Hello, we are Nicolette and Dan! Thank you for choosing to hear our story and learning more about us as prospective adoptive parents. 

We began our life together when our close friendship developed into a long-term romantic relationship.  When we were dating, we loved spending time together with our families while reminiscing about our favorite childhood memories growing up in the charming Christmas City of historic Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Sharing our common interests in movies, 1980s pop culture, Christmas, and devotion to our families, we dated for three years before getting married in 2001. As a happily married husband and wife, we spent two years creating a warm and welcoming home ideal for raising a baby.  

Eager to take on the role of Momma and Daddy, we welcomed our beautiful daughter, Nicolette Emma in 2004. Four years later, we were blessed with our son, Daniel Alexander. As loving and devoted parents, we live for our children and create a nurturing home for them that is filled with love, respect, happiness, laughter, and cherished traditions. Embracing the rewarding roles of mother and father, our children are the center of our lives.  

Coming from two large close-knit families, we both really want to continue to expand our family. Adoption has always been something we have talked about and been excited for. Having a strong desire to share our traditions, experiences, and unconditional love with more children, we know that we are meant to build our family through adoption. 

Dan is the epitome of kindness. Always putting others’ needs before his own, he makes it his mission to ensure the people around him feel happy and loved.  His endearing sense of humor and his compassion towards others serve as the perfect qualities for his career as a nurse and his role as a nurturing father and husband. 

As a Registered Nurse, Dan provides compassionate and empathetic care to older adult patients within the behavioral health department. Seeing his nursing career as a calling to devote oneself to serving people, every day Dan finds joy and satisfaction helping his patients on their road to recovery.  

Believing that family comes first, Dan prioritizes our needs ahead of his own and goes above and beyond to create memories and experiences that make all of us feel extra special.  Dan’s devotion to our children extends beyond just helping them with their daily schoolwork, attending parent-teacher conferences, and reading stories together at bedtime each night. Dan weaves little acts of love into their lives by dressing up as their favorite movie character, constructing homemade forts for them to hang out in, or leaving personalized notes of encouragement in their lunch boxes each day. 

Being a father comes so naturally to Dan and he is the happiest when spending time with me and our two children. Dan telling his “Dad jokes” will never get old and he is eager to tell them to a future adopted son or daughter.  

Nicolette is at her happiest when she is helping the ones she loves. She continuously supports her family and prioritizes their needs above her own. Demonstrating a strong work ethic and outgoing personality, Nicolette’s generosity and commitment to serving her family and friends is admirable and her selfless acts of love are appreciated by her loved ones. 

From very early on in her life, Nicolette desired a career in education. Earlier in her career as a high school teacher, she devoted her time to helping students pursue their passions inside and outside the classroom.  Eager to help more students along their academic journey, Nicolette earned a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, so she can effectively lead educators in supporting students. Every day Nicolette feels fortunate to work in a career where she can help future generations develop lifelong skills that will help them lead productive and fulfilling lives.  

In the fast pace of modern-day family life, Nicolette prioritizes spending time with her children. As the ultimate planner, Nicolette gets overjoyed with excitement when planning family celebrations. She spends countless hours making sure each special day results in memories that will last a lifetime. She also shows her love in the small details: making sure our daughter’s make-up looks good before she leaves the house or sitting with our son as he builds his latest lego creation. Motherhood comes so naturally to Nicolette and she is eager to devote her time to sleepless nights, bedtime stories, and warm cuddles with a young baby boy or girl. 

We live in a beautiful home nestled in a historic small-town in Pennsylvania. We enjoy spending days and evenings together with our furry companion, Mia, in our cozy backyard around our inground pool, sparkling fire pit, and the freshwater pond that Dan created, which is now home to our turtles, frogs, and fish. When spending time inside our home, we are either laughing together while cooking Disney-themed meals in our kitchen (Nicolette is incredible in the kitchen!) or hanging out in our unique recreational basement, a fascinating wonderland of entertainment that highlights our love of movies, classic arcade games, and childhood nostalgia. 

Our neighborhood is home to many families with children and has a community park with a playground and walking path. When strolling through our neighborhood on our daily walks together, we see children riding bikes, kids running after the ice cream truck, or families walking their dogs. Throughout the year, we frequently gather with our neighbors at block parties, picnics at the park, and even Santa visits our neighborhood on a firetruck to hand out presents to children.   

