We are outgoing and enjoy any activity being outdoors. We love hiking and live so close to lots of different trails. Derek enjoys golfing, skiing and playing any team sport. We both enjoy bicycling, running and working out and look forward to sharing our love of sports and being active with a child.

Derek has volunteered as a football coach and enjoys teaching kids how to play different sports and enjoys helping them improve on their skills. Cher has volunteered at The Children's Center working with young children with behavior issues and children who have experienced trauma.

We love spending time with friends and family playing board games and card games. We have a Phase 10 game tournament and a Cornhole game tournament with family on every holiday throughout the year. We also have a lip sync contest on Thanksgiving every year with Cher's family members where everyone hopes to win the dollar store trophy. No matter how hard the adults try, somehow one of the kids always wins!

We enjoy traveling and having new adventures. Our motto is "Core and Explore." We have our "core" favorite things to do and we always add a new experience to our trip. Sometimes the "explore" becomes part of our "core."

Cher likes to describe Derek as a big teddy bear. He is strong, brave, trustworthy and keeps you safe with a huge heart full of love and kindness. Derek has the best sense of humor and keeps Cher laughing ... especially through hard times. Derek is Cher's rock and keeps her grounded. Derek is a good listener and gives helpful feedback and has a great ability to build people up with encouragement and empowerment. Kids LOVE Derek. Maybe because they too see his lovable nature and kind, trustworthy and fun-spirited heart.

Derek says Cher is his best friend. She is his voice of reason. She's smart, supportive, confident and has a contagious laugh. Derek admires that Cher is positive and always looks for the silver lining. Derek loves that she is patient, trustworthy and has a joyful spirit. She stands as his equal and is independent. Derek loves that they listen to each other's opinions and even though sometimes they are different, neither of them have the need to be right or prove the other wrong. Derek loves that Cher is organized and a planner, yet she'll still do things spur of the moment. Derek loves that they have fun together; they love each other AND like each other.

We have many diverse friends and family from different cultural backgrounds: African American; Hispanic; Indian; Muslim; Asian and Polynesian.

We want to help our child have a greater sense of racial pride by acknowledging racial identity and provide role models they will relate to. Our city has many multi-cultural festivals throughout the year and we are excited to take our child to these fun events celebrating diversity and learning about different cultures.

We plan to include multicultural books and toys such as a monthly subscription box of black history and excellence for kids called, Because of Them We Can. Our child will grow up with diverse friends and other children who are of the same background. We are so excited to become a multi-racial family and share all our love with a child.

We live in a beautiful two-story home in Utah. Our quiet neighborhood street is only three blocks away from a library. The public elementary school and two private schools are nearby as well as several parks with playgrounds and a neighborhood swimming pool. Every year we see lots of trick-or-treaters as our area is filled with families.

Utah is a family friendly state with five national parks; family friendly hikes everywhere you go; libraries; museums; and considered a fun and safe state for children.

Our home has four bedrooms and three bathrooms with a fenced in backyard. We have an open family room and kitchen upstairs with lots of light which is probably Cher's favorite place. There's a similar open family room and kitchen downstairs that's Derek's favorite with leather couches and big screen TV for movies and sports. We've converted our two car garage into a workout studio which Cher will also train clients in when we become parents so she can stay at home with our child.

Both our families are very excited for us to be parents! This will be the first grandchild for Derek's parents. It's very important to us to create memories with both our families and all of them look forward to sharing our traditions with this child as well as making new ones!

Every Christmas is spent in Canada or on vacation with Derek's parents. We always have lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner; we work on a 1,500 answer crossword puzzle with family and friends, open stockings while having cherry danishes and compete in various games with extended family in Canada that evening.

Both Cher's sisters have children which makes it so fun when we visit them or they visit us. Since our time during Christmas is spent with Derek's family, Thanksgiving has become "Thanksgivingmas" with Cher's family. We have "Christmas crackers" which are cylinder wrapped gifts with a paper crown, toy and a joke/riddle inside. We open Christmas presents after Thanksgiving dinner and then have our lip sync contest winner gets the trophy (from the dollar store)!

We enjoy playing cards, board games and any outside activity with each family and all our friends.

As we sit to write this letter, our hearts are pounding with excitement and big feelings ... mostly because we know how much lives can change because of open adoption. We're thinking you're looking for a wonderful home and future for your child and we're looking to become parents to share our love and lives with a child. Perhaps we are looking for each other?

We have a strong relationship and not only love each other we like each other. We've been married over 10 years. We love spending time together and make positive memories with each other and our families.

We spend Thanksgiving with Cher's family and celebrate Christmas on that weekend as well and we call it Thanksgivingmas. This gives Cher an excuse to decorate early for Christmas since it's her favorite holiday. We also have a lip-sync contest at this time. No matter how hard the adults try (costumes, dance moves, slide shows), one of the kids always seem to win the coveted dollar store trophy. We envision having our child participate in all this fun and excitement with their cousins and have their face light up when they win the trophy.

We fly into Canada on Christmas Eve day to spend the week with Derek's family and to visit with friends he has had since middle school. The smell of Derek's moms lasagna always welcomes us for dinner that evening and makes us feel we're home. Christmas morning begins with cherry danishes (not that good, but tradition), Christmas music and opening stockings the Parents still fill for us. Cher loves getting a new toothbrush and other essentials that are in the stocking every year. Later that day all the extended family gets together for dinner and fun games with prizes. During the week, we all work on a 1500 plus clue crossword puzzle. We look forward to all these traditions each year and are excited to share these experiences and make new ones with a child.

We love hiking and have so many trails near our home it's hard to pick a favorite. We are so lucky to have all four seasons in Utah. We really can hike most of the year. We look forward to going on hikes with our child and sharing the beauty of the seasons with them.

Derek grew up playing sports ... hockey and football became his favorites. His parents supported him and went to all his games ... even a championship football game in JAPAN! Derek has taught Cher all about football and she loves watching it because now she understands the game. We are excited to share our love of sports and being active with our child and will support them in whatever sport or activity they choose and have passion for. We can't wait to be the supportive parents like Derek's were for him.

The only dream we have for our child is to be a happy, kind, successful human making a positive impact on the people they come in contact with. We know every child is different and will have different goals and ideas on how to accomplish those dreams. We will be supportive and give them the opportunity to try all the things they are interested in to find what they love. We will start a college fund so they will have the privilege of going to a university of their choosing. We hope to instill a love of learning, exploring, enjoying traditions, being kind and doing good.

We will send updates, letters and pictures to you if it is your desire. We hope to have a healthy relationship with you filled with respect and love. Your child will know you love her/him. Regardless if we are the right fit for you, we wish this decision turns out exactly the way you need.

With Love,

Derek & Cher