Keith's family is from South Africa, and still has very strong ties to South Africa. They celebrate their heritage often with family "bryes" and visits back to South Africa to see family and friends.

Cassidy's family is both Australian and Swedish. Cassidy's family still comes to visit often from Australia, and her family from Sweden come visit here in the United States, and her family occasionally goes and visits their family there in Sweden. Cassidy's family lived in Brazil for a few years during her childhood, and adopted a little girl while they were there. They continue to keep Brazilian culture at the heart of their personal family culture. Cassidy also has close family members who are Korean, and like sharing their culture with us, which we love!

As we move forward thinking about how we would address cultural diversity in our family, we would do a lot of what has already been happening within Cassidy's family. We would immerse ourselves in the history of that culture, food, and traditions. One of the biggest benefits that we have as a family for a child of a different race is that they wouldn't be the only one in the family who was of a different race. They would have multiple aunts, and cousins that were from other races. I think that this could help the child feel more comfortable with their differences from us as their parents, and feel more connected to other races and cultures as well.

Cassidy About Keith: Keith is the most steady, present person that I know. He has a natural presence of calm and safety, and I can rely on him to be there for me whenever I need him. He is also highly driven and approaches every goal with enthusiasm and determination. One of my favorite things about Keith is that he is so young at heart. He lives life beautifully and finds the fun in everything! He absolutely loves people. He'll never shy away from an opportunity to serve. This last winter, we had a heavy snow storm, leaving over 3 feet of snow overnight. This caused a lot of people's cars to get stuck on the road in our neighborhood. Keith spent the morning digging people's cars out without being asked. He is the most incredible person, with the most beautiful heart.

Keith About Cassidy: Cassidy has an outstanding love for little children. It is actually what made me fall in love with her by seeing the way she interacts with her younger cousins and how much they loved their older cousin "Casserole". She has extended this love to our nieces and nephews and she cares and talks about them as if she were their mother. Children are a love of hers, and have focused her educational studies on children's psychology. Having seen firsthand how the kids interact with her, I see a two-way love that cultivates an environment of learning.

We are very strong in our Christian faith. Our faith means everything to us, and we are very involved in our church. Cassidy is a Christian religion teacher at the local high school, and we both volunteer as leaders at our local church. Keith volunteers as an adult Sunday School teacher and Cassidy volunteers as a youth leader for the young women, ages 11-18. We attend 2 hour church meetings every Sunday. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is what has guided us the most through both the most painful and the happiest times in our lives. Our faith is also what helps us the most in keeping our family relationships healthy and strong. We plan on raising our child in our Christian faith, teaching them the teachings of Jesus Christ, and showing them what it looks like to live a faith based life by both how we act and what we say. We are very excited to share the beauty and strength that our faith can offer to our future little one.

We live in a sweet little community in Utah. We moved into a new townhome a few years ago, with our backyard touching the banks of a river. On the other side of the river is a large public park with playgrounds, camping sites, a fishing hole, as well as a family trail that runs for 17 miles!

Our home has 3 large bedrooms, 3 full bathrooms, an open kitchen and living room on the main floor, and a theater room in the basement, as well as a garage. We even have a playground directly in front of our home on a grassy area.

The neighborhood that we live in is very tight-knit. We often get together for neighborhood and local church activities. Our neighborhood is full of young, friendly families with young kiddos, and have weekly scheduled playdates on Thursdays at the church down the street. Keith's sister's family lives just two streets away with their three amazing little girls. We often take the walking trail along the river from our house to play with them. We have a heated neighborhood pool that has a perfect play area with fountains for younger children, which is always a great activity for local family and friends in the summer. We have neighborhood activities like trunk-or-treats for Halloween, Christmas parties, and Easter-egg hunts. We live just a few minutes away from award winning interactive children's museums, and an large aquarium. It really is such a beautiful place to live!

We are so lucky to be so close to our extended family. We have get togethers with our extended families at least once a week. Keith's sister Anna and her husband, with their three little girls live two streets away, so we are always playing together in the yard, or going swimming in our community pool. Cassidy's family lives very close by, and are very involved. Her entire extended family gets together at least once a month, including cousins, aunt's uncles, and grandparents. She has a large family, so the family parties are always a fun time! They love having pickleball tournaments in her grandparent's backyard pickleball court. Cassidy's extended family go on trips together often, creating so many fun family memories together. The kids also love riding Cassidy's grandparents horses on their little farm.

Both of our parents are amazing grandparents, and adore each of their grandkiddos. Cassidy's parents have a playroom built specifically for their grandkids to climb around in and explore, and often have sleepovers in the indoor treehouse. Keith's parents are always up for a fun activity outside. They love taking their kids in the "buggy" in their desert home in Utah, and playing on the beach at their beach house in California. Keith's mom is an amazing "Nana." She loves one-on-one time with her grandkids, reading their favorite books. Keith's dad ("Oupa") is famous for sneaking his grandkids yummy chocolates, and being their favorite playmate.

First, we want to start by saying that we recognize that your consideration in trusting your baby with us is remarkably brave, selfless, and difficult. We promise that we will honor your sacrifice and bravery, and make sure that the baby is aware of just how much you love them, and how that love is reflected in your choice of placing them in our home. We pray for you and the baby daily, and are so grateful in your consideration in having us be a part of this journey with you.

Parenthood is something that we have always dreamed of. We are surrounded by the sweetest, most joyful kids in our extended family, but have always wanted to have a family of our own. We know that adoption is a difficult choice. Cassidy has two adopted siblings, and we have been able to see what a blessing adoption can be for everyone involved. We want to make adoption a reason for celebration in our family. We want to teach this baby about the incredible strength and love that their birth parents had for them in choosing to find them adoptive parents that will love and support them in every aspect of their lives, and who could help them become everything that they want to be in life. While we always knew that we wanted biological children, we also have known for a long time that we wanted to adopt, and give a child an opportunity for growth, education, and beautiful life experiences. Initially, we had planned on having biological children first, then adopting a few years later. However, after 11 losses, we realized that God was leading us to adoption earlier than we had originally planned, and now we are beyond excited that our time to welcome a little one into our home has finally come!

We have so much love to offer. Keith is the kindest, most playful, joyful person. He is going to make an incredible father, and any child will call themselves lucky to be able to have a dad like Keith. Cassidy's character is best shown through her relationships with others. Her students get excited seeing her outside of school. Her extended and immediate family always approach her with a huge smile. She has a way of making each person feel like the most important person! She will be a brilliant mother.

Our dream as parents is to give this child the most magical childhood possible. We are lovers of travel, and love both international and domestic travel. Cassidy grew up for a time in Brazil as a child, and was able to see what an impact other cultures, people, and belief systems can have on a child, and can help teach a child first-hand what a beautiful place the world is, and what they can learn from the people around them, and how those learnings can help them grow into an even better and more loving person!

While we do love finding the beauty in travel, we also love the simple beauty in the day to day life. We as a couple are the very best of friends! We love spending all the time together that we can. We enjoy baking, going on bike rides, being with family, playing in any water nearby, and our especially weekly date nights together, laughing and making memories. We are excited for a little one to join in our family, and to make them a part of our loving family, showing them what it is like to be loved so deeply, and to love others.

As you consider us as this child's adoptive parents, we want you to know that we are open to continued connection and contact. We are open to phone calls, emails, pictures, and visits. Our hope is that our child feels loved and cherished by all of their parents!

Keith & Cassidy