Our quaint little town boasts a top-rated school district and is located near many family-friendly places.  In between hosting holidays, birthdays, and celebrations with our nearby family and friends, we frequently visit nearby attractions including family-owned farms where you can pick apples, strawberries, blueberries, and peaches, as well as a minor league baseball field, and an environmental park.  

Our daughter, Nicolette Emma, is an artistic adolescent with a great sense of humor who is at her happiest when she is spending time with her family. As an avid Disney enthusiast and collector, Nicolette blends her two passions of cooking and Disney fandom to create amazing movie-themed meals for her family. She also channels her creativity by illustrating and writing original stories and homemade cookbooks in her free time. 

Having her brother, Danny, as her best friend has strengthened Nicolette’s desire for another sibling. She often talks about how neat it would be to have another sibling to share experiences with, especially those moments Nicolette holds near and dear to her heart including opening presents under the Christmas tree, making smores in our backyard by the firepit, and laughing around the kitchen table while playing Disney board games. She can’t wait to take them to pick pumpkins and go for hayrides at the pumpkin patch, to explore woodsy areas searching for frogs and toads, and to build sand castles together at the beach. 

Our son, Danny, is a sweet, loving, and gentle boy who is creative and imaginative. As a master Lego builder, Danny has a keen eye for creating his own Lego cities and intricate scenes. Home is Danny’s favorite place to be where he spends his time drawing, reading comic books, and building beautifully designed displays with his toys and action figures. 

Danny has a very strong bond with his sister and even though he is younger than her, he looks out for her and is extremely protective of her. In addition, Danny helps babysit his younger baby cousins and enjoys taking them on walks throughout our neighborhood, playing with them, and cradling them during naptime. He’s also very close to our sweet family dog, Mia. The daily care, affection, and devotion he shows to Mia illustrates that he is growing into a responsible and nurturing individual. There is no doubt in our minds that he will be an incredible big brother who will protect and care for a younger sibling. 

Danny is super excited for a younger sibling to be a part of our family.  His excitement to be a big brother is evident when he continuously asks if he can have a younger sibling to camp with in the backyard, eat popcorn with when watching movies together, go to the playground with, and build homemade forts with for late-night sleepovers.  

Every year, our family celebrates each season with fun experiences and cherished traditions. Here are just a few of our favorites: 

Summer Travels: Grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles stay in a charming beach house each summer in Ocean City, New Jersey. We spend time together taking strolls on the boardwalk, breathing in the salty ocean air, and laying underneath the sun on the warm sandy beaches.  But our summers would not be complete without a trip to Promised Land State Park where we enjoy swimming in the lake, walking through fern-covered forest trails, and grilling hot dogs over charcoal briquets. 

Fall Festivities: Each Fall, we venture to local apple orchards and farms to enjoy harvest hayrides, corn mazes and pumpkin patches. To celebrate the Halloween season, we attend local parades, trick or treat as a family, and invite loved ones to our home for pumpkin carving and bobbing for apples. 

Christmas: On Christmas Eve, we sing Silent Night in front of a manger alongside family before we sit around the dinner table savoring our treasured traditional Portuguese dishes. And of course, nothing warms our hearts more than seeing our children wake up on Christmas morning to see their piles of beautifully wrapped presents laying underneath the tree.  

Disney: Springtime is when our family travels to the most magical place on earth - Disney World. Our time spent in Disney is more than just going on rides and meeting timeless characters. The real magic of our Disney vacations are the moments we share together-- laughing, connecting, and strengthening our family bonds.  

Thank you for taking the time to look at our book.  More importantly, thank you for bringing this beautiful baby into the world, for being brave, loving and nurturing. 

We are fortunate as we both come from loving families who have supported us throughout our lives. We found each other, and are the better for it. In addition, we believe God specifically chose us to raise our daughter, who is a special needs child with dual diagnoses of Autism and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.  As parents of a Special Needs child, we have developed fierce hearts and have worked hard to educate, advocate, and be the ambassadors for both of our children, whatever hardships were thrown their way. 

If chosen as the adoptive parents, we promise to give this baby everything we have to offer - love, acceptance, a healthy lifestyle, a great education, a large extended family and much more. We plan to honor and respect your relationship to your child through open discussions and talking about you and your family. We believe it’s important to discuss adoption with a child from an early age and we are comfortable with whatever level of openness you would like to have, whether it be exchanging photos, phone calls, emails, or visits.

We are so excited about our decision to adopt. We would feel so blessed to welcome another child into our loving home. We wish you God’s guidance and love as you determine what is right for you and your Baby.