Alex & Monique

Hello from the beautiful Pacific Northwest! Alex is our engine, getting us on bikes or out for a hike. He entertains with board games, connecting us with family and friends. Monique is the heart of our home, cooking all sorts of dishes to bring our loved ones to the table.

We love our rural community. Monique works for a Christian college where colleagues and students are family. This family is committed to living God’s love for others around us. We are excited to raise a child in this community where we experience so much support. We can’t wait to share our hometown with our child.

We look forward to meeting you and learning about your hopes for the future, for both you and your child. We are open to building a relationship with you.

Who We Are

Six years ago, Alex rode his bicycle across the state to attend a mutual friend’s wedding. Our conversations that weekend were an instant connection. For our own honeymoon we biked along the West Coast with stunning views of mountains, forests, and lakes. We’ve continued to bicycle together ever since – on camping trips, in Hawaii and Greece, and around our hometown with our dog. We eagerly await the chance to install a bike seat for our child.

In addition to traveling and exploring nature, other ways we love to spend time together include:

Meet Monique

• I love learning–new recipes from around the world or a challenging new knitting pattern.
• I love stories– reading and creating my own stories.
• I can’t wait to share learning and imagination with a child.

  Ancient history is my passion and my job as a college history professor. I take students and volunteers with me on the archeology project I lead, teaching them about the past with their fingers in the dirt.

  What Alex loves about Monique:

• Her concern for students in need
• Her thoughtful solution to help a sick friend and caring for her dog
• Her openness to hearing my thoughts and ideas each day
• Her encouragement and support

Meet Alex

• I love camping–backpacking, bike-packing, or with our car.
• I love exploring–snowshoeing, SCUBA diving, or with my camera in hand, photographing nature.
• I enjoy board game strategy, solving crossword puzzles, and creating crossword puzzles.

  As I child, I loved building with Legos to understand how things work. This took me to engineering school. Now, I mix engineering and taxes for my job. I look forward to spreading out Legos with our child and seeing where their creativity takes them.

  What Monique loves about Alex:

• When he sees a need, he jumps right in to help
• His great sense of humor – he enjoys a good pun
• He makes me feel safe and understood
• He is tirelessly patient and gentle

Our Family

We both have large, close-knit families. We are thankful for our close relationships with family, especially with our sisters. Most of Monique’s family live in town or close by–her parents, a sister (and husband), grandparents, aunts and uncles, and many younger cousins (several with kids). Our favorite family holiday is Thanksgiving.

Alex has family across the USA and the world–his parents, 2 sisters (both married with kids), aunts and uncles, and several first cousins who are like siblings (married with kids). We visit them for Christmas or July 4th. Between visits, we have video chat birthday parties complete with costumes.

Our families are excited about our choice to adopt. Our little one will grow up surrounded by a loving family with plenty of playmates.

Our Home in Washington State

We live in Eastern Washington in one of the beautiful valleys that feed our nation. Our rural community is home to strong educational institutions and city parks filled with beautiful trees and play areas. Local natural habitats include miles of walking trails to explore the changing seasons. A short drive to the mountains connects us to hiking in summer and skiing in winter. We have both lived in big cities in the past, but we prefer the slower pace here.

Our beautifully updated historic home is in a neighborhood with several young families. We are walking distance to Monique’s work, our favorite grocery store, several parks, and our church. Our dog loves chasing her ball in our large, fenced back yard. Alex enjoys woodworking in the garage, building custom furniture and decor for our home. We look forward to snuggling our baby in our large primary bedroom until he or she is old enough to move to their own room, which we’ve already painted a cheerful green color.

Our Promise

We believe the best way we can give your child a hopeful future is to feed their curiosity, to walk alongside them as they learn, and to provide experiences to fuel their imagination. We want to raise our child to value family, faith, education, and responsibility. Most of all, we believe in sharing our unconditional love with our child.

We are open to sharing your child’s life with you so you can be part of their journey, if you desire. We create photo books each year, preserving our favorite memories together. We hope that the photos we keep taking as our child grows up, capturing their life with us in everyday and special moments, will be something we can share with you. If you choose to be part of your child’s life with us, we look forward to including you and those visits in our memory books.

We’d love to talk or answer any of your questions. Please call or text Lifetime at 1.800.923.6784.

In Closing

We made a quilt that represents our faith that a new life is out there waiting for us. This blanket is a symbol of our hope and eagerness to wrap our love and protection around our baby. It is a promise that we will always be there to comfort them and guide them as they grow and learn. We hope we will have the chance to meet you and get to know you and your hopes and dreams for your and your baby's futures.