Dear expectant parents,
There is a place in our home for your baby. A place where s/he will be deeply loved, encouraged to develop his or her own personal talents, and, have the best big brother the world might ever have seen. And there is also a place for you, to keep in touch to the level you would like and are comfortable with. Maybe it is hard at this point to imagine what that will be. We can’t imagine the hard time you must be going through and have nothing but admiration for you for considering adoption for your child.
Let us start by describing your child’s big brother! His name is Dominic and he was born in March 2015. He keeps asking us for a brother or a sister (or both!), about every other day… Domi loves to play with other children, our cats, dinosaurs, dragons and lego. He is empathetic, caring and gentle around younger kids, and is more than ready to welcome another child in the family.
And so are we, David and Theresa. We knew we wanted to adopt even before we had Dominic. He came to us via IVF, but we have left that path since many years now. Theresa’s sister-in-law was adopted at a young age, and it would be wonderful to build our family with another adoption.
David
I was born in the Netherlands and raised in a family with three boys of which I was the middle one. I have a large extended family and growing up I had a lot of fun with them. My mom’s youngest sister moved to Canada with her husband in the 80’s to run a farm, and through them I was introduced to this country. I fell in love with Canada and I feel fortunate to now call it my home. My aunt and uncle have six grown-up children and a growing number of grand children. They live near Montreal, so we visit often. We love their organic farm and the life they live there.
I work as an airline pilot. My grandfather gave me the aviation bug when taking me out flying remotely controlled model airplanes as a kid. I did my training in Manitoba in 2004, and then worked as a flight instructor, followed by regional airlines before joining my current employer. I love my profession and everything that comes with it! The job offers many perks, the biggest one being able to fly across the world for very little. It allows us to go visit our families in Europe a few times per year. Dominic loves seeing his grandparents and uncles and aunts. Likewise, we would love to show your child the world as we discover it.
During my time off I enjoy sports and music. I jog as much as I can and play the guitar, saxophone and piano (when Dominic lets me…). We love the outdoors and often go on walks and bike rides and also like canoeing and sailing.
Theresa
I’m originally from Sweden, and have also lived in Canada since 2004. I came here for my graduate studies in astronomy, and ended up staying since I met a very cute pilot… I have three younger brothers and my family are all computer geeks, who like to visit often. During my childhood, we would go camping almost every summer. This taught me to love other countries and cultures. I love camping, how it brings family closer together and makes you enjoy life more fully, in the moment.
My work is within the field of astronomy and I worked at a university before Dominic was born. I have continued to do research from home after he was born and been teaching as well. Just as I am now observing my son discover space and astronauts, I would love to share this with your child as well.
I share David’s love of music; I play the flute and piano and like singing and dancing. After we bought our house, we discovered that we really like gardening! Also, I have always loved cooking and making healthy, yummy food. I enjoy photography a lot and will share my photos of your child with you. My most rewarding interest is taking care of Dominic, and see life through his eyes.
David about Theresa
What I enjoy most of all is spending time with Theresa and raising Dominic together with her. Theresa is loving, has an amazing character and is always there to help others. She is a wonderful mother to Dominic, and there’s no doubt that she would be a stellar mom to your child as well. I admire her for how she always has something on the go. From publishing a paper in her field of work to building a strawberry box or playground in our yard.
Theresa about David
David is the best father I can imagine. I always knew he’d be wonderful at it, since as a flying instructor he was always so calm and patient. He is also very caring and makes sure to send cards to friends who are sick, and never forgets a birthday. He is amazing with Dominic, and there’s nothing I’d rather observe than when they read and sing and have fun together. I know that he would be exactly as loving and patient with an adopted child.
David and I complement each other very well in our relationship. He is the calm anchor, and I’m the one with crazy ideas (but sometimes that switches around!).
How we met
We met in March 2006 at an airport where Theresa took flying lessons, and David happened to be her instructor… We totally fell in love, got engaged, and said yes on a beach in Sweden in 2007. It’s been quite the ride, and over the years we’ve grown even closer together as we experience all the good, and sometimes the not so good things that life has in store.
Parenting
A child should always be surrounded by people who love them, and feel safe in that environment. That is the kind of home we will provide for your child, where he or she can develop their talents, follow their interests, and grow to their own potential. We would encourage your child’s interests and let them find their own talents, not just assume they will like what we like. We do not believe in physical discipline and prefer to use positive parenting.
We aspire to raise your child with a worldwide view and values that will make them successful wherever they may find themselves as they grow up. Through our European roots we would provide the opportunity of dual citizenship. Dominic has grown up with three languages (English, Swedish and Dutch) and it has been amazing to see how kids are like sponges and learn different languages easily in a natural way. He is now in French school (!) and has an easy time with it, perhaps because of the language exposure early on. We believe it’ll be good skills to have in his life as he grows up and are excited to provide the same for your child. Perhaps there is a language in your lives that you would like your child to learn?
It is our plan that Theresa will stay home with the children until at least the age of three, and, if they then are ready for part-time daycare, work part-time until their school age.
We live in Brockville, ON, in an old character house on a quiet street, with a big yard. Brockville is a community of 22.000 people, situated on the beautiful St. Lawrence River and the 1000 Islands region. It’s a great place for raising a family, with a relaxed country-like atmosphere, interesting history, and everything you need nearby, including good schools. It is centrally situated between Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.
We would like to keep in touch with regular meetings, as well as letters and sharing of photographs, and let your child grow up with a natural view of both sets of parents. Together with you, we’d like to work out a plan for this that you are comfortable with.
When it comes to religion, we will not push or lead a child one way or another. Theresa is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. David was raised Catholic and attends Theresa’s church occasionally, as does Dominic. We believe that a church can provide a good community and guidance in a child’s life, but we also know that many groups such as sports and community groups can meet that need. We desire to raise your child as open-minded as possible.
We would be absolutely honoured if you would consider us to parent your child. We’d love to meet with you and talk more about how we can join our families through adoption.
Learn more about us here: https://tdadoption.weebly.com/
