Being parents has always been our top priority. Bethany loves working with children every day in her role as a school psychologist. She can't wait to spend summers at the park together, go shopping for adorable outfits, and read bedtime stories.

Steven chose a career with flexibility to spend more time being a dad. He is so excited to pick kids up from school or daycare and spend time with them every day. He's especially excited to explore nature, science, and everything else together. We always love spending time with our nieces, nephews, and our friends' children, reading books, playing hide-and-seek, and just watching them play and learn. We can't wait to devote our time and attention to parenthood.

Steven About Bethany

Bethany is always focused on the people around her. She's so good at remembering little details about their lives. Not only does she keep track of important birthdays and holidays - she always surprises our family and friends with her thoughtful gift ideas. At work, she shows her strong moral character. She cares deeply about the needs of the students she supports and is willing to fight to get them what they need to be successful. On weekends and vacations, she has a spirit of adventure. She gets so excited to try new things, go new places, and meet new people.

Bethany About Steven

Steven is selfless, loyal, kind, driven, family-oriented, and inquisitive. From very early on in our relationship, he made it clear that family was his top priority, and he has consistently shown that through his actions. He always puts the needs of those he loves first and is someone others can rely on no matter what. Steven is kind to everyone he meets and treats others with warmth and respect. He genuinely listens to understand different perspectives and seeks opportunities to learn from people with different experiences and viewpoints from his own. He is also very driven and is always setting goals to better himself. His curiosity and love of learning help him stay informed and continually grow as a person. Above all, Steven is the kind of person who shows up for the people he loves, no matter the circumstances.

We both come from families that value education deeply. Steven's mother and Bethany's father are teachers, and we both work in schools today. Bethany works at a middle school as a school psychologist, where she gets to know students individually to support them. Steven spends some of his evenings working at a technical college where he helps teach young adults and high schoolers computer programming. We will do everything we can to make our home a place of learning. Our home will have plenty of books, opportunities to get outside and explore, and enthusiastic answers for all of the thousands of questions a child will have about the world. We will pick schools that provide high-quality education and supportive environments. We value education and culture, and Bethany is excited to share her love for the Spanish language with our home.

We're so lucky to have our parents and most of our siblings living nearby. Between holidays, graduations, baby showers, and family dinners, we rarely go long without time together. We were so excited when Bethany's sister moved super close! She and her husband just had their first, so we will have a cousin close in age just across the street. Bethany's family is super connected. She grew up next door to many of her cousins and spent her childhood out playing with them in a shared backyard with lots of bikes, toys, and playground equipment. She has six nieces and nephews who we adore and love to spoil.

Steven's family enjoys card games and sports, especially golf and running. His parents are retired and recently became grandparents for the first time. They are so excited to be there for their grandchildren. They have a big yard with a playset, trampoline, and basketball court. We both come from big families, with eight siblings between us, and we were raised knowing that family and especially children are the most precious things in life. Our families will be a wonderful support structure and we're so excited to expand that circle.

We live in a cute little neighborhood in a small suburb in Utah. The bushes and trees along the sidewalks have beautiful pink and white flowers for most of the year, and we also have a nature path nearby that runs along a small creek. Our neighborhood has a mix of apartments and different sizes of small and large homes, so there are families of all ages nearby. There’s a nice park nearby with a big playground. We love walking by and seeing all of the kids out playing. There are also ponds and a botanical garden a few blocks away that we enjoy biking to.

Our home has three bedrooms upstairs, and the main floor has our kitchen, family room, and dining room all in one big area. We love having friends over for dinner and chatting while we cook and their little ones play in our family room. Right now, we keep our books and musical instruments in one of our bedrooms, and the other is Steven’s office for when he works from home. We plan to turn the music room into a child’s bedroom and the office into a playroom.

To those considering placing their child in our home,

Thank you so much for being open to adoption and for considering us as potential adoptive parents. Caring for children is one of our core values. We are so excited for the opportunity to devote our love and attention to a child and build our home and lives around him or her.

We plan to create a safe, supportive, fun, and happy home. We love learning and education and will seek out good schools as well as tons of everyday learning experiences, from reading to exploring nature together. Our family will participate in a wide variety of sports, music, art, and other activities. Steven is especially excited to share his love of space and astronomy during family stargazing trips where we can explore the planets and stars together through his telescope. Bethany can't wait to read all of her favorite children's books as bedtime stories and go on fun adventures together to places like the museum, splash pad, and park.

We both chose our careers with parenting in mind. As a school psychologist, Bethany works with children every day and helps them navigate the challenges of school and life. Her school schedule will allow her to spend lots of time with the child we adopt as they grow and learn. Steven chose his career specifically with the goal of having the flexibility to be available for our family. He has prioritized flexible hours and remote work so that family time can be his first priority.

Unlike many couples, we learned that we wouldn't be able to have biological children before we started trying to have children. Thanks to our connection with family members, friends, and others who have experience with adoption and foster care, we had already spoken about and agreed that adoption was a path we were open to. When it became clear that having biological children wouldn't be an option, we were immediately aligned on adoption as the path forward for our family. Our families enthusiastically support us and will continue to support us and the child we hope to adopt.

We've been married for five years and chose our current home with the goal of starting a family here. After adoption, we would love to regularly share photos, letters, and videos. We will also be happy to travel for annual visits. We understand that adoption can be emotionally challenging, so we'll strive to be responsive and respectful of everyone's wishes. We've learned from our friends, families, and other stories that openness and honesty are the best approach to adoption, and we will be proactive and respectful in our approach to all of the relationships and communication involved.

We are devoted to being the best adoptive parents we can be, putting the wellbeing of the adopted child first in all we do, and treating the process and relationships with the care and respect they deserve. Thank you again for considering us as potential adoptive parents.

Love,

Steven & Bethany