Kati About Dan: Dan is someone that everyone likes and will give the shirt off his back to help someone. He is kind, gentle, and humble. His personality influences his work as an emergency room nurse. He is a natural caregiver, compassionate and keeps a calm head. These traits make him an excellent father. I admire that he can fix just about anything around the house and enjoys doing projects indoors and out. As a husband, he is nurturing and generous. He always puts our family before himself and is a hands on father. He works hard to balance his job and his home life.

Dan About Kati: Kati is bubbly, warm, and inviting to all people she meets. She also carries a protective “mama bear” quality for those she loves and will stand up for them and love them unconditionally. As a mother and wife she physically, mentally, and emotionally gives her all to her family. Children naturally gravitate toward her and she brings out the best in our children. I love her smile and how she makes sure that we all feel special, loved, and valued every single day. She has education in early childhood development that is an added bonus now that she stays at home with our children.

10. We have pizza and a movie night every Friday together.
9. We have special one-on-one time with each child where we can go out for a 'date,' run errands, or just play a game together.
8. Christmas is our favorite holiday and we start listening to holiday music in November-- or the first snowfall!
7. Dance parties are a common occurrence.
6. Kati is able to come eat lunch or volunteer at school.
5. The kids get to experience farm life at their grandparents’ house. This includes pony rides, playing with barn cats, having bonfires, tractor rides, and open space to run.
4. We have so many fun traditions! For the 4th of July we always make a special flag cake out of whipped cream, pound cake, blueberries, and strawberries! Yummm. On the first and last days of school, we always have brownies and lemonade.
3. Squirt gun and water balloon wars in the backyard are epic.
2. Each child has a special song that we sing before bedtime. Hudson has ‘You Make Me Smile’ and Reece has ‘You are My Sunshine’.
1. We are never short on hugs, kisses or "I love yous"

We have two wonderful sons. Our oldest, Hudson, is 7 and will be entering the 1st grade. Reece is 4 and will start preschool a couple mornings a week in the fall.

Our boys are the light of our lives and bring an incredible amount of energy and love to our family. Hudson is thoughtful and full of joy. He always wakes up ready to take on the day and to find an adventure. He loves school and learning how to read. Hudson has done all sorts of activities, but seems to enjoy swimming and music the most. This is special to us, as Dan was a swimmer and Kati was very involved in music. Hudson’s teacher says that he is thoughtful and very aware of the feelings of others.

Reece is talkative and loving. His favorite thing to do is play cars or ride his balance bike to the park. He is outgoing, affectionate, and the first to offer an “I love you”. He loves making others laugh and tries to be just like his big brother. If we have a chore or project to do, he is happy to help. Reece shows his nurturing personality by carrying around little stuffed animals that he cuddles and sleeps with- especially his puppy, Bones, and his toy lizard. Our children will be wonderful older brothers to this child and are incredibly excited! They will be loving and protective of a little sister or happily add another brother to their adventures.

Our community is small enough to have that friendly Midwestern feel, yet also offer everything you’d want to do! Parks, restaurants, movie theaters, malls, bike trails, splash pads, and an Aquatic Center are all nearby our home. Our town holds an annual ‘Freedom Festival’ in the summer with a ton of fun family activities. Our favorites are the hot air balloon glow and firework show! Education is a high priority for us, and the schools are rated top in the nation. They have extremely strong academic, music, art, and athletic programs.

After nine years of living out of state, we relocated back to Iowa to live closer to our families. We see the value of our children having a close relationship with their grandparents and aunts/uncles. Pop Pop and Nana live 10 minutes away on a horse acreage. We are often found there playing with the barn cats, sharing dinner together, swinging on the tree swings, having s’mores by the campfire, or even having a quick pony ride! Kati’s sister and husband also live nearby and have horses on their property. We love having an outdoor movie with popcorn at their house. Dan’s parents live in our town as well. They are always up for a hike at the nature trail, building a derby car, or grabbing ice cream at Dairy Queen.

Holidays are incredibly special with our families. On Thanksgiving, we have a football game and then play Minute-To-Win-It games for prizes. Christmas is spent at church, followed by a ham dinner and reading The Night Before Christmas. We have been vacationing in the same spot for over 25 years in northern Wisconsin. This brings wonderful memories like throwing rocks at Sunset Beach and eating at a restaurant with goats on the roof!

Our families adore spending time with our children and will welcome this child with open arms- and lots of hugs!

There really is no right way to thank you for considering us to be the parents of your child. Hopefully you know that we have utmost respect for you and the decision you are considering. We know that the love you have for your child is one like no other. That you would take any and all things to protect them or to be sure they don’t feel any pain. That you naturally put their needs before your own, even when it is the most difficult thing to do.

We can, however, assure you that we would offer a stable, loving, fun home with all of the opportunities they need for a positive future. We know the value of faith, education, kindness, and family, and will pass those values on to our children. Adoption had been something on our hearts from even before we had biological children. When Kati had her surgery and could no longer have children, we knew it was leading us down this path to expand our family.

When our first child was born, everything clicked for Kati. She truly felt that God had created her to care for and nurture children. Kati has education in early childhood development and helped children with special needs communicate as a speech language pathologist. When our sons were born, she knew that she wanted to stay at home with them to be there for all of those special moments. She loves being able to drop them off at school and to be waiting when they get home, to make them lunch and read books before naptime, to go on playdates and volunteer at their school. Kati has a way of making children feel incredibly loved and they express that love in return. Even if she is gone briefly to run an errand, they greet her as if she has been gone for days when she returns, full of smiles and hugs.

Dan’s natural ability to care for others and have to a calm head in stressful situations makes him an excellent nurse, but also makes him a wonderful father. Dan has worked in a variety of medical settings including neurology, intensive care, and now the emergency room. His medical knowledge has been a blessing to our family. Dan is humble, handy, and hard working. He teaches our children the skills they will need as adults and expresses how much he loves them. Dan is happy to do the things that are needed to keep the household running smoothly, from grocery shopping to dishes. He is an example of how to treat women and all people with respect and kindness. He takes his role as a provider very seriously and always puts our needs before his own.

We have known each other since our sophomore year of high school and have a solid friendship that is the backbone of our marriage. We approach parenting together, appreciate each other’s strengths, and respect one another. We were blessed to have wonderful marriages to admire in our own parents and are 100 percent committed to our family.

Dan & Kati