You can reach us at iaacottawa@hotmail.com or at (613) 823-1321 (please call collect). Our adoption practitioner in Ottawa is Adele Blair and she can reached at (613) 825-2332 or adeleblair@rogers.com. You can also contact Cathy Farrell in Thunder Bay at (807) 343-9120 or nosas@tbaytel.net.

We see adoption as a very positive way to form a family. We will teach your child that adoption is a wonderful characteristic in their identity. We will tell him or her that you made this decision out of love for him. We will be glad if you choose to keep in contact with your child because a child has never too much love and we want your child to know whom he/she came from.

Hi,

As you read this letter looking for guidance and inspiration, we are waiting for someone who will decide to plan an adoption for their child. We wish that you will come out of this with a positive outlook, whether or not you decide to parent your child. We strongly believe that by joining our forces, you will give birth to a new life and together, we will ensure that this new child will have all of our support to become a person ready to embrace life to its fullest.

Our Daughter, Lara
We are proud parents of our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Lara. We adopted Lara when she was six days old. She was born in Thunder Bay. Her birthmom is full Ojibway, and her birthdad is French-Canadian. We have a full open adoption with Lara’s birthfamily. We know her birthmom, aunts, grand-parents and cousins. Trust us -- it gets expensive at Christmas time -- 10 kids to buy gifts for! However, is it ever worth it!

Lara came in our lives as a complete blessing. Even as a small child, she has brought us so many new meanings and has amazed us, just for whom she is. We have deep respect for her aboriginal heritage. We participate in drumming circles, go to powwows, consult elders and learn about the native culture to pass it on to her.

About Us
We met when we were 19 years old and have been inseparable ever since. It has been 15 years of happiness. We have grown and learned together and overcame many challenges with faith in ourselves and in us as a couple. In 2003, we officially tied the knot and celebrated our marriage and love with our family and friends. We invited our guest for the reception in our own backyard!

We own our spacious three-bedroom home since 2000 in a quiet suburban neighbourhood of Ottawa. Our fully fenced backyard is quite large and provides plenty of room to play. We even have wild rabbits visiting us. We also enjoy walking in the nearby parks forests. Our neighbours are friendly and most have young children.

We enjoy an active lifestyle that includes skiing and snowshoeing in the winter and camping and canoeing trips in the summer. We both hold a Black Belt in Taekwon Do. Our family owns a small house in southern France, where we like spending vacation time.

Richard about Natasha
I love Natasha. She is a beautiful and loving woman. She has an outgoing personality and is very friendly. Most people find it easy to talk with Natasha. She makes others feel comfortable and she does not judge people. She is courageous and has a strong personality. When she puts her mind into something, it will be accomplished, even when obstacles need to be overcome.

Natasha enjoys simple things like spending time with friends and family, having a nice Sunday meal and listening to music. Natasha loves kids. When we got Lara, Natasha was able to breastfeed her for 10 months with the help of lactation hormone supplements. She absolutely loved the experience, and will definitively plan it with our next child. She loves talking with children and is a good teacher. She will enjoy reading bedtime stories and playing tickles with our child. She is a great swimmer and plans on teaching our child how to swim. Natasha will know how to instil good values in our child. She loves participating in aboriginal activities. She learned how to drum and makes moccasins and regalia for Lara.

Natasha was born in Bracebridge, Ontario in the beautiful Muskoka region. She is an only child who spent five years in France before moving back to Canada to live in Ottawa. She went to Carleton University where she got her Bachelor in Civil Engineering. Currently, Natasha enjoys her job as a Municipal Engineer. Her passion is stormwater management. She has a good relationship with her boss and her co-workers. She is however, planning to take her parental leave to care and bond with your child. She is also entitled to additional sabbatical year with her company and keeps telling me she will take it to spend more time with the children. Natasha loves traveling, and I know her enough to know that she is already planning a special trip with our family.

Natasha is a great mom.

Natasha about Richard
Richard is my best friend and the love of my life. I love his sense of humour and his simple way of enjoying life. He likes sports, especially mountain biking, but he also loves it when I make pancakes (or should I say crepes) on Sunday mornings. It is a good thing that he is active!

Even though he knew that I couldn’t get pregnant since the beginning of our relationship, he never wanted to leave me. He gave me faith in myself and in us as a couple. Richard is a very gentle person with a heart of gold. He is always ready to dedicate himself and help others around. He loves spending time with Lara. He likes making her laugh and reading stories but mostly he is very receptive to her aboriginal background. One of his friends gave him an Eagle Feather because of what he was doing. When I see him with Lara and other children, I think that he is just like one of them.

Richard is a great dad.

Richard was born in Longlac, Northern Ontario. He moved to Ottawa after high school to study civil engineering technology at La Cité collégiale. Now he works as a Road Construction Technologist. He knows a lot about asphalt. If you have any questions on asphalt, he would love to talk about it, but nobody is forcing you. And by the way, he is sorry about the potholes! He has a good relationship with his boss and co-workers. He is planning to take a lot of vacations to bond with your child. He probably won’t have much of a choice once I have planned our great family trip together.

Our Views on Parenting and Adoption
We see adoption as a very positive way to form a family. We will teach your child that adoption is a wonderful characteristic in their identity. We will tell him or her that you made this decision out of love for him. We will be glad if you choose to keep in contact with your child because a child has never too much love and we want your child to know whom he/she came from.

Our wish is to have the opportunity to raise your child. We want to experience the joys and rewards that parenting brings to a couple. We also want Lara to have a brother or sister in her life. We know that it has its ups and downs but we always embrace our parental role with great commitment. We will take pride in guiding your child through all of life’s experiences. Like we do for Lara, we will honour your child’s successes and we will heal the sorrows.

We will encourage your child to do the best he/she can in school and provide opportunities for higher education. We speak French and English and will teach your child both languages. We do not believe in using physical punishment with children, but rather have clear guidelines for children lo learn appropriate behaviour. We believe children should be shown respect, love and guidance. We are ready for the greatest challenge that is parenting and we promise that your child will be loved and in caring arms.

As we are already showing Lara the Seven Grandfather First Nation Teachings, your child will also have the opportunity to learn them: Wisdom, Truth, Humility, Bravery, Honesty, Love, and Respect.

From the bottom of our hearts,
Natasha, Richard and Lara