Hello!
We are Michelle & Daniel. If you’re reading this, we are so grateful to know that you are considering us to be part of your adoption plans. Adoption has always been part of Michelle’s life. One of her sisters was adopted from Hong Kong when Michelle was 2 years old, and members of her extended family are adopted. This is something Michelle has always wanted to do since she was a child.
We are ready to add to our family through adoption. When we told family and friends that we were starting the adoption process, it was not a surprise to anyone seeing as this is something we have always discussed and planned to do one day. As a couple, we have talked about adoption since we first met over 15 years ago. We would like you to be part of our family and hope to welcome both you and your child into our lives. The door will always be open to you.
Our Story
We met 15 years ago when we were both studying at Kent University in the UK. After we graduated, our shared love for travel and our childhood expat background meant that we started exploring options to move to a different country. In 2013, we emigrated to Canada. We have been in Toronto for the past 7.5 years and we’ve chosen to call Canada our new permanent home. We married in 2013 and had a destination wedding in Portugal.
Together we love to travel abroad, as well as within Canada. We are both foodies so spend our free time going out to restaurants, spending time with our friends, going on hikes with the dogs, watching films and staying at various different cottages often, so we can see more of cottage country each time.
Dan is the youngest sibling and has 3 older sisters as well as twin nieces and two nephews. Michelle is the oldest sibling and has 2 younger sisters. Your child will be welcomed, accepted into the family and showered with constant love!
What Michelle says about Dan
What can I say about Dan? He’s funny, although maybe not as funny as he might think… He’s been perfecting ‘Dad’ jokes since I can remember – they can only get better (or worse, depending on how you look at it)! He’s calm in all situations and a very supportive partner. I love how family is important to him as seen with his close relationships with his sisters, parents as well as my own family. Kids love him and our pets adore him as he’s a very caring person. Dan is very calm, patient and kind and would make a great Dad.
What Dan says about Michelle
Michelle may be small at just over 5foot tall, but what she lacks in height, she makes up for in personality. She stands up for what is right, puts friends and family first and is always in your corner. Her caring nature can been seen with her volunteering for local animal rescues and her love for our own animals. She likes to dance for no reason whenever any song comes on and would make a fun Mum.
Daniel’s Background
Dan comes from a family of creatives and artists. He is a professional photographer and is one half of the wedding photography business he has with Michelle. Dan is also a 3D artist in film & TV, having worked on movies such as Wonder Woman and Fast & Furious.
Dan has also had an international upbringing and was born in the UK in 1986 but moved to Belgium when he was 4 years old. He lived there until he finished high school and then returned back to the UK for university (where he met Michelle who was also studying there).
Dan is fluent in French, English and conversational Dutch as a result of being brought up in Belgium. As a child he would travel around Europe (a lot of the time on road trips) with his big family during vacations.
Dan obtained a Bachelors degree in Multimedia, Technology & Design as well as a Masters in Digital Visual Effects.
Michelle’s Background
Michelle has had a multicultural and international upbringing and spent the first 3 years of her life in Hong Kong. One of her sister’s was adopted in Hong Kong during this time. The family then moved to the Netherlands for 2 years before moving back to the UK.
Michelle’s parents were both born in Tanzania, although both her parents’ families were originally from Goa, a Portuguese ex-colony in India. Her parents emigrated with their families to the UK as young children.
During her childhood, she was supported by her mother academically, as well as encouraged in the arts when she pursued piano lessons, dance classes (ballet, modern & jazz) and theatre.
Michelle obtained a Bachelors degree in Spanish and Sociology, studying in both the UK and Spain.
Michelle then worked as an accountant for a few years but eventually left the corporate world after placing a greater importance on a work/life balance and doing something you love. She has been a full time wedding photographer for the past few years.
Pepper, Phoenix & Zelda
Pepper & Phoenix are 6 and 7 year old Tamaskan dogs. They love cuddles with humans and are protective and loyal. They have been very caring and loving towards our past foster kittens. They love snow and trips to cottages that we take every year.
Zelda is named after Michelle’s favourite videogame. She is a hypoallergenic Siberian cat. Zelda is calm, loves people, enjoys TTC outings and loves joining us on cottage trips.
Values & Parenting
We have both experienced and lived a diverse & multicultural life and our friends and family are from all different walks of life. A child in our life will gain exposure and learn tolerance towards people from different cultures and backgrounds and learn to respect and know that everyone deserves to be treated equally.
As a couple we have mutual respect, love and support for each other. We will work together to raise a child together with unconditional love.
When it comes to parenting, we believe in listening, understanding, having fun and communication. Patience is extremely important and spending quality family time is important to us, as well as one-on-one activity time with each parent.
Our Home & Community
We are lucky to have a close network of friends and currently have 4 godchildren between the two of us. We have an extensive network of friends (and their kids) in the city and this includes both Canadian and European friends, some we have been friends with since long before we moved to Toronto in 2013 (three of our close friends also moved from the UK to Canada 7 years ago)!
We bought our first house on Queen West in 2014. Our townhouse is 3 storeys, has open plan living and has a private terrace which we love to use for hosting BBQs in the summer or making brunch on weekends. Our home is very close to… everything! We live in a diverse & multicultural neighbourhood with other young families, walking distance to multiple parks, easy access to public transit, restaurants (we love food!) and schools.
Adoption, Openness & Our Relationship with you
Adoption has been part of our lives for a long time now. Michelle has been touched by adoption for over 30 years with her sister, uncle and cousins. We know that “family” isn’t about blood. It’s MORE than that. It’s something that we’ve always wanted to do and something we’ve talked about for the last 15 years. A child living in our home should, and will always know, where they came from.
We are committed to a lifetime of openess and would be happy to send texts, emails, calls as well as face to face meet ups. However, we would only choose the level of openess that you are comfortable with. We know that there will be a link with you forever and would love an open adoption relationship with you, if this is something you also want.
Lastly, our promises to you
- We promise to love your child unconditionally
- We promise to provide a loving home surrounded by people who will care and love your child too
- We promise to have family dance parties regularly
- We promise to incorporate any cultural traditions into our family that are important to you and that you want your child to be part of
- We promise that your child will always know where they came from and who you are
- We promise to commit to the level of openess that you are comfortable with
- We promise that you will always be part of the family & the door will always be open to you
We will set up a “23 snaps” account where we will regularly post updated photos and where you can access these via the app or email, if and when you want. We look forward to getting to know you and hope to welcome you into the family.
