away. I had never loved in such a way... but we were so different. I was a love to be around friends-dance-be goofy-play games kind of girl, while Nic was a much more mellow-not so social kind of guy. Over that year, I came to realize he had the qualities that really mattered: he was good, kind, thought of others, faithful, a very hard worker, made me laugh and smile {he's silly in his own right!}, he loved me, and boy, did I love him!

Just the beginning of our story

   
   In 2004, we got married in the Manti Temple. When engaged and as newly weds, we discussed adoption and were both excited and open about the idea. Through the next several years we were able to have 4 beautiful biological children and the thoughts of adoption, though still something we both admired greatly, seemed to drift from our minds. 

Little personalities seeping through

   After our 4th, we felt like we were supposed to have a 5th. But that kiddo didn't come. After a couple years, fertility testing showed that we were no longer able to have kids. The doctors were surprised from the results that we had our 4! Either Heavenly Father really helped things along to help us get those 4 kids and they were all little miracles or suddenly things had changed... either way, we felt Heavenly Father was letting us know that yes, we were supposed to have a 5th but that our child needed to come another way, a different kind of miracle. Once again, we feel Heavenly Father is in the details of our lives. This wasn't just a coincidence, but rather, Heavenly Father directing us to find a child who would come to be a part of our forever family through adoption.

Love these people