Welcome! Meet:

Nicholas + Allison

Philanthropy Director / Nurse

Oregon

Caucasian

All About Nicholas & Allison
Why Adoption?
Gallery
Family and Home
How We Met
Advice to Future Child
Perspectives on Open Adoption
Favorites

All About Nicholas & Allison

Thank you for taking the time to read about us! We are Allison, Nick, and our 3 year old daughter, June. We also have an 8-year old dog named Matilda. We love being parents and often wrap up the day marveling at how fortunate we are that we get to spend our days witnessing our daughter grow and change. Allison works part time as a nurse and Nick works remotely from our home for a philanthropic organization. We have been married for 10 years and still truly enjoy each other’s company. We have been through a lot in our time together, from moving states to support each other through further education, to the grief and loss of beloved family members, and we communicate well and take life’s ups and downs in stride. We work hard to notice and appreciate the magic of life, find the humor and meaning in hard moments, and remember that each day is one we won’t get back. Allison is very much an optimist, and she’s very creative and hobby-driven. She reads constantly and loves to take long walks outside exploring the neighborhood with June. Nick is the more grounded/practical half of the partnership, but he also loves to have fun, and you’ll see him skateboarding, surfing, and keeping tabs on his hometown baseball team in his free time. We are both friendly and easy to get along with, and we have a great community of friends and family nearby we can rely on whenever we need them.

Why Adoption?

We put a lot of thought into the decision to become parents, and yet giving birth to June felt miraculous in many ways–one of which is that because of her pregnancy, Allison’s doctors were able to catch an early stage cancer before it spread and remove it when she gave birth. Allison went through chemo and major surgery shortly after delivering in order to further reduce any possible chance of the cancer coming back, and is no longer able to conceive. Despite those hardships, we still feel a sense of wonder and awe when we think of those early days of parenting. It has been a profound, transformative gift to become parents, and we would love to expand our family. We explored different pathways to growing our family, but landed on open adoption because we want our child to be able to have a connection to their birth family and to know where they came from. We like the idea of a “more the merrier” family network where everyone belongs–our children, extended families, close friends, and you as birth parent(s).

Family & Home

We live in a quiet suburb of a progressive area full of other young families. We live right next to a bike street and like to ride our bikes together in the summer before getting June ready for bed. June goes to a wonderful preschool in our neighborhood that she loves and that gets her outside in nature every day, rain or shine. She always comes home messy and happy. We have a vegetable garden in our front yard that Allison and June tend together and which we hope to continue expanding. We have several good friends with young children who live in the area and Allison’s parents and brother also live close by. Allison grew up with her grandparents as her primary babysitters, and her parents have taken on this same role lovingly. They are incredibly supportive to us and are also eager to welcome our adopted child and their family into ours.

How others describe me

Nick (by Allison) - Nick is just an all around great guy. He’s friendly and personable, but also smart and determined, and he works really hard. He has pursued a career grounded in doing good for the world, and he also makes time to sit on the board of a local homeless family services organization. He was raised alongside a brother with severe physical and cognitive disabilities by parents who were dealt some pretty difficult hands in life but who still taught him the importance of giving back and standing up for those who need help, so he’s incredibly empathetic to others’ differing situations and abilities. Where some people would become embittered about the world, Nick gets fired up about what we can change. As a partner, his steady love and support has allowed me to grow and change and become the best version of myself. As a father, I know he will have the same impact. He delights in June’s uniqueness and celebrates her interests - from painting her nails to teaching her how to skateboard. I look forward to seeing how he will raise our children to be resilient and caring, just like he is.

Allison (by Nick) - I’ve always said that Allison just has a special way about her. She mixes kindness, curiosity, a beautiful smile, silliness, and uncanny wisdom into a magical sensibility that people are always drawn to. She makes friends easily and inspires people with the way she commits to living life the way she believes it should be lived: with care and attention, and an awareness that we only get to live it once. I love watching the way she models these traits for June, who already loves to stop and smell the flowers on walks, and imagine fairies that live in the woods (among many other playful, wonder-seeking activities!). Allison is an exceptional caregiver and mother to June, and a kind, loving, and supportive partner to me. She’s also passionate about doing the right thing and helping others, which she models through her work as a nurse and the way she shows up for her friends and community.

How We Met

We met in Seattle shortly after Allison finished college, when we were working in the same office building. We got to know each other over the shared office ping-pong table and quickly learned that we had a similar sense of humor and core values. We moved to California for Nick’s grad school program and got married there, then to Oregon when Allison got into nursing school.

Advice to Future Child

You matter, and we will love you no matter who you are and what you do. Life is not a steady-state and there will always be ups and downs, but with a little flexibility and a positive outlook you can get through anything. Thoughtfulness, humility, hard work, and empathy go a long way, and if you start from a place of kindness and open-mindedness you can make a huge impact in your community and in the world.

Perspectives on Open Adoption

It would be a tremendous honor to bring another child into our family through adoption and support them throughout their life. One thing that is already so clear in parenting June is that we are supporting characters in her story. We hope for an open adoption relationship built on this understanding; that our children are the central figures in our extended family, and we all do whatever we can to support their identity formation and growth, in a way that feels safe and comfortable for everyone involved. We recognize that the relationships between us, our adopted child, and their birth parents may bend and change over time, but we will strive to honor the birth parent relationship over the course of our child’s life. We hope to find a good rhythm when it comes to communication, but beyond that, to tell your stories, carry on your family and cultural traditions, and celebrate all the aspects of you and your family that shine in our child.

Favorites

Nicholas

Favorite Movie: The Natural
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: My mother and I watched It’s A Wonderful Life every year at Christmas. The holiday was never complete without it, and I’ve kept this up as an adult.
Hobbies/Interests: Reading, skateboarding, surfing, staying involved in my community, watching baseball, detective shows, Jeopardy!, and keeping up with my friends!
Dream Vacation: I’d like to visit the beaches of southwestern Africa—Namibia and Angola.
If I Could Choose a Superpower: I’d like whatever power that would help me reduce human suffering around the world.

Allison

Favorite Movie: Amelie
Favorite Holiday/Tradition: I love going to get a tree at Christmas. We always go to the same tree farm, with hot chocolate, farm animals, and the most beautiful views!
Hobbies/Interests: Being outside in nature, cooking, baking sourdough bread, reading fantasy and romance novels, sewing colorful outfits, exploring new cities on foot, browsing antique malls, and catching up with friends over a cup of coffee
Dream Vacation: Traveling around Japan by train. I studied abroad in Tokyo in college and loved it so much.
If I Could Choose a Superpower: Time travel, so I could go back and relive my happiest moments