Adoption Dreams

Our Dreams

2008-03-17T00:10:00.014-06:00

We are looking for a child that needs a home. We are open to many situations in birth families. We are not particular about the sex or race of the child. The child can be an infant (newborn) all the way up to 4 years old.

We would prefer a semi-open adoption (annual/semi annual letters and pictures to the birth parents) but are willing to discuss other options. We would love to meet the birth family to listen to their hopes and concerns for their child. We believe strongly in cultivating a relationship between the child and his/her birth parents so the child will know their heritage and their background. We plan on being very open with the child in teaching him about the unique circumstances of his birth.

We have an incredible support system in our family and our friends. We have several friends who have successfully adopted and some of our friends were even adopted themselves! All their experiences have been positive.

Our decision to adopt is an answer to prayer. We are confident that we would be able to love and care for a child that is placed in our care.

Please contact us at: adoptdreams@gmail.com

Together We Make A Family

2008-03-16T23:14:00.022-06:00

We love spending time together as a family, and we try to make the moments memorable as possible. We have taken family trips to both Disney theme parks. We've been to the Grand Canyon and driven from Mt. Rushmore to the coastal waters of the Pacific Northwest. But we also do many activities close to home.

We seem to be the 'outdoorsy' type. We go hiking, camping and boating in the summer.

We also spend time working in the yard; going for walks in the park; playing frisbee golf and reading on the swing in the backyard. During the summer, almost every meal is cooked on the grill and eaten outside on the deck. We enjoy eating dinner as a family and find that as the evening wears on, we are lingering around the table discussing the day. Sitting at the dinner table is a great place to discuss weekly events, happenings in our children's lives as well as sharing a joke or two.

Just because it's winter outside doesn't mean that we have to stay inside!! We live very close to a city park that has a fun hill for sledding.

We also live very close to the mountains where it's great for cross-country skiing and snow mobiling!! (We don't own machines, but we like to rent them each winter.)

Sometimes it is too cold to play outside, so we break out the board games. We (seriously) have played one game of Trouble for two hours straight. We love card games (Michelle and Aly play a very competitive game of Speed that is a blur for observers). We were finally able to obtain a Wii gaming system and we enjoy playing that together as well.

Our family motto is: "Making Memories"

Our family belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS or Mormon), and we strive to live it's teachings and values every day. That includes involvement in many activities as well as weekly Sunday attendance at church. Aly is active in the Young Women program which is for girls between the ages of 12 & 18. Michelle is also involved in that program and takes all the girls to a camp for a week each summer.

Adam loves attending his Primary class (Sunday School) and loves his teachers. Calvin teaches a Sunday School class for adults each Sunday.

We believe that families can live together for eternity and strive to be worthy of that blessing. We believe that worshipping in a temple is one of the ways that can happen. Michelle and Calvin have a goal of attending the temple at least once a month.

The Children

2008-01-06T22:36:00.011-07:00

Aly is 18 years old and attending cosmetology school. She is passionate about performing arts. She has been dancing since she was in kindergarten and was on the high school dance team, which she loved. She loves singing and took vocal lessons for many years. She has played the piano and violin and guitar. She has participated as supporting cast many musicals and loved the experience. She plans to attend college after receiving her cosmetology licence, majoring in music.

Aly is a wonderful big sister. She will play Nintendo with her brother, when he asks, and they love playing the game Trouble. If he gets hurt she is quick to offer a comforting hug. Aly's parents trust her completely and ask her to babysit when they go out on dates, which she willingly helps out with.

Aly was an only child for 10 long years. Each year for Christmas, she would ask Santa for a little brother or sister. Imagine her excitement when we found out she was finally going to have one! Sometimes little brothers can be a pain (they love to tease!) but overall, they have a great relationship! For example, her brother will come up and give her a big hug and say 'I'm sorry' when he's gotten into her bedroom. The hug makes up for the intrusion.

Aly is excited that we plan to move forward with adoption. We know that she will love her new brother or sister and treat him/her with respect and devotion and love.

Aly is a great big sister!!!
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Adam is eight years old. He is in 2nd grade and loves going to school!!! He's sweet and loving and believe it or not, he still loves to sit on his mom's lap and cuddle in the mornings after he wakes up!!
He's also very intense, and does everything with a passion that can't be equalled. He is the biggest Michael Jackson fan in our town. He loves the music of MJ as well as the dance moves. Sometimes, when he thinks no one is watching, we catch him Moon Walking across the kitchen floor.

Adam loves to read and learn about many different things. He loves marine life like whales and dolphins. He can identify many sharks by just looking at them. He is fascinated by the Titanic and thinks that every April 15 we should commemerate the day the great boat sank!

He started piano lessons in kindergarten and is a fast learner. He also wants to learn how to play the violin and the "rock and roll guitar" because he already has plans to start his own band!!

Adam prays regularly for a brother or a sister to join our family. One thing he always says is, 'Mom, after we get our baby....' It's definitely something that is on his radar!! We think he would make a wonderful big brother and we know that he would be helpful and loving.

