Our life is full of fun and adventure! We love to explore new places, and frequently travel in our RV. We love going to our family home in Montana or to the beach for the weekend. The dogs love a good car ride and running around at the beach or through the woods. We also enjoy exploring the country and new states. At least twice a year we go somewhere internationally (Caitlyn has been to over 25 countries!) Going to Mexico for the weekend is so easy from California, and we enjoy hopping over there when we can. We cannot wait to bring a little one on all our travels and see the world through their eyes. We travel with our siblings and their children all the time, so it will be fun to share those experiences with our children.

When we aren't traveling or playing with the dogs, Caitlyn can usually be found in her large garden where she grows everything from tomatoes and herbs to eggplants. Derek can be found swimming in the pool with the dogs or golfing with his brothers or nieces. We love being outside which is why we love California weather!

We are a dog family! We both grew up with a lot of animals from dogs and cats to rabbits and iguanas. Our dog family consists of 3 loving pups.

Roma- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (like Charlotte's from "Sex & the City"), almost 10 years old and is the queen of the house. She loves kids even in her older age. She loves food and will do anything for a treat!

Bogey- Blue tick Coonhound (like from the Movie, "Sweet Home Alabama" but Blue instead red) 9 years old. We fell in love because of our Bogey. We met at a brewery and Bogey found Caitlyn! He is a true southern porch dog and likes to sleep on the warm summer porch. He lets our nephews and nieces ride him and play with his super soft ears. He is a gentle giant.

Cooper- English Cocker spaniel- (like from "Lady and the Tramp" but a boy)he is our newest addition and only about a year old. He is a cuddle muffin and just wants to cuddle when he isn't playing fetch. He loves the water and will be in the pool all summer. He loves playing tag with our nieces and nephew.

About Caitlyn:

About Derek:

We live on the outskirts of the City of Trees, known as Sacramento, California. We grew up in the surrounding areas so all our siblings and parents are close by. We even live a five-minute walk from our oldest nieces and their parents, and 20 minutes from all our other family members. We go to many activities including neighborhood holiday parades and festivities together. We love that both our parents are close by so they can just stop by whenever and they get to enjoy their grandbabies daily.

We live in a quiet suburb with at least three parks within walking distance. Our community puts on lots of activities such as festivals, "drive in" movie nights, parades and has lots of community sports teams. Our home has four bedrooms, 4.5 bathrooms, 3-car garage, pool with spa, outdoor kitchen, large outdoor garden, and lots of grass for playing. We love our home and love to host family holidays and BBQs with friends. Our home is made for children and families. We already have one of our bedrooms dedicated as the "cousin room" which is for all our nieces and nephews to play in and to sleepover in when they have Uncle and Auntie dates.

We live about 1.5 hours from Lake Tahoe where we visit our family cabin for skiing and lake activities and about 2 hours from the beach which we travel to a lot via our RV.

We both come from big fun-loving families! We love being surrounded by our family all whom live near us. Sometimes we just stop over at our siblings or parents houses for a weeknight dinner! We love attending our nieces and nephews sporting and dance events.

There isn't a hosting event Caitlyn can't throw! We like to do big BBQs and holidays. On Easter we have a large confetti egg fights where we throw eggs at each other. On most holidays, Caitlyn's family gets together (about 100 people) to either exchange gifts, light fireworks, decorate Christmas cookies, or hunt for Easter eggs. We love traditions and can't wait to create and share some with your child. We celebrate with our immediate families for every holiday, birthday or because Derek caught some fish that week. Family is very important to us and we love being surrounded by them.

Our families are very excited about our plans for adoption. So much so that Caitlyn's sister and Derek's sister-in-law have already planned our nursery! Our nieces can't wait to babysit. We are surrounding by people that are ready to love and support this child.

Our names are Derek and Caitlyn, and we are forever thankful for you giving us the opportunity to be your child's adoptive parents. Your child will be in a fun loving home, full of laughter and support. If you pick us to parent your child, we promise to love them unconditionally. We promise to convey the selflessness of your decision and that it was done out of love. Your child shall want for nothing but will be instilled with all the traits that ensure they are a kind and happy child.

We want to adopt because we have so much love to give. We can't have our own biological children but we always knew we would to adopt. Adoption has always been something we have wanted and saw for our family. Caitlyn's brother is adopted and we have 2 cousins who have adopted as well. We have everything life can offer but we feel like a piece of the puzzle is missing without a child to share it with in our home. The word adoption is not something we will shy away from as we believe it is a blessing.

We have been married for over 5 years and together for 8 years. We went through 3 years of infertility treatments before we made the decision to stop and to focus our energy on adoption as we felt that was what we were being called to do. The hidden blessing of infertility treatments is that it has strengthened our relationship and we have been forged in fire together. We know we can face any obstacles life throws at us. We feel that we are well equipped in all areas to handle raising a child. That's why, we feel strongly about having an open adoption and will do everything in our power to maintain as much contact as the birth parents would like. We are excited to exchange letters, texts, video calls, and pictures with the birth parents so they know their child is loved and being well cared for. We hope there will be a time in the future that the child's birth parents want to meet or even share milestones together. We want what is best for the child and their birth parents. We desire to have open dialogue with the child's birth parents so we can adjust based on their or the child's needs.

We promise to respect you as your child's first mother. We promise to continue to support you and your child's relationship in the way you see fit. We promise to love your child and give them everything life can offer. Our hope is to create a family where your child knows they are surrounded by friends and family, including you, that loves them and will support them through life's journey. We promise to respect your wishes for the role you want to play in your child's life and will support you with the level of familiarity you are comfortable with. We promise to raise this child as our own. We promise to instill them with a strong moral compass through a Christ-centered upbringing. We promise to fill their life with lots of laughter, adventures, and love. But first and foremost, we promise to love your child unconditionally.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be considered to be a part of your family. We hope you gained some insight to who we are as people and that you felt a connection with us, our family, and home. We hope you felt our hearts and our sincerity. We respect you so much already for even considering us to be a part of your life. We understand the enormity of this decision and are here to support you in any way that feels right to you. Again, thank you for your consideration and we hope to have the opportunity to love your child unconditionally.

With all the Love,

Derek & Caitlyn