Derek & Greg

Dear expectant mother, Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our family. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to introduce ourselves and hopefully give you a glimpse into the kind of parents we aspire to be. We are Greg and Derek - A fun-loving, adventurous, family-oriented couple excited at the prospect of growing our family through adoption. We met online in the winter of 2015 while Greg was helping his sister’s family move cross country. A steady stream of text messages revealed a mutual love of the outdoors, travel, and, most importantly family. From all the car singing videos Greg sent, Derek also took quiet notice of how great he was with his baby niece. When Greg got back from his trip, we scheduled our first date – a run around Discovery Park in Seattle followed by coffee – on New Year’s Day. Trying new things and saying “yes” to adventurous ideas has been the foundation of our relationship ever since.  In 2018 we moved into our South Seattle home with our loving dog Frankie (a brindle boxer!). We were fortunate to find an incredible community of loving and supportive neighbors and friends, who now feel like family. Both sets of our parents also live in Washington, along with large extended families who can’t wait to be involved in our child’s life. Greg grew up on a dairy farm in Eastern Washington where, from an early age, he learned the value of hard work, along with the importance of family and community. After spending ten years as an accountant working with and for non-profits, Greg now oversees the operations team for a small investment firm in Seattle. His position allows him the flexibility to spend time doing what he loves: adventuring with Derek and Frankie, completing home improvement projects, and spending time with friends and family. He also spends a good deal of time volunteering, most recently as the board Treasurer for Seattle’s LGBTQ Center and Big Brothers Big Sisters, where he also spent a few years as a youth mentor.   Derek works in Sports Marketing for a sportswear company in Seattle. With a degree in journalism and a background in sports and coaching, he has been able to combine several of his passions into his career. He is thankful for an adjustable schedule that allows him to work from home most days and have flexible hours as we start our family. Outside of work, Derek is a loyal friend and family member. He is always the one to remember birthdays and anniversaries, show up to every family event, and check in with loved ones just to say hello. He tries to prioritize his daily run and spends time outside enjoying the sun whenever it makes an appearance! When we’re not working, we love to travel (most recently to France) and enjoy anything outdoors that lets us soak in the coast, mountains, and rivers of the Pacific Northwest. We also love road trips to see our family in Oregon and Montana. Seeing and experiencing the world with our child is something we really look forward to. Weekends at home have us tending to the garden, which is full of dahlias and rhododendrons, native northwest flowers and berries, and lots of summer veggies.  We knew early on in our relationship that we wanted to be parents. We both love kids and find ourselves spending as much time as possible with the many nieces, nephews and the other kiddos in our lives. We both share a similar story of visiting our nieces in Montana and watching one another play hide and seek/ push the girls on the swing and knowing in that moment that we had found the perfect person to start a family with. When it comes to our values as parents, we believe strongly in the following: Unconditional love and support: Our goal is to raise a confident, compassionate, and kind-hearted child. To do that, we will make sure our child feel loved, cherished, and empowered every day. Regardless of what life deals, our child will always know that our home is a safe space and that our loves is not conditional. Embracing their identity: It’s important that our child knows who they are, where they come from, and has the space to discover and embrace the full beauty of their story. A strong connection to family: We want to foster meaningful relationships with both our families and our child’s birth family, creating a community where they feel supported and celebrated. Curiosity and adventure: We hope to encourage a sense of wonder and exploration in our child, sharing our love for the outdoors, travel, and learning new things together. As our child grows older, we look forward to supporting and exploring the new passions and interests they come across. We hope this letter has given you an introduction into who we are and the values we place importance on as we start a family. We look forward to hearing from you and the opportunity to share more should you feel we have a connection. Whatever your path, we wish you nothing but the very best.  All our best, Derek and Greg

Derek & Greg