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We love our pets too! We have a dog, Lola who is an important member of our family. She is a fun loving mix --cock-a-poo -- which combines two great breeds; cocker spaniel and poodle.

Michelle a.k.a. Mom

2008-01-04T22:59:00.006-07:00

Michelle loves being a mom.

She was raised the second child out of 4 in a mid-size city in Idaho. Her growing up years were secure and comfortable. She was taught how to cook (well) by her mom and how to play softball and Frisbee by her dad. She loved sleeping under the stars in the summer and hooky bobbing in the winter (that's where you tie a sled to the back of a snowmobile and get towed!) Michelle has always been a bit of a 'cookie queen' and actually sold dozens of cookies on a weekly basis when she was in high school.

Michelle has always been friendly and outgoing. It seems that everyone is her friend; from the person standing next to her in the check-out line in the grocery store, to the person she passes on the street. I guess you could say, she loves to talk!!

Michelle is a stay-at-home mom and loves her job. She is very supportive of her children and their activities. She prides herself on the fact that on their birthday they get a homemade decorated cake:

and at Halloween they get a homemade costume:

Michelle loves the simple life. She loves spending time in the mountains and on the boat with her family. Or, she loves just sitting in the swing in the backyard reading. She spends her free time helping out in the elementary schools in town as a volunteer, helping with the reading and music program. She has also found a passion for photography and is trying to learn all she can on taking better pictures.

Calvin a.k.a. Dad

2007-12-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

Calvin is a fun-loving, happy guy. There is very little that upsets him and much that makes him happy.

He was raised the 4th child (out of 8) in a small town in central Wyoming. He had a fun, carefree youth, where he was taught how to work hard and play hard. He and his brothers worked at the family butcher shop and grocery store. When they weren't working, they were goofing off -- digging big holes in the hopes of reaching China, floating the river on inner tubes, and swimming in natural hot springs that are in his town. (Unfortunately, you don't have the time to hear of all his exploits as a child/teen!!) Their family was never rich, but they were loved and they loved each other.

When he turned 19, he served a mission for our church in Winnepeg, Canada. He worked in the Manitoba area for two years and was honorably released in November 1986.

January of 1987 through present shows his ever present work ethic and his love for fun. He graduated from college with a degree in accounting (1992) and has worked in health care finances ever since -- working in small hospitals along the way.

Recently, he purchased a boat and that has been one of his greatest joys. During the months when the weather is warm, he comes home from work, puts on his shorts, grabs his life vest and a package of Oreos and says, "Let's Go!" He has named the boat 'Makin' Memories' and that has become the family motto. He (and Michelle) understand that the amount of time they have with the children is very short and they want to create the best possible memories for them to carry throughout their lives.

Some other activities he enjoys are: camping, hiking, biking, working out at the gym, flying (he earned his private pilots licence) and computers. He is a great dad and has always enjoyed playing Candyland or Chutes and Ladders with the kids. He is a good husband and treats Michelle like... well... a Queen. For their anniversary he always buys her roses; one for each year. He likes to surprise her with an occasional weekend away.

For a good story, ask us about how his nose got broken!

How We Came To Be

2007-12-24T11:43:00.004-07:00

First of all, we'd like to introduce you to our little family:

Calvin and Michelle have been married for 22 years!! We met while we were in college, Calvin had just returned from spending two years serving a mission for the LDS church in Canada and Michelle had just finished her first semester of college.

We like to say that it was "friendship at first sight." Calvin was intrigued by Michelle's ability to have fun and her infectious laugh. Michelle was intrigued by Calvin's hilarious sense of humor. She often teases him that he was the skinniest person she'd ever laid eyes on. They spent a lot of time together, just being friends, and it is that friendship that their relationship is now based.

Calvin was such a good friend, that even though he had started to feel some attraction to Michelle, he was the person that delivered a dance request to another boy for her!! (It was a Girl's Choice Dance.) Michelle was such a good friend that when Calvin promised his brother to go on a double date and he couldn't find someone, she spent lots of time on the phone, calling friends and acquaintances trying to make a connection for him. Finally, after many fruitless attempts to find Calvin a date, they decided that if he was going to help his brother out, he'd take Michelle. So, the story they tell now is; Calvin asked Michelle out on their first date because he was desperate and Michelle felt sorry for him, so she said yes. ;-)

(An attempt at humor.)

From that moment on, they spent every every moment together that they could, enjoying each other's company and building a solid relationship.

Introduction

2007-12-21T10:43:00.002-07:00

This is the first posting in a blog that I hope to create that introduces our family to birth parents, hoping that somewhere, somehow a match can be made. We would like to use this format to aid us in the search for a child that is looking for a loving, forever family.

As we create this site, we hope to show how our family interacts with each other, how we love each other and how our family dynamics can be increased and improved with the addition of another person to love.

Stay tuned to meet our family: Calvin (Dad), Michelle (Mom), Aly (age 17), Adam (age), and Lola the dog.